Education & Pedagogy

This paper presents education finance trends for Bangladesh since 2000. It shows that while government spending on education as a proportion of national income has stagnated, it has increased in real terms. Real increases in education spending have resulted in substantial increases in per student spending in basic education. At primary, enrolment declines have reinforced these trends and in 2005 per student spending in government primary schools was 30% higher, in real terms than in 2001. Despite these increases, per student spending on education in Bangladesh remains low compared to other countries in the region and countries at similar levels of development. Levels of government funding also vary enormously across different providers of basic education although these differences do not appear to have a significant impact on education outcomes at the primary level. At secondary, there appears to be a closer correlation between levels of public funding and outcomes although the socio-economic status of student intakes also appears to play an important role. To achieve equitable access to basic education, it is important to narrow these public funding differences. However, given the comparatively low levels of funding across the basic education system it is perhaps more important to increase overall levels of funding if the quality and overall efficiency of the system is to be improved. Data used for public expenditure and budget analysis are appended. (Contains 28 footnotes, 10 tables, and 7 figures.)

This is the third in a series of policy reports on the results of a four-year study of America's education schools. This report focuses on the need for quality education research and on the preparation of scholars and researchers who conduct such research. Approximately two decades into a school improvement movement, education research is assuming new importance. In today's assessment-driven, standards-based school systems when a plethora of reform measures are being advocated and implemented, it is essential to be able to measure what students learn and what works. To compete globally while sustaining a democratic society, it is necessary to advance knowledge of teaching and learning. Partnered with these educational challenges is the need for consensus on what constitutes solid research and how best to train education researchers to study education and to teach in the nation's universities and colleges. Recommendations include: (1) Awarding the Ph.D. and only the Ph.D. to students who have successfully completed doctoral programs to prepare researchers; (2) Diversifying the research missions of America's colleges and universities and offering programs to prepare education researchers at only Doctoral Extensive universities and selected Doctoral Intensive institutions; (3) Establishing high and clearly defined standards for education research and doctoral preparation in research; close doctoral programs that do not meet those standards; (4) Establishing effective means of quality control within the education research community; and (5) Strengthening connections between education research and the worlds of policy and practice, and between education researchers and their colleagues in the arts and sciences. Three appendixes are included: (1) Data Sources; (2) Description of the Nation's Education Schools by Carnegie Type; and (3) Acknowledgments. (Contains 16 notes and 9 tables.)

The purpose of this paper was to identify the characteristics and history of online education, to examine research on the effectiveness of online learning, and to note the principles and practices indicated for maximizing the effectiveness of online learning. Leading articles and studies on online education were identified and examined for this literature review. Historically, online education is located within a longer tradition of distance education. The primary distinction between campus-based education and distance education is noted, along with distinctions between computer-assisted instruction, online learning and hybrid courses. After listing the presumed pros and cons of online education, the argument about whether online learning is technologically dependent is raised. Prototypical studies of research about online learning are examined and used to isolate fundamental problems in carrying out research comparing online vs. campus-based education. Major meta-analytic studies are then reviewed. The conclusions of these studies are several: there are wide variances in the effectiveness of both campus-based and online education; online learning is as good on average as campus-based programs; and the best format may be a hybrid or combined version. Standards for delivering online educational programs are produced as recommendations, based on integrating standards issued by different disciplinary bodies. The paper concludes with a series of issues about online education and learning that need to be addressed. One appendix is included: (1) Lessons from the Literature. Derived from Tallent-Runnels, et al. (2006) and Grandzol and Grandzol (2006). (Contains 4 tables and 1 endnote.)

