This "First Look" presents findings from the Human Resources (HR) Component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter 2009-10 data collection. The HR component consists of the following three sections: Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) and Fall Staff (S) for fall 2009 and Salaries (SA) for academic year…

Drinking, smoking, and health risk behaviors are significant problems for Thai adolescents. However, little is known about the association and magnitude among alcohol, tobacco, or co-using and health risk behaviors. Data of the National School Survey of 2007 were analyzed. The sample consisted of 50,033 high school and vocational college students.…

Higher education campus leaders face a complex state of affairs regarding the documentation of evidence of student learning. There is no shortage of technical guidance for conducting assessment (e.g. Allen, 2006; Bresciani, 2007; Bresciani, Zelna, & Anderson, 2004; Lui, 2011; Maki, 2010; Suskie, 2009; Walvrood & Anderson, 2010), and a…

This report examines provisional admission as an initiative that can expand four-year college access and success for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Provisional admission policies and programs enable students to enroll at an institution under specific conditions. Students are often required to meet certain academic…

We propose Social Learning Theory as a theoretical foundation for understanding the ethical standards of future business leaders. Using data drawn from students from 115 four-year undergraduate institutions in 36 different countries, the relationships among role models, capitalism, and laws were examined. The data suggest that future business…

We provide an overview of research in sustainability education. We argue that the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability programs at K-12 schools is one metric by which sustainability education can be conceptualized. We present a new measure of whole-school sustainability, or "interconnectedness," and then use it to compare…

This report presents descriptive findings on school practices in 12 states for schools explicitly held accountable for the performance of the students with disabilities (SWD) subgroup. The study found that, when surveyed in 2011, elementary schools accountable for the SWD subgroup were 15.8 percentage-points more likely than never-accountable…

During the last decade, education research and policy have generated considerable momentum behind efforts to remake teacher evaluation systems and place an effective teacher in every classroom. But schools are not simply collections of individual teachers; they are also organizations, with structures, practices, and norms that may impede or…

The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) engaged a group of 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in a study of institutional effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to: (1) identify the issues related to capacity and institutional practice that contribute to overall campus effectiveness; and (2) to understand what, and how,…

The national imperative to improve postsecondary degree completion has led to various innovations within colleges and universities to improve student retention and academic success, particularly of non-traditional learners. One innovation that has been in use since the 1970s, but is often under-promoted and under-utilized within institutions, is…

The purpose of this study was to determine how elementary school administrators in a large U.S. state perceived the overall effects of testing on education in general and, more specifically, on their instructional leadership responsibilities. We surveyed 325 Florida principals and assistant principals, many of whom viewed the testing program…

This article examines the convergence of two popular school improvement policies: instructional coaching and data-driven decision making (DDDM). Drawing on a mixed methods study of a statewide reading coach program in Florida middle schools, the article examines how coaches support DDDM and how this support relates to student and teacher outcomes.…

This article explores the characteristics, destinations and progression routes of early school leavers--specifically "exceptional entry winter leavers"--in Scotland. Exceptional entry allows students to enter college in the term before their statutory school leaving date--such young people attend college while formally remaining the…

Since the mid-1990s, teacher professional community has achieved increasing influence as a strategy for facilitating productive change in schools. This study investigates the impact of principal quality and leadership on the development of teacher professional community in Hong Kong primary schools. More specifically, we examine the means by which…

This study uses an innovative methodology and six waves of "Schools and Staffing Survey" data spanning two decades (1988-2008) to assess the potential of midcareer entrants--teachers who enter the profession from careers outside of education--to diversify teaching, staff public schools, and fill vacancies in high-need subjects. We find…