Fabulous Fashions is a program established in 2000 for fifth through eighth graders attending high-need school, M.S. 127, in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Within the program, fashion design is offered three times a week; students who enroll are required to attend all three sessions. Students may participate in as many seasons of fashion as…

This paper reports on the design of an on-line simulation that enhanced preservice teacher practicum experience in the important area of literacy teaching. Research with more than 200 users of the simulation showed that it developed pre-service teacher understanding of complex classroom situations associated with the teaching of literacy by giving…

Helping students to become active and engaged learners at an early age is key to their success throughout their school years not only to raise test scores but to raise student achievement in a more meaningful way. If school staff work together, making maximum use of the knowledge base about teaching and learning, they will help students become…

This paper draws on a recent and unique longitudinal study of Gypsy Traveller students in fifteen local education authorities in England. Gypsy Traveller students are less likely to complete secondary education than any other minority ethnic group and it is estimated that up to 12 000 young Travellers in England are not registered at any secondary…

This quantitative case study explores how race, family background, attitudes, and behaviors are related to achievement disparities among middle school and high school students in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The purpose is to inform the search for ways of raising achievement and reducing disparities. The focal measure of achievement in this study is the…

Teachers at universities are facing an increasing disparity in students' prior IT knowledge and, at the same time, experience a growing disengagement of the students with regard to involvement in study activities. As computer science teachers in a joint programme in computer science and business administration, we made a number of similar…

Research suggests positive interaction between students and teachers is a hallmark of a safe and effective school. Yet to date there is no literature presenting findings or case examples of what constitutes positive engagement or how to measure its frequency. This paper shares observations of a "model" rural middle school in an attempt…

Introduction: The paper describes an interim model for understanding the influences on information use in relation to plagiarism, with a focus on secondary school students. Available literature mostly focuses on the tertiary level and on quantifying the extent of plagiarism, with limited availability of theory or empirical research focussing on…

This report uses a unique set of data obtained from the Kids Integrated Data System (KIDS), which is housed at the University of Pennsylvania's Cartographic Modeling Laboratory. The KIDS system merges individual-level data on young people from the School District of Philadelphia and the city's social service agencies, including the Department of…

Youth programs that meet during the out-of-school hours, particularly those offered by organizations that have historically collaborated with their community members to support their interests and meet their needs, are in a unique position. These programs have the potential for and a history of engaging young people in experiences that can…

Commissioned by the College Board's National Task Force on Minority High Achievement, this report documents recent national progress in advancing the achievements of elementary-aged minority children, the potential for replicable whole-school reform designs to contribute to this advancement, and the individual, classroom, and school…

Increasingly, professional university programmes seek to develop graduates' generic skills and capabilities and their capacity to transfer skills to new situations. Professionally-oriented study should demonstrate not only academic rigour, but also genuine relevance and value to the profession. In disciplines such as science and engineering this…

The "Robot Roadshow Program" is designed to increase the interest of elementary school children in technical disciplines, specifically math and science. The program focuses on children from schools categorized as rural or underserved, which often have limited access to advanced technical resources. We developed the program using robots…

This paper uses a game-theoretic model to analyze the disincentive effects of low-tuition policies on student effort. The model of parent and student responses to tuition subsidies is then calibrated using information from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort: 1980-92. I find that although…

This PowerPoint report summarizes AISD student demographic and performance results at middle schools as of the end of the 2007-2008 school year.