The book provides a treatment of college students' friendships that is long overdue. Students, parents, and anyone concerned with maximizing student success will learn much about how friendship networks matter for students' lives in college and beyond

The need for strengthening the connections between university-based teacher education programs and schools has never been greater in an era where standards and accountability systems often play centric roles in practically all aspects of the education field. Within this context, university educators and school practitioners have increasingly focused their attention on how professional development schools produce the multiplicity of outcomes that address the exigencies of quality programs for educating teachers and improving school achievement. In keeping with the mission of producing a collection of papers that inform, enlighten, and motivate readers, Volume 3 of the Professional Development Schools book series provides practitioners and researchers with articles on a substantial variety of themes on the most recent developments of the field. Among the thematic threads that organize Volume 3 are 1) using the national standards to examine and evaluate PDSs; 2) implementation, development and leadership issues relevant to beginning and experienced PDSs; 3) using innovative means for student assessments and mentoring in preservice education within a PDS context; 4) the impact of PDSs on teacher education and student achievement; and 5) cases of PDSs and the value of lessons learned. Volume 3 is similar to the previous two volumes in that it includes both practitioner and researcher strands, however, the authors in the current volume carry a sense of maturity and exudes a tone of confidence in their voice. Professional development schools research is an important aspect of teacher education. The collection of articles in Volume 3 contribute to our understanding of their essential qualities and offer assurance that innovation, change, and quality are building blocks in professional development schools.

Engaged families make a difference in the lives of their children! The children in today's early childhood classroom are more culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse than ever. As a teacher, your challenge is to partner with each family through recognizing their individual strengths, concerns, priorities, and resources. In The Welcoming Classroom: Building Strong Home-to-School Connections for Early Learning, Dr. Johnna Darragh Ernst offers practical ideas for creating a welcoming atmosphere for families that will encourage them to participate in their children's learning community. Learn practical ways to connect with families from varied cultural and language backgrounds and abilities. Gain new strategies for creating a home-school link to support learning. Create a richer learning environment by integrating unique family cultural perspectives. Learn ways to encourage family participation in decision making. Learn strategies to develop families as resources. Communicate the message that all families are valued members of the learning community. From improving children's school readiness to encouraging positive engagement with peers, promoting student academic achievement, increasing graduation rates, and helping reduce the negative impact of poverty, the benefits of engaging families early will impact the young children in your care long after they leave your classroom! Johnna Darragh Ernst, PhD, is a professor of early childhood education at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois. She specializes in helping early childhood professionals connect with families to create inclusive early childhood classroom communities.

The strengths and failures of the American college, and why liberal education still matters As the commercialization of American higher education accelerates, more and more students are coming to college with the narrow aim of obtaining a preprofessional credential. The traditional four-year college experience—an exploratory time for students to discover their passions and test ideas and values with the help of teachers and peers—is in danger of becoming a thing of the past. In College, prominent cultural critic Andrew Delbanco offers a trenchant defense of such an education, and warns that it is becoming a privilege reserved for the relatively rich. In describing what a true college education should be, he demonstrates why making it available to as many young people as possible remains central to America's democratic promise. In a brisk and vivid historical narrative, Delbanco explains how the idea of college arose in the colonial period from the Puritan idea of the gathered church, how it struggled to survive in the nineteenth century in the shadow of the new research universities, and how, in the twentieth century, it slowly opened its doors to women, minorities, and students from low-income families. He describes the unique strengths of America’s colleges in our era of globalization and, while recognizing the growing centrality of science, technology, and vocational subjects in the curriculum, he mounts a vigorous defense of a broadly humanistic education for all. Acknowledging the serious financial, intellectual, and ethical challenges that all colleges face today, Delbanco considers what is at stake in the urgent effort to protect these venerable institutions for future generations.

Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include: Evaluations of each school's program and "personality" Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans Information on the progress of graduates This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning disabilities, and single-sex education.

Forging closer links between university research and teaching has become an important way to enhance the quality of higher education across the world. As student engagement takes centre stage in academic life, how can academics and university leaders engage with their students to connect research and teaching more effectively? In this highly accessible book, the contributors show how students and academics can work in partnership to shape research-based education. Featuring student perspectives, it offers academics and university leaders practical suggestions and inspiring ideas on higher education pedagogy, including principles of working with students as partners in higher education, connecting students with real-world outputs, transcending disciplinary boundaries in student research activities, connecting students with the workplace, and innovative assessment and teaching practices. Written and edited in full collaboration with students and leading educator-researchers from a wide spectrum of academic disciplines, this book poses fundamental questions about learning and learning communities in contemporary higher education.

This remarkably candid "tale from the trenches" follows four teachers as they implement "Connections"--an interdisciplinary, inclusive program option for ninth-grade students at "Cedar City" High School. As Sheryl (English), Dan (science), Bernie (social studies), and Tim (special education) forge bonds of community, collaboration, and collegiality, their experiences take on the dimensions of an epic journey, or odyssey. Interpreted through an ecological lens, this book offers important insight into the world of teaching in an era of school reform. The Connections journey was marked both by stories of triumph and tales of crisis. The stories reflected an emerging vision not only of Connections as an interdisciplinary program, but of the teaching team as a collaborative, collegial community. By illuminating the real world of Connections, this book offers insights for teachers and administrators, policy makers and students, and all who value community, collaboration, and collegiality in schools.