A focus on faculty professional learning, given the challenges that California community colleges and students face, must remain a high priority and continue to evolve. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long been an advocate for the development of robust professional development policies as part of senate purview…

There is a growing recognition in teacher education that in order to work toward a more equitable and just society, programs of teacher education must explicitly engage with the political commitments of teachers and teacher educators (Cochran-Smith, 2005). They must prepare prospective teachers to address "societal structures that perpetuate…

It is time for reform advocates to expand their emphasis on improving instruction and school management to include a comprehensive component for addressing barriers to learning. In doing so, they must pursue this third component with the same level of priority they devote to the other two. That is, such an enabling (or learner support) component…

Education research is plagued by skeptics who doubt its quality and relevance. Inhabitants of schools of education have been among the sharpest critics, and internal battles rage over method and rigor. Yet often lacking is research that explains causes or examines the interplay at the heart of educational practice and policy. This article argues…

It is widely recognized today that a teacher's surrounding professional community inevitably affects the kind of teaching that students are offered. However, until recently, it has been difficult to quantify and systematically study the nature of professional relationships in schools and districts. The articles in this special issue provide a…

Sebastian Thrun gave up tenure at Stanford University after 160,000 students signed up for his free online version of the course "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence." The experience completely changed his perspective on education, he said, so he ditched teaching at Stanford and launched the private Web site Udacity, which offers…

The author writes that for too many low-income students the open door to American higher education has become a revolving door. In examining what can be done, he recognizes the centrality of the classroom to student success.

The implications for teachers in California of the bilingual education movement are discussed. Cooperative efforts involving school districts, professional organizations, and universities are advocated to continue the expansion of bilingual education for limited English speaking students. (FG)

Written by California teachers and administrators involved in distributive and office education at the secondary and community college levels, these 24 articles present information on new methods of instruction and uses of technology occurring in the business world and in education. Topics covered include Centers for Business Teacher Education,…

This testimony discusses the future of higher education funding in California, focusing on the need to move from a system of "free" state higher education to one in which individuals receive the degree of financial aid that they need. It argues that tuition at state universities should be raised to help provide more financial aid to…

In a series of reforms started in 1998 and formalized with the 2000 introduction of the Blueprint for Student Success, the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) implemented a wide-ranging series of reforms designed to boost the literacy skills of students. This article provides an overview of the reforms, assesses the contributions made by the…

Second language learners continue to languish in California public schools in spite of six years of promises following passage of the controversial ballot initiative "English for the Children" (Proposition 227) to fix the education of English Language Learners (ELLs) through English-only instruction. In addition, with the development of…

Problems and potentials of planning in the University of California system are discussed, focusing on the changing context of planning, basic features of the planning system used, and the role of consultation with relevant interests, which is a key element in bridging gaps of opinion but also causes bottlenecks. (Author/MSE)

This article presents an interview with Judith Warren Little, the Carol Liu Professor of Education Policy at the Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley. She is a sociologist whose research and teaching interests focus on the organizational and policy contexts of teaching and teacher learning. She concentrates especially…

Three papers are included herein: (1) Pernicious Politicization in Academe (Luann Wright); (2) Victims of the One-Sided Campus (Mike Ratliff); and (3) Advocacy in the College Classroom (Anne D. Neal). Each paper was delivered on April 22, 2006 at a California Association of Scholars conference at the Annenberg School on the campus of the…