Education & Pedagogy

This guide provides recommendations for collecting accurate, comparable, and useful data about virtual education in an elementary/secondary education setting. Its goals are to: (1) identify components common to many education information systems that are necessary to meet the information needs of policymakers, administrators, instructors, and parents involved in virtual education; (2) highlight specific data elements relevant to the delivery, management, and oversight of virtual education; (3) identify commonly accepted data element definitions that may need to be modified to more accurately reflect the unique circumstances and information needs of virtual education; (4) present policy considerations related to managing information about virtual education; and (5) illustrate how complex issues related to virtual education data may play out in a real-world setting. The following are appended: (1) Data Element Definitions; (2) Data Elements Related to Student Services and Security in a Virtual Environment; and (3) References and Other Resources. A glossary; and an index are also included. [This guide was developed by the National Forum on Education Statistics; State Educational Technology Directors Association; and School Interoperability Framework Association.]

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) was created by the Texas Legislature in 1965 to provide leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system to achieve excellence for the college education of Texas students. Most of the statutes that are applicable to THECB are found in the Texas Education Code, Title 3, Section 61. The THECB's overall responsibilities include assessment of the state of higher education in Texas; development of recommendations to the governor, Legislature, and institutions for its enhancement; establishment of policies for the efficient and effective use of the state's higher education resources; and the appointment of a Commissioner of Higher Education (Commissioner) to perform all duties delegated by the Board. To meet these broad obligations to the people of Texas, the THECB reviews and recommends changes in formulas for allocation of state funds to public institutions. In addition, it helps eliminate costly duplication in academic programs and unnecessary construction projects. Working with higher education institutions, the governor, and the Legislature, the THECB also ensures that all Texans have access to high quality programs at different instructional levels and administers the state's student financial aid programs.

The dilemma of providing effective education particularly in developing countries with limited resources and ambiguous calculations of rates of return due to unstable economies and labour market fluctuations makes it an absolute necessity to consider costs and benefits associated both with academic and vocational education. Through argumentation and scholarly literature analysis the paper brings together the benefits of academic education and emphasizes its multiple positive implications as opposed to secondary-school level vocational education that has a number of problematic issues to tackle. The argument further develops towards shifting vocational education from secondary-school level to on-the-job short-term technical trainings. The paper also brings arguments from scholarly literature that while rich developed countries can afford certain amount of vocationally oriented subjects incorporated into comprehensive secondary school curricula, the most optimal way for developing countries to find the solution to the problem would be to conduct vocational training courses at job places and adhere to general academic education in secondary schools. (Contains 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)

Alberta Education conducts a set of annual telephone surveys to obtain feedback from education system stakeholders regarding their perceptions of Alberta's education system. Respondents for the survey include senior high school students, parents of children in the K-12 education system, parents of children with severe special needs, teachers in the K-12 system, school board members, superintendents, principals, and the general public. The surveys were conducted by R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. from March to May 2008. The main objectives of this study were to determine stakeholders' satisfaction with: (1) The overall quality of Alberta's education system; (2) Alberta's education system meeting the needs of students, society, and the economy; (3) The preparation of students for lifelong learning, employment and citizenship; (4) Communication and stakeholder involvement in Alberta's education system; and (5) Leadership and continuous improvement of Alberta's education system. One appendix is included: Research Background and Methodology. (Contains 13 tables and 10 charts.) [This report was produced by the Alberta Education Performance Measurement and Reporting Branch.]

This paper assesses how policies and institutions affect private returns to invest in tertiary human capital, the ability of individuals to finance this investment and the institutional characteristics of tertiary education systems. Focusing on core tertiary education services, the paper presents new measures of private returns to tertiary education, the institutional setting for supplying tertiary education and the availability of individual financing in OECD countries. Using a panel of 19 countries, the number of new tertiary graduates (a proxy for investment in tertiary education) is regressed on these new proposed measures, as well as other standard determinants of investment in tertiary education. The resulting estimates are used to assess empirically the relative importance of several education, taxation and social policies affecting investment in tertiary education. Several avenues for reform and the trade-offs they present for public policy are discussed. (Contains 6 tables, 24 figures and 3 boxes.)

Whereas distance education was formerly on the periphery of education and in the realm of institutions with questionable academic credentials, it has been gradually gaining acceptance, is becoming mainstreamed, and is being embraced by traditional universities. The use of distance technologies is challenging the traditional structures of higher education institutions and it has been predicted that distance education technologies will precipitate changes in existing organizational models. This is not an unexpected outcome, as changes in technology precipitate changes in work relationships and in the way output is produced. The exact form that universities of the future will take in response to these changes is uncertain. This paper discusses distance education in the light of the challenges that it poses to higher education and its role as a driver of structural and cultural change. Emergent models and possible future directions will also be explored. The primary focus of this paper will be online or Internet based distance education. [For complete proceedings, see ED490093.]

This document contains the 2004-2005 issues of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) newsletter, which covers the topic of bilingual education. Six issues are contained in this document. Each issue is centered around a theme: (1) Models for Teacher Preparation: Deciding Which Ones Meet Our Needs; (2) Applications for Classroom Instruction; (3) No Child Left Behind: Assessing the Impact; (4) Funding Programs for English Language Learners; (5) Promoting Biliteracy through Content Themes; and (6) Reducing Dropout Rates for Hispanic Students. Along with feature articles, each issue also contains book reviews, announcements of upcoming conferences and calls for papers, noteworthy events and news in the bilingual education field, and membership information. (Individual articles contain references. For the 2000-2001 collection of "NABE News" issues, see ED455684.)

