WorldWideScience

Sample records for k-12 education reform

  1. Qatar's K-12 Education Reform Has Achieved Success in Its Early Years. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Judy

    2009-01-01

    To evaluate progress made in the first years of Qatar's implementation of K-12 education reform, RAND analyzed data from school-level observations, national surveys, and national student assessments. The study found that students in the new, Independent schools were performing better than those in Ministry schools, and there was greater student…

  2. Scientists Involved in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robigou, V.

    2004-12-01

    The publication of countless reports documenting the dismal state of science education in the 1980s, and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) report (1996) called for a wider involvement of the scientific community in K-12 education and outreach. Improving science education will not happen without the collaboration of educators and scientists working in a coordinated manner and it requires a long-term, continuous effort. To contribute effectively to K-12 education all scientists should refer to the National Science Education Standards, a set of policies that guide the development of curriculum and assessment. Ocean scientists can also specifically refer to the COSEE recommendations (www.cosee.org) that led to the creation of seven regional Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence. Scientists can get involved in K-12 education in a multitude of ways. They should select projects that will accommodate time away from their research and teaching obligations, their talent, and their interest but also contribute to the education reform. A few examples of effective involvement are: 1) collaborating with colleagues in a school of education that can lead to better education of all students and future teachers, 2) acting as a resource for a national program or a local science fair, 3) serving on the advisory board of a program that develops educational material, 4) speaking out at professional meetings about the value of scientists' involvement in education, 5) speaking enthusiastically about the teaching profession. Improving science education in addition to research can seem a large, overwhelming task for scientists. As a result, focusing on projects that will fit the scientist's needs as well as benefit the science reform is of prime importance. It takes an enormous amount of work and financial and personnel resources to start a new program with measurable impact on students. So, finding the right opportunity is a priority, and stepping

  3. K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    products laboratories publications nisee b.i.p. members education FAQs links education Education Program Internships K-12 Education Contact the PEER Education Program PEER's Educational Affiliates Student Design Competition Student Leadership Council Classes and Other Educational Activities Site Map Search K-12 Education

  4. The K-12 Educational Technology Value Chain: Apps for Kids, Tools for Teachers and Levers for Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierce, Glenn L.; Cleary, Paul F.

    2016-01-01

    Historically implementing, maintaining and managing educational technology has been difficult for K-12 educational systems. Consequently, opportunities for significant advances in K-12 education have often gone unrealized. With the maturation of Internet delivered services along with K-12 institutional trends, educational technologies are poised…

  5. Improving Finance for Qatari Education Reform. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Galama, Titus; Constant, Louay; Gonzalez, Gabriella; Tanner, Jeffery C.; Goldman, Charles A.

    2009-01-01

    Qatar's education reform, which included implementation of a new finance system, appears to be providing schools with adequate funding but is still struggling with issues of transparency and swift policy shifts that have been difficult to accommodate. [For full report, "Developing a School Finance System for K-12 Reform in Qatar", see…

  6. An analysis of United States K-12 stem education versus STEM workforce at the dawn of the digital revolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cataldo, Franca

    The world is at the dawn of a third industrial revolution, the digital revolution, that brings great changes the world over. Today, computing devices, the Internet, and the World Wide Web are vital technology tools that affect every aspect of everyday life and success. While computing technologies offer enormous benefits, there are equally enormous safety and security risks that have been growing exponentially since they became widely available to the public in 1994. Cybercriminals are increasingly implementing sophisticated and serious hack attacks and breaches upon our nation's government, financial institutions, organizations, communities, and private citizens. There is a great need for computer scientists to carry America's innovation and economic growth forward and for cybersecurity professionals to keep our nation safe from criminal hacking. In this digital age, computer science and cybersecurity are essential foundational ingredients of technological innovation, economic growth, and cybersecurity that span all industries. Yet, America's K-12 education institutions are not teaching the computer science and cybersecurity skills required to produce a technologically-savvy 21st century workforce. Education is the key to preparing students to enter the workforce and, therefore, American K-12 STEM education must be reformed to accommodate the teachings required in the digital age. Keywords: Cybersecurity Education, Cybersecurity Education Initiatives, Computer Science Education, Computer Science Education Initiatives, 21 st Century K-12 STEM Education Reform, 21st Century Digital Literacies, High-Tech Innovative Problem-Solving Skills, 21st Century Digital Workforce, Standardized Testing, Foreign Language and Culture Studies, Utica College, Professor Chris Riddell.

  7. Developing a School Finance System for K-12 Reform in Qatar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Galama, Titus; Constant, Louay; Gonzalez, Gabriella; Tanner, Jeffery C.; Goldman, Charles A.

    2009-01-01

    Reform-minded leaders of Qatar, who have embarked on a sweeping reform of their nation's education system, asked RAND to evaluate the education finance system that has been adopted and to offer suggestions for improvements. The authors analyze the system's evolution and resource allocation patterns between 2004 and 2006 and develop analytic tools…

  8. Opinions on Computing Education in Korean K-12 System: Higher Education Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dae-Kyoo; Jeong, Dongwon; Lu, Lunjin; Debnath, Debatosh; Ming, Hua

    2015-01-01

    The need for computing education in the K-12 curriculum has grown globally. The Republic of Korea is not an exception. In response to the need, the Korean Ministry of Education has announced an outline for software-centric computing education in the K-12 system, which aims at enhancing the current computing education with software emphasis. In…

  9. Physical Education Teacher Educator's Perceptions toward and Understanding of K-12 Online Physical Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daum, David N.; Woods, Amelia M.

    2015-01-01

    K-12 online physical education (OLPE) is as an educational opportunity in at least 30 states in the US (NASPE, 2006; 2010; 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine physical education teacher educators' perceptions toward and understanding of K-12 OLPE. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986) served as the theoretical framework for this…

  10. America Y2K: The Obsolescence of Educational Reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherman Dorn

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The passing of the deadline for fulfillment of the national education goals in the United States (the beginning of 2000 reflects the frequently hyperbolic statements of objectives and the manic pace of school reform efforts over the past two decades. The domination by schools of child and family life has combined with a longstanding reliance on schools to solve social problems to make school reform a politically opportune as well as visible issue. Thus, even if the phrasing of national education goals in the U.S. changes to reflect the passing of the nominal deadline, those pressures will remain.

  11. Interstellar Molecules in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuiper, T. B. H.; Hofstadter, M. D.; Levin, S. M.; MacLaren, D.

    2006-12-01

    The Lewis Center for Educational Research (LCER) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) collaborate in a K-12 educational project in which students conduct observations for several research programs led by radio astronomers. The Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) program provides participating teachers with curriculum elements, based on the students' observing experiences, which support national and state academic standards. The current program is based on 2.2-GHz and 8.4-GHz radiometric observations of variable sources. The research programs monitor Jupiter, Uranus, and a selected set of quasars. The telescope is a decommissioned NASA Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California. In the next three years, a second telescope will be added. This telescope will at least operate at the above frequencies as well as 6 GHz and 12 GHz. Possibly, it will operate in a continuous band from 1.2 GHz to 14 GHz. In either case, the telescope will be able to observe at least the 6.6-GHz and 12.2-GHz methanol maser lines. The success of the GAVRT program depends critically on the participation of scientists committed to the research who have the ability and enthusiasm for interacting with K-12 students, typically through teleconferences. The scientists will initially work with the LCER staff to create curriculum elements around their observing program.

  12. Efficacy of the World Wide Web in K-12 environmental education

    Science.gov (United States)

    York, Kimberly Jane

    1998-11-01

    Despite support by teachers, students, and the American public in general, environmental education is not a priority in U.S. schools. Teachers face many barriers to integrating environmental education into K--12 curricula. The focus of this research is teachers' lack of access to environmental education resources. New educational reforms combined with emerging mass communication technologies such as the Internet and World Wide Web present new opportunities for the infusion of environmental content into the curriculum. New technologies can connect teachers and students to a wealth of resources previously unavailable to them. However, significant barriers to using technologies exist that must be overcome to make this promise a reality. Web-based environmental education is a new field and research is urgently needed. If teachers are to use the Web meaningfully in their classrooms, it is essential that their attitudes and perceptions about using this new technology be brought to light. Therefore, this exploratory research investigates teachers' attitudes toward using the Web to share environmental education resources. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to investigate this problem. Two surveys were conducted---self-administered mail survey and a Web-based online survey---to elicit teachers perceptions and comments about environmental education and the Web. Preliminary statistical procedures including frequencies, percentages and correlational measures were performed to interpret the data. In-depth interviews and participant-observation methods were used during an extended environmental education curriculum development project with two practicing teachers to gain insights into the process of creating curricula and placing it online. Findings from the both the mail survey and the Web-based survey suggest that teachers are interested in environmental education---97% of respondents for each survey agreed that environmental education should be taught in K

  13. America Y2K: The Obsolescence of Educational Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorn, Sherman

    2000-01-01

    Notes the passing of the deadline for fulfillment of the national education goals in the United States, the beginning of the year 2000, and indicates that pressures on schools to solve social problems will continue to make school reform a politically opportune and very visible issue. (SLD)

  14. The SERC K12 Educators Portal to Teaching Activities and Pedagogic Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, K.; Kirk, K. B.; Manduca, C. A.; Ledley, T. S.; Schmitt, L.

