If schools are to succeed, children must be provided with more support than a school can accomplish alone (Barbour et al., 2001). The need to involve community in the educational process to offer services that make students successful and to have these services within the school building are all critical aspects of the community school model…

This article examines the nature of, and need for, evaluation of community-engaged university teaching and research. The research was conducted as part of a larger project aimed at improving institutional understanding of how to best support community-engaged university people. We interviewed 25 community-engaged colleagues, and used a general…

Based on increased demand for educational programming, leadership at Schmeeckle Reserve, a campus natural area in Stevens Point, WI explored the needs for expanded environmental education efforts. In 2014, a three-phased needs assessment framework was employed to explore educational programming offered in the community. Results from interviews and…

This article reports on the perceptions and experiences of general elementary educators as they engage in a school reform process that requires them to learn and implement an arts infused curriculum intended to raise student achievement on standardized tests in non-arts subjects. This qualitative study reveals not only how one arts-based school…

Universities and colleges have developed an over-reliance on adjunct faculty, and as a result, researchers have begun to study adjunct faculty satisfaction as it relates to their working conditions. Current research indicates that professional development is a source that can contribute to satisfaction at work (Hoyt, 2012). However, the research…

This study (n = 11) examined active community-school collaborative classes using sociocultural constructivist approaches over an academic year in an early childhood institute. A semi-formal interview was conducted to describing how the early childhood teachers and community members worked collaboratively to develop community engagement activities…

Family-school partnerships have a positive impact on both students and schools, yet they remain challenging to establish and maintain, particularly in the presence of parent-teacher conflict. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of parents, teachers, and students when parents and teachers disagreed about a student's…

Public engagement (PE) is habitually recognized and advocated across the higher education (HE) community--especially by regulator and funder constituencies--as an intrinsically good thing. In the UK, a number of initiatives focused on embedding a culture of PE within universities have sought to further this claim, yet have done so without…

The Skills for a Changing World project presents evidence of a movement of education systems globally toward a more explicit focus on a broad range of skills that our 21st century society needs and demands. This movement can be seen in the vision and mission statements of education systems as well as through their curricula. Although clearly…

When schools, families, and communities work together, student outcomes are better. This brief focuses on the ways family and community engagement can enhance schools' efforts to improve outcomes for ELLs and highlights specific strategies schools can use to more effectively engage families and communities.

This study explored the almost 20-year-old Community of Inquiry (CoI) social presence construct through faculty's perspectives and practices of their online teaching. Social presence has many CoI-identified characteristics, but overall it is the ability of a student to project their persona into the classroom. The preponderance of investigation…

Given the variety of learning and engagement needs of the increasingly diverse student population in higher education, flexible approaches to teaching are critical for improving student success. Professional development that provides faculty exposure to effective, evidence-based instructional strategies in an online context may enhance their…

In this study we extended Neumann's scholarly learning theory (2009)?and Hansen's theory on vocation (1994, 1995) to explore the scholarly learning of faculty members employed at institutional types not typically recognized for faculty work beyond teaching. Through interviews with 22 participants, we studied the content of and reasons for…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have become a popular reform initiative for schools looking to increase student achievement. School district officials can find it difficult to implement and sustain Professional Learning Communities as some teachers are not accustomed to the levels of collaboration with peers involved. If implemented and…

Communities, schools, their music programs, and the individuals who participate in these groups are tied to the social, cultural, and political contexts in which they reside. Schools are often connected to their communities, and are often deeply cherished in rural communities. School music programs hold the potential to influence a small…