Education & Pedagogy

Major actors in the global education community are emerging with new education strategies, including the World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.K. Department for International Development. These strategies attempt to identify game-changing policies to make strides in global education in anticipation of the Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015 and beyond. One common thread among these targeted efforts is the special emphasis placed on public-private partnerships to mobilize resources for education. This need for external resources and the emergence of new education strategies make corporate philanthropy timely to examine. This paper addresses the lack of data by asking one central question: Do U.S.-based companies leverage their key philanthropic assets to address global education challenges in a way that maximizes shared value for society and business? To answer this question, this study surveyed more than 500 companies; conducted in-depth interviews with corporate philanthropy leaders; and analyzed the existing literature and reports on corporate social responsibility to assess the magnitude, focus and motivations of U.S. corporate philanthropy vis-a-vis education in developing countries. The first part of this paper examines what companies are doing to support global education and estimates that U.S.-based companies give approximately half a billion dollars to education to developing countries annually, more than initially projected based on philanthropy estimates. The second part of the paper explores why companies make philanthropic contributions to education in developing countries. The third part explains how companies support global education. The last part of the paper highlights the assets and liabilities of corporate philanthropy for global education. The study identifies ten opportunities to achieve greater impact through corporate philanthropy to education in developing countries: (1) Maximize the Effectiveness of Multiple Donors in the Same Country; (2) Broaden Areas of Strategic Investment; (3) Innovate in Education; (4) Invest in Education in Disaster Contexts for Longer-Term, Higher Impact; (5) Incorporate Local Feedback into Philanthropy Strategies; (6) Build Networks for Global Education; (7) Design Metrics and Invest in Impact Evaluation; (8) Improve NGO Engagement with Corporate Philanthropy; (9) Adopt Innovative Financing by Combining Brand, Business and Individual Donors; and (10) Become Corporate Advocates for Education. Appendices include: (1) Participants; and (2) Study Methods. (Contains 1 box, 16 tables, 11 figures and 8 endnotes.)

"Education at a Glance 2011: Highlights" offers a reader-friendly introduction to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) collection of internationally comparable data on education. As the name suggests, it is derived from "Education at a Glance 2011", the OECD's flagship compendium of education statistics. However, it differs from that publication in a number of ways, most significantly in its structure, which is made up of five sections that explore the following topics: (1) Education levels and student numbers: This section looks at education levels in the general population, how and where young people are studying, when they graduate, and how well they make the transition into the world of work; (2) The economic and social benefits of education: This section looks at the extent to which education brings economic gains to individuals, in the form of higher incomes and lower unemployment rates, and at how these benefits serve as an incentive for people and societies to invest in education. It also examines the societal benefits related to having a highly educated population; (3) Paying for education: This section looks at how much countries spend on education, the role of private spending, what education money is spent on and whether countries are getting value for money; (4) The school environment: This section looks at how much time teachers spend at work, and how much of that time is spent teaching, class size, teachers' salaries and the age and gender distribution of teachers; and (5) PISA: This special section introduces findings from the 2009 round of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which examines the abilities of 15-year-old students in dozens of countries around the world. Tables and charts in this volume are all accompanied by a dynamic hyperlink, or StatLink, that will direct readers to an Internet site where the corresponding data are available in Excel[TM] format. In addition, reference is sometimes made in text to charts and tables that appear in "Education at a Glance 2011". (Contains 69 figures and 1 table.) [For the full report, "Education at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators," see ED524202.]

