Every year in the United States, millions of students graduate with some type of postsecondary credential--certificate, associate, or bachelor's degree--and discover they are not, or are identified as not being, adequately prepared to compete in the increasingly global economy. A recent McKinsey & Company study, Education to Employment,…

Out-of-school time (OST) settings are powerful contexts for youth development when programs and services are intentionally designed. "Youth Development Principles and Practices in Out-of-School Time Settings" increases the capacity of students and professionals to facilitate youths' optimal transition to adulthood through maximizing the…

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) presents, alongside the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy at Penn State University, these proceedings from the research strand at the 22nd National Conference on Family Literacy. Through these sessions, NCFL's conference continues to provide the latest research in family education…

Ethical perspectives are needed to gain insight into the history of leader behavior, especially as related to the current emphasis on contingency and Path-Goal Theories. An instrument to help select professionals who reflect ethical traits is the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire with 12 leadership subscales (LBDQ, Form XII). Selected…

"Education for a Digital World" contains a collection of strategies and tools for effective online teaching, based on the principles of learning as a social process. Narrative is supplemented by real-life examples, case studies, and resources to supply comprehensive perspectives about structuring and fostering socially engaging learning…

This collection of essays offers many ideas, observations, and descriptions of the state of Indiana to stimulate the study of Indiana's geography. The 25 essays in the collection are as follows: (1) "The Changing Geographic Personality of Indiana" (William A. Dando); (2) "The Ice Age Legacy" (Susan M. Berta); (3) "The…

The emerging field of advanced distance education delivers academic courses across time and distance, allowing educators and students to participate in a convenient learning method. "Methods and Applications for Advancing Distance Education Technologies: International Issues and Solutions" demonstrates communication technologies, intelligent…

The 22 papers of this monograph review academic advising from the perspective of three types of campus activities: administrative support services, academic advising services, and student support services. The papers include: (1) "Obtaining Presidential Support for Advising" (Robert E. Glennen); (2) "Faculty Affairs" (David H. Goldenberg and Steve…

Twenty-three brief chapters provide administrators a comprehensive guide to school counseling that describes practices, problems, and processes for which school counselors' expertise may be relied on. Chapters are: (1) "Comprehensive School Counseling Programs" (Z. VanZandt, K. H. Burke, M. J. DeRespino); (2) "The Elementary School Counseling…

In today's standards-focused environment, a real key to student achievement is often overlooked: teachers' personal qualities. In this collection, respected educators give their views on what it takes to be an outstanding teacher. The essays speak on a personal level, providing novice and experienced teachers with guidance about what it takes to…

Special education is now an established part of public education in the United States--by law and by custom. However, it is still widely misunderstood and continues to be dogged by controversies related to such things as categorization, grouping, assessment, placement, funding, instruction, and a variety of legal issues. The purpose of this…

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

Two papers in this report document that as the percentage of African American students and students of color has risen in the Milwaukee Public Schools, funding per pupil has plummeted compared to funding in predominantly white suburban districts. It underscores that school funding reform is not only an educational necessity, but also a matter of…

This collection of community mathematics modules, or "math trail", is appropriate for middle grades and high school students (grades 5-12). Collectively, the modules pay attention to all 10 of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards which include five content standards (Number and Operations, Algebra, Geometry,…

This handbook on conducting research was written for school social workers and contains these articles: (1) "The School Social Work Practitioner and Research: An Overview" (Elizabeth Timberlake and Lewis Carr); (2) "Defining Empirically Based Practice" (Deborah Siegel); (3) "Future Research in School Social Work Services: An Update" (Christine…