The contribution of higher education institutions to regional development is a theme that has attracted growing attention in recent years. Knowledge institutions are increasingly expected not only to conduct education and research, but also to play an active role in the economic, social and cultural development of their regions. The extent to which higher education institutions are able to play this role depends on a number of circumstances: the characteristics of the institutions, the regions in which they are located and the policy frameworks are all significant. At the same time, there are signs of more fundamental conceptual and strategic confusion. The discussions in this domain are frequently characterised by slogans and popular metaphors. This literature review was prepared to support the OECD project entitled 'Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development', which was conducted by the OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) in collaboration with the Directorate of Public Governance and Territorial Development. Drawing mainly from a selection of European and North American publications, the report takes an overall view on the development of higher education institutions in the regional context. It focuses on the evolution and discourses of higher education and research, the regional aspects of higher education policies, the various functions and roles that the institutions play, measures taken to link the universities with their regional partners, and the conditions which favour or hamper stronger regional engagement. (A bibliography is included. Contains 9 figures.)

Economic and cultural globalisation has ushered in a new era in higher education. Higher education was always more internationally open than most sectors because of its immersion in knowledge, which never showed much respect for juridical boundaries. In global knowledge economies, higher education institutions are more important than ever as mediums for a wide range of cross-border relationships and continuous global flows of people, information, knowledge, technologies, products and financial capital. Even as they share in the reinvention of the world around them, higher education institutions, and the policies that produce and support them, are also being reinvented. For the first time in history every research university is part of a single world-wide network and the world leaders in the field have an unprecedented global visibility and power. Research is more internationalised than before and the mobility of doctoral students and faculty has increased. The specifically global element in academic labour markets has gained weight, especially since the advent of global university rankings. This working paper explores the issues for national policy and for individual institutions. Part I provides an overview of globalisation and higher education and the global responses of national systems and individual institutions of higher education. Part II is focused on certain areas of policy with a strong multilateral dimension: Europeanisation, institutional rankings and typologies and cross-border mobility. (Contains 53 footnotes, 1 figure and 6 tables.)

Governors are united in their commitment to improve America's high schools. Nationwide, only 71 percent of students graduate from high school, and only 18 percent of high school freshmen go on to complete a college degree on time. Deficits in basic skills cost colleges, businesses, and underprepared high school graduates as much as $16 billion annually in lost productivity and remedial costs. The 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools, cohosted by the National Governors Association (NGA) and Achieve, Inc., unveiled "An Action Agenda for Improving America's High Schools" to help governors address this problem. One of the "Action Agenda's" recommendations is to improve statewide education leadership and governance. Currently, statewide education governance is fragmented. In almost every state, state boards and agencies for K-12 and postsecondary education operate independently and are not held accountable for common goals or education outcomes. Most states also lack a way to coordinate policies for high schools with those for public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions. Consequently, high school students, their parents, and educators receive conflicting and vague messages about what students need to know and be able to do to transition to the next education level. Governors can pursue three strategies to improve statewide education leadership and governance: (1) Create a single governance system for kindergarten (or early childhood) through postsecondary education; (2) Create a permanent statewide education commission; and (3) Strengthen statewide governance or coordination of higher education. (Contains 14 endnotes.)

Technological changes in the workplace have placed considerable pressure on the U.S. educational system to prepare students for increasingly skillbased occupations. Employers reward new hires for having the skills or credentials needed for their job, underscoring the importance of having either the requisite "tools in your toolbox," or some basic academic preparation to continue on into postsecondary education. This stress on knowledge acquisition has contributed to a growing wage gap between high school and college graduates. In general, the experience of individuals in the three samples considered in this Brief demonstrated that economic outcomes improved with education in expected ways (see the box on page 4 of this Brief for information on data sources and sample populations for this study). Higher levels of education were associated with more stable and economically sustaining employment outcomes, and employment outcomes improved as individuals completed more years of education. The authors findings generally support the conclusion that students benefit from a community college education when compared with those who have only a high school diploma. They also found that community college occupational students do at least as well as, and in some cases significantly better than, students in academic programs. Moreover, certificate and associate degree holders generally have higher returns to education than do individuals with similar years of postsecondary education but no credential; however, in some instances the difference is not statistically significant. Finally, there are noticeable differences in the returns to postsecondary education and degrees by gender, with women generally experiencing a greater economic benefit from schooling and credentials than do men.