    2013-12-01

    The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) has created a portal to information for K12 educators to provide high-quality grade level appropriate materials from a wide variety of projects and topics. These materials were compiled across the SERC site, showcasing materials that were created for, or easily adaptable to, K12 classrooms. This resource will help support implementation of Next Generation Science Standards by assisting educators in finding innovative resources to address areas of instruction that are conceptually different than previous national and state science standards. Specifically, the K12 portal assists educators in learning about approaches that address the cross-cutting nature of science concepts, increasing students quantitative reasoning and numeracy skills, incorporating technology such as GIS in the classroom, and by assisting educators of all levels of K12 instruction in using relevant and meaningful ways to teach science concepts. The K12 portal supports educators by providing access to hundreds of teaching activities covering a wide array of science topics and grade levels many of which have been rigorously reviewed for pedagogic quality and scientific accuracy. The portal also provides access to web pages that enhance teaching practices that help increase student's system thinking skills, make lectures interactive, assist instructors in conducting safe and effective indoor and outdoor labs, providing support for teaching energy and climate literacy principles, assisting educators in addressing controversial content, provide guidance in engaging students affective domain, and provides a collection of tools for making teaching relevant in 21st century classrooms including using GIS, Google Earth, videos, visualizations and simulations to model and describe scientific concepts. The portal also provides access to material for specific content and audiences by (1) Supporting AGIs 'Map your World' week to specifically highlight teaching

  15. Harnessing Technology to Improve K-12 Education. Discussion Paper 2012-05

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterji, Aaron; Jones, Benjamin

    2012-01-01

    Technological progress has consistently driven remarkable advances in the U.S. economy, yet K-12 education sees little technological change compared to other sectors, even as U.S. K-12 students increasingly lag behind students in other nations. This proposal considers how we can take a signature American strength--innovation--and apply it to K-12

  16. Structural higher education reform - design and evaluation: synthesis report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    File, Jonathan M.; Huisman, Jeroen; de Boer, Harry F.; Seeber, Marco; Vukasovic, Martina; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at: - Increasing

  17. K-12 Education Nonprofit Employees' Perceptions of Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Employees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Tara Marie

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative study explored the key reasons individuals who work in K-12 education nonprofit organizations enter the field of K-12 nonprofit education and their motivations for doing so. The purpose of this study was to find new strategies for recruiting and retaining K-12 education nonprofit employees by examining the obstacles that exist to…

  18. (Re)Defining the Filipino: Notions of Citizenship in the New K+12 Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    de los Reyes, Elizer Jay

    2013-01-01

    In June 2012, the Philippine government implemented what it called the K+12 Curriculum which reformed its basic education system by adding two more years of schooling to the then existing 10-year structure. Complicated by the long experience and participation of the Filipinos in the diaspora, the constantly lingering thought of leaving for greener…

  19. Tablets in K-12 Education: Integrated Experiences and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Heejung, Ed.; Alon, Sandra, Ed.; Fuentes, David, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    The inclusion of new and emerging technologies in the education sector has been a topic of interest to researchers, educators, and software developers alike in recent years. Utilizing the proper tools in a classroom setting is a critical factor in student success. "Tablets in K-12 Education: Integrated Experiences and Implications"…

  20. Engineering Education in K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spence, Anne

    2013-03-01

    Engineers rely on physicists as well as other scientists and mathematicians to explain the world in which we live. Engineers take this knowledge of the world and use it to create the world that never was. The teaching of physics and other sciences as well as mathematics is critical to maintaining our national workforce. Science and mathematics education are inherently different, however, from engineering education. Engineering educators seek to enable students to develop the habits of mind critical for innovation. Through understanding of the engineering design process and how it differs from the scientific method, students can apply problem and project based learning to solve the challenges facing society today. In this talk, I will discuss the elements critical to a solid K-12 engineering education that integrates science and mathematics to solve challenges throughout the world.

  1. Approaching K-12 Online Education in Pennsylvania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadell, Kathryn

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine how K-12 schools are addressing the need to accommodate online learners in Pennsylvania. It is built upon a review of literature focusing on educational legislation, the personalization of online learning and online learning solutions. The study posed 21 questions utilizing a mixed methods approach to…

  2. The Anthropology of Science Education Reform: An Alabama Model for Building an Integrated Stakeholder Systems Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denson, R. L.; Cox, G. N.

    2004-12-01

    education through facilitating communication among education, business, and public policy organizations. Through the AMSTEC approach to systemic Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education reform, business and other aspects of our culture play a vital role as stakeholders in the development of the integrated stakeholder model. Using the STEMnet model developed by National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), each of the stakeholders has been working in support of the Alabama Department of Education's Math Science and Technology K-12 research-based Initiative (AMSTI) . In this respect, Alabama has the education aspects of science education reform underway. AMSTI continues to grow and strengthen its program now using an integrated stakeholder model. The integrated stakeholder approach enhances and strengthens Alabama's STEM educational activities in support of systemic K-12 education reform called for in our nation to meet the needs of the 21st century workforce. In addition, aspects of culture including the media, the health community, and local business and industry will also align messages and programs to work in support of systemic K-20 education reform. It truly "takes a village" of good communicating stakeholders who have created a shared vision and common language for discussing and aligning resources and strategies for changing the perceptions, feelings and teaching and learning of science in our society http://www.amstec.org, http://www.nsstc.org

  3. Active Commuting among K-12 Educators: A Study Examining Walking and Biking to Work

    OpenAIRE

    Bopp, Melissa; Hastmann, Tanis J.; Norton, Alyssa N.

    2013-01-01

    Background. Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC) is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. Methods. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators (n = 437) was recruited to partici...

  4. Spacemakers: A Leadership Perspective on Curriculum and the Purpose of K-12 Educational Makerspaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harron, Jason R.; Hughes, Joan E.

    2018-01-01

    This qualitative research study investigated how educational makerspace leaders, whom we refer to as spacemakers, framed the purpose of the makerspace in K-12 education and how makerspaces support school curriculum. Using interviews with twelve K-12 spacemakers, the study found spacemakers were experienced, self-motivated educators. These leaders…

  5. A Framework for Quality K-12 Engineering Education: Research and Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Tamara J.; Glancy, Aran W.; Tank, Kristina M.; Kersten, Jennifer A.; Smith, Karl A.; Stohlmann, Micah S.

    2014-01-01

    Recent U.S. national documents have laid the foundation for highlighting the connection between science, technology, engineering and mathematics at the K-12 level. However, there is not a clear definition or a well-established tradition of what constitutes a quality engineering education at the K-12 level. The purpose of the current work has been…

  6. Reform of teacher education and teacher educator competences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jens

    Despite it is well known known and recognized that teacher educators’ competences play a decisive role for the education of new teachers and also for the quality of the profession as such very little research is conducted on the competences of teacher educators and their training. It is also...... an established fact that the implementation of teacher education reforms to a large extent stands and falls with the competences of the teacher educators. Not least it is of importance that teacher educators possess the kind of competences that are needed to meet the intentions of a reform. Failing teacher...... educator competences might just as well be an explanation for frequent reforms in teacher education as it can be failure of the reforms themselves. Danish teacher education was in 2012 reformed for the third time in only fifteen years, but teacher educator competences were not mapped at all during...

  7. Virtual Schools: The Changing Landscape of K-12 Education in the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toppin, Ian N.; Toppin, Sheila M.

    2016-01-01

    Virtual schools are a growing phenomenon in k-12 education. School systems in almost every state in the United States offer some version of fully online or blended education. It is no longer far-fetched to conclude that if the current trend continues, virtual school enrollments will eclipse those of traditional brick-and-mortar k-12 institutions…

  8. How to Get Successfully Involved with K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, D.; Fraknoi, A.; Bennett, M.

    1998-05-01

    Many astronomers now have some involvement in K-12 education, either through their children, through large projects with an education or outreach office, or through an educational component to their own grants. Some may need to incorporate education components into future proposals. For those new to education, it can be difficult to decide how best to use their limited resources without "re-inventing the wheel." Some astronomers are comfortable taking a direct role in the classroom or working with teachers, others prefer developing web-based or printed materials, while still others wouldrather work with local schools of education to enhance the training of future teachers. Which of these roles is most useful? In this session, participants will learn what has worked well in the past, with special attention paid to ways in which astronomers' and physicists' training and instincts may fail them when working in education. Invited teachers will describe their classrooms and how astronomers can be most helpful to them. Sample (successful) activities will be demonstrated, and information given about the wide range of existing astronomy and space-science education programs around the country. A full menu of useful ways that astronomers can get involved will be presented, as well as the organizations and institutions which can help in devising a meaningful education program. Handouts will include a catalog of national astronomy education projects, a list of educational web sites, information about the NASA OSS education brokers and facilitators, examples of successful educational materials, and a listing of roles astronomers have played or could play to enhance K-12 education. Registration is required; see the AAS Education WWW page or email aased@aas.org.

  9. Florida's Opinion on K-12 Public Education Spending

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forster, Greg

    2006-01-01

    This scientifically representative poll of 1,200 Floridians finds that public opinion about K-12 public education spending is seriously misinformed. Floridians think public schools need more money, but the main reason is that they are badly mistaken about how much money the public schools actually get. Key findings of the study include: (1) Half…

  10. Factors affecting science reform: Bridging the gap between reform initiatives and teaching practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pensak, Karl John

    In response to the perceived deficiencies in science education today, and to the expressed need for research into the culture of schools (due primarily to the failure of many science reforms in the past), this study used a broad based approach to study the gap between science education research and science education practice. This study identified 47 factors that may encourage or inhibit science curriculum reform. A survey was conducted to determine which factors were perceived to be important by local and national K-12 classroom teachers, science supervisors/coordinators, and college/university professors. Continual staff development (scheduled as part of teachers' work day/week/month), funding (for long-term staff development, teacher training and support, science laboratory facilities and materials), teacher motivation and "ownership" of the reform, the need for collaborative opportunities for classroom teachers, teachers' college preparation, textbook reform, community support, and reform initiatives that are "in tune" with assessment, are major factors identified as having a substantial affect on the successful adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of science reforms.

  11. Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Education in K-12 Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heafner, Tina L., Ed.; Hartshorne, Richard, Ed.; Petty, Teresa, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    The integration of technology in classrooms is rapidly emerging as a way to provide more educational opportunities for students. As virtual learning environments become more popular, evaluating the impact of this technology on student success is vital. "Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Education in K-12 Environments" combines…

  12. Inspiring the Next Generation: Astronomy Catalyzes K12 STEM Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borders, Kareen; Thaller, Michelle; Winglee, Robert; Borders, Kyla

    2017-06-01

    K-12 educators need effective and relevant astronomy professional development. NASA's Mission Science provides innovative and accessible opportunities for K-12 teachers. Science questions involve scale and distance, including Moon/Earth scale, solar system scale, and distance of objects in the universe. Teachers can gain an understanding of basic telescopes, the history of telescopes, ground and satellite based telescopes, and models of JWST Telescope. An in-depth explanation of JWST and Spitzer telescopes gave participants background knowledge for infrared astronomy observations. During teacher training, we taught the electromagnetic spectrum through interactive stations. The stations included an overview via lecture and power point, the use of ultraviolet beads to determine ultraviolet exposure, the study of lenticulars and diagramming of infrared data, looking at visible light through diffraction glasses and diagramming the data, protocols for using astronomy based research in the classroom, and infrared thermometers to compare environmental conditions around the observatory. An overview of LIDAR physics was followed up by a simulated LIDAR mapping of the topography of Mars.We will outline specific steps for K-12 infrared astronomy professional development, provide data demonstrating the impact of the above professional development on educator understanding and classroom use, and detail future plans for additional K-12 professional development.Funding was provided by Washington STEM, NASA, and the Washington Space Grant Consortium.

  13. Career education attitudes and practices of K-12 science educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Walter S.

    A random sample of 400 K-12 science educators who were members of the National Science Teachers Association were surveyed regarding their attitude toward and practice of career education in their science teaching. These science teachers rejected a narrowly vocational view, favoring instead a conception of career education which included self-perception, values analysis, and vocational skills objectives. The science educators affirmed the importance of career education for a student's education, asserted career education ought to be taught in their existing science courses, and expressed a willingness to do so. Fewer than one-third of the science teachers, however, reported incorporating career education at least on a weekly basis in their science lessons. The major impediment to including more career education in science teaching was seen to be their lack of knowledge of methods and materials relevant to science career education, rather than objections from students, parents, or administrators; their unwillingness; or their evaluation of career education as unimportant. Thus, in order to improve this aspect of science teaching, science teachers need more concrete information about science career education applications.

