Dr. George W. Wardlow presented the 2013 AAAE Distinguished Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education in Columbus, Ohio in May, 2013. While the focus of the article is on the importance of research to the profession, it is intended as a philosophical work.

Arkansas supports a statewide network of academic alliances in the humanities. Academic alliances are collaborative groups of school and college teachers in the same discipline, established to improve teaching and learning, promote ongoing professional development, and foster lasting professional relationships. Staff of regional educational…

A description is given of a state-wide endeavor to improve the schools in Arkansas. Five recommendations provide the framework for innovative planning for the schools: (1) educators, elected officials and community leaders should assertively market "Restructuring for Higher Order Learning" throughout the state as the logical and…

Teacher Assistance Teams (TAT) can support the collaboration and empowerment of teachers, address student and schoolwide problems, provide preventive intervention for at-risk students, and identify appropriate referrals to special education. This paper describes the implementation of TAT throughout the state of Arkansas over a 3-year period.…

Housed at Henderson State University, the Arkansas Network of Humanities Academic Alliances is a statewide network of school and college teachers in humanities disciplines who meet regularly to promote ongoing professional development and work toward common goals. The network seeks to strengthen humanities teaching at all educational levels,…

The Center for Academic Excellence of the College of Education at the University of Central Arkansas was created in 1984 to help improve education in Arkansas by cooperating with the state's public school districts and sharing the college's resources with them. The center's staff helps public school administrators assess local needs, devise plans…

This paper examined each of the eight major recommendations of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's 1989 report entitled "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century." That report called for the transformation of early adolescent education by: (1) creating a community for learning in the schools through…

This study examines the Study Circles program on education that was conducted in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the fall of 1998. Study Circles are a community involvement strategy for collaborative problem solving. They are small, highly participatory groups led by trained facilitators using materials provided by the Study Circles Resource Center. The…

The relationship of the state coordinating agency with the governor, the general assembly, and higher education institutions is addressed in relation to meeting budget needs for colleges and universities. Specific reference is also made to the state of Arkansas. It is suggested that the state coordinating agency should be in the position to be…

In 1991, the state of Arkansas passed state requirements for the establishment of a tech prep core curriculum for high school programs. The Arkansas program will be developed around the 2+4+2+2 theory, but will mostly focus on the 2+2 plan integrating academic and vocational education. The goal will be to advance the competencies of academic and…

Rural schools have often lacked sufficient resources to acquire training, consultant, and evaluative services. The expertise of faculty in university teacher and administrator training programs has been largely untapped. This is primarily because of a lack of programs linking rural schools with the university faculties that might provide needed…

This report reviews the collaborative and evaluative efforts of an Arkansas education renewal consortium comprised of two universities and nine school districts. The reform originated from a smaller project that aimed to establish a broad communication base and systematic planning for meeting student needs. The current project, begun in 1985-86,…