N ew and Forthcom i ng at Reference Compiled by Gladys I. Dratch and Deborah S. Garson, Harvard University Beckman , J . (Ed . ). (2004). Affirmative Action: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004. 2 vols. ISBN 0-31 3-33024-7. OCLC#53443248. $ 1 75 .00. I ntended to provide an overview of current scholarship on topics related to affirmative ac­ tion and impacting an array of disciplines such as law, h istory, and sociology. Almost 500 en­ tries provide current, basic information on rele­ vant concepts, events, individuals, organ iza­ tions, statutes, court cases, movements, and ethnic groups. Contributing authors were drawn from many parts of the world , including I ndia, Japan , and the Caribbean, as well as from a diverse array of d isciplines and institutions in the United States. Arranged alphabetically, entries include "see also" cross-references to related entries and a bibl iography of information re­ sources, both print and electronic. The volumes also contain a series of entries exploring issues of equal ity and affirmative action in other coun­ tries, a t imel ine of important events since 1 865, a guide to related topics, and two append ixes reprinting the ful l text of the affirmative action decisions handed down by the Supreme Court in June, 2003. Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform. (2004). Reston, VA: Na­ tional Association of Secondary School Princi­ pals. 2 1 9p. ISBN 0-8821 0-353-9. OCLC#54673797. $22 .00 (nonmember) . As stated in the foreword, this publ ication is a "working document" for school principals. It be­ gins with a review of the first Breaking Ranks publ ication , Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution (NASSP, 1 996). This edi- Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 tion focuses on the specific recommendations in the earlier edition in which principals have a sig­ n ificant role.The first chapter outlines the core thirty-one recommendations organized under key areas: col laborative leadership and profes­ sional learning communities; personalization and the school environment; and curriculum, instruc­ tion , and assessment. The three chapters that follow are guides for implementing each of these areas, with steps and i l lustrative material , and a h igh school profi le. A section on strategies and recommendations highl ights and describes the work of thirty-three schools. Includes references for general resources on school restructuring and strategic use of data; references for each of the thirty-one core recommendations; websites. Appendixes include an academic self­ assessment tool; an example of a personalized learning plan, an instructional practices inven­ tory. Volume references and index. Hunt, T. , Joseph, E. , & N uzzi, R. (Eds.) . (2004). Catholic Schools in the United States: An Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 1 -57356-532-6. OCLC#54503736. $ 1 75.00. Aims to provide a comprehensive resource on K-1 2 Cathol ic education . An introductory section covers the history of Catholic schools in the United States. Three hundred and forty alpha­ betically arranged entries cover the basic tenets, issues, and movements in Catholic education . A guide to related topics organizes the encyclope­ dia's entries into larger subject areas such as admin istration; anti-Cathol icism ; church docu­ ments; curricu lum; education associations; and Vatican persons and agencies. Includes a lengthy l ist of references and index. 22 Clay, D l . (2004). Helping Schoolchildren with Chronic Health Conditions: A Practical Guide. New York: Gui lford Press. 1 78p. ISBN 1 -59385-043-3. OCLC#53950905. $30.00. Designed to be a resource guide for school per­ sonnel , including administrators, counselors, teachers, school psycholog ists, and social work­ ers for chi ldren and their parents, and for health care professionals. Information covered includes the common issues associated with specific health conditions, practical information, specific strategies for dealing with related issues, spe­ cific interventions, and tips for min imizing the negative impact a health condition may have on a child's abi l ity to attend and benefit from school . Lists of specific strategies, tables of checklists, handouts, and assessment instruments are available for photocopying and use with individ­ ual cases. Issues and specific health care condi­ tions are cross-referenced. Seven chapters cover topics such as legal responsibi l ities of the school , developing 504 plans, helping with chronic health cond itions, and a case example. References and index. Hoxby, C . (Ed . ) . (2004). College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay for ft. Chicago: University of Chi­ cago Press. 435p. ISBN 0-226-35535-7. OCLC#56548030. $ 1 28.00. The editor notes that the authors' contributions to this volume make it clear that col lege atten­ dance is not affected by new policies, but that new policies impact on students' other col lege choices. Chapter contributions discuss col lege enrol lment and col lege completion with an analysis of different educational outcomes; merit aid; federal tax credits for higher education ex­ penses; financing college tuition; financial aid; financial aid and students' col lege choices; resi­ dent and nonresident tuition; students percep­ tions of col lege opportunities; peer effects in higher education. Numerous figures and tables. Each chapter contains references and scholars' comment; Author and subject indexes. Hammack, F. (Ed.) . (2004). The Comprehen­ sive High School Today. New York: Teachers Col lege Press. 