California's Master Plan for Higher Education represented a promise, of an affordable college education, to every person who could benefit. For decades, California's lawmakers honored that promise. Rapidly increasing college fees, coupled with higher costs for room and board, books, transportation, and healthcare are pricing students out of higher education or burdening them with excessive debt. This anthology of the California Postsecondary Education Commission's research provides insights into why college is less affordable and what California's leaders can do to make higher education affordable once again. There are five Commission documents in this anthology. These include: (1) Recommended Policy Options and a Panel Report on College Affordability (Report 06-22, December 2006); (2) Keeping College Affordable in California: A Report of the Special Panel on Affordability to the California Postsecondary Education Commission (December 2006); (3) Developing a Statewide Higher Education Affordability Policy (June 2006); (4) Development of a New Commission Policy on Higher Education Affordability: A Set of Principles; and (5) Resident Undergraduate Student Fees -- Issues and Options (March 2006).

Developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) in recent years have resulted in changes to content and delivery of education services. For its ICT in Education Policy Project, UNESCO since 2003 has published several reports that raise awareness and prepare policymakers to develop their own national action plan for ICT in Education. Apart from toolkits and research reports, UNESCO's ICT in Education Programme has also implemented a range of projects. Achievements of the ICT in Education Programme at UNESCO Bangkok are summarized and information on resources and reference materials are provided. Future initiatives for ICT in Education are discussed including education policy, teacher training, content delivery with ICT, non-formal education, monitoring and measuring changes, and research and knowledge sharing. Current partnerships with UNESCO are explained and others are invited to promote ICT for better quality teaching and learning. [This report was supported by Japanese Funds-in-Trust.]

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) pairs English as a second language (ESL)/adult basic education (ABE) instructors and professional-technical instructors in the classroom to concurrently provide students with literacy education and workforce skills. In Spring 2004, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges' Offices for Adult Basic Education and Workforce Education (SBCTC) began 10 innovative demonstration I-BEST projects that tested traditional notions that students must first complete all levels of basic education before they can begin workforce training. All of the projects focused on ESL education. This research report provides an overview of the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) demonstration program in Washington State. I-BEST uses a co-instruction model that pairs ABE/ESL instructors and professional-technical instructors concurrently to provide students with literacy education and workforce skills. The report presents lessons learned and related research and illustrates how they can be applied to practice.

Research messages 2006 is a collection of key messages from research projects published or completed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2006. It covers work undertaken by both NCVER and external researchers through the following programs: (1) National Vocational Education and Training Research Evaluation Program; (2) National Vocational Education and Training Statistical Program; (3) National Adult Literacy and Numeracy Program; (4) NCVER Core Research Program; and (5) NCVER consultancy work. The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to organise all of its vocational education and training (VET) research and analysis: (1) Industry and employers; (2) Students and individuals; (3) Teaching and learning; (4) VET system; and (5) VET in context. Twenty-nine pieces of work are included, and each summary provides details of how to access the full research reports. [Support for this publication was provided by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training. For "Australian Vocational Education and Training: Research Messages, 2005," see ED493818.]

The first in a series of three books on P-16 systems of education, P-16: The Last Education Reform chronicles the establishment of Ohio's first regional P-16 Compact and how one community began the process of large scale systemic education reform not just for K-12 education, but for its entire education system--preschool through college and beyond--into the workforce and towards economic viability in the 21st Century. The work is ethnographic in nature and blends findings from the P-16 literature base with vignettes from the Stark County experience. Specific steps are offered from both on the formation of local or regional P-16s. Policy implications and the relationship of local and regional P-16s to economic development are discussed. An annotated bibliography of web-based P-16 resources is included. (Contains 63 footnotes.) [This book was published by the Stark Education Partnership, Inc.]

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about programs and goals of public education in Alabama. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide (ACCESS) Distance Learning Bridges the Distance for Alabama Students; (2) Alabama Technology Impact In Education Week Encourages Discovery Of Educational Technologies; (3) January 23-27: Alabama Technology Impact in Education Week; (4) Alabama Tenth In Nation For Most National Board Certified Teachers; and (5) Alabama Among First States To Conduct "School Bus Watch Train-the-Trainers". Regular features include: (1) Good News in Alabama; (2) Awards, Opportunities and Professional Development; (3) Calendar; and (4) Teacher of the Month.

This paper draws together research on seasonality, child labour and education in the context of primary education in sub-Saharan Africa. It describes how income poverty and demand for labour can fluctuate within and between years, affecting participation and progression through school systems. It highlights how analysis of the private and public costs of education frequently ignore the significance of seasonal patterns related to the agricultural cycle and migration. It argues that education policy and practice should be more clearly articulated with fluctuations in household income, demand for labour (especially school age children), and seasonal migration cycles. Educational reforms to improve school enrolment and lessen the burden of education on poor will not succeed unless seasonality is recognised. (Contains 2 tables, 18 figures, and 18 footnotes.)

This publication provides a summary of 2009 data relating to students, courses, qualifications, training providers and funding in Australia's publicly funded vocational education and training (VET) system. The Australian VET system provides training across a wide range of subject areas and is delivered through a variety of training institutions and enterprises (including to apprentices and trainees). The system provides training for students of all ages and backgrounds. Students have many options for training and may study individual subjects or full courses that lead to formal qualifications. Training takes place in classrooms, in the workplace, online and through other flexible delivery methods. Providers of vocational education and training in Australia include not only technical and further education (TAFE) institutes, but also universities, secondary schools, industry organisations, private enterprises, agricultural colleges, community education providers and other government providers. (Contains 19 tables and 36 notes on tables.) [For this report's support document, "Students and Courses 2009: Terms and Definitions", see ED510697.]