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This study aims to generate a conceptual framework for specialized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) schools. To do so, we focused on literature and found specialized STEM schools have existed for over 100 years and recently expanded nationwide. The current perception for these schools can be described as unique environments including advanced curriculum, expert teachers, and opportunities for internships and immersion. Researchers have categorized these schools with three types: (a) selective STEM schools, (b) inclusive STEM schools, and (c) schools with STEM-focused career and technical education (CTE). Finding from the studies exploring college and career readiness of students attending these schools revealed students from specialized STEM schools are performing slightly better on high-stake mathematics and science tests in comparison with students in traditional schools. Studies also showed students from specialized STEM schools are more interested in STEM, more willing to attend classes, more likely to pass state tests, and more likely to earn college degrees. After synthesizing the literature, we created a conceptual framework of effective learning environments for specialized STEM schools using an ecology metaphor. This framework included actors (students, teachers, community leaders, and role models), contextual factors (learning environments, curriculum, instructional strategies, advanced coursework, and technology use), and actions (teaching, learning, immersion, communication, partnering, mentoring, support, and assessment).

Liberalism is one of the main western doctrines which have originated from the ideologies of ancient Greece. The concept of humanism has been under the influence of liberal ideas in different political, social, economic and especially educational field. Since the educational field concerned with liberal ideologies, the study of different factors affecting liberal humanism helps distinguishing the concepts explained by each approaches and their similarities and differences. In this qualitative research, it has been endeavored to determine each of these aspects and factors and their effect on various contemporary educational approaches. The results indicate that some of the main factors of liberal humanism have not been considered and in the cases that they have been considered, the understandings of common subjects are different. Each of these approaches tends to study and define the aspects and principles from a certain point of view.

Efforts are been made by Universities in developing countries to ensure that it's graduate are not left behind in the competitive global information society; thus have adopted international computing curricular for their computing degree programs. However, adopting these international curricula seem to be very challenging for developing countries having in mind that they were developed for developed rather than developing countries realities. In this paper, we use Heeks (2002) design-reality gap as an evaluative space for an international computing curricula assessment. We employed the OPTIMISM concepts of the design reality gap framework to focus on the match or mismatch of implementing such curricula in a developing country setting. We based our evaluation on the design and implementation of an international (British) computing degree programs in a private university in Nigeria. Our analysis shows that significant progress has been made, but that important gaps between design and reality exist, hence, challenges persist. The study concludes with some recommendations for policy makers advancing an agenda for "ICTs for Development" in the education sector.

This paper proposed a method for developing capacity for lifelong learning in open spaces, defined here as places without predefined learning structures or objectives, through the cultivation of aesthetic literacy. This discussion will be situated within fieldwork performed by the authors in Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia, in 2013. Based on the researchers' experience in the field of teacher education and workshops they have conducted on mobile learning, the empirical context for this discussion focuses on data generated from the research methods of participatory observation (ethnography), autoethnography, reflective concept analysis and artistic subjectivity. These methods and the data generated as a result collect to produce insight into how aesthetic literacy sits within the cross-section of open space, mobile learning, and lifelong learning, Aesthetic literacy, appropriated and broadened from its original focus as capacity for "reading" or making meaning from artistic material (discussed in Gale, 2005 as the "living of lyrical moments"), is positioned in this paper as a means of making meaning in open spaces through alignment and attunement. This paper presents pragmatic methods for pedagogically cultivating learning in open spaces through a focus on aesthetic literacy. The pedagogical advantages of such an approach and its applicability to lifelong learning, particularly lifelong learning activated through mobile technology (or mobile lifelong learning-mLLL), follows along with recommendations for further research. The applicability of such research is for teachers, learners, or researchers who are looking for methods for making use of open spaces for learning, or to cultivate learners who actively seek learning in the "rhythms of the everyday" (Lankshear & Knobel, 2011). The aim of the article is to produce fresh insights into the academic discussion about the nature of open space, mobile learning and lifelong learning as seem from the point of view of aesthetic literacy, insights we believe have distinct pedagogical advantages for mLLL.