  14. Educating Tomorrow's Workforce: A Report on the Semiconductor Industry's Commitment to Youth in K-12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semiconductor Industry Association, San Jose, CA.

    The U.S. semiconductor industry, now the nation's largest manufacturing industry, displays its commitment to training its current workers and educating future workers by supporting educational efforts on the K-12 level. This catalog describes innovative actions by 16 Semiconductor Industry Association companies to improve education at the K-12

  15. Education Reform: Ten Years after the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Driscoll, Joseph B. Berger, Ronald K. Hambleton, Lisa A. Keller, Robert W. Maloy, David Hart, Paul Oh, Victoria Getis, Susan Bowles, Francis L. Gougeon, Kathryn A. McDermott, Andrew Churchill

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available In June 1993, Governor William Weld signed into law the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA. MERA greatly increased the state role both in funding public education and in guiding the local educational process. The state’s role changed to incorporate setting curriculum frameworks and holding schools accountable for student performance. Because MERA was designed to be a systemic reform of education, all of the various state activities and policies needed to fit together into a coherent whole based on state educational standards.

  16. K-12 STEM Educators and the Inclusive Classroom

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Songze

    2016-01-01

    The United States public schools promote inclusion and educational equity among diverse student populations. Considerable and growing numbers of students with categorical disabilities and Limited English Proficiency (LEP) are enrolled in regular classrooms. The systemic barriers in learning that they have could impact teacher perceptions and decisions about teaching practices as well as the teaching profession. These students have challenged K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathemat...

  17. How Vocational Psychologists Can Make a Difference in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Justin C.; Shannon, Lisa

    2017-01-01

    In general, vocational psychologists have not been engaged in applied research that demonstrates how career interventions can improve educational problems that matter to relevant decision-makers and stakeholders. This article describes how vocational psychology can make a difference in K-12 education by embracing an interdisciplinary…

  18. The Effectiveness of Educational Technology Applications for Enhancing Mathematics Achievement in K-12 Classrooms: A Meta-Analysis. Educator's Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Center for Research and Reform in Education, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This review summarizes research on the effects of technology use on mathematics achievement in K-12 classrooms. The main research questions included: (1) Do education technology applications improve mathematics achievement in K-12 classrooms as compared to traditional teaching methods without education technology?; and (2) What study and research…

  19. Active commuting among K-12 educators: a study examining walking and biking to work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bopp, Melissa; Hastmann, Tanis J; Norton, Alyssa N

    2013-01-01

    Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC) is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators (n = 437) was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors). t-tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. Participants actively commuted 0.51 ± 1.93 times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.

  20. Active Commuting among K-12 Educators: A Study Examining Walking and Biking to Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Bopp

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. Methods. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators ( was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors. -tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. Results. Participants actively commuted times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. Conclusions. This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.

  1. Curriculum Guide for Music Education, K-12. Bulletin 1978, No. 18.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alabama State Dept. of Education, Montgomery.

    This curriculum guide contains objectives, activities, and evaluation procedures for a K-12 music education program. It would be useful to anyone responsible for teaching music. The authors believe that music education has the dual obligation of developing the aesthetic sensitivity of all students regardless of their individual levels of musical…

  2. A Classroom Observational Study of Qatar's Independent Schools: Instruction and School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Douglas J.; Sadiq, Hissa M.; Lynch, Patricia; Parker, Dawn; Viruru, Radhika; Knight, Stephanie; Waxman, Hersh; Alford, Beverly; Brown, Danielle Bairrington; Rollins, Kayla; Stillisano, Jacqueline; Abu-Tineh, Abdullah M. Hamdan; Nasser, Ramzi; Allen, Nancy; Al-Binali, Hessa; Ellili, Maha; Al-Kateeb, Haithem; Al-Kubaisi, Huda

    2016-01-01

    Qatar initiated a K-12 national educational reform in 2001. However, there is limited information on the instructional practices of the teachers in the reform schools. This project was an observational study of classrooms with a stratified random sample of the first six cohorts of reform schools. Specifically, 156 classrooms were observed in 29…

  3. Reforming Science and Mathematics Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagowski, J. J.

    1995-09-01

    fundamental reforms in public education is challenging. The coalition must be able to reach consensus on a vision of reform and, then, sustain the reform over an extended period of time. This is not easy when power and authority are highly fragmented (and perhaps at odds), where interest groups live or die on confromtation politics, when public and private sectors exhibit a basic distrust of one another, and when everyone is an expert--real or imagined--on topics more-or-less related to education. In addition, the SSI's are operating in a turbulent climate. Policy makers may be working on standards-based reforms in K-12 education at the same time they are seeking efficiencies in state government, consider deregulation, and experiment with integrated social services. Criminal justice, health, and welfare are competing in state capitols for the resources required to bring about education reforms. And, within this shifting policy landscape, the SSI's are seeking higher priority for mathematics and science, as well as attempting to develop the infrastructure and capacity to support change in the schools. Simply keeping mathematics and science education high on the agenda of state policy-makers is a challenge. Each of these component strategies of the SSI's is important. The critical question is whether, in a given state, the SSI strategies, when combined with other state reform initiatives, form a coherent, comprehensive plan for improving public education. While the oldest of the SSI's are only in their fourth year of activity, it is already clear that the reforms they are seeking will take longer than five years to accomplish. (The SSI's are supported by five-year grants from the NSF.) The instructional reforms advocated by the SSI's require time to implement, and once in place, additional time to produce results. Elected officials often focus on the short-term, and they can become impatient when the results are slow. There appears to be no ready solution to the conflict

  4. Exploring Arizona K-12 Virtual Educator Experiences and Perspectives Developing Collaborative Learning Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Deborah Iyron

    2015-01-01

    Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) provided an instructional alternative to nearly fifty thousand K-12 students in Arizona during the 2012-2013 school year. Growth in online education underscores the importance of evolving the role of the K-12 virtual teacher as the human agent (Turvey, 2008) demonstrating social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) by…

  5. Health Education Teacher Resource Handbook: A Practical Guide for K-12 Health Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, Beverly Saxton, Ed.; Olsen, Larry K., Ed.

    This handbook provides background information on the health curriculum, as well as current, comprehensive information on publications, standards, and special materials for K-12 health education. The manual begins with an introduction, by P. Bruce Uhrmacher, which provides an overview of the ideologies and philosophies that have affected curriculum…

  6. Infrared Astronomy Professional Development for K-12 Educators: WISE Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borders, Kareen; Mendez, B. M.

    2010-01-01

    K-12 educators need effective and relevant astronomy professional development. WISE Telescope (Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer) and Spitzer Space Telescope Education programs provided an immersive teacher professional development workshop at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico during the summer of 2009. As many common misconceptions involve scale and distance, teachers worked with Moon/Earth scale, solar system scale, and distance of objects in the universe. Teachers built and used basic telescopes, learned about the history of telescopes, explored ground and satellite based telescopes, and explored and worked on models of WISE Telescope. An in-depth explanation of WISE and Spitzer telescopes gave participants background knowledge for infrared astronomy observations. We taught the electromagnetic spectrum through interactive stations. The stations included an overview via lecture and power point, the use of ultraviolet beads to determine ultraviolet exposure, the study of WISE lenticulars and diagramming of infrared data, listening to light by using speakers hooked up to photoreceptor cells, looking at visible light through diffraction glasses and diagramming the data, protocols for using astronomy based research in the classroom, and infrared thermometers to compare environmental conditions around the observatory. An overview of LIDAR physics was followed up by a simulated LIDAR mapping of the topography of Mars. We will outline specific steps for K-12 infrared astronomy professional development, provide data demonstrating the impact of the above professional development on educator understanding and classroom use, and detail future plans for additional K-12 professional development. Funding was provided by WISE Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, Starbucks, Arecibo Observatory, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Washington Space Grant Consortium.

  7. Leading Effective Educational Technology in K-12 School Districts: A Grounded Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Lara Gillian C.

    2011-01-01

    A systematic grounded theory qualitative study was conducted investigating the process of effectively leading educational technology in New Jersey public K-12 school districts. Data were collected from educational technology district leaders (whether formal or non-formal administrators) and central administrators through a semi-structured online…

  8. Considerations for Education Reform in British Columbia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Ana

    2012-01-01

    Countries around the world refer to twenty-first century education as essential to maintaining personal and national economic advantage and draw on this discourse to advocate for and embark on educational reform. This paper examines issues around education reform, particularly in British Columbia. It argues that reformers should give careful…

  9. Education Reform in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Dowson

    2000-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the early 1990s, the pace of educational reform in Hong Kong has accelerated and broadened to incorporate almost all areas of schooling. The reforms introduced during this period can be subsumed under what has generally been labelled the quality movement. In this paper, we review and comment on a number of policy reform initiatives in the four areas of "Quality Education," English Language Benchmarking, Initial Teacher Training and the Integration of Pupils with Special Needs into Ordinary Classrooms. Following a brief description of each policy initiative, the reforms are discussed in terms of their consistency, coherence and cultural fit.

  10. Reforming Technical and Technological Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, David N.

    1993-01-01

    Review of technical and technological educational reform in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sweden shows that reform takes time to complete effectively, long-term approaches are needed, and reform is linked to industrial development, regional cooperation, and decentralized decision making. (SK)

  11. Education Reform and Career Education--Deja Vu.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, Barbara

    1984-01-01

    The current outcry for educational reform raises issues that have already long concerned career education. This situation gives career educators the opportunity to provide leadership in attaining common educational goals. (JB)

  12. CESAME: Providing High Quality Professional Development in Science and Mathematics for K-12 Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickman, Paul

    2002-04-01

    It is appropriate that after almost half a century of Science and Mathematics education reform we take a look back and a peek forward to understand the present state of this wonderfully complex system. Each of the components of this system including teaching, professional development, assessment, content and the district K-12 curriculum all need to work together if we hope to provide quality science, mathematics and technology education for ALL students. How do the state and national standards drive the system? How do state policies on student testing and teacher licensure come into play? How do we improve the preparation, retention and job satisfaction of our K-12 teachers? What initiatives have made or are making a difference? What else needs to be done? What can the physics community do to support local efforts? This job is too big for any single organization or individual but we each can contribute to the effort. Our Center at Northeastern University, with support from the National Science Foundation, has a sharply defined focus: to get high quality, research-based instructional materials into the hands of K-12 classroom teachers and provide the support they need to use the materials effectively in their classrooms.

