California has a notable history of investing in educational leaders' professional learning. In 1983, the state launched the California School Leadership Academy (CSLA), which it funded until the academy was discontinued due to statewide budget cuts in 2003. Research showed that CSLA was a source of high-quality professional development. In 2019,…

The book analyses and evaluates several key community college reform programs that emerged after the Recession of 2008 and as a result of major initiatives in California, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Connecticut and Wisconsin. Because of the economic downturn in the early 21st Century, an already eroding financial base for public higher education…

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms…

In 2019, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) was directed to provide Congress with a report on the state of school policing in the United States that examined the current role of police in schools and provided recommendations on how they can better serve the needs of students. To address this directive, NIJ engaged two consultants to conduct a…

Can the U.S. keep its dominant economic position in the world economy with only 30% of its population holding bachelor's degrees? If the majority of U.S. citizens lack a higher education, can the U.S. live up to its democratic principles and preserve its political institutions? These questions raise the critical issue of access to higher…

In what ways do Jewish and Muslim faith schools in Britain play a role in promoting and contributing to community cohesion? What 21st-century skills around intercultural understanding do they foster? This book examines the nuances of faith in school settings and draws on a case study of Jewish and Muslim faith schools. The authors show how these…

"Special Schools as a Resource for Inclusive Education" examines inclusive education reform efforts by the Open Society foundation in Armenia in communities with special and mainstream schools. These efforts evolved into a project to transform three special schools for children with disabilities into resource centers to help mainstream…

Community colleges, which serve almost half of postsecondary students in the United States, are receiving ever-increasing attention from policymakers and researchers. Although these institutions have always served a wide range of people in their communities, the number of students who enter community college requiring additional preparation before…

In a global society and economy, education and training is essential to a nation's competitiveness and to the standard of living of its people. The need to open the doors of higher or further education beyond the relatively limited enrollments in elite and selective universities has spawned a movement to develop or expand institutions that are…

Written at the request of the presidents of the New Mexico Association for Community and Junior Colleges as a means of informing the deliberations of the legislatively appointed Higher Education Reform Committee, this position paper outlines the history, mission, and function of New Mexico's community colleges, branch colleges, and…

This book analyzes how community-based organizations in low income urban neighborhoods can promote reform of their local public schools. Chapter 1, "Reassessing the Declining Urban Neighborhood," discusses the sources of urban decline in terms of a structural relationship between "haves" and "have-nots." Chapter 2,…

The results of centralization of one of the larger "small-rural" school districts in New York State are examined in this case study. The demographics of Yorkville and the feelings and opinions that residents have about their communities and schools are discussed first. Next, the history of the school system since 1950, when the district…

The history of school district consolidation in New York State reveals that nearly every set of recommendations which has encouraged consolidation has brought about widespread negative reaction from the public. Reorganization is a highly political activity in which members of the State Legislature and the State Education Department have always…

Education's past is deceptively presented as a period of calm and consensus. There was no golden age of agreement in education. Recent cacophony is a more honest representation of opinion and may be less divisive. (MD)

Information on the funding of the area school system in Iowa is provided. First, the report provides background information on the history and funding of the system, which was established in 1965 to meet local and state needs of adults for postsecondary and adult education. The report indicates that the funding sources available to the area…