In light of the enormous changes unfolding in the higher education landscape, we don't have to look too far to recognize evidence of the transformation and redefinition of the construct of both teaching and learning in the information age. With a growing focus on teaching and learning at all levels of post-secondary institutions, innovation is reflective in the introduction of new learning spaces, state-of-the-art technology-enhanced education, and prominence given to discussions about adapting teaching and learning to the twenty-first century. Likewise, in this article we examine the reflections, ideas, conversations and exchanges inspired by the cohort's plenary planning discussions and the current birth of innovation in reshaping Canadian higher education.

Despite receiving growing international recognition and regard, the scholarship of engagement remains undervalued internally at academic institutions, especially in relation to career development and academic promotion. This form of scholarship presents difficulties relating to evaluation, assessment, and evidencing that are not generally present in the traditional scholarships of learning and teaching, research, and governance and service. Thus, scholarly engagement work is often not valued or rewarded by promotional bodies, and a gap is appearing between the career development opportunities, promotion, and probation outcomes of engaged scholars and those who focus on more traditionally recognized scholarly outcomes. To combat this, the University of Wollongong has undertaken a project that aims to embed the scholarship of engagement as a scholarly "method of doing." This approach involves applying new and reformulated promotions guidelines to traditional scholarships in a way intended to remove barriers to promotion for "engaged scholars."

In the United States, bilingual education continues to provoke fierce debate. It seems that nearly everyone--from educators to policymakers to parents with school-age children to those without children--has a strong opinion on whether children with little fluency in English should be taught academic content in their home language as they learn English. This article provides an overview of the history of bilingual education in America's educational landscape, discusses political support for and challenges to bilingual education, and reviews research that states that instruction in a student's home language can improve achievement in English (or whatever the national language may be). It is time to move the discussion away from bilingual education and focus instead on bilingualism and its benefits for all of our children and the adults they will become.

Don't be fooled by Elise Huneke-Stone's disarming beginning where she implies that grace and courtesy is not normally associated with the elementary. She goes on to elaborate that grace and courtesy is indeed everywhere: in project-based learning, understanding of moral precepts, social and intellectual independence, in the utilization of empathy, used in the unfolding of the reasoning mind and imagination, and in matters of justice and fairness. Integral to the gregariousness and the rules of group work, the elementary child needs grace and courtesy to manage their strong social orientation as children of the second plane. [This talk was presented at the NAMTA conference titled "Grace, Courtesy,and Civility Across the Planes," Portland, OR, March 13-16, 2014.]

Reality television shows featuring teen pregnancy may be used as media literacy education tools to positively affect youth sexual health outcomes. Concerns, however, exist that such programming may glamorize teen pregnancy. The present study examined how viewing and discussing episodes of MTV's "16 and Pregnant", a reality television series about teen pregnancy, may impact adolescents at high risk for teen pregnancy (N =162; M=13.5 years). Adolescents indicated that they enjoyed viewing and discussing the episodes and saw the program as realistic but did not perceive the lives of the characters as desirable. Many also reported that they talked with someone afterward about what they had seen. Findings provide preliminary evidence that reality television shows focused on the potential outcomes of sexual behavior may be a useful way to engage adolescents in conversations about sexual health.

This work is a comparative study of JSCE results between the 6-3-3-4 system (2006 & 2008) and the 9-3-4 (UBE) system (2009 & 2011) in Port Harcourt using a comparative/evaluative survey design. A cluster sampling technique was used to compose a sample of 2,487 drawn from the population of 17,139 candidates in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011 in government owned secondary schools in Port Harcourt LGA. Five research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. The grades of the students were obtained from, the Rivers State ministry of education using a data collection form designed by the researchers. The grades were converted to raw scores and then to T-scores. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation hypotheses were tested at 0.05 Alpha level. The results showed that: there was a significant difference between the JSCE results of Mathematics and integrated science in the two systems of education. The results implied that educational systems significantly influence student's performances in the Junior Secondary Certificate Examination.

