To update its teaching and departmental review processes, Phillips Academy Andover, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts, commissioned RAND Corporation researchers to review the school's policies, conduct a literature review, interview other independent high schools, develop potential recommendations for revision of Andover's processes,…

Faculty members are entrusted with great power to decide who deserves space within the academic profession. Given that the profession's central mission is knowledge production, such decisions inevitably concern epistemic matters, and specifically, what constitutes legitimate knowledge. From this perspective, faculty hiring is not only a matter of…

This article outlines an appreciative inquiry (AI) into a departmental professional development process and describes the resulting implementation of an appreciative peer evaluation meeting as one part of the new professional development process. Using AI, a departmental faculty development committee sought to re-envision the professional…

The objectives of this Research and Development were to: Develop Competency-based learning management for Teachers of the science and technology Departments in large-sized secondary Schools under the office of the basic education commission in the northeast. The findings were as follows: I) There were five main components in Developing Teacher…

We present an outline for a year-long training session for potential departmental leaders. This outline is based on training led by the author over one academic year. The training consists of nine sessions with an emphasis on active learning among the participants.

In May and June 2018, the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd hosted two online Thought Leadership Forums for state education agency officials who are members of the Leadership Council of the Network of State Turnaround and Improvement Leaders. The monthly forums are intended to build the capacity of SEAs and regional comprehensive centers to…

Higher education in general, and engineering higher education in particular, is constantly under pressure to introduce reforms that improve the employability of graduates. Among the most common claims is the development of a more active and competency-based teaching oriented to the development of professional and personal skills. The university…

This document, created by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), provides guidance for newly opening charter schools. This guide can be used to keep track of MDE deadlines, access the reporting calendar and follow the steps necessary to ensure the utilization of all the resources and revenue available from the state. This guidance document…

The authors conducted a study to investigate whether personnel ratings of administrators and department chairs differ by the ratees' gender and the Carnegie classification of their institutions. The authors inferred the genders (male or female) from first names and analyzed personnel ratings for 1,011 administrators and 762 department chairs…

How can states help ensure that their systems are providing schools and educators with the essential data for improvement efforts? One powerful strategy is to collaborate with partners using a continuous improvement approach. Six states have been doing just that--working together to investigate and address specific, high-priority, high-impact ways…

In 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts/literacy and mathematics. CCSS are a state-led effort to define the knowledge and skills students need to graduate from high school…

The 2015-2016 year has been an especially busy one in Texas education. Teachers and other professionals had opportunities to participate in the revision of the English language and Spanish language arts and reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (ELAR/SLAR TEKS), a process that is now nearing completion. As a result of several bills signed…

The current educational climate of increased accountability requires school principals to improve student learning for all students, implement national and state policies, maintain a positive culture, provide professional development, and supervise and evaluate faculty members. In order to improve learning in schools, education reform mandates…

The purpose of this study was to investigate principals' perceptions of the impact of the New York State Annual Professional Performance Review on instructional practices. Dr. Philip Hallinger's Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) was used to examine principal behaviors as they relate to school mission/goals, instruction and…

This qualitative study examined school administrators' perceptions of the James Stronge teacher evaluation system, one of five approved evaluation systems by the New Jersey Department of Education from the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey Act (TEACHNJ) in 2012. Fourteen administrators from a suburban district…