A volume in Research and Theory in Educational Administration Series Editors: Wayne K. Hoy, The Ohio State University and Michael DiPaola, The College of William and Mary Studies in School Improvement is the eighth volume in a series on research and theory in school administration dedicated to advancing our understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. This selection of readings highlights a number of important factors in the stimulation and implementation of school improvement, including transformational leadership; change perspectives of teachers, principals, and the community; strategies for instructional change; learning environments and school culture; dropout prevention; professionalism; trust relations between the teachers and the board as well as trust between students and teachers; and admission decisions for educational leadership programs. In addition, a number of new, reliable and valid measures are developed and presented for the first time-instruments to assess: 1) change perspectives of the faculty, 2) professionalism of teachers, and 3) trust relations between students and teachers. These tools are valuable aids for both researchers and practitioners in their quest to understand and implement successful school improvement projects.

Science educators have come to recognize children's reasoning and problem solving skills as crucial ingredients of scientific literacy. As a consequence, there has been a concurrent, widespread emphasis on argumentation as a way of developing critical and creative minds. Argumentation has been of increasing interest in science education as a means of actively involving students in science and, thereby, as a means of promoting their learning, reasoning, and problem solving. Many approaches to teaching argumentation place primacy on teaching the structure of the argumentative genre prior to and at the beginning of participating in argumentation. Such an approach, however, is unlikely to succeed because to meaningfully learn the structure (grammar) of argumentation, one already needs to be competent in argumentation. This book offers a different approach to children's argumentation and reasoning based on dialogical relations, as the origin of internal dialogue (inner speech) and higher psychological functions. In this approach, argumentation first exists as dialogical relation, for participants who are in a dialogical relation with others, and who employ argumentation for the purpose of the dialogical relation. With the multimodality of dialogue, this approach expands argumentation into another level of physicality of thinking, reasoning, and problem solving in classrooms. By using empirical data from elementary classrooms, this book explains how argumentation emerges and develops in and from classroom interactions by focusing on thinking and reasoning through/in relations with others and the learning environment.

The scope of the book is an integrated discussion of several aspects of the internationalisation process in secondary education in Europe. The European and International Orientation (EIO) in education is dealt with from different national angles and theoretical visions, supported by recently conducted empirical studies in several countries. The book describes national policies concerning EIO, the way in which schools implement these policies and the success and difficulties of the activities that they undertake. A connection is made with ideas of citizenship in a European perspective and the question comes up for discussion if there can be spoken of common European values. Important issues are explored like the tension between national identity and European communality as well as the risk of EIO in increasing the gap between lower and higher educated students. The mission of the book is to not only provide background information to all who are interested in or involved in internationalisation of education, social integration and European citizenship, but to provide recommendations for future practice as well. A central focus in these recommendations is the 'Common Framework for Europe Competence' (CFEC), the first model that offers the possibility to structurally shape the knowledge and skills concerning the European and international developments in the school. Directions for future elaboration of this framework and its implementation in the teaching and learning process in schools are discussed.

In 2015-16, the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG), an affiliate of the American Educational Research Association, undertook a collaborative project-the development of a new middle grades education research agenda. The purpose of the MLER SIG Research Agenda (Mertens et al., 2016) was to develop a set of questions that would guide the direction of middle grades education research. Ideally, this Research Agenda would serve to prompt discourse and generate research projects that could contribute to the middle grades knowledge base. Members of the MLER SIG identified eight research areas: (a) young adolescent development, (b) cultural responsiveness, (c) special populations, (d) educator development, (e) curriculum, (f) social and emotional learning, (g) digital technologies, and (h) school structures. This volume contains the extensive literature reviews and subsequent research questions for each of the research topics.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Educational technologies are becoming more commonplace across the K-12 curriculum. In particular, the use of innovative digital technology is expanding the potential of arts education, presenting new opportunities-and challenges-to both curricular design and pedagogical practice. Revolutionizing Arts Education in K-12 Classrooms through Technological Integration brings together a variety of perspectives, research, and case studies that emphasize a pedagogical awareness of diverse learning styles, while highlighting issues of ethics and equality across the educational landscape. This timely publication is aimed at K-12 arts educators leading classrooms focusing on dance, drama, media, music, and the visual arts, as well as pre-service teachers, museum and gallery educators, policymakers, and designers of academic curricula.