This paper is concerned with the methods and techniques used in adult education in order to allow the educator to successfully respond to suitable learning experiences on the part of the learner as well as to reinforce interaction between the learners. The strategies adopted, teaching aids and the choice of suitable teaching material also is discussed in order to achieve a successful outcome in the learning process. The goal of the educator is not only to transfer knowledge but also to urge the learner to search for knowledge himself. A further goal of the educator is to encourage the learner and facilitate the learning procedure. In addition the general framework for the first meeting of adult learners in lifelong learning is mentioned. Also the obstacles an adult is confronted with on beginning a lifelong learning program are explained, focusing on mental, financial and social obstacles which make the learning procedure difficult owing to a lack of self-esteem.

Transnational education (TNE) is becoming a phenomenon in the world of education in many countries. Morocco is included. The flourishing and spreading of many foreign educational institutions, products, and activities is becoming noticeable. As an Islamic nation, Morocco has long maintained its business and educational ties with different foreign nations. It has also maintained its traditional means of education alongside the adapted European style of education which spread all over the country following its independence. Given that reality, this paper will seek answers to the following concerns: --To what extent does transnational education have an impact on local and national culture, identity and gender issues? -- Are there inherent tensions between the external providers and the local cultural setting, and the conservative and liberal political parties? -- What would be the future of TNE and educational design in Morocco? In addition to the above concerns, the issue of external vs. local educational products is an extremely complex issue that is worth investigating.

Educational challenge and issue in modern world has been of the ideologist's interest for educational implications to find inner talents and abilities and his knowledge of human existence to educate health characteristic of teachers. This article is to investigate educational aspects and reasons of ontology philosophy by Sabzevari, Iranian thinker "Hadi Sabzavari" with descriptive approach and methodology in a cross-sectional study, to define education and the bases of ontology principles and educational methods. The results show that there is integrity between education systems with three features: Relative recall, consideration of source and Resurrection and due to the existence of philosophical pragmatism, existence authenticity, unity, self-doubt, a combination of education methods, to present a task as deduced. Also curriculum extracted from the philosophical thoughts of Sabzevari has provided suitable conditions for self-education, moral, emotional and spiritual education for the learners.

This paper compared technical/vocational education in: Germany, Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Nigeria, and found that technical/vocational education was given proper attention in countries considered except Nigeria, where it was handled with laissez faire attitude. Set-Up of Technical/Vocational Schooling, Curriculum, Mode of Training and Conduct of Final Examination, Financing and Motivating Factor was the basis for comparison, and Nigeria lagged behind in these. Amongst the lessons for Nigeria's technical/vocational education sector are that her technical/vocational education sector be dual, while students should be appropriately motivated. Schools should collaborate with registered organizations (work-integrated learning) to train the students. The paper recommended that there should be national conference strictly on the status of technical/vocational education in Nigeria, so that necessary solutions could be proffered to the problems facing this part of the education sector. Finally, manufacturing organizations, etc. should be involved in the drafting of curriculum of the technical/vocational education in the country, while taking into consideration peculiarities of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.

Consider the oyster. Like all good metaphors, it has done some morphing since the days of Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor." Newer bands of shell material have repainted the mollusk metaphor, transforming it from ostracism, opportunism, and exploitation to openness, opportunity and exploration, and thus an apt symbol for the intercultural experience. Indeed, Robinson's (1988) definition of culture as "a system of symbols and meanings" seems to evoke the very image of the oyster's constant production of shell layers: "past experience influences meaning, which in turn affects future experience, which in turn affects subsequent meaning, and so on" (p. 11). Metaphors are powerful in the economy of their complex bundling of experience. Lakoff (1993) contends that as mappings across conceptual domains metaphors help us grasp abstract concepts [such as culture] in more concrete terms. Using the metaphor "The world is your oyster," Vicki Galloway guides readers back through time as they consider how education has mapped culture, and perceived culture teaching in order to look ahead to the construction of new cultural metaphors from the intercultural construct of Sustainable Development. She supports the idea that imagining and experimenting with new ways to address the challenges of sustainable development through intercultural growth is part of the excitement and energy of language teaching in our era as educators guide our future global citizens to think in links, think in context, think in time, think in people, think in consequences and think in responsibility. Galloway concludes the article by disagreeing with Walker's (2012) tragic interpretation of the oyster metaphor. She writes that educators are not at all "trapped inside a shell, unable to break out, forced to live with it's finite and declining resources powerless to make the best use of the treasures that lie within." Galloway proposes a call to action as educators make the world their own oyster, and make it one that creates the intercultured pearl.