1 57p. ISBN 0-8077-4456-5. OCLC#5391 9236. $22.95. A col lection of selected papers focusing on the idea of comprehensiveness in U .S . secondary education. Seven chapters cover an offered definition of the core dilemma of secondary edu- Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 cation, how changes in U .S . society have changed the landscape of secondary education , research on detracking schools, a survey of re­ cent projects that connect schools to their com­ munities, and the future of the comprehensive h igh school. I ndex. Kincheloe, J . , & Wei l , D. (Eds.) . (2004). Critical Thinking and Learning: An Encyclopedia for Parents and Teachers. Westport, CT: Green­ wood Press. 532p. ISBN 0-31 3-32389-5. OCLC#52208343. $99.95. As stated in the preface, "This encyclopedia de­ velops a conception of critical thinking that re­ spects the intellectual abil ities of teachers and assumes that educational practitioners are ca­ pable of developing sophisticated cognitive abi l i­ ties and passing such rigorous modes of think­ ing along to their students in every curricular domain." The lengthy introduction helps utilize this work, highl ighting entries that develop the theory of critical thinking and offers ways that teachers can implement these ideas in the classroom. Thirty-seven topics, from art to xenophobia, are explored by the contributors' sixty-eight articles. Other examples of subjects covered: bi l ingual education , Bloom's taxonomy, childhood and adolescence, cultural studies, curriculum, diversity, educational psychology, empowerment, identity, l iteracy, organizational change, race and racism, thinking ski l ls. Bibl iog­ raphy; index; biographical notes about the con­ tributors. Decker, C. (2005). Planning and Administer­ ing Early Childhood Programs. 81h ed . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hal l . 490p. ISBN 0-1 3-1 1 2548-6. OCLC#5381 4498. $66.00. Following an overview of early chi ldhood educa­ tion programs, this resource is organized into three parts: constructing early chi ldhood pro­ gram frameworks (planning, implementing, and evaluating the program; regulations and policy establishment); operationalizing the program (personnel, physical facil ity planning; financing and budgeting); implementing chi ldren's pro­ grams (planning; nutrition, health, safety ser­ vices; assessing, recording, reporting progress; working with the family and community; contrib­ uting to the profession). Appendixes include a bibl iography of resources for program planning; state l icensing and certification agencies; com­ petencies for administrators of early care and education programs; accreditation criteria ex- 23 amples ; professional organizations; suppl iers of materials and equipment; financial assistance. References; author and subject indexes. Monolescu, D . , Sch ifter, C . , & Linda Greenwood, L. (Eds. ). (2004 ). The Distance Education Evo­ lution: Issues and Case Studies. Hershey, PA: Information Science. 326p. ISBN 1 -591 40-1 20- 8. OCLC#521 2 1 358. $59.95. Intended as a practical guide to those involved or interested in effective d istance education, such as educators, admin istrators, faculty, and students. Two sections cover d istance education issues and case studies. The first section pre­ sents chapters on such topics as evaluating a distance education program, onl ine teaching and copyright, and faculty participation in distance education programs. The second section g ives case studies from a number of different d isci­ pl ines. Chapters i nclude teach ing a studies-in­ race course onl ine, media entrepreneursh ip , and a social psychology course. Index. Eisenberg, M. Carrie A. Lowe, C . , & Spitzer, K. (2004 ) . Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age. 2n ed. Westport, CT. : Libraries Un l imited. 408p. ISBN 1 -591 58-1 43-5. OCLC#53059361 . $47.50. This book provides the background for the term "information l iteracy." Essential ly a gu idebook for this topic, it begins with the chapter defining the term and exploring its meaning with regard to visual , media, computer, d igital , and network l iteracies. The chapters that fol low include the developments in the evolution of the concept (national and international); information l iteracy research; the economic perspective, particularly related to workplace ski l ls; K-1 2 education in­ formation l iteracy in connection with national and state standards, educational restructuring, and specific K-1 2 efforts; higher education informa­ tion literacy; technology information literacy; and a summary chapter. Contains extensive refer­ ences to documents on the subject. Appendixes include information literacy standards for student learning; chronology of the topic; correlation of information l iteracy skil ls with selected national subject standards; ACRL information l i teracy competency standards for higher education; ref­ erences; and an annotated ERIC bibl iography. Numerous charts and tables. Juvonen, J. et al. (2004). Focus on the Wonder Years: Challenges Facing the American Mid- Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 die School. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. 