In this article, the authors propose a department-level curricular committee structure, called Strand Committees, as a mechanism to facilitate oversight and enact significant change to policies and practices in specific courses. The primary goal of the Strand Committees is improving both student success and instruction while upholding a high…

This article draws together Narrative Positioning Analysis and a Bourdieuian perspective to investigate the relationship between the position of the chair, their disposition towards reforms, and the impact on departmental learning. Our analysis indicates two major conclusions. First, there is a disconnect between chairs' leadership dispositions…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, signaled a major shift in the roles of states and districts in supporting school improvement. Under ESSA, state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) have more responsibility and flexibility in developing and implementing plans, informed by local context, to support the…

This study sought to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of state designed Race to the Top (RttT) funded reform networks. Drawing on a conceptual framework developed from the networked governance literature, we analyzed the 12 state RttT grantees' applications. Our analysis revealed that states designed…

This paper follows Kennesaw State's University's (KSU) faculty journey in developing a new integrated core curriculum for their Management majors that will empower the students and meet the needs of today's employers. Curriculums must change to stay current. Depending on the amount of change, this can be a huge undertaking for a department…

How can States address the continual and extraordinary challenge of sustaining and adapting the reforms they have implemented to improve student outcomes? What steps can States take to do so in the face of inevitably evolving conditions--such as a change in resources (for example, the end of a grant), leadership (a transition in personnel or…

This article analyzes efforts at Emory University to understand international presences, focusing especially on Spanish-speaking communities and neighborhoods in Atlanta and Georgia, and to integrate these into the life of the university through engaged learning courses. Using a fresh look at the concepts of global citizenship and cosmopolitanism…

This guide describes emerging social media practices among State education agencies and other governmental organizations and suggests key steps and considerations for those interested in using social media to advance education reform.

This article discusses a dilemma that confronts reformers who seek to improve the education system yet operate from a position outside that system. On one hand, "external" reformers have found that the implementation of school-level programs is attenuated by a lack of coherence and support in schools' environment. Districts and states…

I examine the state policy context of implementing an initiative that transforms the training and role of today's school counselors. This is essentially a story of political process. Like the implementation of many initiatives, the Transforming School Counselor Initiative (TSCI) is a process of gaining support and then institutionalizing a…

Georgia's Latino student population has risen from less than 2,000 in 1976 to more than 28,000 in 1996. In 1995-96, Latinos were less likely than their peers to finish school, more likely to struggle in the classroom, and less likely to have instructors from their ethnic background. The current Georgia Department of Education, characterized by…

Reviews precedents, at the state level, to the movement for education reform. Reports, by year and state, on first reactions to reform. Outlines topics touched by state reform efforts, summarizes unifying themes, and predicts the future of reform. Includes a table of states requiring testing for initial certification of teachers. (IW)