Abstract
The paper looks at how Williams states that in Northern New Jersey there is currently a plan to provide full day preschool to children within the next few years (para. 1). The paper discusses how Williams contends that it is believed that full day preschools will provide the opportunity for children to begin learning at an earlier age and that there is evidence that a full day pre-school has long term benefits (para. 2). The paper explains that according to Williams, these benefits include promoting learning early to prevent school dropouts later in life and teaching children socialization skills (para. 5). Yet, some individuals within the community suggest that the proposed full day early preschool program is only a device to ensure that the county receive additional school funding and that such a program will strip small children of the opportunity to experience their early years in a normal manner (para. 11). The paper explains that this debate over the necessity for preschools in Northern New Jersey has been incited by the fact that "in January Governor Corzine approved this expansion of state-funded pre-K for at-risk children" (Brody para. ). The paper relates that Brody states that the debate is not just about providing preschools for low-income children, however, but providing free quality education to these children (para. 1).

Tags:edu, nclb, school

Abstract
This paper focuses on the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) goal of improving the quality of education. The paper explains that when UNESCO defined the Education for All (EFA) initiative, it effectively recognized the idea that education was collective global concern. The paper asserts that even a cursory review of the goals of the EFA highlights the need to develop global standards in education and the need to support the development of competencies for the accomplishment of these goals by all countries, regardless of their current state of development. The paper concentrates in particular on the development of strategies to promote student engagement in online learning in the Middle East, which involves examining literature in a Middle Eastern context and requires the accommodation of unique social and cultural conditions that influence student participation and performance. The paper concludes that local education professionals must demonstrate a clear and concise commitment to developing local research for improving higher education to improve classroom participation and performance.

Outline:
Introduction
Anthology of Current Research
Analysis
Reflection and Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"Judging from the current literature, approaches and perspectives on the issues are generally focusing on concepts, theories or critiques of previous programs rather than what can be operationally relevant. Though there have been a number of local studies developed outside the Middle East, variations in social and cultural dynamics greatly limit what can be adapted locally to develop local research for improving the quality of higher education. To have greater relevance to their practice, local education professionals must first be able to bridge the perspectives of these types of research and then be able to effectively find relevant applications for their classrooms. This requires not only subscription to the philosophies of the EFA or a high level of professional competencies that may not be currently but more importantly, this requires clear and concise commitment to developing local research for improving higher education to improve classroom participation and performance."

Tags:unesco, middle, east, chat, framework

Abstract
This study examines the effects of leadership and leadership theories on the educational continuum and specifically on the effect it has on the quality of education. The study uses a mixed methodology to investigate various leadership theories and examines their effect on the quality of higher education. The research shows that the delivery of educational leadership services by colleges and universities and the impact of traditional curricula on prospective educators continues to be debated and refined. The impact of additional unfunded mandates from the federal No Child Left Behind Act is profound, with many low-performing schools being threatened with the loss of their funding if they fail to achieve at least minimum academic achievement standards.

Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Background
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Nature of the Study
Research Questions
Conceptual Framework
Definitions
Assumptions
Scope, Limitations, and Delimitations
Chapter Summary
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Background and Overview
Foundations of Educational Philosophy in the United States
Curricula Reform Initiatives
Leadership Theories
Organizational Behavior in Academic Settings
Leadership in Academic Settings
Chapter Summary
Chapter 3: Methodology
Research Method and Design Appropriateness
Population, Sampling, and Data Collection Procedures and
Rationale
Internal and External Validity
Data Analysis
Organization and Clarity
Chapter Summary
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