The Almajiri falls among the category of extremely poor children in Nigeria. These children constitute about seven and half million street-begging, maladjusted, aggressive and out of schools. The menace of the Almajiri has recently attracted the of attention of federal and state Governments which led to the establishment of special schools geared towards providing these children with knowledge and skills that will enable live meaningful life and contribute to national development. Therefore, this present study examines the challenges' of infusing Almajiri educational system into Universal Basic educational programme in Sokoto State Nigeria. The target population of the study comprised of all the teachers in all the Almajiri Model schools in sokoto. The sample involved sixty (60) teachers who were randomly selected from different Almajiri Model schools. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researcher. Data were analysed with frequency count and percentages. The results of the findings revealed that the programme is being adversely affected by some problems such as insufficient funding, inadequate infrastructural facilities, poor planning and supervision and poor public enlightenment programme. The study also made recommendation for solving these challenges.

The paradigm of adapting school to the learning necessities and possibilities of the student, characteristic for future systems of education and for contemporary type of educational system network requires a diversity of learning situations and experiences, built in accordance with the possibilities and the needs of all student categories, in order to respond to the principles of: "inclusive education", "education for all" and "integrated education". Starting from the premise that school environment increases learning efficiency for students, our paper tries to identify the deficiencies, i.e. the critical aspects of the learning environment, as a basis for adopting optimization measures. A lower degree of satisfaction was manifested in the following aspects: the potential of the didactic activities in stimulating the motivational needs of the student for learning; the communication and the relations between the students and the teachers; contribution of educational space with adequate materials and equipment.

The outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are driving the field to address how secondary education might be optimally designed and delivered. We conducted 28 focus groups across four states to explore the contexts, considerations, and complexities associated with delivering and combining evidence-based interventions to meet the needs of adolescents with ASD from the vantage point of 152 practitioners, parents, and other key stakeholders. Participants emphasized the inadequacy of prevailing intervention approaches in secondary schools, underscored the importance of attending to feasibility and alignment with the diverse needs of students with ASD, and stressed the need for broader awareness and training efforts surrounding autism. We offer recommendations for designing comprehensive interventions and incorporating stakeholder feedback into such undertakings. [This article was published in "Exceptional Children" (EJ1055318).]

The most important factor that enables women to become individuals in society is education. It is also a very crucial part of rectifying the circumstances they are in. Besides formal, mass and distance education institutions, there are some other mechanisms to support women's individuality, their personal development and improve gender equality. Basically, these social mechanisms can be governmental, academic and union based or they can be non-governmental organizations. All these organizations offer women significant contributions in many aspects including awareness, use and protection of women rights. They also have important roles in informing women of decisions that are made against or in favor of them, letting them have a say in these decisions, fighting against violence, becoming strong individuals that have equal rights with men and having no difficulty in using these rights and lastly in education of women on these subjects. However, women need to know these mechanisms well and be aware of the laws and regulations in order to benefit from these mechanisms and use the opportunities that are legally granted for them. The aim of this study is first to detect whether women are aware of women's governmental and non-governmental organizations and laws, and if not, to determine the mode of delivery and educational media that they prefer and the amount of time they would allocate. To fulfill this aim, 600 women who are 18 or above and living in Eskisehir were randomly picked as the sample. They were given a 34-item questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. It was found that majority of the sample were not aware of the mechanisms and laws about women and they wish to receive education on these subjects. And they think that distance education is the best form to receive this education. At the end of the study, it was concluded that women should be informed about the future studies that will be carried out by related institutions and organizations, and furthermore, projects should be prepared and distance education programs should be designed.

