This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of…

Education researchers use surveys widely. Yet, critics question respondents' ability to provide high-quality responses. As schools increasingly use student surveys to drive local policy making, respondents' (lack of) motivation to provide quality responses may threaten the wisdom of using questionnaires for data-based decision making. To better…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that in comparison to performance appraisal, "practice enhancement" is offered as a conceptual tool that can be used to develop strategies for reflecting on, communicating changes in and planning for excellence in teaching practice. Design/methodology/approach: The conceptual notion of…

Teacher education has been subject to both scathing criticism and innumerable efforts designed to reform it or to save it from being dismantled. One of the latest and most well funded efforts aimed at teacher education reform is boldly titled Teachers for a New Era (TNE). Eleven colleges and universities of various types nationwide were selected…

Educational research is designed to generate valid and reliable information needed by decision-makers. The issue of research utilization is of utmost importance, especially as it relates to the federal government; however, much of the research has not found its way into the policymaking process. This issue precipitated a survey of 141 Mid-South…

The relationship between the level of researchers' dependency on funding sources and their considerations for choosing to turn to certain funding sources is examined. Monetary and non-monetary aspects of these considerations are explored. University researchers and federal government agencies have a long history of collaboration for purposes of…

This monograph analyzes transition in educational administrative theory. A brief introductory section describes the theoretical movement, the substance and repercussions of Thomas Greenfield's critique of educational administrative theory in 1974, and emerging qualitative approaches. Seven readings, all written by the volume's author, view…