This book explores how teachers can re-examine their emotional investments in enacting dominant settler values through changing their text selection and teaching practices. Based on a longitudinal qualitative research study conducted by a national team of literacy scholars in collaboration with practicing literacy teachers at eight sites across Canada, the book investigates how groups of teachers, working collaboratively in inquiry groups, develop and implement curriculum to promote their own and their students’ understandings of social justice in postcolonial and settler spaces. In particular, the book highlights the rich and dynamic landscape of postcolonial authors, illustrators and texts, the development of culturally- sensitive curricula, and critical pedagogies possible in addressing contemporary and historical issues, both local and global. This book is primarily of interest to literacy scholars, literacy instructors (teacher educators) in teacher education programs, educational leaders, practicing teachers from the K-12 spectrum, and school district staff and policy makers with responsibilities for or interests in the potential of literacy and literature engagement for social justice education. The book is also be of interest to postsecondary educators and teacher educators wishing to use literature in social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive courses.

As a result of the industrialization, urbanization, and population increase during the last two centuries, the global landscape has been irreversibly damaged. These anthropological pressures have create endless problems on the global level, and individuals and organizations are beginning to realize their own ever-increasing responsibility to consider the welfare and interests of all stakeholders as a whole. Although the improvements in the legal framework at the national and international level can be viewed as an important step to protect society and the natural environment, a legal course provides a reactive mode of control rather than a proactive approach. Considering its proactive approach and voluntarily basis, the concept of social responsibility can provide a significant tool of generating a sustainable future. During such a paradigm shift, Contemporary Issues in Corporate Social Responsibility presents the significant roles that universities must embrace in order to take charge of the future. In parallel to those movements, many institutions include a course on social responsibility, yet the studies on the education of social responsibility in the literature show that there is no commonly accepted teaching methods and guiding curriculum of CSR. This book was designed based on the outcomes of an Erasmus Intensive Project (IP) which was organized in Yasar University during June 2012 with the contribution of 9 European universities. Based on the interactive feedback of participants during the project, this book sheds light on the ongoing discussion of corporate social responsibility from a European perspective.

New literacies, globally popular among children and adolescents in and out of school contexts, are challenging educators and institutions to rethink pedagogies. As educators begin to embrace the pedagogical possibilities of multimodal texts and digital practices, they are exploring the complexities of assessing these new literacies. The essays in this book explore what it means to assess the sophisticated textual engagements of new literacies, including reading and writing online, social networking, gaming, multimodal composing, and creating virtual identities. Chapters offer practical examples of new literacies, and examine how assessment provides insight into the diverse ways in which language is conceived, valued, and used to inform the literate lives of its twenty-first century users. Scholars and educators will find this collection full of rich understanding of the assessment concerns raised by new communication practices, youth culture, digital engagements, and semiotic diversification.

"Very thoughtful and practical, providing well-grounded strategies for effective implementation of community participation."
Gini Doolittle, Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Leadership, Rowan University, New Jersey

Burke and Picus make a case for improved learning through school-community partnerships. Drawing from their twenty years of experience working with parents, community volunteers, teachers, and school site administrators, the authors present a concise, easy-to-understand approach to building and working with these powerful alliances.

Developing Community-Empowered Schools is structured to give the reader a clear overview of the necessary components and strategies to understand and develop these critical partnerships. Highlights include:

• Defining community-empowered schools
• Assessing your school?s strengths and weaknesses
• Identifying stakeholders and their roles
• Establishing policies and procedures that support school and community partnerships
• Empowering and training staff for effective school and community partnerships
• Recruiting and training volunteers
• Creating a family literacy program
• Building community collaborations for added resources
• Viewing schools as economic solutions to communities
• Examining the future of community-empowered schools

Handy overheads, training worksheets, sample memos from teachers to students? families, and enough material for a one-day teacher-training workshop make this a practical, accessible, and valuable resource. In addition, in-depth information is provided on how to seek funding to sustain a school-based community program. Developing Community-Empowered Schools is an all-in-one guide and an essential desk-top reference for bringing all stakeholders together to create optimal learning environments.

As a result of the industrialization, urbanization, and population increase during the last two centuries, the global landscape has been irreversibly damaged. These anthropological pressures have create endless problems on the global level, and individuals and organizations are beginning to realize their own ever-increasing responsibility to consider the welfare and interests of all stakeholders as a whole. Although the improvements in the legal framework at the national and international level can be viewed as an important step to protect society and the natural environment, a legal course provides a reactive mode of control rather than a proactive approach. Considering its proactive approach and voluntarily basis, the concept of social responsibility can provide a significant tool of generating a sustainable future. During such a paradigm shift, Contemporary Issues in Corporate Social Responsibility presents the significant roles that universities must embrace in order to take charge of the future. In parallel to those movements, many institutions include a course on social responsibility, yet the studies on the education of social responsibility in the literature show that there is no commonly accepted teaching methods and guiding curriculum of CSR. This book was designed based on the outcomes of an Erasmus Intensive Project (IP) which was organized in Yasar University during June 2012 with the contribution of 9 European universities. Based on the interactive feedback of participants during the project, this book sheds light on the ongoing discussion of corporate social responsibility from a European perspective.