  13. Transforming an Urban School System: Progress of New Haven School Change and New Haven Promise Education Reforms (2010-2013). Research Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Gabriella C.; Bozick, Robert; Daugherty, Lindsay; Scherer, Ethan; Singh, Reema; Suárez, Mónica Jacobo; Ryan, Sarah

    2014-01-01

    In 2009, the City of New Haven and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) announced a sweeping K-12 educational reform, New Haven School Change. The district had three primary goals for School Change: (1) close the gap between the performance of NHPS students' and Connecticut students' averages on state tests, (2) cut the high school dropout rate in…

  14. Are K-12 Learners Motivated in Physical Education? A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Senlin; Chen, Ang; Zhu, Xihe

    2012-01-01

    Previous studies devoted to K-12 learner motivation in physical education share a general assumption that students may lack motivation. This meta-analytic study examined published original studies (n = 79) to determine students' motivation level and the association between motivation and outcomes. Original means of motivation measures were…

  15. Medical Education and Curriculum Reform: Putting Reform Proposals in Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Kam Yin Chan, MD, MB.BS, MHA

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to elaborate criteria by which the principles of curriculum reform can be judged. To this end, the paper presents an overview of standard critiques of medical education and examines the ways medical curriculum reforms have responded to these critiques. The paper then sets out our assessment of these curriculum reforms along three parameters: pedagogy, educational context, and knowledge status. Following on from this evaluation of recent curriculum reforms, the paper puts forward four criteria with which to gauge the adequacy medical curriculum reform. These criteria enable us to question the extent to which new curricula incorporate methods and approaches for ensuring that its substance: overcomes the traditional opposition between clinical and resource dimensions of care; emphasizes that the clinical work needs to be systematized in so far as that it feasible; promotes multi-disciplinary team work, and balances clinical autonomy with accountability to non-clinical stakeholders.

  16. Education and the Community in the Peruvian Educational Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malpica, Carlos

    1980-01-01

    A structural and philosophical reform of Peruvian education was instituted in March 1972, using as its basis a local community education nucleus model. This article presents the reform experience, relates it to its historical antecedents, gives some information on evaluation studies in progress, and traces some projections for educational…

  17. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-01-01

    The session "Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration" included the following reports:Training Informal Educators Provides Leverage for Space Science Education and Public Outreach; Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education: K-12 Teacher Retention, Renewal, and Involvement in Professional Science; Telling the Tale of Two Deserts: Teacher Training and Utilization of a New Standards-based, Bilingual E/PO Product; Lindstrom M. M. Tobola K. W. Stocco K. Henry M. Allen J. S. McReynolds J. Porter T. T. Veile J. Space Rocks Tell Their Secrets: Space Science Applications of Physics and Chemistry for High School and College Classes -- Update; Utilizing Mars Data in Education: Delivering Standards-based Content by Exposing Educators and Students to Authentic Scientific Opportunities and Curriculum; K. E. Little Elementary School and the Young Astronaut Robotics Program; Integrated Solar System Exploration Education and Public Outreach: Theme, Products and Activities; and Online Access to the NEAR Image Collection: A Resource for Educators and Scientists.

  18. Science Communication versus Science Education: The Graduate Student Scientist as a K-12 Classroom Resource

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, Jeff; Shope, Richard E., III; Terebey, Susan

    2005-01-01

    Science literacy is a major goal of science educational reform (NRC, 1996; AAAS, 1998; NCLB Act, 2001). Some believe that teaching science only requires pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Others believe doing science requires knowledge of the methodologies of scientific inquiry (NRC, 1996). With these two mindsets, the challenge for science educators is to create models that bring the two together. The common ground between those who teach science and those who do science is science communication, an interactive process that galvanizes dialogue among scientists, teachers, and learners in a rich ambience of mutual respect and a common, inclusive language of discourse . The dialogue between science and non-science is reflected in the polarization that separates those who do science and those who teach science, especially as it plays out everyday in the science classroom. You may be thinking, why is this important? It is vital because, although not all science learners become scientists, all K-12 students are expected to acquire science literacy, especially with the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Students are expected to acquire the ability to follow the discourse of science as well as connect the world of science to the context of their everyday life if they plan on moving to the next grade level, and in some states, to graduate from high school. This paper posits that science communication is highly effective in providing the missing link for K-12 students cognition in science and their attainment of science literacy. This paper will focus on the "Science For Our Schools" (SFOS) model implemented at California State Univetsity, Los Angeles (CSULA) as a project of the National Science Foundation s GK-12 program, (NSF 2001) which has been a huge success in bridging the gap between those who "know" science and those who "teach" science. The SFOS model makes clear the distinctions that identify science, science communication, science

  19. Reforma Educativa: Proyecto de Reforma Educativa para Francia (Educational Reform: French Educational Reform Proposals).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langevin, Paul

    This document is a Spanish translation of French educational reform proposals and general educational philosophy. Initial remarks in the document concern educational objectives and general aims of the particular educational levels. Different, possible, educational progressions are considered, and the university system is discussed. Teacher…

  20. Mobile Apps for Reflection in Learning: A Design Research in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leinonen, Teemu; Keune, Anna; Veermans, Marjaana; Toikkanen, Tarmo

    2016-01-01

    This study takes a design-based research approach to explore how applications designed for mobile devices could support reflection in learning in K-12 education. Use of mobile devices is increasing in schools. Most of the educational apps support single-person use of interactive learning materials, simulations and learning games. Apps designed to…

  1. Moral education and values education in curriculum reform In China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhu Xiaoman

    2006-01-01

    In the new curriculum reform in China,moral education and values education have been defined from the angles of the integrity and conformity of curriculum functions.Accordingly, a new education concept based on complete/integral curriculum functions is established.By discussing the essences of the curriculum,the basis of moral and values education,integrated curriculum setting in instruction structure,the presence of emotional and attitudinal goals in the subject standards,and teaching methods,this text points out that this curriculum reform looks to moral and values education in schools.The reform also emphasizes and will guarantee moral and values education in schools.Finally,the article recommends to elementary and secondary schools the studies on moral education in class conducted by the Research Institute of Moral Education of Nanjing Normal University,one of the Key Bases for Humanities and Social Sciences Research for the Ministry of Education.

  2. The Development of a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, T.

    2010-12-01

    The National Academy of Sciences has created a committee of 18 National Academy of Science and Engineering members, academic scientists, cognitive and learning scientists, and educators, educational policymakers and researchers to develop a framework to guide new K-12 science education standards. The committee began its work in January, 2010, released a draft of the framework in July, 2010, and intends to have the final framework in the first quarter of 2011. The committee was helped in early phases of the work by consultant design teams. The framework is designed to help realize a vision for science and engineering education in which all students actively engage in science and engineering practices in order to deepen their understanding of core ideas in science over multiple years of school. These three dimensions - core disciplinary ideas, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting elements - must blend together to build an exciting, relevant, and forward looking science education. The framework will be used as a base for development of next generation K-12 science education standards.

  3. Leadership, Responsibility, and Reform in Science Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bybee, Rodger W.

    1993-01-01

    Regards leadership as central to the success of the reform movement in science education. Defines leadership and introduces a model of leadership modified from the one developed by Edwin Locke and his associates. Provides an overview of the essential qualities of leadership occurring in science education. Discusses reforming science education and…

  4. K-12 Local Network (LAN) Design Guide

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Horton, Cody

    1998-01-01

    ...) educators preparing to design and implement LANs in K-12 schools and libraries. Data was collected during the implementation of LANs in K-12 schools of the Monterey Peninsula Uniform School District (MPUSD...

  5. NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide to Planning and Implementing High-Quality Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Susan K., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    The new Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards should be part of every school district's repertoire of standards to ensure that the learning needs of advanced students are being met. "NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide to Planning and Implementing High-Quality Services" details six standards that…

  6. France, initiatives for excellence in higher education: One of twelve case studies produced as part of the project on structural reform in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boudard, Emmanuel; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at:• Increasing

  7. Effects of Welfare Reform on Vocational Education and Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dave, Dhaval M.; Reichman, Nancy E.; Corman, Hope; Das, Dhiman

    2011-01-01

    Exploiting variation in welfare reform across states and over time and using relevant comparison groups, this study estimates the effects of welfare reform on an important source of human capital acquisition among women at risk for relying on welfare: vocational education and training. The results suggest that welfare reform reduced enrollment in full-time vocational education and had no significant effects on part-time vocational education or participation in other types of work-related courses, though there appears to be considerable heterogeneity across states with respect to the strictness of educational policy and the strength of work incentives under welfare reform. In addition, we find evidence of heterogeneous effects by prior educational attainment. We find no evidence that the previously-observed negative effects of welfare reform on formal education (including college enrollment), which we replicated in this study, have been offset by increases in vocational education and training. PMID:22125356

  8. K-12 educational outcomes of immigrant youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crosnoe, Robert; Turley, Ruth N López

    2011-01-01

    The children from immigrant families in the United States make up a historically diverse population, and they are demonstrating just as much diversity in their experiences in the K-12 educational system. Robert Crosnoe and Ruth López Turley summarize these K-12 patterns, paying special attention to differences in academic functioning across segments of the immigrant population defined by generational status, race and ethnicity, and national origin. A good deal of evidence points to an immigrant advantage in multiple indicators of academic progress, meaning that many youths from immigrant families outperform their peers in school. This apparent advantage is often referred to as the immigrant paradox, in that it occurs despite higher-than-average rates of social and economic disadvantages in this population as a whole. The immigrant paradox, however, is more pronounced among the children of Asian and African immigrants than other groups, and it is stronger for boys than for girls. Furthermore, evidence for the paradox is far more consistent in secondary school than in elementary school. Indeed, school readiness appears to be one area of potential risk for children from immigrant families, especially those of Mexican origin. For many groups, including those from Latin America, any evidence of the immigrant paradox usually emerges after researchers control for family socioeconomic circumstances and youths' English language skills. For others, including those from Asian countries, it is at least partially explained by the tendency for more socioeconomically advantaged residents of those regions to leave their home country for the United States. Bilingualism and strong family ties help to explain immigrant advantages in schooling; school, community, and other contextual disadvantages may suppress these advantages or lead to immigrant risks. Crosnoe and Turley also discuss several policy efforts targeting young people from immigrant families, especially those of Latin

  9. Addressing the NETS*S in K-12 Classrooms: Implications for Teacher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niederhauser, Dale S.; Lindstrom, Denise L.; Strobel, Johannes

    2007-01-01

    The National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) were developed to provide guidelines for effective and meaningful technology use with K-12 students. In the present study we used the NETS*S as a framework to analyze ways that teachers integrated instructional technology use and provided opportunities for their students to…

  10. Compensation Reform and Design Preferences of Teacher Incentive Fund Grantees. Policy Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyburn, Sara; Lewis, Jessica; Ritter, Gary

    2010-01-01

    In U.S. K-12 public education, incentive pay for educators remains firmly fixed as a high-interest policy topic and has recently become a popular reform initiative in many school systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, is at the forefront of this policy movement and has provided hundreds of…

  11. Education for a New Era: Stakeholders’ Perception of Qatari Education Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Ellili-Cherif

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports the results of a qualitative research study that explores principal, teacher, and parent perceptions with regard to Qatar’s education reform, Education for a New Era (EFNE launched in 2004. The study focuses on the effects of the reform on each group, their perceived advantages and disadvantages of the reform, and the challenges they face in the implementation of EFNE. Data for this study was collected through an open-ended questionnaire. The results point to the positive effects of EFNE on improving instruction, principals' leadership style, and learner attitude to education. These stakeholders believe that the reform is too ambitious and sometimes unrealistic. The three groups also report challenges that revolve around the amount of extra effort and work it requires from them, the continuous reform changes, and the threats to the local culture and language. Discussion and conclusions are provided regarding EFNE.

