Locus of control (LOC) is a dimensional construct representing the degree to which individuals perceive reinforcing events in their lives to be the result of their own actions (an "internal" LOC) or fate (an "external" LOC). LOC is meaningfully related to several variables associated with academic achievement. Specifically, high scoring students…

In this article, "standards blending"--the integration of core academic and school counseling standards--is demonstrated as a culturally responsive strategy to assist in closing the achievement gap for a group of third-grade African American males. The small-group intervention described resulted in knowledge gains in both the school counseling and…

This brief describes the findings of a study that tested preschoolers' executive function skills after participating in a program designed to enhance them vs. a standard curriculum. A total of 147 5-year-olds in their second year of preschool from a lower-income, urban school district participated in this study. The preschoolers were in 18…

In the Horne v Flores Supreme Court decision of June 25, 2009, the Court wrote that one basis for finding Arizona in compliance with federal law regarding the education of its English learners was that the state had adopted a "significantly more effective" than bilingual education instructional model for EL students --Structured…

The title of this article comes from the editorial written for this journal by Olive Banks, Len Barton, Roger Dale, David Hargreaves, Roland Meighan, Ivan Reid and Graham Vulliamy (Banks et al. 1980, 4) that appeared in its first issue, and set out its remit. The seven scholars who wrote that editorial pledged to "publish high quality work of…

The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) was used over a three-year period to investigate the curriculum of state schools and academies. The resulting data has shown that spectacular apparent school improvement, in terms of five or more A*-C GCSE /GNVQ passes has been largely brought about by the substitution of mainstream curriculum subjects by much…

This study examined the longitudinal effects of 2 first-grade universal preventive interventions on academic outcomes (e.g., achievement, special education service use, graduation, postsecondary education) through age 19 in a sample of 678 urban, primarily African American children. The classroom-centered intervention combined the Good Behavior…

This 5-year prospective longitudinal study of 70,000+ English children examined the association between psychometric intelligence at age 11 years and educational achievement in national examinations in 25 academic subjects at age 16. The correlation between a latent intelligence trait (Spearman's "g"from CAT2E) and a latent trait of…

Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) "High Schools That Work" ("HSTW") initiative works with more than 1,100 schools in 30 states and the District of Columbia to improve school and classroom practices and prepare more students for success in postsecondary studies, advanced training and careers. Forty-nine Arkansas…

Teachers who work together to blend academic and career/technical (CT) instruction have found a key to motivating students to complete high school and prepare for college, advanced training and careers. This newsletter highlights key strategies schools are using to join academic and technical studies to advance student motivation and achievement.…

The lack of academic and thinking culture is getting more worried and becomes a major challenge to our academia society this 21st century. Few directions that move academia from "cogito ergo sum" to "consumo ergo sum" are actually leading us to "the end of academia". Those directions are: (1) the death of dialectic;…

Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca focus on the importance of improving college access and readiness for low-income and minority students in urban high schools. They stress the aspirations-attainment gap: although the college aspirations of all U.S. high school students, regardless of race, ethnicity, and family income, have…

A discussion of the academic counselor's role from the point of view that a balance of objectives, with a meaningful integration of communicable knowledge, with the felt need of the learner, is a desirable goal. (Author/HB)

Discusses concerns that American education is faced with many important challenges such as literacy, safety, discipline, and standards. Points out that family involvement is a critical link to student performance. Introduces the Read*Write*Now! and the America Goes Back to School programs which promote intergenerational and community…

How do out-of-school-time (OST) programs get from attendance to active engagement? School researchers propose that engagement is composed of three "ABC" components, affect, behavior, and cognition, which can also be applied to OST programs. Affective engagement refers to positive and negative reactions to teachers, classmates, the academic…