Education & Pedagogy

The rapid rise in entrepreneurship programs and centers has been fueled by unprecedented student demand, and the popularity of entrepreneurship courses is outstripping the supply in programs across the United States. Entrepreneurship education has been criticized as a fad by some, but it appears to have established a firm beachhead in higher education. Entrepreneurial education emphasizes imagination, creativity, and risk-taking, and traditional business programs have come under increased criticism for failing to be relevant to the needs of the changing business environment. Data on the success of entrepreneurial education programs are still very preliminary, but graduate schools continue to build programs and conduct research to foster entrepreneurial education. (SLD)

This Strategic Action Plan for Advancing Math and Science Education is an initial outline of strategies, actions, measures of progress, resources needed, timelines, and responsible parties. The Plan focuses on these three main goals: (1) increasing student interest, participation, and achievement in math and science; (2) raising public support and awareness of the importance of science and math to New Mexico's economic health and security; and (3) establishing effective collaborations with internal and external partners. (Contains 53 endnotes.) [This publication was produced by the New Mexico Public Education Department.]

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Committee Passes Education Appropriations Bill; (2) Upside Down: New Alliance Brief Says Federal Education Policy Needs to be Flipped; (3) "Implementing Graduation Counts": Majority of States Are on Track to Report NGA [National Governors Association] Gradation Rate by 2011; and (4) "Graduating America": New Report Examines the Opportunity for High School Reform at the Local, State, and Federal Level. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This newsletter focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country, and is presented in an accessible format for everyone from elected official and policymakers to parents and community leaders. First, it talks about the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Arne Duncan as U.S. Secretary of Education. Second, it presents a report on a proposed economic stimulus bill that contains over $140 billion in education funding. Finally, it reports on governors' state of the state addresses focusing on their remarks around K-12 education.

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from February 23 to 27, 2009. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) the 2009-11 State Board of Higher Education budget plan begins House Appropriations hearings; (2) engrossed SB 2018, the Department of Commerce budget bill, was heard in the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday, February 25; and (3) engrossed SB 2019, the Career and Technical Education appropriation bill, was heard in the House Appropriations Committee, Education and Environment Division, Thursday, February 26. Lists of bills failed this week and bills on the week nine schedule are presented.

The psychological harmony education, oriented to the unity of Truth, Good, Beauty, and in pursuit of a healthy, balanced and harmonious development of individual psychological quality to improve the mental quality, is an important part in mental education. In order to better fulfill the psychological harmony education of the college students, as well as guarantee this achievement, it should persist in the principles of wholeness and systematism, fully displaying the roles of Mental Health Education Center, teaching system, management system and environmental system. Besides, it should also pay more attention to the family education, social system and self-education of them.

Since the beginning of Chinese higher education expansion in 1999, higher education in terms of scale, speed and structure has been rapid development and beyond the bearing capacity of its ecological balance, input and output of the unbalanced phenomenon between higher education and social environment, the unbalanced phenomenon also appear in regional distribution, between quantity and quality, between structure and function. The status quo of Chinese higher education has been described in the paper, the unbalanced phenomenon has been analyzed, and the corresponding countermeasures has been proposed for the imbalance in Chinese higher education, it provide reference views for the reform of Chinese higher education. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper is a report on the implementation of a project to diffuse technology throughout a teacher education program in elementary education at Millersville University (Pennsylvania). Rather than relying on a single technology course in a preservice program, students develop technology skills in a variety of courses in the education sequence and through collaborative projects. Several ongoing projects are described that include the development of discipline specific technology courses, collaborative projects involving students and faculty, and technology projects in elementary education content courses. Challenges of technology diffusion are discussed related to guaranteeing basic computer skills for preservice teachers, supporting faculty technology integration, and the comprehensive nature of the program. (MES)

While national progress on aspects of academic excellence (the achievement gap, end-of-grade testing, standardized college placement exams, and so on) is a main feature of today's education agenda, character education is never far from commensurate policy attention. Because the notion of character is value-laden, it can be difficult to craft a shared definition. In this policy brief, the author discusses four approaches to character education: (1) permeating core values; (2) direct instruction; (3) character development; and (4) active engagement. Highlighted are current challenges to character education. (Contains 6 endnotes.)

The purpose of the present paper is to explore how distance education has diffused in north Cyprus. In this paper, Rogers' diffusion theory (1995) was used to analyze the acceptance and implementation of distance education in institutions of higher learning in north Cyprus. The four main elements of the diffusion paradigm--the innovation, communication channels, time, and a social system--were used to analyze the North Cyprus distance education project. The results of this research indicate that the Rogers' four elements were useful in analyzing the innovation of distance education in north Cyprus.

Distance education as a mean of providing access to education, particularly tertiary level education, has gained great prominence in the world. Nigeria has taken giant steps of recent to introduce open and distance education programme. This paper explores the major terms inherent in open and distance education, its potentials, possible factors that may inhibit successful implementation of the programme, and the use of low and high technological tools for its implementation. The paper recommended the use of Organisation Element Model (OEM) as suggested by (Kaufman, Watkins & Guerra, 2001) for its planning and implementation, and also stressed the need for improvement in electricity and communication services.

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Committee Passes Budget Plan: Education Spending Would Be Cut by More Than $5 Billion; (2) U.S. Department of Education Awards Eight Striving Readers Grants; (3) "Results That Matter": High School Reform Must Focus on More Than Attendance, Graduation, and College Matriculation Rates; and (4) "Whatever It Takes": Report Examines Efforts to Recover and Reconnect Out-of-School Youth.

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Bush Spending Plan Cuts Education by 0.9 Percent Overall: $1.5 Billion Plan for High Schools Paid for Through Cuts Totaling $2.17 Billion; (2) Bob Wise, Former Governor of West Virginia, Joins Alliance for Excellent Education as New President; and (3) Medicaid Costs, Shrinking Budgets Could Squeeze Education Funding; State of the State Addresses Reflect Funding Needs.

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) NCLB Turns Five: Key Players in Reauthorization Process Celebrate Fifth Anniversary of Landmark Education Law, Begin Discussions on How to Improve It; and (2) Governors Propose High School Reforms in State of the State Addresses: More Rigor, Higher Compulsory Attendance Age Are Popular Solutions.

This report studies the relationship between conflict and education in Cote d'Ivoire, and suggests policy and program approaches for analysts and those engaged with education and peacebuilding in societies affected by conflict. Although the situation in Cote d'Ivoire has evolved since the main recommendations of this report were written in early 2008, the report, which was funded by the United States Institute of Peace's Education and Training Center, provides useful insights for interventions aimed at strengthening education within the country. (Contains 21 notes.)