  12. Environmental Education and K-12 Student Outcomes: A Review and Analysis of Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardoin, Nicole M.; Bowers, Alison W.; Roth, Noelle Wyman; Holthuis, Nicole

    2018-01-01

    Many practitioners and researchers describe academic and environmental benefits of environmental education for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) students. To consider the empirical underpinnings of those program descriptions, we systematically analyzed the peer-reviewed literature (1994-2013), focusing on outcomes of environmental…

  13. Standards Based Design: Teaching K-12 Educators to Build Quality Online Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quiroz, René E.; Ritter, Nicola L.; Li, Yun; Newton, Rhonda C.; Palkar, Trupti

    2016-01-01

    The number of online courses, programs, and schools are growing exponentially in K-12 education. Given the unique nature of online courses and the distinct skills necessary to create a quality online course, it is essential that effective professional development be provided for teachers designing online courses. Online courses need to be of the…

  14. Benefits and Pitfalls: Simple Guidelines for the Use of Social Networking Tools in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    The article will outline a framework for the use of social networking tools in K-12 education framed around four thought provoking questions: 1) what are the benefits and pitfalls of using social networking tools in P-12 education, 2) how do we plan effectively for the use of social networking tool, 3) what role does professional development play…

  15. K--12 science educator perception of instructing students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holliday-Cashwell, Janet Rose

    2000-10-01

    Selected K--12 public school science educators in 14 eastern North Carolina counties were surveyed to examine their perceptions of their undergraduate preparation programs with regard to instructing students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom. A quantitative study, this research examined science educator preparedness in instructing students with learning disabilities by evaluating educator perception in regard to mainstrearned and inclusive educational settings. Specifically, two null hypotheses were tested. Null hypothesis I stated a significant difference does not exist between selected North Carolina K--12 science educators' perceptions of their undergraduate teacher education preparation programs and their perceptions of their abilities to instruct students needing accommodations on behalf of their learning disabilities in mainstrearned or inclusive settings. Participants' responses to perception as well as value statements regarding opinions, adaptations, and undergraduate training with respect to mainstreaming and inclusion were evaluated through t-test analyses of 22 Likert-scale items. Null hypothesis 1 was not accepted because a statistically significant difference did exist between the educators' perceptions of their undergraduate training and their perceived abilities to instruct students with learning disabilities in mainstreamed or inclusive settings. Null hypothesis 2 stated a significant difference does not exist between selected North Carolina K--12 science educators' attained educational level; grade level currently taught, supervised or chaired; and years of experience in teaching science, supervising science education, and/or chairing science departments in selected North Carolina public schools and their opinions of their undergraduate teacher education program with regard to instructing students with learning disabilities in mainstreamed or inclusive educational settings. Null hypothesis 2 was evaluated through an analysis of

  16. "Trickle-Down" Reform: Hispanics, Higher Education, and the Excellence Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcon, John J.; de la Luz Reyes, Maria

    1991-01-01

    Recent excellence-in-education reform measures have created greater restrictions on the access of Hispanics to higher education. Suggests that reformers expect reform benefits to "trickle down" to minorities after first benefiting mainstream students. The idea of excellence must include that of educational equity. (CJS)

  17. Structural Dynamics of Education Reforms and Quality of Primary Education in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyenje, Aida

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines Uganda's recent undertaking to reform her Primary School education System with a focus on the effect of structural dynamics of education reforms and the quality of primary education. Structural dynamics in the context of this study is in reference to the organizational composition of the education system at the government,…

  18. Reform of Medium Education and Physical education: an abyss for the future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robson dos Santos Bastos

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available It develops analyzes on the reform of secondary education proposed by Provisional Measure . 746, now Law 13.415/17, and its implications in the future of Physical Education. Part of the following scientific question: What are the perspectives for the future of Physical Education in the face of the reform of secondary education proposed by the new educational policy? As methodological strategy a documentary study was developed, having as a source of analysis the texts of the MP and the law that ratifies it, besides the notes published by different entities related to education and Physical Education. The study indicates that the reform of high school will imply significantly in Physical Education in three fields: in its teaching in basic education, in teacher training and in teaching work.

  19. Progress in reforming chemical engineering education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wankat, Phillip C

    2013-01-01

    Three successful historical reforms of chemical engineering education were the triumph of chemical engineering over industrial chemistry, the engineering science revolution, and Engineering Criteria 2000. Current attempts to change teaching methods have relied heavily on dissemination of the results of engineering-education research that show superior student learning with active learning methods. Although slow dissemination of education research results is probably a contributing cause to the slowness of reform, two other causes are likely much more significant. First, teaching is the primary interest of only approximately one-half of engineering faculty. Second, the vast majority of engineering faculty have no training in teaching, but trained professors are on average better teachers. Significant progress in reform will occur if organizations with leverage-National Science Foundation, through CAREER grants, and the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET-use that leverage to require faculty to be trained in pedagogy.

  20. K-12 Technology Accessibility: The Message from State Governments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaheen, Natalie L.; Lazar, Jonathan

    2018-01-01

    This study examined state education technology plans and technology accessibility statutes to attempt to answer the question--is K-12 instructional technology accessibility discussed in state-level technology accessibility statutes and education technology plans across the 50 United States? When a K-12 school district is planning the construction…

  1. Reforms in Nigerian education sector: Implications for Science and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examines the state of Education in Nigeria, the current educational reforms and their implications for science and technology education. It reviews various score sheets for the state of the countries educational system pointing to indicators of the system being inefficient, and attendantly calling for a reformation.

  2. Neo-Liberal Educational Reform in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana López Guerra

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Using the argument that educational systems in Latin American are inefficient, political organizations and international financial institutions promoted reforms based on free market principles to modernize education in the region. Chile was used as a laboratory for these reforms, which were then applied to other Latin American countries. This paper analyzes the argument that educational quality is improved through competition—used as a strategy to privatize the educational system—by transferring its financing from public to private sources, to the detriment of the national system of education. Finally, this paper examines the modernization process and the failure of the free market model of the Mexican system of education.

  3. Poland, assuring and strengthening the quality of (private) higher education : One of twelve case studies produced as part of the project on structural reform in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kwiek, Marek; Antonowicz, Dominik; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at:• Increasing

  4. Teachers' Voices in the Context of Higher Education Reforms in Armenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karakhanyan, Susanna; van Veen, Klaas; Bergen, Th. C. M.

    2011-01-01

    In this article, teachers' sense-making and reasoning about higher education reforms in a post Soviet country, namely Armenia, are examined using an analytical framework with six sensitising concepts: beliefs, emotions, attitudes, change knowledge, attributions and organisational culture. The results of semi-structured interviews with 12 Armenian…

  5. A case study of systemic curricular reform: A forty-year history

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laubach, Timothy Alan

    What follows is a description of the development of a particular inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum program and how its theoretical underpinnings positively influenced a school district's (K-12) science program and also impacted district- and state-wide curriculum reform initiatives. The district's science program has evolved since the inception of the inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum reform forty years ago. Therefore, a historical case study, which incorporated grounded theory methodology, was used to convey the forty-year development of a science curriculum reform effort and its systemic influences. Data for this study were collected primarily through artifacts, such as technical and non-technical documents, and supported and augmented with interviews. Fifteen people comprised the interview consortium with professional responsibilities including (a) administrative roles, such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, and curriculum consultants/coordinators; (b) classroom roles, such as elementary and secondary school teachers who taught science; (c) partnership roles, such as university faculty who collaborated with those in administrative and classroom positions within the district; and (d) the co-director of SCIS who worked with the SCIS trial center director. Data were analyzed and coded using the constant comparative method. The analysis of data uncovered five categories or levels in which the curriculum reform evolved throughout its duration. These themes are Initiation, Education, Implementation, Confirmation, and Continuation. These five categories lead to several working hypotheses that supported the sustaining and continuing of a K-12 science curriculum reform effort. These components are a committed visionary; a theory base of education; forums promoting the education of the theory base components; shared-decision making; a university-school partnership; a core group of committed educators and teachers

  6. "It's worth our time": a model of culturally and linguistically supportive professional development for K-12 STEM educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charity Hudley, Anne H.; Mallinson, Christine

    2017-09-01

    Professional development on issues of language and culture is often separate from professional development on issues related to STEM education, resulting in linguistic and cultural gaps in K-12 STEM pedagogy and practice. To address this issue, we have designed a model of professional development in which we work with educators to build cultural and linguistic competence and to disseminate information about how educators view the relevance of language, communication, and culture to STEM teaching and learning. We describe the design and facilitation of our model of culturally and linguistically responsive professional development, grounded in theories of multicultural education and culturally supportive teaching, through professional development workshops to 60 K-12 STEM educators from schools in Maryland and Virginia that serve African American students. Participants noted that culturally and linguistically responsive approaches had yet to permeate their K-12 STEM settings, which they identified as a critical challenge to effectively teaching and engaging African-American students. Based on pre-surveys, workshops were tailored to participants' stated needs for information on literacy (e.g., disciplinary literacies and discipline-specific jargon), cultural conflict and mismatch (e.g., student-teacher miscommunication), and linguistic bias in student assessment (e.g., test design). Educators shared feedback via post-workshop surveys, and a subset of 28 participants completed in-depth interviews and a focus group. Results indicate the need for further implementation of professional development such as ours that address linguistic and cultural issues, tailored for K-12 STEM educators. Although participants in this study enumerated several challenges to meeting this need, they also identified opportunities for collaborative solutions that draw upon teacher expertise and are integrated with curricula across content areas.

  7. Integrating local environmental research into K-12 science classrooms and the value of graduate student-educator partnerships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, N. D.; Petrik-Finley, R.

