112,972 research outputs found

    Schools Can't Wait: Accelerating the Redesign of University Principal Preparation Programs

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    Reviews recent efforts by 22 universities to provide higher quality training programs for school leaders. Includes examples of effective redesign practices and outlines an action plan for implementing successful educational leadership initiatives

    Pretty difficult: Implementing kaupapa Māori theory in English-medium secondary schools

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    Developed in New Zealand some twenty years ago, kaupapa Māori has had a successful impact in education, notably in Māori-medium settings such as kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa Māori and wharekura. However, in mainstream educational settings, where the vast majority of Māori children continue to be educated, achievement disparities between Māori and their non-Māori peers persist. This article focuses on Te Kotahitanga, a large-scale kaupapa Māori school reform project that seeks to address educational disparities by improving the educational achievement of Māori students in mainstream schooling. Experiences with implementing Te Kotahitanga would suggest that reforming mainstream educational practices along kaupapa Māori lines is not easy. This article examines three main impediments encountered in attempts to implement the Te Kotahitanga project in mainstream schools: confusion about the culture of the Māori child; uneven implementation of the project; and problems with measuring student progress. For the project’s aims to be realised, professional development needs to be ongoing, iterative and responsive

    Learning from Turnaround Middle Schools: Strategies for Success

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    In New York City and around the nation, there is intense interest in the question of what it takes to turn around a low-performing school. This study focused on two sets of initially low-performing NYC middle schools. The first group (the "turnaround schools") exhibited significant growth in academic performance between 2006 and 2010, while the other group saw minimal growth or remained stagnant during the same period. To gain an understanding of how the turnaround schools improved, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with principals and focus groups with teachers in both sets of schools. This report presents a rich picture of the conditions and strategies that enabled the turnaround schools to boost student achievement. Specifically, it identifies three interrelated "essential conditions" that were largely principal driven: aligning needs with goals, creating a positive work environment, and addressing student discipline and safety. These essential conditions, in turn, set the stage for implementing specific strategies to improve teaching and learning: developing teachers internally, creating small learning communities, targeting student sub-populations, and using data to inform instruction. The report also describes several ongoing challenges faced by all the schools. Finally, it draws on the study's findings to make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of middle schools here in New York City and around the country. The study is part of an ongoing focus on the middle grades for the Research Alliance

    Progress Being Made in Getting a Quality Leader in Every School

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    Reviews the progress made by the SREB states in improving their school leadership through redesigning the process of preparation and development of school principals. Describes promising practices being implemented, and offers practical guidance

    Gateway to College: Lessons from Implementing a Rigorous Academic Program for At-Risk Young People

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    Despite efforts to improve the high school graduation rate in the United States, an estimated 7,200 students drop out of high school every day -- a staggering 1.3 million every year. Further, a recent report by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projects that by 2020, nearly 65 percent of U.S. jobs will require at least some college education, out of reach for those who are unable to earn a high school diploma. Much more comprehensive alternative education programs are needed that put dropouts and students at risk of dropping out on a path to earn high school diplomas while also providing them with the academic skills and support necessary to be successful in their postsecondary pursuits

    Trends in LN-embedding practices at Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) in 2019

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    In this report, we describe the trends in literacy-embedding practices of level-2 and level-3 tutors who worked in vocational contexts at Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), and who completed the New Zealand Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (NZCALNE[Voc]) in 2019. We analysed 19 observations, following constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014), to produce 1302 descriptive labels that highlight literacy and numeracy practices integrated into tutors’ teaching intentionally pursued in a collaborative and mentored training process. Of the initial 12 categories, we conflated the mapping of LN course demands and identifying learners’ LN needs to arrive at a final 11. We then used these categories in an axial analysis (Saldaňa, 2013), categorising the 1302 labels as binaries (i.e. if the label was related to the category, 1 was coded; if not 0 [zero]). The matrix of 14322 ratings of 1s and 0s was then analysed. We calculated the frequency of 1s by category. We argued that the axial analysis allowed us to develop a more holistic perspective which showed how the 1302 labels were configured in relation to the 11 categories of analysis. We concluded that the 11 categories represented key aspects of vocational teaching and training emphasising that LN-embedding practices have to be seamlessly integrated into general pedagogical approaches. A key construct for new tutors is to shape their understanding of seamlessly integrated versus bolted-on LN practices. Our recommendations remain within the whole-of-organisation perspective proposed in the 2017-2018 report (Greyling, 2019)

    A Report from the Design Team for Compensation and Career Pathways

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    The Design Team for Compensation and Career Pathways is a group of teachers, and school and central office leaders selected by the Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA). They were charged with engaging in a learning process to determine if there were ways to strengthen the compensation, career pathways and related structures to support recruitment and retention of strong teachers and increase career satisfaction and success within DPS. They undertook this process in anticipation of the need to renew the agreement that governs the district's nationally renowned Professional Compensation System for Teachers (ProComp) as well as upcoming contract negotiations between DPS and DCTA.Over four months the Team met nine times. Its work involved reviewing research studies, examining compensation and career progression examples from other school districts and selected non-education industries, reviewing teacher and principal focus group and survey results, and engaging in deep discussion around design principles and possible frameworks that could be used to strengthen ProComp and career opportunities for teachers. This report is the product of their work
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