The 2001 reauthorization of the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known as No Child Left Behind, requires those schools which fail to make "adequate yearly progress" for five consecutive years to enter into "restructuring." Further clarified by the Obama administration's Blueprint for Reform,…

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of 10 superintendents in Pre-K-8, 1A, and small 2A schools located in rural areas of Texas, who have implemented an online learning program or programs. Narrative techniques were used to explore the challenges that they faced in the pre-planning, planning, implementation and evaluation of their…

The use of the cohorts in teacher education has steadily increased over the last decade. Research indicates both beneficial and negative aspects to this approach, with the field undecided. This study focuses on a Midwestern university's accelerated graduate program for special educators. The program uses a mixed cohort approach to model…

This research attempted to understand the experiences of a cohort of informal and formal science educators and informal science institution (ISI) community representatives during and after completion of a pilot graduate certificate program. Informal science educators (ISEs) find limited opportunities for professional development and support which…

This project study is an evaluation of a job-training program designed to serve unemployed adult learners at a community college. The program lacked empirical data about participants finding employment. The rationale for selecting the problem is the need to provide skill development and vocational training in response to high unemployment rates.…

Due to the demands placed on schools to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) on state standardized tests, many districts are looking at afterschool programs to help bridge the gap in achievement for students who are at-risk for failing to master standards. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect an afterschool program had on…

In recent years, the number of children with a diagnosis of autism has substantially increased (Baio, 2012). There is a growing interest, therefore, in knowing more about their transition to employment as they reach adulthood. To address this question, the authors examined the national and state data from the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program…

The objective of this study was to survey IS curriculum in AACSB-accredited Information Systems programs across the United States, to evaluate current adherence to the IS 2010 Curriculum Guidelines, and to assess the number and type of career track developments initiated as a result of less stringent requirements in the new curriculum guidelines.…

The Summer 2012 SQR: "Innovations in Campus Sustainability," explores the critical linkages between education, innovation, and sustainability. This issue highlights new and ground-breaking practices within the Innovation (IN) category of STARS, focusing on the unique solutions within higher education that positively impact current and…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a Direct Instruction summer reading intervention program designed to minimize summer reading regression. The summer intervention program targeted the lowest quartile of readers in grades kindergarten through third grade from a suburban school district over a three-week period before…

The purpose for this doctoral action research study was to discover if and how an updated training and development curriculum benefited residential student organization advisers at Arizona State University (ASU). Eleven advisers of residential student organizations completed a pilot training and development program and agreed to participate in a…

The goal of this publication is to provide a snapshot of some of the publicly available resources describing efforts across Race to the Top States to ensure that turnaround schools have effective leaders. It is based on a review of Race to the Top State Annual Performance Reports, including State reports of Year 1 accomplishments and second year…

"Co-design"--including youth development staff along with curriculum designers--is the key to developing an effective program that is both scalable and sustainable. This article describes Build IT, a two-year afterschool and summer curriculum designed to help middle school girls develop fluency in information technology (IT), interest in…

The purpose of this study aimed to construct an online competitive game-based learning system by using freeware for junior high school students and to assess its effectiveness. From the learning standpoints, game mechanisms including learning points, competition mechanism, training room mechanism, questioning & answering mechanism, tips, and…

The authors examine technology-driven games--especially active gaming--as an evolving form of children's play. They offer an overview of play and its developmental benefits, describe the literature on the emergence of technology-driven play, and reflect on the diminishment of physical play in contemporary culture. They suggest that active gaming,…