    2015-12-01

    Collaboration between researchers and K-12 educators enables an invaluable exchange of teaching philosophies and educational tools. Programs that partner graduate students with K-12 educators serve the dual purpose of training future educators and providing K-12 students with unique opportunities and perspectives. The benefits of this type of partnership include providing students with enhanced educational experiences and positive student-mentor relationships, training STEM graduate students in effective teaching strategies, and providing teachers with a firsthand resource for scientific information and novel educational materials. Many high school students have had little exposure to science beyond the classroom. Frequent interactions with "real-life" scientists can help make science more approachable and is an effective strategy for promoting science as a career. Here I describe my experiences and several lessons designed as a NSK GK-12 fellow. For example, a month-long unit on biogeochemical principles was framed as a crime scene investigation of a fish kill event in Hood Canal, Washington, in which students were given additional pieces of evidence to solve the mystery as they satisfied checkpoints in their understanding of key concepts. The evidence pieces included scientific plots, maps, datasets, and laboratory exercises. A clear benefit of this investigation-style unit is that students were able to learn the material at their individual pace. This structure allowed for a streamlined integration of differentiated materials such as simplified background readings or visual learning aids for struggling students or more detailed news articles and primary literature for more advanced students. Although the NSF GK-12 program has been archived, educators and researchers should pursue new partnerships, leveraging local and state-level STEM outreach programs with the goal of increasing national exposure of the societal benefits of such synergistic activities.

  8. Global Isomorphism and Governance Reform in Chinese Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yuzhuo

    2010-01-01

    In the past three decades, higher education reforms have taken place almost everywhere in the world, and governance or the way that higher education is or should be coordinated has become a global topic. The governance reform in Chinese higher education emerged against such a background. The current studies on Chinese higher education reforms…

  9. Marshalling Corporate Resources for Public and K-12 Technical Education Outreach and Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wynne, James

    2011-03-01

    In 1988, the Education Task Force of the Business Roundtable recommended that American corporations invest in pre-college education. Prior to that date, corporate investment was targeted at higher education. IBM and other corporations responded by encouraging their employees and their corporate philanthropic organizations to develop programs aimed at enhancing pre-college education. The IBM TJ Watson Research Center initiated a Local Education Outreach program, active for these past 23 years, that marshals the resources of our science-rich institution to enhance STEM education in our local schools. We have broad and deep partnerships between the Research Center and local school districts, including New York City. We have just completed our 19th consecutive year of Family Science Saturdays, which brings 4th and 5th grade children, along with their parents, to our Research Center for hands-on workshops in topics like States of Matter, Polymer Science, Kitchen Chemistry, and Sound and Light. The workshops are staffed by IBM volunteers, assisted by local high school student ``Peer Teachers.'' Since 1990, the IBM Corporation has joined with a coalition of other companies, professional engineering societies, and government agencies to sponsor the annual Engineers Week (EWeek) campaign of technical education outreach, serving as Corporate Chair in 1992, 2001, and 2008. In recent years, we have annually recruited around 5000 IBM volunteers to reach out to more than 200,000 K-12 students in order to increase their awareness and appreciation of technical careers and encourage them to continue their studies of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The speaker, who helped found the APS Forum on Education (FED) and served as FED Councillor for 8 years, will review these and other programs for Public and K-12 Technical Education Outreach and Engagement.

  10. Sources of Funding for Education Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odden, Allan

    1986-01-01

    Outlines the trends in educational funding patterns needed to enact educational reform. Local property taxes, state revenues, and federal aid continue to provide the bulk of financing. Includes two tables. (MD)

  11. Applying Concepts of Critical Pedagogy to Qatar's Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanowski, Michael H.; Amatullah, Tasneem

    2016-01-01

    Qatar is in the midst of a systemic education reform, Education For a New Era, steered by RAND's (a nonprofit research organization) analysis and report of Qatar's Educational system. Driven by a neoliberal agenda, the reform includes international curricula, curriculum standards, teacher licensure, and professional standards for school leaders…

  12. John Stuart Mill on Freedom, Education, and Social Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbone, Peter F.

    1983-01-01

    Examines the social philosophy of John Stuart Mill, emphasizing his views on freedom, education, and social reform. Considers Mill's individualism and reformism, the conflict between freedom and control that characterizes his work, and the importance of freedom and education. Suggests caution in drawing educational implications from his work. (DAB)

  13. Impact of Guided Notes on Achievement in K-12 and Special Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larwin, Karen H.; Dawson, Daniel; Erickson, Matthew; Larwin, David A.

    2012-01-01

    The common practice of using of guided notes in the K-12 and special education classroom is not fully appreciated or understood. In an effort to add to the existing research about this phenomenon, the current investigation expands on previously published research and one previously published meta-analysis that examined the impact of guided notes…

  14. Perceptions of Educational Barriers Affecting the Academic Achievement of Latino K-12 Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becerra, David

    2012-01-01

    This study examined different factors affecting the perceptions of barriers in academic achievement of Latino K-12 students. The study used data from 1,508 participants who identified themselves as being of Hispanic or Latino heritage in the 2004 National Survey of Latinos: Education, compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center between August 7 and…

  15. Coding as a Trojan Horse for Mathematics Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadanidis, George

    2015-01-01

    The history of mathematics educational reform is replete with innovations taken up enthusiastically by early adopters without significant transfer to other classrooms. This paper explores the coupling of coding and mathematics education to create the possibility that coding may serve as a Trojan Horse for mathematics education reform. That is,…

  16. Philanthropy and Educational Reform during the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watras, Joseph

    2005-01-01

    The author discusses philanthropy and educational reform from the Great Depression to the present, contrasting the views of that time to "Making It Count" (Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Kelly Amis, 2001.) Although Finn and Amis presented their suggestions as advancing democracy, they thought that educational reform took place best when elite groups…

  17. Infusing Multicultural Education into the Curriculum: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Address Homophobia in K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Joseph R.

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the role multicultural education can play in addressing homophobia in K-12 schools. The author explores the lack of multiculturalism courses in undergraduate teacher education programs. To address the lack of multiculturalism courses, three instructional activities are offered that faculty in teacher education programs can…

  18. La reforma educativa y las reformas a la administracion (Educational Reform and Reforms in Educational Administration).

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Maestro, Mexico, 1971

    1971-01-01

    This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1500 words) summarizing a report presented to the Eighth National Plenary Assembly of the National Technical Council for Education by the Mexican Academy of Education, a private association of teachers. It recommended the adoption of four basic educational administrative reforms by the…

  19. The "Hollywoodization" of Education Reform in "Won't Back Down"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goering, Christian Z.; Witte, Shelbie; Jennings Davis, Jennifer; Ward, Peggy; Flammang, Brandon; Gerhardson, Ashley

    2015-01-01

    What happens when forces attempting to privatize education create and produce a Hollywood film with an education reform plot line? This essay explores "Won't Back Down" through cultural studies and progressive education lenses in an effort to unveil misrepresentations of education and education reform. Drawing on scholarship in these…

  20. Understanding Educational Reform in Global Context: Economy, Ideology, and the State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsburg, Mark B., Ed.

    This book presents a set of national case studies on educational reform of higher education that views reform as processes of ideological and social struggles. The titles and authors are as follows: "Educational Reform: Social Struggles, the State and the World Economic System" (Mark B. Ginsburg, et al.); "Restructuring Education…

  1. Barreda, Vasconcelos, and Mexican Educational Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skirius, John

    1983-01-01

    Reviews the contributions to Mexican education of Gabino Barredas' positivism between 1867-1898 and the contributions of Jose Vasconcelos during the 1920s. Discusses the secondary curriculum reforms of Barreda's era and the vocational education and the education for women and adults during the Vasconcelos era. (SB)

  2. The Air Force Academy’s Falcon Telescope Network: An Educational and Research Network for K-12 and Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Francis; Tippets, Roger; Della-Rose, Devin J.; Polsgrove, Daniel; Gresham, Kimberlee; Barnaby, David A.

    2015-01-01

    The Falcon Telescope Network (FTN) is a global network of small aperture telescopes developed by the Center for Space Situational Awareness Research in the Department of Physics at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). Consisting of commercially available equipment, the FTN is a collaborative effort between USAFA and other educational institutions ranging from two- and four-year colleges to major research universities. USAFA provides the equipment (e.g. telescope, mount, camera, filter wheel, dome, weather station, computers and storage devices) while the educational partners provide the building and infrastructure to support an observatory. The user base includes USAFA along with K-12 and higher education faculty and students. The diversity of the users implies a wide variety of observing interests, and thus the FTN collects images on diverse objects, including satellites, galactic and extragalactic objects, and objects popular for education and public outreach. The raw imagery, all in the public domain, will be accessible to FTN partners and will be archived at USAFA. USAFA cadets use the FTN to continue a tradition of satellite characterization and astronomical research; this tradition is the model used for designing the network to serve undergraduate research needs. Additionally, cadets have led the development of the FTN by investigating observation priority schemes and conducting a 'day-in-the-life' study of the FTN in regards to satellite observations. With respect to K-12 outreach, cadets have provided feedback to K-12 students and teachers through evaluation of first-light proposals. In this paper, we present the current status of the network and results from student participation in the project.

  3. The Elephant in the (Class)Room: Parental Perceptions of LGBTQ-Inclusivity in K-12 Educational Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullman, Jacqueline; Ferfolja, Tania

    2016-01-01

    While little is known about parental beliefs and desires regarding LGBTQ-inclusive education, assumptions about these appear to justify teachers', curriculum writers' and policy makers' silences regarding sexuality and gender diversity in the K-12 classroom. Thus, in order to better inform educators' practices, this paper presents an analysis of…

  4. National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12. A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health. Special Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    American School Health Association (NJ1), 2012

    2012-01-01

    The goal of this paper, "National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills, K-12," is to provide clear, consistent and straightforward guidance on the "essential minimum, core content" for sexuality education that is developmentally and age-appropriate for students in grades K-12. The development of these standards is a result of an…

  5. Laboratory Safety Guide for Arkansas K-12 Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkansas State Dept. of Education, Little Rock.

    This document presents laboratory safety rules for Arkansas K-12 schools which were developed by the Arkansas Science Teachers Association (ASTA) and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). Contents include: (1) "Laboratory Safety Guide for Arkansas K-12 Schools"; (2) "Safety Considerations"; (3) "Safety Standards for Science Laboratories";…

  6. Basic Education Curriculum Reform in Rural China: Achievements, Problems, and Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiayi; Zhao, Zhichun

    2011-01-01

    The latest wave of basic education curriculum reform, carried out over the past ten years, has achieved significant results and promoted the development of rural education. There are still some problems in the reform of basic education in rural areas, however, such as a serious shortage of funds for rural school curriculum reform, the continuing…

  7. What Is (Or Should Be) Scientific Evidence Use in K-12 Classrooms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeill, Katherine L.; Berland, Leema

    2017-01-01

    Research and reform efforts frequently identify evidence as an essential component of science classroom instruction to actively engage students in science practices. Despite this agreement on the primacy of evidence, there is a lack of consensus around what counts as "evidence" in k-12 classrooms (e.g., ages 5-18): scholarship and…

  8. Reform in Secondary Education: The Continuing Efforts to Reform Secondary Education, and a Modest Proposal. Curriculum Bulletin Vol. XXXII, No. 340.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saylor, Galen

    The author begins by examining the functions of the school and the basic principles governing the provision of education in the American democracy as a way of providing a framework for analyzing proposals for the reform of secondary education. He then examines proposals for reform. His major focus is on ten proposals made by agencies,…

  9. Curricular Value and Instructional Needs for Infusing Engineering Design into K-12 Technology Education

    OpenAIRE

    Gattie, David K.; Wicklein, Robert C.