1 55p. ISBN 0-8330-3390-5. OCLC#54831 085. $27 .50. Describes find ings from a Rand research project to assess the effectiveness of middle schools and identify the schools' major challenges. The research team reviewed twenty years of relevant l iterature and analyzed existing national and in­ ternational data . Ten chapters cover project goals and methodology, educational h istory of the U .S . middle school , core practices, aca­ demic achievement, cond itions for student learn­ ing, principals, teacher competence, parental involvement, reform models, and conclusions and recommendations. Appendixes include characteristics of publ ic schools serving middle grades, international and national data sets, and research recommendations. Frey, P . (2004). Standards of Practice for Teachers: A Brief Handbook. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education. 94p. ISBN 1 -930556-73-X. OCLC#53330837. $29.95. The authors present six Standards of Practice: Bel ief, Communication, Curricu lum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development. The Standards are a synthesis of practical ex­ perience and the growing body of literature on qual ity teaching. Each standard presented has a narrative and a continuum. The Standards de­ fine four levels of mastery: a novice level for new teachers; apprentice level for beginning teachers in their early years; professional level for practic­ ing teachers; and expert level for teachers at a leadership level . At the end of the Standards section is a series of vignettes to demonstrate practical appl ications for the continuums. Gerler, E. (Ed . ) . (2004). Handbook of School Violence. New York: Haworth Reference Press. 368p. ISBN 0-7890-1 623-0 . OCLC#52377490. $59.95. Addresses the causes of school violence, the prevention of school violence, and interventions in cases of school violence. A compan ion work to the Journal of School Violence. The handbook content includes a web site (http://genesis l ight.com/hsv%20fi les) for scholars and practi­ tioners to work onl ine. Eleven chapters cover topics such as connectedness and school vio­ lence, student threat assessment, peer media­ tion , weapons in schools, understanding youth gangs, and school crisis interventions. I ndex. 24 Jones, L . , & Olkin , I . (Eds.) (2004). The Na­ tion's Report Card: Evolution and Perspec­ tives. Bloomington, IN : Ph i Delta Kappa Educa­ tional Foundation I American Educational Re­ search Association . 598p. ISBN 0-87367-848-6. OCLC#54976696. $69.95. This book describes the h istory and the chal­ lenges of the National Assessment of Educa­ tional Progress (NAEP). The ed itors' introduction is fol lowed by a chronology of NAEP, 1 963- 2003, Part one d iscusses the evolution and per­ spectives with chapters to include the begin­ nings of NAEP, interviews, NAEP and the U .S . Office of Education, a history of the National As­ sessment Governing Board (NAGB), a view from the National Center of Education Statistics; Part two discusses the development of assessment materials: the assessment of citizenship , writing and mathematics; Part three focuses on sam­ pl ing and scoring, with chapters on survey de­ sign issues, sampling and field operations at Westat, 1 983-2001 , and emerging technical in­ novations in NAEP. Part four covers recent chal­ lenges, with a chapter on innovations in instru­ mentation and d issemination, and a section on references. The append ixes include a glossary; an abbreviations list; l istings of U .S . Commis­ sioners and Secretaries of Education, NAGB members, NAEP Executive Directors , various committees; a summary report of two confer­ ences on a National Assessment of Educational Progress; NAEP Assessments, 1 969-201 2; name index. Biograph ies of contributing authors . Lare , G . (2004). Acquiring and Organizing Curriculum Materials. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow. 265p. ISBN 0-81 08-4841 -X. OCLC#55489939. $69.95. Intended to be a comprehensive tool for collec­ tion development and an important reference regarding sources of curricu lum materials. Mate­ rials have been gathered from companies, asso­ ciations, projects, and government agencies that publ ish, produce, and distribute curriculum ma­ terials. These materials are l isted by curriculum subject area and material format. Additional ly, there is an extensive list of World Wide Web sites and l inks that provide teaching activities and lesson plans, curricu lum guides and stan­ dards, and curricu lum resource l inks . Twenty­ two chapters include processing and access, professional associations providing curricu lum materials, textbook acquisition and organization, and ancil lary textbook materials publ ishers. I n­ dex and appendix. Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 McPherson, M. & Nunes, M. (2004). Develop­ ing Innovation in Online Learning: An Action Research Framework. London: Routledge Falmer. 1 48p. ISBN 0-41 5-3351 3-2 . OCLC#531 624 1 0 . $ 1 59.95. Designed as a resource for education manag­ ers, course developers, and educational re­ searchers, the book covers both the theory and practice of applying action research principles to develop onl ine learn ing. Seven chapters cover the four basic bui lding blocks of action research in onl ine learn ing: the organizational context; the pedagogic model ; the educational setting; and the evaluation model . Each chapter begins with an academic d iscussion and concludes with ref­ erences to a longitudinal case study. Includes bibl iography, appendix with N ICLS module online, glossary of acronyms, and index. Moon, J. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Prac­ tice. New York: Routledge Palmer. 