One of the most important transformations in the world today is the adaptation to education and teaching methods that must be made to enhance the learning experience for Millennial and Generation Z students. The system in which the student is passive and the teacher is active is no longer the most effective form of education. Additionally, with the increased availability to information, knowledge transfer is no longer done solely by the teacher. Educators need to become moderators in order to promote effective teaching practices. Paradigm Shifts in 21st Century Teaching and Learning is an essential scholarly publication that examines new approaches to learning and their application in the teaching-learning process. Featuring a wide range of topics such as game-based learning, curriculum design, and sustainability, this book is ideal for teachers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, researchers, education professionals, administrators, academicians, educational policymakers, and students.

Finding out that your child is on the Autism Spectrum is just the beginning. The diagnosis will give you some information, but the choices parents make next can impact the journey that the child and the family must follow. This journey is likely one of great highs and some very challenging lows. Parenting the Autistic child is a unique parenting experience for many reasons. First, your child may have difficulty communicating their needs. Second, the systems and organizations your child will have to navigate are rarely designed with Autism in mind. As a parent, you will need to be engaged in learning about Autism every day. Certainly, this includes learning about your child, but you must be seeking external knowledge too. Autism Parents must actively gain knowledge about necessary therapies, developmental pediatricians, available resources, autism support services, the school systems, the legal systems, the criminal justice system and on and on. While the learning curve is step, the challenge is intensified because the parents of autistic children are often very isolated. How can they obtain the critical information needed for them to develop and protect their child? This book offers insight into the information parents will need to support their Autistic child from their first day of school until their last. Each chapter provide knowledge regarding a critical aspect of parenting including specific steps, potential challenges, research and antidotes about different aspects of the Autistic individual's academic experience. This book will fill the gap between autism peer reviewed literature and self-help parented advice books. The objective is to offer critical information that parents will need to develop their child and keep their child safe throughout their academic experiences. Each chapter will include research, antidotes, resources, and critical steps to help navigate the special needs academic environments autistic children will experience. The chapters will be presented in a reader friendly format to support diverse parent learning needs. The book is designed to empower parents and to help parents empower their autistic children.

Perception plays a key role in numerous aspects of life in contemporary society. By developing tools to effectively measure perception and spatial recognition, a range of relevant applications can be utilized. A Simplex Approach to Learning, Cognition, and Spatial Navigation: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an innovative source of scholarly material that presents a unique perspective on the convergence of game-based learning, empathy, cognition, and spatial understanding. Including a range of pertinent topics such as gender considerations, space representation, and user interfaces, this book is an ideal reference publication for academics, researchers, students, and educators interested in the role of spatial reference systems in education.

There is something absolutely magical about a child who is embarking on the amazing journey called kindergarten. They are so innocent, pure, and impressionable. They are at an incredible stage in their lives-so young, yet so very ready. This book was written as a gift to parents whose children are at this wonderful stage. My intention is to share with you every insight that I have gained as a mother and as a teacher. Whether this is your first child going into kindergarten or your last child-even if you've had a gap in time where you haven't been in a kindergarten classroom for a while-this book is for you. Enjoy

Comprehension Ninja Workbooks are ideal for supporting your child's learning at home. With bespoke non-fiction texts and hundreds of questions, they're packed full of comprehension practice with strong links to the National Curriculum. Created by teacher and bestselling author of Vocabulary Ninja, Comprehension Ninja and Write Like a Ninja Andrew Jennings (@VocabularyNinja), they're perfect for developing those all-important literacy skills at home and for boosting children's confidence in reading comprehension. Key features of Comprehension Ninja Workbook for Ages 9-10: - Covers popular National Curriculum topics currently taught at Key Stage 2, such as fair trade, the solar system and mental health - Features a variety of question types including true or false, fill the gap and multiple choice - Contains illustrations throughout and a fun ninja theme to engage children - Includes advice for parents and answers at the back of the book