As children's digital lives become more relevant to schools and educators, the question of play and learning is being revisited in new and interesting ways. Children's Virtual Play Worlds: Culture, Learning, and Participation provides a more reasoned account of children's play engagements in virtual worlds through a number of scholarly perspectives, exploring key concerns and issues which have come to the forefront. The global nature of the research in this edited volume embraces many different areas of study from school based research, sociology, cultural studies, psychology, to contract law showing how children's play and learning in virtual spaces has great potential and possibilities.

This book feasibly translates validated research and best practices in assessment so that the reader can incorporate the best practices of assessment into practical routines in schools and the classroom. Readers of this book will strengthen their knowledge and skills in selecting, designing, and using assessments that enable all learners to actively participate and monitor their own progress towards learning objectives. This book is intended to be a hands-on guide for educators and students on the best and most effective practices for supporting students in their role as self-assessors. It develops sequentially from ensuring that students are assessment ready, to engaging students in assessment, and ultimately empowering students as assessors. Readers can also rely on the book to help them improve specific aspects of self-assessment that are most important in their setting and for their students.

This book feasibly translates validated research and best practices in assessment so that the reader can incorporate the best practices of assessment into practical routines in schools and the classroom. Readers of this book will strengthen their knowledge and skills in selecting, designing, and using assessments that enable all learners to actively participate and monitor their own progress towards learning objectives. This book is intended to be a hands-on guide for educators and students on the best and most effective practices for supporting students in their role as self-assessors. It develops sequentially from ensuring that students are assessment ready, to engaging students in assessment, and ultimately empowering students as assessors. Readers can also rely on the book to help them improve specific aspects of self-assessment that are most important in their setting and for their students.

As children's digital lives become more relevant to schools and educators, the question of play and learning is being revisited in new and interesting ways. Children's Virtual Play Worlds: Culture, Learning, and Participation provides a more reasoned account of children's play engagements in virtual worlds through a number of scholarly perspectives, exploring key concerns and issues which have come to the forefront. The global nature of the research in this edited volume embraces many different areas of study from school based research, sociology, cultural studies, psychology, to contract law showing how children's play and learning in virtual spaces has great potential and possibilities.

"I have reviewed and indeed written books on grantwriting and this is by far the most comprehensive and clear guide to grantwriting ever. The clarity of direction, including sample pages and charts, makes this a winner from beginning to end."
Lee Mahon, Ed.D, Professor/Mentor Doctoral Studies
The Fielding Graduate Institute
Santa Barbara, CA

Effective strategies for writing program grants?for beginners and experienced practitioners alike!

Despite an increase in efforts to promote equity and social justice in educational settings, researchers have found that teachers at the elementary, middle school, and secondary school levels are both reluctant and unaware of how to present social justice issues in the classroom. Inspired by these findings, a team of literacy scholars gathered qualitative research from eight schools across Canada to reveal what challenges literacy teachers face when incorporating social justice in their curricula. Rich in examples of contemporary Canadian social justice authors, illustrators, and texts, Challenging Stories equips teachers and teacher candidates with strategies for text selection, literacy development, and effective social justice teaching methods. With a foreword by Joyce Bainbridge, this collection is an essential read for students in teacher education programs.

When the Brown family adopted a kitten to keep out uninvited guests like mice and rats, they had no idea how many adventures that Old Black Cat would get herself and her family into. From camping in the foothills of the Himalayas, to holding up a train in the busy city of Lahore, OBC and her family find themselves in many hilarious and tricky situations. These delightful, true tales follow their travels through Pakistan as they learn to trust God more with every adventure.

On a balmy evening in late summer, a thickly wooded area near the shore of Lake Geneva is filling up with men. By the time the moon is high, the woods rustle with the quiet movements of some nine hundred, all armed. Pastor Arnaud addresses the blended group of Waldensian and Huguenot volunteers. If anyone is afraid of the rack and the gallows, he tells them, they should turn back. If they wish to go on, they should sweat to fight faithfully to the death... Arnaud and the nine-hundred kneel and pray at the lake's edge. A low voice and the sound of water lapping fill the night. There are muted amen's, a shuffle, footsteps, and the swish of fifteen little boats pushing off from land. In To the Last Drop of Our Blood, Ann Burke sketches excerpts from the story of the Waldenses, a religious minority who for generations lived under the looming shadow of the religion in power. This re-telling may very well bring to mind a number of questions. - Where freedom of faith is concerned, does it matter how right the majority is? - How important is a minority? - Is it better, as someone has said, for one man to die than for a whole nation to perish? The answers we give will largely determine our future.