From the Paper
"While a wide range of traits have been identified as being associated with different aspects of leadership effectiveness, the specific association between individual traits and effectiveness has frequently been unconvincing (Bass 1985, cited in Fernandez, 2005). Furthermore, the research to date has consistently failed to identify a set of skills and traits that all successful leaders must possess in order to be effective in a given setting (Fernandez, 2005). Likewise, although the importance of effective leadership in educational settings is widely recognized, there remains a lack of consensus on what works best and why; indeed, given the abysmal performance of many of the nation's schools despite repeated efforts at curricula reform and pedagogical alternatives, it would seem that this lack of consensus is based on a paucity of sound models rather than a lack of effort. In this regard, Short and Greer (2002) report that in recent years, there has been a concerted effort to restructure public education. "Site-based management, charter schools, learner- centered communities, and teacher empowerment have been the focus of much of the reform effort," they advise (p. viii). These initiatives have created a concomitant debate concerning what types of educational leaders are needed in this dynamic environment. According to Short and Greer, "Ideas about leadership have expanded as schools attempt to build learning organizations with empowered participants. While much has been written about school restructuring, there is a need for a better understanding about how to build empowering environments in schools based on empirical findings rather than rhetoric or opinion" (2002, p. ix)."

Tags:communication, charisma, learning, vision, personality, hierarchies, leaders, transformational, scholars, pluralistic, Boydston, &, Dykhuizen, dewey, behaviors

Abstract
The paper examines the book "Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools" by Jonathan Kozol and how it addresses the lack of quality education in America, especially in America's poorest schools, where a good education can make all the difference between a life filled with hope and a life filled with crime and despair. The paper summarizes the six chapters of the book and then discusses the implications of this book for the criminal justice system, legislators and educators.

Outline:
Looking Backward and Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

From the Paper
"In "Looking Backward" the author describes his own background and what led him to embark on this research. He was a schoolteacher in Boston in 1964, and he taught in one of the poorest schools (where he was fired) and one of the wealthiest schools (where he was welcomed), and saw the inequities between the two. This eventually led him to the research that produced this book. He traveled around the country and interviewed hundreds of schoolchildren, parents, and educators, in 1988 through the writing of the book in 1991, and he discovered great racial inequities, which form the backbone of this book. An important point is that when he pointed out these inequities, they were largely ignored. Ghetto education, as the author calls it is accepted, and acceptable to most school districts, and little is done to change the situation."

Tags:crime, drugs, delinquency, parents, educators

Abstract
This paper reviews the book "Classroom Instruction that Works: Researched-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement", written by Robert Marzano, Debra J. Pickering and Jane E. Pollock. It describes how the book offers advice to school administrators, teachers and parents as to how all school districts in the United States can improve the quality of the education of students. The paper suggests that with the correct teaching techniques and feedback and an empowered approach to student learning, many roadblocks to improving education can be overcome.

From the Paper
"Thus, although the authors stress the need for frequent testing and data-driven analysis, ultimately through simple but proven teaching strategies such as the reinforcement of key concepts during the lesson, the authors offer the empowering idea that good teaching can make a difference. Merely because the text stresses testing as a means of reinforcement does not mean that the authors do not believe it is necessary to think outside of the conventional box of how students should learn in the classroom. In fact, the authors actively attempt to disabuse the readers of the text of such outmoded notions that environment or 'natural' (biological) ability alone determines student performance. The authors stress that even if the school and the other faculty members are lacking, even if student's home lives are undesirable, individual teaching performance and heightened expectations can still make a difference in a classroom, if the teachers make an effort to relate to students in a meaningful and ambitious fashion."

Tags:classroom, teachers, ambition

Abstract
This paper relates the deplorable state of education in the U.S, which ranks at the very bottom of 19 industrial nations in reading, writing and arithmetic, disastrous for a country that has bet its future on an information-driven economy. The author stresses that, if the philosophy of education is to be reformed and rethought, the beginning is with the educators themselves. The paper states that the first step in reforming the American school system is to retain some of the traditionalist values, such as teaching the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic; however, the methods and environment in which these skills are taught needs to be approached using a progressive viewpoint.

Table of Contents
The State of Education Today
Identifying Goals of Formal Education
Towards A Better Education
A Personal Philosophy

From the Paper
"Part of the problem lies in the somewhat dismal salaries being paid to educators. Granted, this is in itself is a sad commentary on educators, but it is a fact of life, the economy and the rising costs of goods and services. As a result, because educators feel they are not being fairly compensated, the students ultimately suffer from neglect and/or lower standards of education. In a way, we can look at it as the classic case of the domino effect - to borrow a phrase from the Cold War era. Because the economy is suffering, educators' salaries are negatively impacted. Because educators' salaries are negatively impacted, their lack of dedication and motivation is dramatically affected, and at the end of the domino effect are the students."