These proceedings consist of 26 presentations. They include, in alphabetical order by author, "Time and Distance: Crucial Factors in Selection of Training and Vocation by Re-entry Women" (Cynthia Bagley), "Using Learner Surveys to Enhance Continuing Education Programs" (Carol Brown), "Designing Inservice Training as a Learning System: The Case of Peru" (G.L. Carter), "Relating Professionals' Modes of Learning to Staff Development" (Ronald Cervero, et al.), "Is Continuing Professional Education Really Effective in Changing Behavior?" (Cervero, et al.), "Losses in the Later Years: A Perceptual Study of Older Adults and Their Service Providers from Religious Organizations" (Fern Crane), "Towards a Reconceptualization of the Clinical Curriculum" (John Dirkx), "Goal Attainment Scaling: A Standard Measurement for Adult Basic Education Learner Progress" (Gisela Fitzgerald and JoAnn Vorst), "Mandated Education for Nursing Assistants and Its Effect upon Job Performance" (Arlene Francis), "Differences Between Teaching Adults and Pre-Adults: A Closer Look" (Joan Gorham), "Non-Persistence and the Adult Learner: What We Know About It and What We Can Do About It" (Keith Harman), "Illiteracy: Towards a Political Solution" (Thomas Heaney), "Policies and Practices Followed by Exemplary Adult Vocational Education Programs" (Lowell Hedges and Larry Miller), "The Complex Image of the Adult Learner and Educational Policy Research" (Marilyn Holschuh), "Extension Education as Perceived by Educators and International Students of Extension Education: A National Study" (Kamiar Kouzekanani), "Brain Research and Adult Education" (Terese Lux), "Maintaining Program Relevance: A Case Study of a Preparation for Retirement Program" (Carla Mandel), "The Relationship Between the Use of Higher Education and the Reworking of Identity in Women" (Karen Muench), "Holding On and Letting Go: Grief Work and Small Group Phase Development" (J. Gordon Myers), "The Learning Disabled Adult Offender" (Richard Orem and Marlan Tevis), "Price Discrimination: Theory and Reality" (Kenneth Ostrand), "Characteristics of Effective Clinical Instructors in Professional and Continuing Education" (Beverly Richards), "Clarifying Research Paradigms in Adult Education: Beyond the Methodological" (Steven Schmidt), "The Making of a Mentor/Mentee Relationship" (Beverly Schmoll), "Facilitating Professionals' Assumption of Responsibility for Continuing Learning: An Examination of Values in Research and Practice" (Charlene Sexton-Hesse), and "Ethnographies in Adult Education: An Analysis of Their Use and Value" (Roy Weaver). (YLB)

This research examines the impact of the biographies of generalist elementary school pre-service teachers (PSTs) on their experiences of Canadian physical education teacher education (PETE), and how these biographies shape self-confidence and self-perceived competence as physical educators. The phenomenological case study took place in a Canadian university faculty of education involving 112 PSTs taking a mandatory 36 h methods course in PETE. Research indicates that the majority of elementary school physical education (PE) classes in Canada are taught predominantly by non-specialist classroom teachers (Fletcher & Mandigo, 2013. The primary schoolteacher and physical education: a review of research and implications for Irish physical education. "Irish Educational Studies," 31(3), 363-376. doi:10.1080/03323315.2012.710063; Freak & Miller, 2017. Magnifying pre-service generalist teachers' perceptions of preparedness to teach primary school physical education. "Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy," 22(1), 51-70. doi:10.1080/17408989.2015.1112775; Fletcher, Mandigo & Kosnik, 2013. Elementary classroom teachers and physical education change in teacher-related factors during pre-service teacher education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 18(2), 169-183. doi:10.1080/17408989.2011.649723). While generalist teachers may be required to teach PE, they often cite negative attitudes towards the subject based on their past personal experiences as students. These biographies can have a significant impact on how beginning PE teachers approach practice (Hyndman, B. P., & Pill, S.; (2016). The Influences on Teaching Perspectives of Australian Physical Education Teacher Education Students: The First-Year Influences on Teaching Perspectives Exploratory (FIT-PE) Study. "Australian Journal of Teacher Education," 41(5), 99-118. doi:10.14221/ajte.2016v41n5.7; Hyndman, B. P. (2017). Perceived social-ecological barriers of generalist pre-service teachers towards teaching physical education: Findings from the GET-PE study. "Australian Journal of Teacher Education," 42(7), 26-46. doi:10.14221/ajte.2017v42n7.3; Wrench, A. (2017). Spaces and physical education pre-service teachers' narrative identities. "Sport, Education and Society," 22(7), 825-838. doi:10.1080/13573322.2015.1094046; Ladwig et al, 2018). Results indicated that PSTs who had negative experiences in PE also stated that they had significant fear in teaching PE, while PSTs who had positive past experiences indicated that they had greater self-confidence and self-perceived competence. Findings indicated that a non-competitive, inclusive pedagogical approach had a positive effect on supporting PSTs to develop greater self-confidence and self-perceived competence.

Drama education was introduced to Chinese Early Childhood Education in the period between 2000 and 2010. Especially, in the past few years, it has grown enormously and attracted the Chinese Ministry of Education and scholars' interests. However, previous studies have mostly focused on the use of drama education and the current situation but rarely looked into the professional development of kindergarten teachers in this new pedagogy. So, this research concentrates on presenting the current situation and challenges of Chinese kindergarten teachers' professional development in drama education. Some suggestions are also provided for future attempts.

