Too often, culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) youth with disabilities have a tougher road to adulthood than their Caucasian peers with disabilities. Reverse the odds with this concise how-to book, the first guide to easing the complex transition process for CLD students with a wide range of special needs. A veteran trainer of transition…

A current trend in education is that small teacher groups, called professional learning communities (PLC), are being advocated as a tool to help teachers reach struggling students. Educators planning to use PLC as an intervention strategy can benefit from research-based information about PLC best practices. This multiple case study addressed the…

Background: Professional commitment from teachers requires more than contractual compliance as personal and professional values are integral to teaching practice. Secondary school teachers are expected to act as role models and demonstrate positive attributes and attitudes in an evolving educational context. Little is known about how they…

The purpose of this study was to discover the ways that central office and school level leaders initiate and advance a culture of continuous professional learning in high schools. The conceptual framework for this study was built from a synthesis of literature related to professional learning and leadership for continuous improvement. Relying…

Throughout the 1980's, the notion of standards came to the forefront throughout the education world. Groups questioned how to define quality teaching. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was developed to meet this need providing a voluntary national certification to identify accomplished teachers. Since its inception,…

In the study reported here, I explored the notion of teacher leadership as described by individuals participating in a district-wide school reform initiative, the Accelerating Student Achievement Project. Through the district-wide project, teacher leaders were identified at each of the middle and high schools to further develop the schools'…

The research literature suggests that the existence of trust and strong working relationships between staff are precursors for school improvement (Bryk & Schneider, 2003). Without strong social relations or feelings of trust between school leaders and faculty, school improvement efforts can fail. Within high schools, principals have a critical…

As members of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Task Force on Principal Preparation, the authors recently completed a study of the changing role of the secondary principal. One striking finding was that multiple roles and responsibilities leave today's principal feeling chronically harried and overworked. For…

Since 2004, AISD has conducted an annual survey to monitor campus staff's perceptions of their school environment. The survey measures elements of teaching and learning conditions most critical to school success.

The Partnership for Reform in Secondary Science and Mathematics (PRiSSM) is a three-year project that targeted mathematics and science teachers in middle and high schools from six districts in southwest Washington. Consistent with NSDC (2009) recommendations for professional development, PRiSSM involved collaborative teacher teams in reflecting on…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. A total of 7,752 science and mathematics teachers in schools across the United…

The 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education was designed to provide up-to-date information and to identify trends in the areas of teacher background and experience, curriculum and instruction, and the availability and use of instructional resources. A total of 7,752 science and mathematics teachers in schools across the United…

Successful implementation of educational technology is reliant upon constructivist teaching practices. Using technology in the classroom is a method used to make the shift from traditional methods of instruction to more constructive-compatible instruction. Methods of learning including technology integration are a relatively new mode of…

A rich literature--both within education circles and in other kinds of labor markets--links teachers' sense of efficacy and collective responsibility to their teaching effectiveness and improved student achievement. Prior research has found that a teacher's self-efficacy as an instructional leader is strongly and positively associated with…

Many schools are organised into departments which function as contexts that frame teachers' professional experiences in important ways. Some educational systems have adopted distributed forms of leadership within schools that rely strongly on the departmental structure and on the role of the department coordinator as teacher leader. This paper…