Patching the Pipeline: Addressing Teacher Satisfaction and Retention in Duval County

In "Patching the Pipeline: Addressing Teacher Satisfaction and Retention in Duval County," the Jacksonville Public Education Fund provides a comprehensive look at the last five cohorts of new teachers in Duval County Public Schools, and conducts a survey of all teachers in the district to get their opinions about a wide variety of different factors.This report details the turnover among new teachers in Duval County Public Schools -- half leave in the first five years -- and raises the voices of teachers themselves about what factors keep them in the classroom

Social and educational inclusion in Taiwan in relation to elementary Schooling with reference to the UK, particularly Scotland

Inclusive education, a relatively new education system, provides an environment for both non-disabled and disabled children to interact and to understand each other. The purpose of this study was to investigate relevant key stakeholders’ voices and opinions by means of interviews, observations, focus groups and parental surveys. It started from providing a general background of Taiwan’s history and education to the investigating of current implementation of social policies and primary inclusive education in Taiwan. In conducting the study, an investigation into inclusive education in Taiwan was undertaken, specifically the implementation of inclusive education in primary schools in Tainan region. This study obtained a great deal of information from a wide range of stakeholders: perspectives on inclusive policies were obtained by means of interviews. Non-disabled and disabled children’s daily school life and interactions among other children and teachers were recorded via observations and focus groups whilst data gathered through parental questionnaires provided parents’ opinions, reactions and responses. Starting from the pursuit of human rights in Western societies, the focus then shifted to the context of Taiwanese society. More and more attention on the issue of human rights and disadvantaged groups’ rights are paid and in general, the notion of all human beings are equal is rooted and sprouted in Taiwanese culture. The results showed that, in general, professionals believed that inclusive education was basically positive for both non-disabled and disabled children. Inclusive settings provide an environment for both non-disabled and disabled children to share their experiences so that when children grow up, they would have positive attitudes towards each other. However, some professionals were concerned about the consequences of locating disabled pupils, especially pupils with behavioural disorders, in mainstream schools. In most cases, pupils with physical impairments are more easily accepted than those with behavioural disorder ones. It is still not easy to break the barriers, such as people’s inherent notions towards disadvantaged groups, the reality that some behavioural disorder pupils are aggressive and teachers’ time might be spent more on special need pupils, in such a complicated social system. With regard to learning in inclusive settings; both non-disabled and disabled pupils, in general, felt comfortable or did not feel too much difference in the inclusive classroom. The study highlighted that, in most inclusive classrooms, both non-disabled and disabled pupils could be accepted by each other; and in some cases, non-disabled and disabled pupils liked to be located in the inclusive classroom. Parents, however, had more diverse opinions than in any other stakeholders. Inclusive education, though less than half of total respondents had heard before, was deemed basically good to both non-disabled and disabled pupils and in general, it will become future mainstream. Still, some parents, especially those whose children had been located in an inclusive classroom and had bad experiences, were strongly anti-inclusion. Their primary concern was to protect their own children. Quality of education was also their concern because some parents deeply believed that teachers’ time and attention are sometimes drawn to pupils with special educational needs. In conclusion, key stakeholders viewed inclusive education as a means of providing an environment for both non-disabled and disabled pupils to study and to share their experiences. There may however, be a need to re-think the real role of inclusive classroom because many people merely think of locating both non-disabled and disabled pupils in the same environment as inclusion instead of thinking the moral issue or equality for all when they hear about the term inclusion. This study investigated what key stakeholders’ opinions and responses were when discussing about inclusion. This study also concluded by suggesting and offering some of the main issues needing further consideration: issues related to the resources, shifting people’s impression towards disadvantaged groups and the paramount aim of inclusion. All of which are considered to be important for future implementation of inclusive education. The study concludes by a reflection on the findings in a broader context of Chinese thinking and addresses current Taiwanese education system with reference to Taiwanese culture

Court Review: The Journal of the American Judges Association 51:1 (2015)- Contents

BOOK REVIEW 4 A Psycholegal Deskbook for Bench and Bar: Book Review of Forensic Assessments in Criminal and Civil Law. ARTICLES 8 The Gatekeeper’s Toolbox: A Survey on Judicial Handling of Expert-Reliability Motions. 16 Using Third-Party Information in Forensic Mental-Health Assessment: A Critical Review. 36 What’s (Who You) Love Got to Do with It? Should Sexual Orientation Be a Permissible Basis for Peremptory Challenges?. DEPARTMENTS 2 Editor’s Note. 3 President’s Column. 48 The Resource Page

Executive Orders: Promoting Democracy and Openness in New York State Government

This joint report outlines 11 executive actions Gov. Andrew Cuomo can take to open up New York State government, increase the accountability of state agencies and reduce barriers to voting. The orders are centered on the basic goal of empowering the citizenry with more and better information about what its government is doing, and how it is spending tax payer dollars

The Unsubstantiated Claims of Turkat’s Harmful Effects of Child-Custody Evaluations on Children

We welcome the opportunity to respond to Dr. Turkat’s article, Harmful Effects of Child-Custody Evaluations on Children. We believe that there are many flaws and unsubstantiated claims made by Dr. Turkat, and we challenge his primary thesis that child-custody evaluations are, by definition, harmful. Dr. Turkat sets the tone in his first paragraph with his sweeping statements that “child-custody evaluations [have] no scientific validity” and “there is still no scientific evidence whatsoever that a child-custody evaluation results in beneficial outcomes for the children involved.” His article includes too many generalized, unsupported charges to allow it to pass without challenge. We hope that our comments will contribute to more informed discussion clarifying misunderstandings about the role and value of custody evaluations and how they should properly be introduced into court proceedings

Bottomheavy: Legal Footnotes

For decades, legal footnotes have been the deserving target of both ample criticism and self-mockery. Apart from their complaints as to footnotes’ mere existence, most critics draw a bead on the ballooning of footnote content. Some journal editors, aspiring to respond to this sound theme, hopefully inform their authors of a preference for “light footnoting.” But where does an author begin to trim, and what editor has the audacity to slash what the author (or her research assistant) has so laboriously compiled below the line? Changing our footnote habits is about benefits and costs. To gain the former, we must ante up. If criticism began the round of bidding, this article modestly raises the stakes, suggesting a rule of reason that might govern the author’s, the editor’s, and the reader’s expectations for footnotes. A gamble, perhaps, but one that might be worth taking

WASH in Schools Monitoring Package

The report calls on decision-makers to increase investments and on concerned stakeholders to plan and act in cooperation -- so that all children go to a school with child-friendly water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. The Call to Action campaign incorporates six key action points, one of which calls for improved monitoring of WASH in Schools programs. National monitoring systems for WASH in schools are often weak; many countries do not have even basic data on the WASH situation in schools. This lack of information on the status of WASH in schools hampers planning and resource allocation decisions, and makes it difficult to ensure accountability and evaluate progress. This package is designed to help address the WASH in Schools monitoring deficit at the national level. It is designed as a resource for WASH and Education professionals and practitioners to strengthen national monitoring systems and to improve the quality of monitoring at the project level

Radio evolution: conference proceedings

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT