Education & Pedagogy

To promote STEM higher education, avenues such as distance education must be visited. Students in most of the distance-learning classes generate great amounts of textual messages for class interaction, discussion and assignments which take up most of instructor's time to respond and grade. Researches in distance learning and computer-aided grading have been well developed, but little work has been done to apply automated text process techniques to solve the problem of evaluating students' performance in virtual classrooms. This paper introduces a software application that features the assessment of student learning in distance education classes by analyzing online class messages. The assessment model is described and its implementation is discussed. Functionalities of the software for learning assessment are illustrated with examples. The result shows that the software application is a useful supplementary teaching tool.

This manuscript describes a statewide initiative to implement a training model for educators and parents of children with disabilities in more than 90 public school districts and 20 higher education institutions. The proposed model was designed to facilitate positive changes among families, teachers and administrators by increasing their knowledge, improving their attitudes and dispositions, and improving their ability to develop effective partnerships. Through this statewide initiative, teachers and families will be trained together in learning communities whose members share a vision and a mission to serve children with disabilities and improve student outcomes. This article describes (a) the theoretical and research basis that provides the foundation of this training model, (b) the core components of the training model, and (c) the procedures for implementing the model throughout the state.

In this paper we describe the challenges we experience teaching an assessment course to pre-service teachers, as part of their studies in a bachelor of education program. As we teach the course, our intent is to explicitly model assessment practices that reflect a philosophy of "success for all," rather than "sort and rank." Rather than ranking students by achievement, our goal is to model how to tap into the learning potential of every student (Stiggins, 2005). Inquiring into moments that show how the teaching of a success for all philosophy is tension-filled in teacher education, we demonstrate the multiple and conflicting perspectives informing grades. We situate our discussion in the area of assessment in higher education and propose a series of actions, which may resonate with instructors in teacher education and higher education contexts.

In this study, an attempt was made to develop a method of measurement and evaluation aimed at overcoming the difficulties encountered in the determination of the effectiveness of chemistry education based on the goals of chemistry education. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is a multi-criteria decision technique, is used in the present study. The proposed method consists of four main steps: (1) Determination of the main goals and sub-goals of chemistry education; (2) Formation of the AHP model; (3) Making pairwise comparisons and the calculation of local weights; (4) Calculation of global weights and the effectiveness of chemistry education. Research findings indicated that it is possible to determine the effectiveness of chemistry education based on the goals set through the proposed method.

This article explores an ongoing project that promotes science education in rural communities of western Nepal by using affordable technology. With the advent of inexpensive technology and multimedia resources, teaching materials for science education can be accessed with a much smaller budget than was previously possible. A preliminary survey done in two schools of Baglung district in Nepal found a significant lack of funding for science education. Using affordable computing technology such as Raspberry Pi and open-source electronic library contents, including those provided by Khan Academy and Wikipedia, this project will help foster the currently underutilized talent that exists in the country by making communities less dependent on external educational aid and hence promote ownership and progress of online educational platforms.

In recent years, a credit recognition system has been developing in Chinese higher education institutions. Much research has been done on this development, but it has been concentrated on system building, barriers/issues and international practices. The relationship between credit recognition system reforms and democratisation of higher education has attracted little attention. This article will provide insight for understanding the ongoing development of credit recognition in Chinese institutions, in the perspective of democratisation. It outlines the major institutional implications of credit recognition system development and illustrates what have been effected in Chinese high education institutions in terms of democratisation. The author suggests that though democratisation is not pursued as an official policy, it is going on unnoticed, hand in hand with reforms to recognise credit for study in Chinese higher education.

With international momentum to achieve "Education for All" by 2015, global attention is being paid to those parts of the world where mass formal primary schooling is relatively new. Uganda is such a place. In the context of ethnographic fieldwork at a poor, undocumented, private primary school in rural Uganda, parents were interviewed in order to better understand their conceptualisations of education during this "massification" era. The interviews reveal interesting contradictions between the espoused neoliberal principles and the nuances with which they describe education. In the absence of a robust public schooling system, privatisation has emerged to fill the gaps in educational provision as the country finds itself caught between the international mandate for free primary education and the lack of capital.

This paper proposes a collaborative partnership between practicing and pre-service teachers as a model for implementing science teacher education and professional development. This model provides a structure within which partnerships will work collaboratively to plan, implement and reflect on a series of Science lessons in cycles of actionreflection adapted from Korthagen's (2001) ALACT model. Issues within Science education, teacher professional development and teacher education are considered in the development of the model which attempts to deepen constructivist approaches to teachers' professional learning. It attempts to address issues with teacher professional development in the science area and improve professional experience practice for pre-service teachers. The nexus between theory and practice is the focus of the model which hopes to inform both teacher education and professional development for science teachers in the primary sector.

At a few universities in Sweden students can chose a preschool teacher education programme with a music profile. At one of these universities, a study was undertaken that aimed to explore student teachers' understanding of self as musician, their future professional role as a preschool teacher and how the education equips for that. Sixteen students participated in focus group interviews, and thirty students answered a questionnaire. The study shows that almost three-quarters of the students did not choose the music profile for the sake of the specific profile in music. Instead, it happened that this was the programme they managed to get into or they found the location of the education suitable. How, then, to develop the design of a music profile that prepares preschool teacher students to become skilled leaders and a source of inspiration for music in preschools?

The inclusion of students with disabilities was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in the Solomon Islands in 2013. This paper investigates the knowledge, skills, and values of school leaders in public and private schools in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, in regard to providing support for inclusive education in their respective schools. Completed questionnaires were received from 85 leaders of secondary, primary, and early childhood centres. Results indicate that while leaders are very positive about their abilities to support their schools they still need professional learning in specific areas related to inclusive education. The implication of this for preparing school leaders for inclusive education in the Solomon Islands is discussed.

Concerns about consumers' ability to manage their finances have triggered a range of proposals, including interventions aimed at elementary school students. The goal of these approaches is to improve lifelong economic decision making, but the evidence supporting their efficacy is thin. In this article, the authors discuss the trend toward elementary financial education and propose a framework for developing evidence-based programs. They emphasize the need for understanding the underlying mechanisms that facilitate the translation of student knowledge into the ability to make sound economic decisions over the life course. The framework illustrates the importance of articulating the intended mechanisms and effects of education programs. This focus on mechanisms will not only facilitate the evaluation of individual programs, but also the synthesis of evidence across interventions.

In this article, we describe how teachers in the Australian school system are educated to teach science and the different qualifications that teachers need to enter the profession. The latest comparisons of Australian students in international science assessments have brought about various accountability measures to improve the quality of science teachers at all levels. We discuss the issues and implications of government initiatives in preservice and early career teacher education programs, such as the implementation of national science curriculum, the stricter entry requirements to teacher education programs, an alternative pathway to teaching and the measure of effectiveness of teacher education programs. The politicized discussion and initiatives to improve the quality of science teacher education in Australia are still unfolding as we write in 2014.

Background: The landmark School Health Education Study (SHES) project influenced by the conceptual approach to teaching and learning provides perspective on modern school health instruction. Conceptual education, the cornerstone of the SHES curriculum framework (CF), "Health Education: A Conceptual Approach to Curriculum Design," fosters a student's understanding of information that develops with experience. Methods: Data were collected through content analysis of the SHES CF and the "National Health Education Standards: Achieving Excellence" (NHES), 2nd edition. Similarity of essential framework elements was established. Inter-rater reliability was established. Results: Alignment of the SHES components with the NHES reveals parallel conceptual structures around which to develop curriculum. Conclusions: The conceptual approach to curriculum planning has enduring value. It provides a foundation for teaching and learning that is adaptable, flexible, and can maintain permanence in conjunction with emerging scientific evidence and cultural and political influences on health behavior.

Attempts to make higher education more equitable more readily succeed at the aggregate (sector) level than at the institutional, with students from disadvantaged groups being overrepresented in low-status institutions. It is suggested that this is because policies of "fairness" (i.e. proportional representation) dominate the contemporary policy framework and are strongly resisted by elite universities. However, using the Australian higher education sector as an example, this paper argues that equity policy is actually a mix of "proportional fairness" and "inclusion" and elite institutions resist not because the policy is deficient but because it might actually work. An alternative approach to higher education equity policy is proposed; one which requires elite institutions to engage meaningfully with disadvantaged students but allows them to retain their status advantage.

The most productive way to reform education would be to invest in effective early childhood education programs. Such an investment would produce remarkable educational, social, and economic benefits. It would also transcend the current divisive debates about education reform by uniting advocates with different perspectives on issues of funding, accountability, and school choice. An investment in universal pre-K would provide a model of authentic assessment of student learning and genuine accountability through documentation. It would also create an exemplar of real school choice by giving families the ability to select from a variety of options for their children. Furthermore, an investment in social constructivist early childhood education programs--programs in which children are encouraged to build knowledge through meaningful relationships--would yield particularly robust investment returns for children and for the nation.