Tags:bottom, reform, educators, basics, grammar

Abstract
This paper expresses the opinion that immigrant children, even those of undocumented immigrants, deserve a good education and that teachers have an ethical requirement to teach them well.

From the Paper
"I believe that schools have a responsibility to provide the same services to children of immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, that they provide to other students. This is an issue of ethics in my opinion, not a matter of economics. I agree with Manka M. Varghese and Tom Stritikus who assert; "I am a bilingual teacher because I believe in bilingual education. I believe everybody has the right to speak their own language and I believe that if America is a free country then nobody...""

Tags:immigration, education, immigrant, children, opinion, teacher

Abstract
The paper argues that the increasing cost of college education does not correspond to commensurate increases in the quality of that education, primarily because the factors responsible for increasing costs are unrelated to the professors' salaries or educational materials. The paper explains how most of the increased cost of modern education is a function of the many factors included in the rising cost of living. The paper considers the expense of IT systems that can improve the quality of modern higher education, but argues that they do not account for more than a small fraction of the overall increased cost of education.

Outline:
Introduction
Evidence That Increasing Costs Do Not Improve Education Quality
Evidence That Increasing Costs Does Improve Education Quality
Conclusion

From the Paper
"One of the unfortunate consequences of the current financial crisis and recession-like national economic situation is that the already-high cost of college education are likely to rise even higher. In the last twenty years, the costs of college education has increased so much across the nation that comparatively few students from middle-class families have the same options as their parents had (Glod, 2008; Hendrix, 2008). Generally, it is not the case that the increasing cost of college education corresponds to commensurate increases in the quality of that education, primarily because the factors responsible for increasing costs are unrelated to the professors' salaries or educational materials."

Tags:tuition, technology, economy

Abstract
This paper discusses the manipulation of physical space and other barriers diminishing quality education for minorities in the United States. In the paper, the author conducts a nation wide scan of those barriers, the players and interests involved, and the effects of those barriers on life chances, and identifies several alternative courses of action to remedy the situation. Specifically, these alternatives were judged upon their feasibility so that the New York City Council Education Committee could rely on the suggestions of the author in deciding how best to address this issue.

Outline:
Introduction
Residential Segregation in the United States Since the 1968 Fair Housing Act and How it is Connected to Quality Education
Key Players, Interests, Power and Histories
Effects of Residential Segregation its Effects on Education
Conclusion and Possible Courses of Action
Suggestions and Recommendations
Changing Election Districts
Changing Zoning and Land Use Regulations
Changing School Districts
Tables

From the Paper
"Residential segregation is the manifestation of the concept of economic superiority and minority socioeconomic inferiority through geographically dominated areas forcing minorities to live in designated areas away from the superior economically advantaged. As time goes on and a minorities gain economic success and try to move to an area that is populated by the economic affluent but they are blocked by a number of means including: zoning laws, housing development regulations, mortgage inflation, and changes in voting district zones. This behavior is illegal conduct in the United States since the passing of the 1968 Fair Housing Act and all subsequent acts that followed because the Fair Housing Act fails to eliminate discrimination in housing discrimination based on race, national origin, age, and families with children."

Tags:socioeconomic minority geographic economic, development regulations, discrimination

Abstract
The paper asserts that American students have been lagging behind other countries because other countries have more school days compared to America's 180 days. The paper discusses four government programs aimed at improving American education to ensure its students remain competitive in a global economy. The programs discussed are (1) four-day school week, (2) trimester schedules, (3) year- round school, and (4) extended/delaying learning time.

From the Paper
"Another important advantage of the year- round program is that it enables slow learners and handicapped students to continue their studying continuously, since vacation and short breaks causes disruption in the learning process of the students. In fact, this important point applies to all students, since retention is essential in learning, and retention of everything that is learned in school is only reinforced if learning and education is continuous and undisrupted."

Tags:learning, school, government