Florida is a long-time supporter of home education, and the number of families choosing this education option shows steady growth. Established by the Legislature as a school choice option in 1985, home education is defined as "the sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent." Each year, the Florida Department of Education surveys all school districts to determine the number of students and families who have registered their intent to establish home education programs. For the 2024-25 school year, the numbers provided by the districts indicated that 114,370 families and 152,871 students participated in home education programs. This fact sheet presents an overview of establishing a home education program.

Grantmakers for Education engaged in several projects in the past two years to understand philanthropic priorities, approaches and investments in education, historical and current. By collecting and analyzing new data as well as analyzing data available through a licensed database, Grantmakers for Education conducted a comprehensive scan. This research brief is produced as part of this scan and is one of a series that shares information on giving patterns in education over the past twenty years among foundations and other grantmakers, from 2003 to 2023. Giving data was sourced from Candid's Foundation Directory. The analysis presented in this brief was conducted over a six-month period in 2024 and 2025.

Grantmakers for Education engaged in several projects in the past two years to understand philanthropic priorities, approaches and investments in education, historical and current. By collecting and analyzing new data as well as analyzing data available through a licensed database, Grantmakers for Education conducted a comprehensive scan. This research brief is produced as part of this scan and is one of a series that shares information on giving patterns in education over the past twenty years among foundations and other grantmakers, from 2003 to 2023. Giving data was sourced from Candid's Foundation Directory. The analysis presented in this brief was conducted over a six-month period in 2024 and 2025.

Women working in higher education information technology (IT) organizations and those seeking leadership positions in these organizations face a double challenge in overcoming the traditionally male-dominated environments of higher education and IT. Three women higher education chief information officers (CIOs) provided their perspectives, interpretations, and lived experiences regarding the gendered organization of higher education IT. This research, being unique in specifically studying women CIOs in higher education, expands the knowledge base regarding advantage and disadvantage within such organizations based on masculine/feminine and male/female working culture and experience.

This article introduces the UK branch of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO-UK), also known as the UK Space Education Office. It is a teaching project designed to use space to enthuse primary and secondary students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The office is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Department for Education. As well as providing an overview of ESERO-UK, the article also describes the brand new eLibrary--a community-driven online bank of teaching resources for STEM subjects. (Contains 1 box, 3 figures, and 5 online resources.)

The book Innovation in Initial Mathematics Teacher Education (IMTE) provides innovative perspectives on content, pedagogy and assessment in IMTE. New perspectives on how content in IMTE has changed to include, for instance, STEM, sustainability, inclusive practices, and new approaches, pedagogy and formative assessment practices in relation to mathematics education in response to the changing educational landscape in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. The book considers a great number of different international perspectives, and finalises with the discussion of future directions for the field of research in IMTE.

The identity of the worker foregrounds the development of higher education rather than the other way around. It is developed in contrast to the lack of higher education innovation in the recent UK Government White Paper on Higher Education and in the educational philosophy of Tawney and the neo-pragmaticism of Rorty. The proposal is that higher learning, after capabilities have been nurtured in compulsory schooling, may be developed through communities of workers acting as agent for improvement of their communities; not in universities at all. This is a radical approach to higher education and employment and one that might bring true diversity to the higher education sector.

This paper discusses barriers to the participation of women with disabilities in Kenyan university education. While studies have shown that students with disabilities are increasingly enrolling in and completing university education, the number of women with disabilities in higher education remains low. This paper highlights the factors that contribute to this low participation in a Kenyan context. Among the factors examined are poverty, sexual abuse, discrimination, indifferent reactions, limited learning resources, and physical access. Recommendations for improvement are provided. (Contains 2 footnotes and 2 tables.)

In developing countries, higher education is a powerful instrument for social mobility and economic prosperity. An in-depth study of the relationship between higher education and certain equity issues has revealed that in Ghana and Tanzania there is inadequate effort to widen higher education participation to include traditionally disadvantaged groups. The article argues that provided they have strong and visionary leadership, universities can spearhead efforts to make higher education accessible to such disadvantaged groups through the judicious use of their admissions and selection criteria, and the mounting of special make-up and support programmes.

This article discusses relations between happiness and higher education in the age of information, focusing on the need for the university to pursue happiness. Three questions are addressed. First, why should higher education pursue happiness? Second, what are the shapes and characteristics of higher education in the information age? Third, what are relations between higher education and happiness in the internet age? The author concludes by suggesting that the future higher education institution should be a utopian academia which provides not merely chances to pursue happiness for an individual, but also opportunities to promote socio-national prosperity and harmonious cosmopolitanism for a nation and a world.