A study comparing University of Wisconsin-Stout freshmen and senior education majors' computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge and associated learning experiences was conducted. Instruments used in this study included the IC[superscript 3][R] Exam by Certiport, Inc. and the investigator's Computing and Internet Skills Learning Experiences survey. UW-Stout freshmen education majors participating in the study demonstrated poor computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge. UW-Stout senior education majors participating in the study demonstrated marginal computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge. Both UW-Stout freshmen and senior education major study participants identified evidence of poor formal and informal learning experiences to develop computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge in elementary school, middle school and high school. Senior education major participants indicated more instances of formal and informal learning experiences in post-secondary schooling and employment. Informal self-teaching methods to develop computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge were more evident with UW-Stout senior education majors who participated in the study. Notable comparisons by class and major were conducted after initial analysis showing the impact of specific formal and informal learning experiences. Recommendations to improve UW-Stout education majors computing and Internet technology skills/knowledge follow Robin Kay's "Evaluating Strategies Used to Incorporate Technology into Preservice Education" (2006). Appended are: (1) IC[superscript 3][R] Validation Brief; and (2) Computing and Internet Skills Learning Experiences survey. (Contains 62 tables.) [Funding for this research was provided by the UW-Stout Student Research Fund.]

"Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups" examines the educational progress and challenges of students in the United States by race/ethnicity. This report shows that over time, the numbers of students of each race/ethnicity who have completed high school and continued their education in college have increased. Despite these gains, the rate of progress has varied, and differences persist among Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians/Alaska Natives and students of two or more races in their performance on key indicators of educational performance. The report begins with demographic information (chapter 1) and then is organized roughly according to the chronology of an individual's education, starting with indicators on preprimary, elementary, and secondary education (chapter 2), student achievement (chapter 3) and persistence in education (chapter 4), behaviors that can affect educational experience (chapter 5), participation in postsecondary education (chapter 6), and outcomes of education (chapter 7). Guide to Sources is appended. (Contains 65 tables, 52 figures and 33 footnotes.)

In 2007 Ghana celebrated 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. The golden jubilee offered an opportunity to take stock of how the country had progressed in expanding education and the challenges for the future. This paper offers a critique of the journey, highlighting the challenges and progress. What reforms in education has taught Ghana is that it is much easier to fix the "hardware" than the "software" problems of education. With huge investments from internal and external sources structural and infrastructural problems of education can be fixed. With expanded facilities access can improve. However, completion rates remain the problem, especially at junior and senior secondary where low completion rates deprive the country of much needed educated youth prepared for work and for further education and training. TVET development plans faces the challenge of ensuring that sustainable capital and recurrent investment is available to improve infrastructural facilities and thereby improve the quality of products. Fifty years after independence, although Ghana has made good progress in expanding education provision, it is still faced with the problem of securing an education system that delivers on quality and provides equitable access for all, especially the poor and disadvantaged. Until and unless significant gains are made here, the goal of producing a workforce with the knowledge and skills for development would be hard to achieve. This is the task for the next fifty years. (Contains 3 tables.)

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES, or the Institute), created as part of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (Pub. L. 107-279), is the primary research arm of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). ESRA established the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES, or the Board) to advise and consult with the Director of the Institute. The Board is responsible for considering and approving priorities proposed by the Director to guide the work of the Institute; reviewing and approving procedures for technical and scientific peer review of the activities of the Institute; and reviewing and regularly evaluating the work of the Institute to ensure that its research, development, evaluation, and statistical analyses are consistent with the standards set out in ESRA. The Board is also responsible for providing to the Director of IES, the Secretary of Education, and appropriate congressional committees a report that assesses the effectiveness of the Institute in carrying out its priorities and mission, especially as they relate to performing scientifically valid research, conducting unbiased evaluations, collecting and reporting accurate education statistics, and translating research into practice. This paper presents the annual report of the National Board for Education Sciences for 2010. Appendices include: (1) Members of the National Board for Education Sciences (as of July 1, 2010) and Ex Officio Members; (2) Approved National Board for Education Sciences Resolutions (since inception); and (3) NCEE-Sponsored Evaluations, Reports, and Events. (Contains 6 tables and 12 footnotes.) [For "National Board for Education Sciences 2009 Annual Report, August 2008 through June 2009. NBES 2009-6020," see ED518422.]

