Positive youth development and youth organizing are strengths-based approaches to the lives, needs, and contributions of young people (Damon & Gregory, 2003). These approaches privilege the voices of youth as they engage with issues in their communities and challenge institutions to respond. Few studies, however, have explored the role of…

Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) ensure that students are represented in school wellness discussions. YACs empower students to present ideas, insights, and input on nutrition and physical activity; work alongside peers to assess wellness needs; and develop recommendations for enhancing/expanding the school wellness environment. YACs provide a…

The purpose of this study was to analyze and report on a "different" model of leadership preparation that was customized to prepare school leaders to practice in schools where the student population is predominantly Latino and in an urban school setting. It is a preparation program designed to advance interactive collaboration between…

With career-long professional learning increasingly seen as a significant element of teacher education, this paper proposes that there is a need to acknowledge the complex nature of the professional learning process. The paper explores lessons learnt from over a decade of professional learning efforts by the Developmental Physical Education Group…

Summer 4-H camps present an untapped opportunity for advancement of mission mandates. The project reported here immersed campers in healthy living experiential learning. The goal was to improve self-efficacy and health behaviors related to nutrition and physical activity. Data was collected from enrolled campers through multiple survey tools. A…

The present study aimed to gain further insights into how visiting international social work students and their hosts from different cultures learn about each others' social services, culture, and personal values. Six Israeli students and 8 Indian students have written narratives and reflections on their experiences in the international encounter…

There is general agreement in the literature that international students are more likely to plagiarise compared to their native speaker peers and, in many instances, plagiarism is unintentional. In this article we describe the effectiveness of an academic writing development programme embedded into a Biological Sciences Taught Masters course…

The third in a series of reports evaluating a multi-year Wallace initiative documents ways in which six districts are working to improve school leadership districtwide. It describes several new measures districts are implementing, including systematic support for assistant principals; the use of performance standards to hire and evaluate…

Head Start has long focused on assessing and improving program quality to ensure that the children served receive the best possible preparation for school and life. Most research has been focused inside the classroom--the classroom environment, teacher qualifications, and teacher interactions. Of course, the classroom is important because that is…

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states that is often recognized as a leader in public education, and for good reason. The Commonwealth consistently outperforms most states on national reading and math tests and often leads the pack in education innovations. "Starting Young: Massachusetts Birth-3rd Grade Policies that Support Children's…

"Career Academies" is a dropout prevention strategy for youth considered most at risk of dropping out of high school. Students in the program take both career-related and academic courses and acquire work experience through partnerships with local employers. "Career Academies" integrate rigorous academic curricula with career…

In 2009, Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute, in coordination with the Tennessee Department of Education's Division of Curriculum and Instruction, initiated a rigorous, independent evaluation of the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program (TN- VPK). TN-VPK is a full-day prekindergarten program for four-year-old children expected…

The problems that teachers face early in their careers are a major factor in growing rates of attrition among neophyte teachers. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, high rates of attrition, coupled with and aging teacher population in many countries in the developed world, may cause a teacher shortage crisis in…

There is a shortage in the number of funded doctoral programs in the field of special education. As a result the number of higher education faculty who are trained in the knowledge and skills necessary to train the next generation of special education teachers is critically low. This article describes a doctoral program funded by the Office of…

At the college president's request and after attending the 2013 NCHC conference in New Orleans, the authors developed a comprehensive honors program framework and spent the spring semester of 2014 sharing it with units across the college for discussion and feedback. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Despite the many benefits of this…