Higher education, and more specifically, distance education, is in the midst of a rapidly changing environment. Higher education institutions increasingly rely on the harvesting and analyses of student data to inform key strategic decisions across a wide range of issues, including marketing, enrolment, curriculum development, the appointment of staff, and student assessment. In the light of persistent concerns regarding student success and retention in distance education contexts, the harvesting and analysis of student data in particular in the emerging field of learning analytics holds much promise. As such the notion of educational triage needs to be interrogated. Educational triage is defined as balancing between the futility or impact of the intervention juxtaposed with the number of students requiring care, the scope of care required, and the resources available for care/interventions. The central question posed by this article is "how do we make moral decisions when resources are (increasingly) limited?" An attempt is made to address this by discussing the use of data to support decisions regarding student support and examining the concept of educational triage. Despite the increase in examples of institutions implementing a triage based approach to student support, there is a serious lack of supporting conceptual and theoretical development, and, more importantly, to consideration of the moral cost of triage in educational settings. This article provides a conceptual framework to realise the potential of educational triage to responsibly and ethically respond to legitimate concerns about the "revolving door" in distance and online learning and the sustainability of higher education, without compromising "openness." The conceptual framework does not attempt to provide a detailed map, but rather a compass consisting of principles to consider in using learning analytics to classify students according to their perceived risk of failing and the potential of additional support to alleviate this risk.

Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook remain prolific on college campuses across the country and touches on various aspects of collegiate life, including the classroom. This case study examines student usage of Facebook, its potential impact on faculty interaction, and institutional policy. After providing a literature review and context for the case study, the case study delineates a situation where the integration of an SNS can complicate the pedagogical environment when used as a communication median for not only administrators and faculty, but various stakeholders in higher education. How would an institution handle such complications, such as student appeals in cases where a faculty member integrated a non-university supported SNS as a pedagogical tool in the classroom? Although a large number of college students are using Facebook, it remains a social, not academic, median, enabling them to communicate with friends, relatives and other students. SNSs like Facebook show no indication of lower popularity. Given the dynamics, faculty may be tempted to meet students on their turf to facilitate engagement, but at what costs and liability?

In the United States, progressive education programs have historically failed to take hold among low-income families, even when that population has been their initial focus. Instead, these programs tend to become popular among middle-class or affluent families. Some research suggests that working-class/poor families' expectations of education may be incompatible with progressive principles, at least in the United States. The Reggio Emilia early childhood programs in Italy, based in part on Deweyan progressive principles, successfully serve families across all income levels, but in the United States, most Reggio-inspired schools serve affluent populations. The author interviewed predominantly Hispanic parents and teachers in a Reggio Emilia-inspired Head Start program regarding families' understanding of the program's curriculum and pedagogy and their engagement with the program. Although a majority of parents interviewed did not articulate a full understanding of the program's approach, and some felt that elements of it were not congruent with their expectations of preschool, interviewees had positive impressions of family/teacher relationships and reported positive family engagement in children's education.

Substance use and abuse are problematic in the lives of adolescents, including interpersonal problems and scholastic problems. Risk for substance use has commonly been assessed at the individual level. This paper examines risk of adolescent substance abuse as a variable impacted by environmental or contextual factors surrounding the individual. Social disorganization theory is described and then adolescent substance use is considered in light of assumptions of that theory. Finally, implications for educators are developed.

In this paper I argue that education must be defined by our willingness to experience compassion in the face of others' suffering and thus by an ethical imperative, and seek to expose psycho-social processes of shame as dark matters that inferiorize and subjugate those expressing such compassion for the more-than-human world. Beginning with stories from my own life, I examine works of fiction including J. M Coetzee's "The Lives of Animals" (1999) and Wendell Berry's "Jayber Crow" (2000), as well as Berry's reflection on his family's legacy of racism in "The Hidden Wound" (2010), to explore the deep cultural wound caused by human supremacy. I further argue the need for claiming deep love and thus heartbreak in the face of suffering as the foundations for a pedagogy of responsibility.