252p. ISBN 0-4 1 5-3351 5-9. OCLC#531 45493. $ 1 30.00. Considers reflective and experiential learning as forms of generic learning as well as presenting practical methods of using experiential and re­ flective learn ing. Twelve chapters d ivided into three sections cover topics such as the process of learning, exploring experiential learning, as­ sessment issues, reflective activities, and en­ hancing reflective and experiential learning. A resources section with practical exercises, g los­ sary, bibl iography, and index. · Pandiscio, H . (2004). Job Hunting in Educa� tion: An Insider's Guide to Success. Lanham , MD: Scarecrow Education. 1 69p. ISBN 1 -57886- 1 1 6-0. OCLC# 53896573. $39.95. A guide for those seeking positions either as a teacher or administrator, and also, those re­ sponsible for h iring teachers and admin istrators. Eighteen chapters include resumes, cover let­ ters, interview preparation , interview guidel ines, and interviewing committees. Cross, C . (Ed . ) . (2004). Putting the Pieces To­ gether: Lessons from Comprehensive School Reform Research. Washington, DC: The National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform . 1 78p. Intended for parents, policymakers and educa­ tors, this volume is designed to inform readers about comprehensive school reform or CSR. 25 With contributions from multiple authors, four chapters cover the h istory and context for the development of comprehensive school reform (CSR), challenges faced in implementing CSR programs, evidence about the effectiveness of various models, and a researcher's and a practi­ tioner's perspective of CSR. The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improve­ ment web site (http://www . csrclearinhouse.org) is the successor to the NCCSR web site. Teacher Education Programs in the United States: A Guide. (2004). Westport, CT: Prae­ ger. 487p . ISBN 0-275-981 56-8. OCLC# 5576441 6 . $95.00. This resource was publ ished in cooperation with the American Association of Col leges for Teacher Education and is part of the American Council on Education/Praeger series on higher education. The directory provides data for 872 institutions that offer teacher education pro­ grams. The information was col lected through a questionnaire, an Internet search , and data­ bases maintained by the National Center for Educational Statistics. The data is current for the 2002-2003 academic year. I ncludes the member institutions of the American Association of Col­ leges for Teacher Education and reg ionally ac­ credited institutions that responded to the ques­ tionnaire . Arranged alphabetically by state and by name of institution , the entries include the institution description; institution control (public or private) ; calendar; officials; faculty number; degrees awarded; admission requirements; fees and expenses; financial aid; accreditation; un­ dergraduate programs; graduate programs; li­ censure/reciprocity. Thomas, P. (2004). Numbers Games: Measur­ ing and Mandating American Education. New York, NY: P. Lang . 1 66p. ISBN 0-8204-6825-8. OCLC#53903700. $29.95. Geared to general and professional audiences, this publ ication is concerned with the predomi­ nant assumption in American public education that the best assessment of student learning is based largely on the use of numbers, quantita­ tive data . The author expresses his advocacy for broad-based l iteracy education and for greater inclusion of qual itative data for student assess­ ment. Part one d iscusses the numbers games, American style , with two chapters: the American psyche and politics media and education . Part Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 two discusses the numbers games with in and against the classroom, with chapters on the numbers and forces behind teaching practices and d ismantling publ ic education by the num­ bers. References . Wakefield , S . , et a l . (Eds.) . (2004). Unfocused Kids: Helping Students to Focus on Their Education and Career Plans: A Resource for Educators. Greensboro, NC: CAPS Press, LLC; American Counseling Association Fdtn. ISBN 1 - 1 56 1 -091 05-7 . OCLC#56558744. $47.90. Intended to provide a hands-on resource for educators to include school counselors, career special ists, classroom teachers, administrators, curricu lum d irectors, schools board members, and others. Divided into e ight sections the book is a compilation of a broad variety of career guidance ideas, suggestions, resources, and programs. The eight sections cover societal trends and workplace issues, comprehensive school counsel ing programs, project-based ca- . reer guidance models, innovative approaches to workplace training, parent involvement in career planning, career development activities/games, career development practices for special popu la­ tions, internet del ivery systems in career guid­ ance. Thirty-two chapters by ind ividual contribu­ tors and authors offer an encyclopedic coverage to the topic of career gu idance. A conclusion addresses how to and what needs to be done. Withrow, F. (2004) . Literacy in the Digital Age: Reading Writing, Viewing, and Computing. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education. 1 07p. ISBN 1 -57886-033-4. OCLC#52495523. $21 .95. Directed at a general aud ience, this publ ication offers an overview of the topic that is both per­ sonal and informed by the author's experience as an educator. Chapters discuss how infants and children learn ; signs, codes, and symbols; reading and writing; literacy and technology; l it­ eracy, curriculum, and school achievement; learning in the twenty-first century; the role of the federal government in learning technologies. References. Gladys I. Dratch, Head of Col lection Develop­ ment, and Deborah S. Garson, Head of Re­ search Services, Gutman Library, Harvard Uni­ versity. Emai l :g ladys_dratch@harvard .edu , Deb­ orah Garson@harvard .edu 26