For the past several decades, the construct of parent involvement (PI) has framed much of the literature on school-family-community partnerships. In this study, the authors used a qualitative form of meta-analysis called "thematic synthesis" to explore a programmatic alternative to conventional PI known as "collective parent…

This study uses a theoretical framework rooted in stereotype threat theory to investigate the perceptions and experiences of high-achieving African American students at an urban elementary school that had implemented a test-centered curriculum. The investigation utilized data from six focus group interviews conducted with a purposefully selected…

In every state in the South, the percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees or higher who were born outside the state exceed the percentage born in-state, reflecting their dependence on imported talent over building their own talent-development systems. In Virginia, the Southern state with the highest percentage of residents with a B.A. or…

The National Summer Learning Project, launched by the Wallace Foundation in 2011, includes an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary, district-led summer learning programs offered at no cost to low-income, urban elementary students. The study, conducted by RAND, uses a randomized controlled trial and other analytic methods to assess the…

Hip-Hop-Based Education (HHBE) has resulted in many positive educational outcomes, ranging from teaching academic skills to teaching critical reflection at secondary levels. Given what HHBE initiatives have accomplished, it is troubling that there is an absence of attention to these methods in education programs for elementary and early childhood…

The effects of a mathematical problem-solving intervention on students' problem-solving performance and math achievement were measured in a randomized control trial with 1,059 7th-grade students. The intervention, "Solve It!," is a research-based cognitive strategy instructional intervention that was shown to improve the problem-solving…

The authors use longitudinal data from one large school district to investigate the distribution of principals across schools. They find that schools serving many low-income, non-White, and low-achieving students have principals who have less experience and less education and who attended less selective colleges. This distribution of principals is…

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

The Learning Communities Demonstration is a national research project that is testing the effectiveness of learning communities in six community colleges across the United States: Merced College in California; The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in Baltimore, Maryland; Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida; Houston…

The general objectives of this study were to (1) develop a methodology whereby needs assessments of vocational and technical education might be conducted efficiently and effectively in all urban areas of Florida, and (2) conduct, using the methodology developed, a needs assessment of the needs of business and industry, students, funding,…

A study was conducted in four metropolitan areas in Florida to determine: (1) the desired and actual roles of state agencies, community colleges, and public universities in promoting the achievement of the baccalaureate degree among urban students who begin their postsecondary education at community colleges; (2) the strengths and weaknesses of…

The role of advanced programs in urban universities and the relationship between large public urban universities and comprehensive state universities in less-populated areas are addressed. An overview of the issues, case studies in three states, a study comparing students in two doctoral programs, and information on the characteristics of large…