Professional learning is necessary for a school or district to achieve its goals. It's logical, then, that professional development plans should not exist separately from school improvement plans. To be comprehensive, professional development plans must be integrated with improvement plans to produce a systematic effort that is results-driven,…

The School Leadership Study was designed to contribute important data on how high quality pre- and in-service programs are structured, how they implement the effective strategies noted in the research literature, and the impact of program graduates in the schools they lead. The study examines whether program components triangulate with graduate…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Leadership Curriculum Modules support leadership preparation redesign efforts in many universities and school districts across the country. The school practices and change processes necessary to improve the school as a system and its curriculum and instruction are the topics that drive this curriculum.…

In 2003, with funding from The Wallace Foundation, a national team of researchers organized by Stanford University and The Finance Project set out to find and examine a set of exemplary pre- and in-service professional development programs for principals, along with the policy contexts in which they operate. The purpose of the study was to…

A Doctor of Arts in Teaching degree is proposed to provide teachers with opportunities to become leaders in the conception, design, and evaluation of "state-of-the-art" curriculum and instruction. Graduates of the proposed program will learn how to address the needs of diverse students through action research; become adept at using…

This paper documents a small group discussion about the preparation of teachers for urban students with disabilities. The paper reviews data on the incidence of limited English speaking students in urban areas, changes in the racial composition of urban schools, and the increasing incidence of low-income families. Other issues in urban education…

Social studies is a unique subject because it has the potential to bring about significant social change. Social studies educators can serve as change agents because they are in a position to design the nature of the social studies taught in the schools. A case study of the historical context through which social studies evolved in the United…

FIFTY-THREE REPRESENTATIVES OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND AGENCIES FROM 19 STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND CANADA ATTENDED A CONFERENCE, WHICH WAS THE SECOND PHASE OF A MULTI-PHASE PROJECT TO IDENTIFY STATE LEADERSHIP NEEDS AND DEVELOP LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS. THE PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE WAS TO CONCEPTUALIZE THE EMERGING ROLE OF THE…

Learning and Action through Social Education and Reading (LASER) is a program for urban community-school leadership and curriculum development. It seeks to break down the walls between schools and the communities they are intended to serve. It consists of seven interrelated components: Community-School Relations, Educational Leadership…

Racism is still the central problem in Mississippi. The White community resists participation by African Americans in every aspect of political, economic, educational, and cultural life. Education is the key to breaking the system, and it is no secret that the state's school boards, legislators, and corporations want to keep Black children and…

The Southern Regional Education Board has embarked on a yearlong study of educational leadership in light of states' new accountability systems and standards. The effort aims to answer questions raised by this changing leadership role: What do we want school leaders to know and be able to do to improve student achievement? How can these qualities…

This report describes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's, Alliance Organizing Project (AOP), which organized parents and families of Philadelphia's public school students to become full partners in Philadelphia school reform. It is one of five case studies in the Indicators Project on Education Organizing, which identified eight indicators of the impact…

This paper offers the perspective of one chair of a large English department in a medium-sized regional comprehensive institution on the practicalities of implementing departmental assessment and program change. The discussion focuses on the complex ways in which institutional engagement, state politics, and demographic change interact, and it…

In the spirit of educational reform efforts, this paper describes a supervisory training program at Indiana University East. The program, based on the development of reflective skills, is designed to assist classroom teachers who become supervisors for early education field students and student teachers. In order to develop the skills of a good…

This paper recommends that institutions of higher education (IHE) departments of educational administration collaborate with state education agencies (SEA) to plan educational reform. The states' increasing investment in public education merits IHE participation in the statewide educational planning process. Specifically, the paper suggests SEA's…