    2007-01-01

    An overarching objective of Technology Education in the U.S. is to improve technological literacy among K-12 students (DeVore, 1964; Savage and Sterry, 1990; International Technology Education Association, 1996, 2000, 2003). This is addressed in part through a focus on end-product technology and the use and importance of various technologies in society (Savage and Sterry, 1990). While such a focus is certainly necessary, it may not be sufficient if the objective is to infuse engineering into ...

  10. Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning, 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gemin, Butch; Pape, Larry

    2017-01-01

    "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning 2016" marks the thirteenth consecutive year Evergreen has published its annual research of the K-12 education online learning market. The thirteen years of researching, writing and publishing this report represents a time of remarkable change. There has been a constant presence that has become the…

  11. The new reform educational in the Ecuador and its application in education special

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rocio Ernestina García Liscano

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Ecuador over the years, the government of the citizen revolution has made drastic changes in the education system,with the aim of improving the quality of learning of Ecuadorians. This article is aimed at analyzing the educational reform in Ecuador from the new institutions of the country, which constitutes the government of Econ. Rafael Correa Delgado with the new educational model that began in January 2010, from this restructuring conducted an analysis of special education in our country, if considered in the reforms and if taken due importance concerning the preparation of disabled people. This analysis also helps to demonstrate what are the benefits generated by the educational reform within specialized educational units, based on the perspective of before and after, and as by their application has been made to strengthen the processes of quality improvement, relevance, equity and efficiency of special education in Ecuador.

  12. Development of a Virtual Technology Coach to Support Technology Integration for K-12 Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugar, William; van Tryon, Patricia J. Slagter

    2014-01-01

    In an effort to develop a virtual technology coach for K-12 educators, this article analyzed survey results from sixty teachers with regards to specific resources that a technology coach could provide within a virtual environment. A virtual technology coach was proposed as a possible solution to provide continual professional development for…

  13. A Correlational Analysis of Strategic Information Systems Planning in K-12 Public Educational Organizations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Christopher J.

    2012-01-01

    Three decades of research has indicated that strategic information systems planning is a vital component to business success. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship strategic information systems planning and financial commitment has within the K-12 public education sector. Data for this study was obtained from top management of…

  14. Merging Educational Finance Reform and Desegregation Goals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah M. Kazal-Thresher

    1993-06-01

    Full Text Available Educational finance reforms and desegregation have both sought to address inequities in educational opportunities for minorities and low income families. The recent methods of addressing desegregation issues have tended to focus on attaining racial balance rather than educational quality, however. This paper explores how desegregation goals can be merged with educational finance reform to more systematically address educational quality in schools serving low income and minority populations. By moving toward centralized control over school financing, the inequity of school outcomes that are based on unequal school resources can be reduced. In addition, state determined expenditures when combined with desegregation monies, would meet the original intention of desegregation funds by clearly providing add-on monies for additional services for minority children, while at the same time, creating a better monitoring mechanism.

  15. The Public Understanding of Assessment in Educational Reform in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brookhart, Susan M.

    2013-01-01

    The United States education system depends on legislation and funding at the federal, state and local levels. Public understanding of assessment therefore is important to educational reform in the USA. Educational reformers often invoke assessment information as a reason for reform, typically by citing unacceptable achievement on some measure or…

  16. Recommended Capacities for Educational Leadership: Pre-Reform Era Scholars versus Reform-Era Scholars versus National Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Stephen P.; Taylor-Backor, Karen; Croteau, Susan

    2017-01-01

    We reviewed the scholarship on capacities for educational leadership for the past decade of the pre-reform era (1976-1985), as well as a recent decade of the reform era (2005-2015), and compared scholarship from both decades with the current Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. We found that scholars in the past decade of the pre-reform…

  17. Tech-Savvy Science Education? Understanding Teacher Pedagogical Practices for Integrating Technology in K-12 Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hechter, Richard; Vermette, Laurie Anne

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the technology integration practices of Manitoban K-12 inservice science educators based on the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content knowledge (TPACK) framework. Science teachers (n = 433) completed a 10-item online survey regarding pedagogical beliefs about technology integration, types of technology used, and how often…

  18. Finland, university mergers and institutional profiling: One of twelve case studies produced as part of the project on structural reform in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nokkala, Terhi; Välimaa, Jussi; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at:• Increasing

  19. Using Scientific Visualizations to Enhance Scientific Thinking In K-12 Geoscience Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robeck, E.

    2016-12-01

    The same scientific visualizations, animations, and images that are powerful tools for geoscientists can serve an important role in K-12 geoscience education by encouraging students to communicate in ways that help them develop habits of thought that are similar to those used by scientists. Resources such as those created by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS), which are intended to inform researchers and the public about NASA missions, can be used in classrooms to promote thoughtful, engaged learning. Instructional materials that make use of those visualizations have been developed and are being used in K-12 classrooms in ways that demonstrate the vitality of the geosciences. For example, the Center for Geoscience and Society at the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) helped to develop a publication that outlines an inquiry-based approach to introducing students to the interpretation of scientific visualizations, even when they have had little to no prior experience with such media. To facilitate these uses, the SVS team worked with Center staff and others to adapt the visualizations, primarily by removing most of the labels and annotations. Engaging with these visually compelling resources serves as an invitation for students to ask questions, interpret data, draw conclusions, and make use of other processes that are key components of scientific thought. This presentation will share specific resources for K-12 teaching (all of which are available online, from NASA, and/or from AGI), as well as the instructional principles that they incorporate.

  20. Can We Pay for Current Education Reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odden, Allan

    2012-01-01

    For more than 30 years, the United States has been engaged in education reform efforts designed to dramatically boost student performance and close achievement gaps linked to poverty and ethnicity. Can schools afford those education ambitions? Most educators have their doubts. The author believes educators can improve student learning even when…

  1. Technology-Related Strategies Used by Educational Leaders to Increase Prosocial Behavior in K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beers, Jason Ronald

    2017-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify technology-related strategies used by educational leaders to increase prosocial behavior in K-12 schools. Information and communication technology (ICT) is developing at a rapid rate and is becoming more ubiquitous among students. Discovering and understanding common technology-related strategies…

  2. Experimental teaching reforms of optical fiber communication based on general education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, L.; Liu, S.; Zhou, J. H.; Peng, Z. M.

    2017-08-01

    It's necessary that higher education experimental teaching reforms on the basis of general education. This paper put forward the experimental teaching reform mode of optical fiber communication in the context of general education. With some reform measures such as improving the experimental content, enriching the experimental style, modifying the experimental teaching method, and adjusting the evaluation method of experimental teaching, the concept of general education is put throughout the experimental teaching of optical fiber communication. In this way, it facilitates the development of students and improvement of experimental teaching quality.

  3. USE OF SECOND LIFE IN K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION: A Review of Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris INMAN

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available This study reviewed empirical research conducted in Second Life by educators since Second Life’s launch in 2003. The study’s purpose was to identify how Second Life is being used in both K-12 and higher education. The methodology, findings, and recommendations of 27 research studies were analyzed. Researchers identified potential problems when using Second Life in education, including issues with the Second Life software and hardware requirements, a steep learning curve, and the possibility of students becoming exposed to distractions or inappropriate content. Researchers discussed potential uses of Second Life including role-play, game and simulation creation, implementation within distance education programs, and the ability to encourage student-centered learning activities. Analysis also revealed several recommendations for educators intending to use Second Life.

  4. Perceptions of Professional and Educational Skills Learning Opportunities Made Available through K-12 Robotics Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakke, Christine K.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine whether participation in robotics provides opportunities for educational and professional skill development, significant enough to merit the recommendation of robotics courses as a part of mainstream curriculum offerings in K-12 schools. This non-experimental, mixed methods study examined current junior high…

  5. Music Educator Vacancies in Faith-Based K-12 Schools in the United States: 2013-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hash, Phillip M.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze and summarize characteristics of music educator vacancies in faith-based K-12 schools in the United States for the 2013-2014 academic year. Data extracted from placement notices and supplemental sources included demographic information, job responsibilities, and employment requirements for 153 listings in…

  6. Negotiating Science and Engineering: An Exploratory Case Study of a Reform-Minded Science Teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzey, S. Selcen; Ring-Whalen, Elizabeth A.

    2018-01-01

    Engineering has been slowly integrated into K-12 science classrooms in the United States as the result of recent science education reforms. Such changes in science teaching require that a science teacher is confident with and committed to content, practices, language, and cultures related to both science and engineering. However, from the…

  7. Modernising Education: New Public Management Reform in the Norwegian Education System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Møller, Jorunn; Skedsmo, Guri

    2013-01-01

    Since the end of the 1980s, the Norwegian education system has gone through major reform, influenced largely by new managerialist ideas. Strategies to renew the public sector were promoted as the new public management (NPM). This paper investigates the way ideas connected to NPM reforms have been introduced and interpreted in the Norwegian…

  8. Education Reform: A Managerial Agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacharach, Samuel B.; Conley, Sharon C.

    1986-01-01

    Education reform has wrongly focused on teacher motivation and rewards, when the organizational system itself is at fault. Research shows that effective school management hinges on increased individual discretion and decision-making opportunities for teachers and less controlling behavior by administrators. Ten characteristics of effective…

  9. Perspectives on instructor modeling in mathematics teacher education

    OpenAIRE

    Brown, Cassondra

    2009-01-01

    Teachers' instructional practices are greatly shaped by their own learning experiences as students in K-12 and college classrooms, which for most teachers was traditional, teacher-centered instruction. One of the challenges facing mathematics education reform is that, traditional teaching is in contrast to reform student- centered instruction. If teachers learn from their experiences as mathematics students, mathematics teacher educators are encouraged to model practices they would like teach...