An analogy is a comparison between two things. It points out the similarities between two things that might be different in all other respects. Analogies cause us to think analytically about forms, uses, structures, and relationships. First Time Analogies is the ideal launching pad to start nonreaders on the road to real thinking experiences with these pictorial and symbolic analogies that are both challenging and motivating. The book is divided into four sections that let you introduce analogies in a developmental way. The levels are: recognizing relationships; choosing one item to complete the analogy; given two items, choosing two other items that have the same relationships; and pairing up four items to complete two related pairs. Exercises are presented on worksheets that require circling the correct answer, as well as cutting out pictures and pasting them in the correct spaces. Attractive illustrations will draw students into the engaging exercises. Although they think they are just solving fun puzzles, they will be doing serious thinking and building a basis for future experiences in critical thinking. This is the first in a series of books that introduce analogies at varying difficulties and formats. The other books are Analogies for Beginners, Analogies for the 21st Century, Thinking Through Analogies, and Advancing Though Analogies. Grades K-2

This book can be used as a graduate school text for courses in school buildings and facilities. It is probably more suitable as a guide for practitioners especially school district superintendents in small to medium sized school districts. Such districts make up the majority of school districts in this country. Lunenburg and Ornstein (1996) reported that 38% of the 15,000+ school districts in America enroll fewer than 1,000 students; and another 37% enroll from 1,000 to 5,000 students. America is a country of relatively small school districts. The book opens with a brief overview of the history of twentieth century school buildings and moves from there into a brief discussion of the requirements of today's school buildings as integral parts of the communities they serve. Citizens need to understand problems and issues involving their school buildings. Understandings are reached through practice of positive relations between school and community. Good public relations facilitates mobilization of the public to assure that school buildings ultimately serve the publics' interests.

Advocates of religious schooling have frequently had to answer the charge that what they supported was un-American. In a book that is more than just a history, Jones tries to make sense of that charge by tracing the development of religious schooling over the last 125 years. He explores the rationale for religious schooling, not just on the part of those who choose it for their children, but also in terms of its impact on the community as a whole, and he considers the arguments of those who criticize such schools for undermining efforts to promote national unity. Near the end of the 19th century, publicly financed, publicly administered schooling emerged as the default educational arrangement for American children. But this supremacy has not gone unchallenged. The sectarian schools that, in fact, predate public education in America have survived, even thrived, over the past century. Multiple religious communities, including those that opposed sectarian schooling in earlier generations, have now embraced it for their children. The author charts the growth of this educational strategy--and the debate surrounding it--through the 20th century by focusing on the gradual embrace of sectarian schooling by different religious communities in America, particularly Catholics, Jews, and later, conservative Protestants (mainly in the form of homeschooling). He also considers Muslim schools, not currently a force in private schooling or the subject of much debate, but perhaps next in line to make their case for a place in America's educational landscape.

Coverage of heritage and archeology in formal education is typically limited. These subjects are typically taught through specific and anecdotal activities that do not respond to a specific methodological foundation. School-museum relationships offer numerous benefits for design participation experiences with long-term perspectives in conducting systematic activities. The collaboration between the museum and school should be considered a maxim for the development of teaching-learning processes of history based on the students' investigation of their own reality and the immediate context of a lived culture using the archaeological heritage. School-Museum Relationships and Teaching Social Sciences in Formal Education paves the way for collaboration between museums and schools as a rule of conduct for the development of teaching and learning processes for the social sciences. This book focuses, from within the field of formal education, on the spaces in which learning takes place (school and archeological museums) to establish proposals for improvement in the teaching and learning of history, taking heritage education as a point of reference and heritage as a teaching resource. Covering topics such as interactive collaborative models, teaching and learning improvement, and the school-museum educational projects, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for museum educators, directors, educators and administrators of both K-12 and higher education, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, government officials, librarians, researchers, and academicians.