Knowledge, Policy and Practice in Teacher Education reviews the evolution of education policy on initial teacher education as an indicator of the knowledge that is considered important for nation building. It also looks at research on approaches and structures to initial teacher learning as an indication of the intellectual and moral direction to which schooling must aspire. Contributors look at these dynamics across a range of societies including Australia, the Czech Republic, England, Finland, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, and the USA. Using a review of the literature approach within a comparative framework, the book seeks to answer the following questions for each country: What has been the evolution of different approaches to learning to teach in each setting, and what factors have influenced change over the years? What are the underlying theories that characterize past and current thinking about the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed by teachers and what evidence is used to support these theories? What does a review on the state of the knowledge about teacher education over the past 30 years reveal about the evolution of the research and knowledge traditions that have supported current and past innovations in teacher education? Maria Teresa Tatto and Ian Menter explore international variability in different conceptions of knowledge in the context of learning to teach and explore the way in which national and international influences interact in the developing trajectories of teacher education policy and practice, considering what knowledge is considered important for teachers to have.

The demanding workload and fast pace of college often overwhelm students. Without access to the right resources, many of the three million U.S. college students with disabilities fail or drop out--at a much higher rate than their peers. This guide helps students, parents, counselors and psychologists find the appropriate resources and accommodations to help students with disabilities successfully transition to college. The author explains Americans with Diabilities Act laws for higher education and outlines the steps for requesting and implementing college staff, classroom and testing accommodations. Student testimonies are included, advising on which assistive technologies and resources have worked to achieve academic success.

With an increase in global competition among universities and national higher education systems, educational programmes desire to offer compatible content without losing their competitive advantage. Because of this balance, the issue of convergence, along with its benefits and limits, has emerged. Trends in European Higher Education Convergence aims to identify the indicators that meet the consensus of the academic community and higher education management experts. Analysing the recognised trends within the publication and concluding which measures should be taken to improve convergence pace and avoid potential pitfalls; this reference book is a useful resource for academics and students, as well as specialists, policy makers, and professionals connected with the educational sector.

As authors, we are convinced that the time has finally arrived in academe for an extensive, experience?based, firsthand, seamless examination of what we are calling crossover pedagogy. There is no book?length examination of facultystudent affairs administrators collaboration in the academic realm anywhere. Nobody has yet to produce a case?based, hands?on, book?length treatment of how (and why) faculty and student affairs administrators can co?teach, co?author, and co?consult with one another as co?equal educators and campus leaders-with each group complementing the other in terms of their special skills, knowledge, background, and experiences. Without coming to practical terms with the case for collaboration that the above authors make, the why rationale developed in these publications on the topic of faculty?administrator collaboration (sometimes referred to as "blended" efforts) around the teaching?learning venture is lost in the logistics of technical policy issues and challenges.

Social media and digital tools permeate the everyday lives of young people. In the early stages of commentary about the impact of the digital age on civic life, debates revolved around whether the Internet enhanced or discouraged civic and political action. Since then we have seen new media move to center stage in politics and activism--from the 2008 US election to the 2011 Arab Spring to the Occupy movement. We have also seen new patterns in how different sub-groups make use of digital media. These developments have pushed people to move beyond questions about whether new media are good or bad for civic life, to ask instead: how, under what conditions, and for whom, do new digital tools become resources for political critique and action by the young? This book will provide a platform for a new wave of scholarship about young people's political participation in the digital age. We define "youth" or "young people" as roughly between the ages of 12 and 25. We include perspectives from political science, education, cultural studies, learning sciences, and youth development. We draw on the framework developed by the MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (Cohen, Kahne, Bowyer, Middaugh, & Rogowski, 2012), which defines participatory politics as, "interactive, peer-based acts through which individuals and groups seek to exert both voice and influence on issues of public concern."

This book invites readers to explore how fourteen different experts in their respective fields create deeper meaning in their profession and work with students through thinking, in multiple ways, about the self who teaches, the self who learns, and the ways in which these selves interact within the academy. Essays in this book explore the "inside" of academia through three themes: Pursuing Authenticity, Creating Creative Community, and Humanizing Education. Contributors reflect on their own lived experiences in the academy and on pedagogies that they have created for their students. Embodied education, the theoretical framework of this book, draws on ideas of educators Parker Palmer from the West and Dr. Chinmay Pandya from the East, emerging through contributors' collaborative work. In embodied education, teachers and learners share experiences that lead to self-understanding and together find ways to humanize spaces in academia.

The work of school leaders is critical in this era, and there is heightened attention on the roles of the leaders as linked to student achievement and school improvement; school culture and climate; and the variables that impact achievement, improvement, culture and climate. The demands on school leaders have significantly changed. About a decade ago, the Southern Educational Regional Board suggested that school leaders impact as much as twenty percent of the achievement in schools. A few years later, the potential impact of school leaders increased to twenty-five percent. Throughout the chapters, the reoccurring concepts regarding the work of leaders are discussed. The need for leaders to move student learning and to respond to changes in education and challenges are contributing factors to the development of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL). In chapter 1 and in other chapters throughout the book; the links and importance between educational leadership and student learning are made. The standards provide a framework of the knowledge and skills needed for school leaders to be prepared for the challenges.

Higher education institutions play a vital role in their surrounding communities. Besides providing a space for enhanced learning opportunities, universities can utilize their resources for social and economic interests. The Handbook of Research on Science Education and University Outreach as a Tool for Regional Development is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on the expanded role of universities for community engagement initiatives. Providing in-depth coverage across a range of topics, such as resource sharing, educational administration, and technological applications, this handbook is ideally designed for educators, graduate students, professionals, academics, and practitioners interested in the active involvement of education institutions in community outreach.

Generation Z views participatory technological interfaces as an integral part of their lives. Every experience in which they engage, particularly schooling, is viewed and experienced through that highly technological lens. At no other time in higher education has the nature of teaching and learning experiences been so defined by the technological interactivity of its student population. Thus, higher education needs to change to meet the needs of the incoming groups of students and expand upon ways in which they learn, communicate, and experience information. Preparing the Higher Education Space for Gen Z is an essential scholarly publication that delves into the specific challenges, issues, strategies, and solutions that are associated with using participatory social media, virtual communication, and other Web 2.0 innovations in higher education, and its particular implications for Generation Z. Including topics such as digital participation, learning environments, and mobile technologies, this book is ideally designed for higher education faculty, administrators, counselors, professionals, students, researchers, and academicians.