In cultures of excess, the challenge is to see. In a time of climate change, how will humans find the questions, the reflections, the poems, or the prayers that will bring ecological justice and peace? This writing begins a response to the call made on the last day of our gathering at Loon Lake for a "commonist manifesto" around environmental education. In responding to this, and to the journal's theme of "Dark Matters," the goal of this writing is to shine a plain light on the counter-narratives, the smaller, ground-level stories, that informally shape narratives around human ecology. Here, the tools of storytelling, narrative, counter narrative, and poetry pose an inquiry into our earth-centred educational encounters. Such stories are rooted in gardens, forests, neighbourhoods, and classrooms in East Vancouver and in the Okanagan of British Columbia. The stories include questions for discussion that invite the development of "commonist" guiding principles among readers and researchers. This writing seeks common ground among teaching, learning, nature, humans, and all entities too often artificially divided. This paper is also a call to observation where the imagination becomes the starting point for healing and awareness as we enter an era of climate change, and a time of new human evolution. In a world of excess, in words and deeds, this writing is to a call to less, with story, with poetry--with less.

The inclusion of students with autism and other special needs into the general education curriculum continues to be a challenging process for school communities in the United States of America (US) and, increasingly, abroad. Although inclusion continues to be a challenging process for those involved, the global demand is growing. Traditionally, this initiative has originated from advocates such as parents and communities who represent the students. With enough pressure from constituents of the system, those efforts may be converted into policy through the local education department. The US has led the inclusion movement and many other developed nations have followed suit in recent decades. Consequently, more and more schools are focused on building inclusive school communities. These programs see the value of a balanced approach that emphasizes curriculum coupled with pedagogy. This paper provides an overview of the history of the inclusion movement in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. Three main types of school systems in the region are explained, and one successful inclusive school model will be described with outcome data included. Multiple factors that affect the development of the inclusion movement will also be discussed.

Teacher education nowadays needs a change in vision and action to cater to the demands of changing societies. Reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education are an immediate need. Online training of teachers using OER has emerged as a new approach in this direction. This approach is based on the assumption that online training will facilitate mass training of teachers as per their convenience and ease and will be helpful in filling the huge gap in demand for skilled teachers. The other assumption is that being OER-based training, it will be easy to adapt it to different cultures and languages. Considering these assumptions, the present paper discusses about on-going initiatives of online training of teachers in different parts of the world; focuses on promises of using OER to make online training of teachers more relevant and up-to-date; and suggests potential strategies for effectively using OER for initial training and continuing professional learning of teachers in online settings.

Socio-techno-cultural reality, in the current historical era, evolves at a faster rate than do human brain or human institutions. This reality creates a "complexity gap" that reduces human and institutional capacities to adapt to the challenges of late modernity. New insights from the neurosciences may help to reduce the complexity gap. This paper argues that an extension of the period of human nurturance is one element that may serve to reduce the complexity gap. The argument herein is a synthesis of a variety of literatures that serve to support the notion of rethinking how long humans must be nurtured and educated.

Problem Statement: Turkey's passive and task-oriented approach to citizenship education, which has endured since the Ottoman Empire period, has begun to change into more active and democratic citizenship education since Turkey joined the European Union. Identifying the practical problems as well as describing the challenges when practicing the Social Studies curriculum will contribute to citizenship education and its development, both in Turkey and in similar countries. Purpose of Study: The purpose of the present study is to explore the active and democratic citizenship education procedures in Social Studies course in Turkey and to determine the challenges encountered in active citizenship education. Methodology: The study was conducted using a holistic, multiple-case study design. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and documents. In this study, extreme or deviant case sampling was used. The study was conducted in two schools: a state school with a low socioeconomic background and a private school with high socioeconomic background. A total of six volunteer teachers and 30 students from both of the schools participated in the study. Findings: The study found that the citizenship perceptions, political views and educational backgrounds of the teachers had an effect on the citizenship education in their lessons. Furthermore, the age, maturity level, gender and social environment of the students had an effect on implementing citizenship education. Also, the test-centered educational system, traditional school organizations and culture, and the relevant legislations and regulations limited the ability of teachers to handle political issues and had negative effects on citizenship education. Discussion and Recommendation: The findings of the present study revealed that the students' task-based and passive perception of citizenship did not demonstrate any change at the beginning and end of the Social Studies course. The findings from this study suggest that, in general, citizenship education in Social Studies courses tends to offer, in part, a set of social moral values that focus more on theory and exams and lack opportunities for practice. At the end of this course, students are raised as apolitical citizens with low political literacy who lack effective thinking and participation skills. Therefore, teachers should be trained in active citizenship education, democratic school culture should be developed and the relevant legislations should be readjusted to provide teachers with more freedom in their academic concerns along with active citizenship education.

