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The Whole Child Initiative (WCI) was developed over the past 15 years as a blueprint to promote long-term development and success of all children, as well as their families and communities. This chapter describes three aspects of the WCI model: (a) the need for a public health approach to sustainable, communitywide change targeting the whole child; (b) a clear, future-oriented vision for equipping educators, caregivers, and service providers with the skills and attitudes required to deliver high-quality instruction; and (c) the infusion of social and emotional learning practices to transform environments in which youth live and play. We provide examples of how schools, communities, and families can come together to create a common culture fostering stable and nurturing relationships essential for enhancing youth well-being. We close with recommended “super strategies” – low-cost, simple, and effective practices that can be broadly implemented to keep every child healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged in the community at large.

This chapter examines the roles and challenges for the Irish economy in the aftermath of the collapse of the Celtic Tiger and the onset of the 2008 economic crisis. Specifically, it does review the role that Government, the Central Bank of Ireland, and the Financial Regulator had before, during and after the collapse of both the Irish banking system and property market. This chapter explains the drivers behind the growth of the Celtic Tiger and the sources of leverage that amplified the severity of the subsequent collapse. Specifically, this chapter focuses on the changes that have since been made and provides a review of the lessons that can be obtained from the collapse.

The results presented in this chapter are based on analysis of secondary sources and a literature review to determine conceptual and theoretical frameworks for identifying the specific issues that the Irish economy endured since the 2008 economic crisis and the red flags and signals that were either missed or ignored.

Combined with the subprime collapse of 2007 and the international sovereign debt crisis evident since 2008, Ireland and the actions of its regulators and policy makers undoubtedly generated not only a catalyst to financial ruin, but also an incubator to aid its severity. The precise drivers that created the Celtic Tiger remained unchanged and played a significant role in the subsequent collapse. Banks were leveraged towards the Irish property market and the role of leverage in financial markets created mispricing, to which the basic principles of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) failed. This miscalculation of risk was severe and destructive for the real economy. The reward for this error was a place in history as an ‘I’ in the derogatory term ‘PIIGS’.

This chapter could be used as teaching material for undergraduate and masters programmes in economics and finance. It provides a response to further understand the behaviour of the Irish economy during the development of the Celtic Tiger and the subsequent financial collapse that enveloped the Irish state.

This chapter discusses the role of leverage throughout a financial system and the necessity for financial monitors to promote an environment of sustainability and financial endurance; that which can survive an international financial crisis event.

In March 2020, we opened our classrooms to students, parents, and the world. Zoom and Google Meet became the new spaces to gather as regular check-ins with students and families became the norm. Educators served students through a two-way window where we previously only saw them in the school setting and now with the use of technology, could literally see into their homes. It is evident to many that inequities exist among the students and families that we serve, and our efforts to care them focused on social-emotional learning and supporting their well-being. While many see the challenges that the pandemic brought, there were also many opportunities that came about, including the use of core values which helped guide us through uncertainty. The need for human connection became a clear factor when we were not able to be together physically. Connecting with students and families on an authentic, deeper level, shifted how we think about school leadership and improving schools. The mindset transitioning to our ability to teach in schools and communities, not just in a physical classroom, became one of our guiding principles. Across the United States, school districts’ instructional directives varied greatly. In our district, leaders came together to create virtual lessons to be available for all students. Our focus was to support educational equity and to give students opportunities to engage with grade level curriculum at any time of day (or night).

Scholars increasingly recognize the centrality of legal ideas and language to the political vision that inspires American conservatism. However, relevant studies have been limited to the discursive practices that motivate conservative activism at the grass-root level. Exploration of the legal discourses employed by prominent public officials thus carries significant scholarly potential. For example, this chapter's investigation of President Ronald Reagan reveals that his political vision was suffused with legal discourse. Reagan's legal discourse, moreover, has exerted constitutive effects both on American conservatism and on the form and substance of a great deal of contemporary American public policy.

This paper is concerned with the obstacles of educational reform in a racial climate and the acceptance of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

As a result, while the president’s positions on educational reform are important, the question still remains; can the majority of Whites support an agenda coming from a Black president? Moreover, as a Black man, can the president really be “allowed” to be a “representative” of all of the people? Do many people think that the election of Mr. Obama ushered in a “postracial” society; in that he is the living testament that we no longer need to focus on social justice, civil rights, and educational reform, especially for underperforming minority schools? Is race a factor among Whites and Blacks regarding President Obama’s approval ratings? How much success can any president expect to have when a significant majority of the population is resistant to his vision of “change?”

Based upon these lingering questions, the issue of race has been and will remain a factor in the Obama presidency that no other president has had to contend. Obfuscation, control, and fear appear to be the raison d’être regarding a strategy of resistance toward President Obama and his interest in “change.” These are the reasons why President Obama’s time is significantly spent on negotiating racial obstacles to change.

The goal of this paper is to provide a sociological and psychological context within a historical framing to understand obstacles to change faced by President Barack Hussein Obama.