Education & Pedagogy

This report presents findings from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2016 (NHES:2016). The Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey collected data on children enrolled in public or private school for kindergarten through 12th grade or homeschooled for these grades. The survey collected information about various aspects of parent involvement in education, such as help with homework, family activities, and parent involvement at school. For homeschooled students, the survey asks questions related to students' homeschooling experiences, the sources of the curriculum, and the reasons for homeschooling.

The paper is theoretically based on the concept of "postindustrial" (information) society (Bell, 1973) where the importance of education is emphasized and caused by changes in the structure of employment rate, growing intellectual labor exigence as well as higher unemployment rate of individuals of the lowest educational category. Therefore, higher secondary and tertiary education are becoming frequently the basic prerequisite for entering in new technological spheres and labor market in the information society where both service and production are more and more complicated. The attained education level--theoretical knowledge, professional specialization and understanding of inter-disciplinary relationships, thus, playing the key role in furnishing the individuals with knowledge and skills necessary for a successful integration in social and economic life. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

As California begins to reinvest in public higher education after several years of budget cuts, it could opt to tie funding more closely with outcomes--for example, the number of students educated or degrees awarded. This approach, known as performance-based funding, has the potential to incentivize investment by the state's higher education systems in areas that further state priorities. Drawing on California's minimal experience with performance-based funding and the approaches other states have pursued, this report raises four important questions for the state to consider if it wants to link funding for higher education with outcomes without compromising on either quality or equity. [For the companion report, "Higher Education in California: Student Costs," see ED561200. For the companion report, "Higher Education in California: Institutional Costs," see ED561201.]

Going back a quarter century to 1992, our last three presidents all made education an integral issue of their campaigns. However, education has been largely absent during the 2016 presidential contest. Why is education not drawing much attention? For most people, education is not as urgent as national security and the economy. Much of education's prominence in previous elections is actually candidate driven rather than in response to public outcry. This article discusses how the topic of education in 2016 compares to recent elections according to Gallup polls. The results of the polls show that inattention to education in the presidential election is pretty normal. Education is likely to receive much more attention when the political world shifts from campaigning and back to governing.

Co-teaching involves a highly collaborative, mutually accountable relationship between a regular education and special education teacher in an inclusive environment. Effective co-teaching involves both teachers working together in the regular classroom setting in an effort to make learning accessible for all students regardless of ability or disabilities. Most of the analysis of co-teaching has determined that both special education students and regular education students benefit from the provision of differentiated instruction and the presence of two teachers in the classroom. This study seeks to gain an accurate analysis of co-teaching from the perspectives of regular education and special education teachers.

A wide range of actors will be involved in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) which has been adopted over the past several years by nearly every state. This represents an unprecedented opportunity to improve U.S. mathematics education and to strengthen the international competitiveness of the American labor force. A set of standards, no matter how outstanding they may be, can only affect the quality of students' education as they are implemented in classrooms. This will require a concerted effort by all stakeholders in the education process including not only education leaders and professionals but students and their parents as well.

Over the next few years, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education will conduct a series of in-depth case studies on higher education in several states. South Dakota is the first state to be examined in this series. Government, business, and higher education leaders in South Dakota have been steadily developing policy-driven change in higher education. Over the last four years, these leaders have defined a number of state goals that they believe tie budget to policy and will drive the activity of the statewide university system. Significant changes have included: moving toward a more collaborative system approach to higher education issues; jettisoning the traditional state higher education funding formula; reinvesting savings to improve efficiency; adopting initiatives to increase academic quality and partnering between four-year institutions and other educational entities. (JM)

Technological advances have increased opportunities for nursing education, affording increased collaboration among nursing faculties in teaching, practice, and research. In an era when nurses are in demand, technology may help the profession educate nurses, prepare future educators, and advance the science of nursing. Several factors should be addressed by schools and other stakeholders. First, superior distance education programs require a substantial financial investment. Second, planners should consider coordination, compatibility, and hardware upgrades for multi-site communications. Third, intellectual property, copyrights, and privacy are key issues in electronic media. Fourth, technology-mediated teaching can change the way teaching and learning take place. Lastly, distance education increases competition among institutions. An appendix outlines Guidelines for the Use of Distance Technology in Nursing Education. (HB)

