Enacting college and career readiness policy in secondary schools requires systemic involvement of all school professionals, but identifying the specific roles that should be played by teachers and counselors remains a challenge. The study reported in this article used qualitative interviews with counselors and teachers to describe this challenge…

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and, more recently, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 required all school districts participating in the federal Child Nutrition Programs (e.g., National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Afterschool Snack Program) to adopt and implement a local…

The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE), recognizing the need for safe and supportive schools, revised its policy regarding student conduct. The result, "Expected Behaviors in Safe and Supportive Schools" (WVBE Policy 4373, effective July 1, 2012), put forth the behaviors expected of West Virginia's students; the rights and…

This single case study examines how stakeholders of a local education agency (LEA) understand and implement state turnaround policy for its chronically underperforming schools. While there is ample research on how to improve chronically underperforming schools, a research gap exists specifically around addressing implementation of mandated…

Drawing on ESRC-funded research this paper considers some characteristics of the policy process in schools using the construction of behaviour policy in four English secondary schools as a case in point. It argues that behavior policy, like other policies, is enacted in particular and distinct institutional contexts with their own histories; that…

Background: This study is part of a larger community-based participatory research (CBPR) project to develop, implement, and evaluate the physical activity component of a school-based wellness policy. The policy intervention is being carried out by community stakeholders and academic researchers within the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention…

This qualitative evaluation focused on the problem of student attrition at a northern California college, its attendance policy, the policy's impact on previous students' decisions to persist in school, and on administrators' attempts to increase retention. The purpose for this study was to evaluate the participants' perceptions about their…

This research explores how organizations decide how to respond to the laws that affect them. It investigates how they convert abstract legal changes into concrete policy responses. Much of the legal impact literature focuses exclusively on either on legal institutions and social outcomes, or on the dynamics within organizations. This work…

In this qualitative case study, we investigate teachers' appropriation of language policy at one urban elementary school in Illinois. Recognizing classroom teachers' central role in the education of English learners, we probe teachers' policy appropriation, or how bilingual educators take state-, district-, and school-level policies and…

Illicit drug usage at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) is a topic of limited research. The research questions that guided this study were (a) What is the relationship between college policy on illicit drugs and students' frequency of drug usage after controlling for college location (urban or rural) and students' age,…

It is well known that chronic diseases are the most common, costly, and preventable of all health issues in the United States. Chronic diseases continue to be a major health concern. Of the top 10 leading causes of mortality, 7 are identified as chronic. More recently, the prevalence of these chronic conditions has increased among the adolescent…

This report by the Kentucky Department of Education states that "the school council shall have the responsibility to set school policy consistent with district board policy which shall provide an environment to enhance the students' achievement and help the school meet the goals established in KRS 158.645 and 158.6451." The report's 18…

In August 2011, the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) celebrated the accolade of university title, becoming Scotland's newest university. Modelled on a federal, collegiate university based on a number of existing and geographically dispersed Further Education (FE) colleges and research institutions, the UHI has clearly abandoned the…

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and pulmonary disorders. Smoke-free policies are the most effective way to prevent exposure to SHS. A 5-year community-based randomized control trial (RCT) is in progress to assess factors associated with smoke-free policy development in rural communities. Considering…

Social networking tools offer opportunities for innovative, participative pedagogical practice within traditional institutional frameworks. However, tensions continue to develop within this space: between creativity and security, personal and professional identity, privacy and openness. We argue that iSchools are uniquely positioned to create…