Technology has changed the way we live and interact with each other. In our modern world, schools need to establish learning environments that engage students and build on digital student experiences outside of school. Although education leaders do not have to be digital experts, they need to recognize the importance of supporting learning communities that embrace technological innovation. Principals have an important role in creating an effective school technology plan that supports teachers as they explore the potential of the digital world. The Digital Principal shows educational leaders how to apply their leadership skills to the challenge of creating and supporting a learning environment rich in technology and opportunities for students and teachers to work, teach, and learn in the digital age. From basics of digital literacy and digital citizenship, to connecting to the digital community and accessing digital and virtual worlds, this book establishes a framework for integrating technology into instruction and learning. It includes technology standards specific to educational administrators, a survey testing a school's TQ (Technology Quotient, or its readiness to embrace both the digital principle and the digital principal), tips for grant writing to improve a school's resources, and ways to support teachers in becoming facilitators to students' learning with technology. This timely book describes effective ways to provide visionary leadership in the digital age.

This book addresses the six steps used by nation-wide schools and specifically by the Compton Unified School District to overcome low-performance. Countless examples on how multi-stressed, low-performing schools can overcome obstacles to respond to the unique learning needs of students and adults are provided in each of the six steps. The purpose of the key results accountability process is to establish and document successful reform practices that address the multiple challenges for low-performing schools. The reform process intends to effectively implement appropriate action plans that reach and surpasses a school's required growth results.

"Here is a book that challenges educators to put aside outmoded images of what is unlikely to push education far or fast enough to make a difference. Underlying each chapter is the belief and the 'how to' that allows for the development of a community culture that matches the changing condition of a changing society and student success."
Lee Mahon, Professor/Mentor, Doctoral Studies
The Fielding Institute, Santa Barbara, CA

Special features of this definitive book include

• Invaluable work sheets and sample plans for easy self-evaluation and implementation
• Specific "Survival Strategies" that have been successfully utilized in urban schools
• Tips for cultivating and maximizing community relationships to obtain resources
• Straightforward assessment methods to authentically measure change
• Real-life examples of principal and teacher practices that have worked

"I have reviewed and indeed written books on grantwriting and this is by far the most comprehensive and clear guide to grantwriting ever. The clarity of direction, including sample pages and charts, makes this a winner from beginning to end."
Lee Mahon, Ed.D, Professor/Mentor Doctoral Studies
The Fielding Graduate Institute
Santa Barbara, CA

Effective strategies for writing program grants?for beginners and experienced practitioners alike!

"Very thoughtful and practical, providing well-grounded strategies for effective implementation of community participation."
Gini Doolittle, Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Leadership, Rowan University, New Jersey

Burke and Picus make a case for improved learning through school-community partnerships. Drawing from their twenty years of experience working with parents, community volunteers, teachers, and school site administrators, the authors present a concise, easy-to-understand approach to building and working with these powerful alliances.

Developing Community-Empowered Schools is structured to give the reader a clear overview of the necessary components and strategies to understand and develop these critical partnerships. Highlights include:

• Defining community-empowered schools
• Assessing your school?s strengths and weaknesses
• Identifying stakeholders and their roles
• Establishing policies and procedures that support school and community partnerships
• Empowering and training staff for effective school and community partnerships
• Recruiting and training volunteers
• Creating a family literacy program
• Building community collaborations for added resources
• Viewing schools as economic solutions to communities
• Examining the future of community-empowered schools

Handy overheads, training worksheets, sample memos from teachers to students? families, and enough material for a one-day teacher-training workshop make this a practical, accessible, and valuable resource. In addition, in-depth information is provided on how to seek funding to sustain a school-based community program. Developing Community-Empowered Schools is an all-in-one guide and an essential desk-top reference for bringing all stakeholders together to create optimal learning environments.

This collection of reminiscences and acompanying photographs records the development of Hatfield New Town during the 1950s and '60s, the 'pioneering years'. The stories are told in the contributors' own words, which have been tape-recorded and transcribed. The contributors include people who came to Hatfield as adults and helped to found the town as well as those who knew the area as children and have grown up there. All aspects of daily life are recorded here. The book starts with memories of the first houses and the self-build scheme; there are then chapterson work (notably at de Havilland's), schooldays, home life, leisure and much more. It is sure to appeal to all those who know Hatfield and remember the early days and also to newer arrivals who are interested in the area's past. This intriguing record of Hatfield's development has been compiled by members of the Boomtime Group from material originally gathered as part of the celebrations for the fiftieh anniversary of Hatfield acquiring New Town status.

Our youngest learners thrive when their learning environment is one that celebrates curiosity, exploration, and imagination. This comprehensive resource sets the stage for play-based learning that will help children build a strong literacy foundation, as well as negotiate the choices they make in real life. Get your students off on the right foot with literacy learning that appeals and engages.