To help achieve President Obama's stated goal of ensuring that all students will be able to contribute as citizens in the U.S. democracy and to thrive in a global economy, the administration has designed a blueprint for a reenvisioned federal role in education through the reauthorization of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"). The new "ESEA" will support states, districts, school leaders, and teachers in implementing a more complete education--from literacy to mathematics, science, and technology, and to history, civics, foreign languages, the arts, financial literacy, and other subjects--through improved professional development and evidence-based instructional models and supports. As the administration asks states to raise their standards to prepare their students for college and the workplace, it will also be asking more from students, families, teachers, principals, and every level of the education system. To make higher standards meaningful, the administration must ensure that states, districts, schools, and teachers have the resources and assistance they need to help students reach these standards, such as instructional supports, high-quality professional development, and teaching and learning materials aligned with those standards. This means a new investment in improving teaching and learning in all content areas--literacy, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, history, civics, foreign languages, the arts, financial literacy, environmental education, and other subjects--and in providing accelerated learning opportunities to more students to make postsecondary success more attainable. [For the related report, "A Blueprint for Reform. The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act", see ED508795.]

The vision for transforming the education of the nation's nearly four million teacher workforce presented in this report comes not from any one group but from a diverse group representing a broad range of perspectives. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning is comprised of state officials, P-12 and higher education leaders, teachers, teacher educators, union representatives, and critics of teacher education. The panel spent the past ten months addressing the gap between how teachers are prepared and what schools need. As part of this effort, it has identified 10 design principles for clinically based programs and a comprehensive series of strategies to revolutionize teacher education. This report concludes with a Call to Action that urges teacher education programs to transform preparation of all teachers, regardless of where they teach, but also notes the urgent need to address the staffing and learning challenges facing high-need and low-performing schools. To support this implementation, this report calls on federal lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Education to invest Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds, funds available through School Improvement Grants for school turnaround efforts, and the continued funding of grants to school and university partnerships. (Contains 21 endnotes.)

In March 2003, the Education Commission of the States, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education established a collaborative project to help states improve higher education performance by assisting with examination of state higher education policies and with establishing broad agreement around statewide priorities for improvement. Five states participated formally in the new National Collaborative for Higher Education Policy: Missouri, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. The starting point for the analysis in each state was "Measuring Up," the national report card series issued by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Additional state-specific information was added to provide a more comprehensive picture of the needs of each state. As part of the process, a leadership group was formed in each state to analyze performance, assess policy gaps, and develop a new state agenda for higher education. The leadership group sought guidance from stakeholders throughout the state. A common priority in all of the states was the need for a more highly educated population that could function effectively in a technologically sophisticated world. This report summarizes lessons learned from the collaborative project. It offers guidance to states interested in gaining broad agreement around a new agenda for higher education that is grounded in performance in the state and directed toward meeting the needs of state residents. (Contains 6 figures and 7 footnotes.)

This qualitative exploratory case study involved an exploration of courses of action for leaders of K-12 education to improve special education teacher retention. The problem researched was the rate of attrition of special educators in the case study district who left the field of special education within 3 to 5 years of entering the field. The purpose was to identify factors causing special education teacher attrition and identify courses of action for leaders of K-12 education to improve special education teacher retention. The research question investigated why special education teachers were choosing to leave the field of special education within 3 to 5 years of entering the field in the case study district. Systems theory was the basis for the theoretical foundation. Interview responses from 20 former special educators analyzed with QSR NVivo 8 qualitative analysis software revealed 4 emergent themes. Critical analysis of themes produced 6 courses of action and 3 recommendations for leaders of K-12 education to improve special education teacher retention. Key results of the case study indicated a need for leaders to consider emergent themes of classroom environment, administrative support, funding, and monetary compensation as primary factors to improve special education teacher retention. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]