Interventions targeting parents of young children have shown effectiveness, but research is lacking about best practices for engaging parents of early adolescents. Low levels of enrollment and attendance in parenting interventions present major problems for researchers and clinicians. Effective and efficient ways to engage and collaborate with parents to strengthen parenting practices and to promote healthy development of early adolescents are needed. This exploratory mixed methods study examined the feasibility of three methods of engaging parents in positive parenting activities. Participants were parents of youth ages 11-13 enrolled in three urban, public middle schools in neighborhoods characterized by high rates of community violence. Families (N = 144) were randomized into one of three interventions: six home sessions, two home sessions followed by four group sessions, or six group sessions. The majority of parents were single, non-Hispanic, African American mothers. Urban parents of middle school students were more likely to participate in home visits than in group sessions; offering a combination did not increase participation in the group sessions. As only 34% of those who consented participated in the intervention, qualitative data were examined to explain the reasons for nonparticipation.

For educators, the content of the curriculum really is like oxygen: it is the necessary precondition for improving schools, closing the achievement gap, engaging parents, and preparing teachers. However, when educators take the content of the curriculum for granted, they lose opportunities to coordinate and collaborate. Good curriculum instruction should be carefully planned to introduce topics early, and then teachers can intentionally revisit, deepen, and extend learning on these topics in later grades. This article presents the "Core Knowledge Language Arts" (CKLA) program that begins with preschool through third grade reading models to assist teachers incorporate a curriculum that helps students get the mastery for fluent reading, writing, and language comprehension. The program contains seven units, each with a teacher guide. Students and teachers engage in activities that build and deepen background knowledge using teaching practices that are appropriate for young children and early educators. The CKLA domains are carefully organized to build on each other within and across grades, giving students opportunities to refine and expand their knowledge and vocabulary over time. Included with this article are two sidebars: (1) Content on the Cutting-Room Floor: A Brief History of the Elementary Curriculum (Ruth Wattenberg); and (2) Preschoolers to Presidents: CKLA Builds Knowledge Step by Step.

In "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs" (2009), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) identified the instructional partner role of school librarians as the most critical role for the future of the profession. To determine the extent to which school librarian preparation programs prepare pre-service school librarians for this role, this mixed-methods case study examined program ranking responses and questionnaires from nine universities and colleges that prepare these candidates for practice. Instructors who teach courses in school librarianship submitted a program of study document on which they rated the percentage of readings/viewings and assignments that focus on the instructional partner role in courses offered exclusively for pre-service school librarian candidates. Participants were invited to complete follow-up questionnaires that asked for details regarding readings, textbooks, and assignments. The findings of this case study demonstrate a tendency for school librarian preparation programs to assign different priorities to the five roles identified by AASL; developing the instructional partner role was not ranked first for most of the programs under study. These programs also integrate into their courses various textbooks, book chapters, articles, and other resources focused on instructional partnerships. The results of this case study suggest that the academy does not teach with a unified voice when it comes to helping preservice school librarians prepare to practice the instructional partner role.

In this reflective essay I examine the activity of a bus tour, organized as the result of an ongoing university and city partnership. I illustrate how riding the bus is not only symbolic for positionality in our society, but also how it can be a viable mechanism for initiating boundary spanning and promoting opportunities for place-based learning and future engagement. I focus on the concept of boundary spanning and the roles and domains most often associated with this activity by exploring the language and metaphors invoked in the term. Then by framing the notion of boundary spanning as an activity system, I consider how riding the bus facilitates less traditional participants' engagement. I conclude by proposing that the activity of riding the bus can inform the boundary-spanning metaphor while also serving as a mechanism to mobilize further engagement efforts.