The 1983 publication of "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform" (National Commission of Excellence in Education) "initiated the longest sustained period of attention to public education in the nation's history and ignited a new wave of interest in teacher preparation" (NRC, Committee on the Study of…

Considering how long societies have been educating their youth, the history of teacher education is relatively brief. From the first teacher education innovation in the 17th century through those of the late 20th century--de la Salle, the American normal school, the flood of student teachers into public schools after World War II, the student…

The purpose of this article is to share the history of one Professional Development School (PDS) partnership in an effort to help others reflect, set visions, and move forward into a new educational future. The emergence, development, and continuation of this partnership was dependent upon finding ways to create a growth-oriented environment,…

For a quarter century, Kansas State University's College of Education has supported a Professional Development School (PDS) model involving professional collaboration with selected public school systems across Kansas. In that time, this relationship has proved to be an instrumental vehicle for educational change. The state of Kansas'…

Over the past several years, public higher education, both in the U.S. and internationally, has increasingly been required to explain, defend, and validate its performance and value to a wide variety of constituents, including governors, legislators, students, parents, employers, and taxpayers. In addition, in 2006, then U.S. Secretary of…

The author believes that a unified theory might provide ideas helpful for improving research; professional training and practice; and therefore, student achievement. Little attention was paid to how several variables might work together and there is little discussion regarding how they might work together. The author stresses that there are…

In March 2007, Florida Atlantic University hosted a joint NCATE/Florida Department of Education site visit. This successful site visit and following Unit Accreditation Board report resulted in full NCATE accreditation with only one weakness cited. The weakness related to the implementation of the College's assessment system at the Advanced Levels.…

Across the nation, a surprising number of both critics and advocates of urban schools demonstrate a naivete about the limits and possibilities of funding in relationship to the academic success of urban students. On one hand, critics often argue, without solid evidence or informed analysis, that urban school districts have sufficient funds to…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how a valid and reliable state accountability system could be developed that identifies effective schools and school districts in a comprehensive, understandable, and practical way. The author presents an overview of the strategy used in the analysis, discusses the use of education production functions…

How do district policies, leadership, and support services influence the quality of teaching and learning in public schools? This article uses a rich longitudinal school-level database to estimate a model of student achievement and analyzes the residuals in the model to obtain estimates of the contributions of unobserved school and school district…

The author develops a model for adult cognitive development useful for providers of lifelong education. The model is based on a framework relating the receiving of information to gaining knowledge, leading to wisdom. (CH)

The author reviews the literature on sex equity, especially as it pertains to education. She demonstrates that a nonracist approach to sex equity has emerged, but is not yet in universal use. (CH)

Contends that competition is, by definition, inherently good. The concern should be with the term "conflict," meaning conflict-based athletic interaction. Offers a model that attempts to reveal the dichotomous relationship between coaching and teaching in the competitive mode and the conflict-based athletic interactive mode. (Author/JOW)

Describes the Social Styles Model, a business management development model that has been adapted for use in education. It offers alternatives for improving interpersonal relationships through knowing and understanding the impact of behavior on an individual. (JOW)