The purpose of this qualitative, historical study was to investigate the impact of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Settlement Movement, and the Progressive Education Movement on the handiwork at Hindman Settlement School (formerly W.C.T.U. Settlement School, 1902-1910) located in the eastern Kentucky Appalachian Mountain region. Three themes emerged from the data: the social dimension in handiwork, social production of the handiwork, and innovative educational practices. The Hindman Settlement School, still in operation today, was respected for its academics, handiwork, and response to the region's educational needs. It was influenced by innovative education reforms of Jane Addams and John Dewey. (Contains 27 references.)(AUTH)

This document presents content and performance standards for physical education in Nevada's public schools. The five content standards are: students will understand and apply movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of motor skills; students will demonstrate competency in many movement forms and proficiency in a few movement forms; students will demonstrate an understanding of dance through skills, techniques, and choreography, and will understand dance as a form of communication; students will achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of individual fitness for an active lifestyle; and students will demonstrate personal responsibility, positive social interaction, and respect for diversity in physical activity settings. Physical education performance level descriptors are presented for grades 2, 3, 5, 8, and 12. (SM)

Improvements in education are occurring in Macedonia, but challenges remain with quality, equity, efficiency, and administration. This report presents to United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Macedonia a way to move forward in assisting the education sector. It is the result of almost four plus weeks of study by a team of educators (n=3). Results are presented in three main sections of the report: (1) a review of sector performance indicators and issues; (2) recommendations on ways for USAID to quickly demonstrate its support to the sector; and (3) recommendations for USAID's robust and longer-term assistance to human resources development following more assessment and design work. Curriculum information is annexed. (Contains 17 notes and 33 references.) (BT)

Despite the lively debate and the plethora of terms used in the discussion, mass communication educators (at colleges and universities throughout the United States and the world) continue to struggle to define the direction journalism education should take. This Digest examines some of the "enduring issues" of journalism education: (1) the need to focus on service to the public; (2) the need to address challenges posed by new economic, technological, and social realities; and (3) the need to make journalism and mass communication education and practice diverse, inclusive, and global. It concludes that journalism education reveals itself to be dynamic and introspective, continuing to redefine its mission and its methods in response to evolving technologies, global culture, and the needs of the media industries and the patrons which they serve. (Contains 14 references.) (RS)

Symposium participants gathered to discuss how to move online learning beyond being "as good as" traditional education. Participants were asked to analyze their assumptions about distributed learning, identify the strengths of each type of distributed learning discussed, and explore what needs to be done to improve online education. This paper groups participant responses and information from case studies (not published here) at institutions that are either groundbreakers or pacesetters in online learning into the major challenges facing distance and higher education as a whole: (1) individualization of distance education; (2) improving quality; (3) increasing access; (4) reducing the costs of teaching and learning; and (5) sustaining innovation. Examples from the practice of the case study institutions illustrate distance education applications. (SLD)

Next to playing, matching instructional features with children's characteristics may stimulate children's development in early education. Instructional lines of ordered playing and learning appliances, inclusion of diagnostic and achievement indicators, flexible grouping of students, screening of initial student characteristics, and supportive software, are expected to optimize early education for students and teachers. In two Dutch kindergarten schools, instructional changes were realized in a use-oriented method by co-development with teachers and management. Also, a software prototype designed to manage and optimize early education was developed and tested. Information is given about the digital instructional management prototype, development and implementation experiences in early education, and first effects of using this software in practice. Further possibilities to optimize education in kindergarten and other educational types are discussed. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/AEF)

The six issues of this journal cover a variety of topics of interest to the second language professional. Among the topics covered are the following: "virtual" classrooms, staff development, traveling with students, learner self-testing, advice on how to find a job on the Web, online pronunciation aids, language teaching strategies for deaf students, teaching young learners to write with rhymes and reasons, and academically-oriented student and group travel. There are also special sections and series on bilingual education in the United States, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student inclusion in elementary school, TESOL 2000, linguistics resources in Canada, and dialects in the United States. (KFT)