  10. Education System Reform in China after 1978: Some Practical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Miantao

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of education system reform in China since 1978, and its practical implications. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from literature review and interview. An overview of education system reform and its practical implications was found through data analysis. Findings: There has been two…

  11. Testing and school reform in Danish education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kousholt, Kristine; Hamre, Bjørn

    2016-01-01

    This chapter will focus on shared characteristics of the Danish national standardized testing in public school and the ideals of being a student according to the Danish School Reform of 2014. In the chapter we argue that both kinds of materials (documents regarding the newly implemented national ...... and that this intermingles with the explicated intentions of the Danish school reform as a more profound educational intervention....

  12. Recent State Education Reform in the United States: Looking Backward and Forward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirst, Michael W.

    1988-01-01

    Reviews the past progress and outcomes of the educational reform movement at the state level and outlines strategies for the second wave of reform. Contends that the future of education reform depends primarily on the growth of the American economy and how this growth is distributed among the states. (TE)

  13. The use of deliberative method in educational reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Buljan

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The project named Higher Education Reform was established in 2004 as one of the implementation elements of the European higher education policy. The core activities of the project were executed throughout the formation of National Teams of Bologna Experts who had the task and duty to contribute to the general and real awareness-rising on the topic of the higher education reform among different stakeholders in participating countries of the Bologna Process. The Croatian National Team of Bologna Expert (Hrvatska stručna skupina za Bolonjski proces was established in 2011. Among the diversity of activities executed by the student representatives in the Team, the important place is reserved for the deliberative workshops held during 2013. The target groups of the deliberative workshops were students and other stakeholders in the higher education. This paper presents the process of including the stakeholders in educational reform through the deliberative workshops. During the workshops, the organizers found out how the stakeholders are rethinking on some of the aspects of the Bologna Process, how they perceive and value the work of student representative and volunteering activities, and what they think about the extra-curricular activities of the student and how they value such activities. The form of deliberative workshops encouraged participants to freely and in constructive way express their thoughts and expectances in order to exchange ideas and knowledge about the matter, and to make a decision on common suggestions to solve a particular problem in the context of higher education (introduction of a new practice, modifications and alternations of existing practices, etc. This type of the application of deliberation method is extremely useful, which is the reason for the suggestion of the method’s use in preparing, implementing and evaluating the educational reforms.

  14. Cultural Narcissism and Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pajak, Edward F.

    2011-01-01

    Background/Context: Scholars have described American culture in recent decades as narcissistic, manifested by displays of self-absorption tantamount to a pathological syndrome that has reached epidemic proportions. An education reform movement that is highly critical of public schools, teachers, and students has simultaneously emerged, espousing a…

  15. Excavating silences and tensions of agency|passivity in science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

    2010-12-01

    I reflect on studies by Rodriguez and Carlone, Haun-Frank, and Kimmel to emphasize the ways in which they excavate silences in the science education literature related to linguistic and cultural diversity and situating the problem of reform in teachers rather than contextual factors, such as traditional schooling discourses and forces that serve to marginalize science. I propose that the current push for top-down reform and accountability diminishes opportunities for receptivity, learning with and from students in order to transform teachers' practices and promote equity in science education. I discuss tensions of agency and passivity in science education reform and argue that attention to authentic caring constitutes another silence in the science education literature. I conclude that the current policy context positions teachers and science education researchers as tempered radicals struggling against opp(reg)ressive reforms and that there is a need for more studies to excavate these and other silences.

  16. K-12 Mathematics and the Web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glazer, Evan

    2005-01-01

    The Web offers numerous learning resources and opportunities for K-12 mathematics education. This paper discusses those resources and opportunities. Discussion includes (a) asynchronous and synchronous communication tools, (b) the use of data sets to make connections between mathematics concepts and real-world applications, and (c) interactive…

  17. Hydrogen Production from Ethanol Steam Reforming over SnO2-K2O/Zeolite Y Catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jun Sung; Kim, Ji Eun; Kang, Mi Sook

    2011-01-01

    The SnO 2 with a particle size of about 300 nm instead of Ni is used in this study to overcome rapid catalytic deactivation by the formation of a NiAl 2 O 4 spinal structure on the conventional Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst and simultaneously impregnated the catalyst with potassium (K). The SnO 2 -K 2 O impregnated Zeolite Y catalyst (SnO 2 -K 2 O/ZY) exhibited significantly higher ethanol reforming reactivity that that achieved with SnO 2 100 and SnO 2 30 wt %/ZY catalysts. The main products from ethanol steam reforming (ESR) over the SnO 2 -K 2 O/ ZY catalyst were H 2 , CO 2 , and CH 4 , with no evidence of any CO molecule formation. The H 2 production and ethanol conversion were maximized at 89% and 100%, respectively, over SnO 2 30 wt %-K 2 O 3.0 wt %/ZY at 600 .deg. C for 1 h at a CH 3 CH 2 OH:H 2 O ratio of 1:1 and a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 12,700 h -1 . No catalytic deactivation occurred for up to 73 h. This result is attributable to the easier and weaker of reduction of Sn components and acidities over SnO 2 -K 2 O/ZY catalyst, respectively, than those of Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalysts

  18. Curriculum Reform in Higher Education: A Contested Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shay, Suellen

    2015-01-01

    Drawing on the theoretical and analytical tools from the sociology of education, in particular the work of Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton, the paper explores the tensions within curriculum reform discourses and how these tensions play out in different global contexts. The analysis focuses on two curriculum reform policies--Hong Kong and South…

  19. Coupling of a 2.5 kW steam reformer with a 1 kW el PEM fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathiak, J.; Heinzel, A.; Roes, J.; Kalk, Th.; Kraus, H.; Brandt, H.

    The University of Duisburg-Essen has developed a compact multi-fuel steam reformer suitable for natural gas, propane and butane. This steam reformer was combined with a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM FC) and a system test of the process chain was performed. The fuel processor comprises a prereformer step, a primary reformer, water gas shift reactors, a steam generator, internal heat exchangers in order to achieve an optimised heat integration and an external burner for heat supply as well as a preferential oxidation step (PROX) as CO purification. The fuel processor is designed to deliver a thermal hydrogen power output from 500 W to 2.5 kW. The PEM fuel cell stack provides about 1 kW electrical power. In the following paper experimental results of measurements of the single components PEM fuel cell and fuel processor as well as results of the coupling of both to form a process chain are presented.

  20. A Decade of Education Reform in Thailand: Broken Promise or Impossible Dream?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallinger, Philip; Lee, Moosung

    2011-01-01

    This study addresses the perceived gap between the vision of education reform in Thailand embodied in its Education Reform Law of 1999 and the results of implementation a decade later. Drawing upon opportunistic data obtained from a sample of 162 Thai school principals, we analyze trends in reform implementation across schools in all regions and…

  1. Teacher Education Reform and Subaltern Voices: From Politica to Practica in Bolivia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delany-Barmann, Gloria

    2010-01-01

    In 1994, the National Educational Reform in Bolivia instituted reforms that called for a model of education that held at its center the knowledge and languages of Indigenous people. The types of change called for by the reforms in Bolivia signify major transformations in teacher preparation practices and a concerted emphasis on training in…

  2. The New Technology and Educational Reform: Guidelines for School Administrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Mark; Karr-Kidwell, PJ

    This paper presents the results of a literature review on educational methodology reforms. The first section discusses five factors in broad-based school reforms: change theory; organizational theory; state/national politics; local politics/governance; and leadership theory. Five types of reforms for school-wide success are described in the second…

  3. Reform in Literacy Education in China. Literacy Lessons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yianwei, Wang; Jiyuan, Li

    Literacy in China is mainly concerned with illiteracy in rural areas. Therefore, reforming literacy education is largely a problem of how to eliminate rural literacy within the general framework of reform in contemporary China. From 1949 to 1988, the illiteracy rate among the population decreased from 80 percent to 20 percent. There are still…

  4. Learning Autonomy: Higher Education Reform in Kazakhstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, Matthew; Gopaul, Bryan; Sagintayeva, Aida; Apergenova, Renata

    2016-01-01

    Higher education is a key economic and social priority in the global arena. Many countries have sought to advance reforms aimed at increasing access, promoting greater educational quality, and ensuring financial responsibility and sustainability. Often, strategies for achieving these aims are informed by experiences elsewhere. However,…

  5. Education management process implementation of reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Kondratyeva

    2013-12-01

    In the dissertation research looks at the problem of the study. This article contains material research and evaluate different points of view on the issue of a systematic approach using educational management in the implementation of reforms.

  6. Education as Recovery: Neoliberalism, School Reform, and the Politics of Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slater, Graham B.

    2015-01-01

    Building upon critical education policy studies of crisis, disaster, and reform, this essay develops a theory of "recovery" that further elaborates the nature and operation of "crisis politics" in neoliberal education reform. Recovery is an integral process in capital accumulation, exploiting material, and subjective…

  7. The Evaluation of Higher Education Expenditure Performance and Investment Mechanism Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, De; Fu, Meiying

    2009-01-01

    Along with the reform of Chinese Government public finance, higher education belongs to the public product, gradually changes from "fund investment management" to the "expenditure performance management". The evaluation of expenditure performance system becomes the key point of higher education investment mechanism reform. This…

  8. Reforming Higher Education in "Transition": Between National and International Reform Initiatives--The Case of Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zgaga, Pavel; Miklavic, Klemen

    2011-01-01

    The article analyzes the last two decades of higher education reforms in Slovenia. During the "period of transition," they were led by national as well as international initiatives. At an early stage, the national initiatives were mainly based on criticisms of the last reform made by the former regime, although the generation of new…

  9. From policy to practice: education reform in Mozambique and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Mozambican government has introduced reforms of basic education, notably the introduction of interdisciplinarity, learner-centredness and new teaching pedagogies. This is a case study of how these curriculum reforms have been implemented at Marrere Teachers' Training College. We conducted interviews with ...

  10. How to Implement Rigorous Computer Science Education in K-12 Schools? Some Answers and Many Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubwieser, Peter; Armoni, Michal; Giannakos, Michail N.

    2015-01-01

    Aiming to collect various concepts, approaches, and strategies for improving computer science education in K-12 schools, we edited this second special issue of the "ACM TOCE" journal. Our intention was to collect a set of case studies from different countries that would describe all relevant aspects of specific implementations of…

  11. EIA: Educational Reform or Repression?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteith, Dianne S.

    A recent study (Cook, 1989) involving 58 randomly selected South Carolina elementary schools indicated that none of these schools could be characterized as having an "open climate." This paper suggests that this situation may have its origins in the educational reform movement of the 1980s, first ignited by the publication of "A…

  12. Synthesis of Findings from 15?years of Educational Reform in Thailand: Lessons on Leading Educational Change in East Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallinger, Philip; Bryant, Darren A.

    2013-01-01

    The past two decades have been a period of active education reform throughout much of the world, and East Asia is no exception. This paper synthesizes findings from a series of empirical studies of educational reform in Thailand where an ambitious educational reform law was adopted in 1999. The purpose is to identify lessons learned about…

  13. Enriching K-12 Science and Mathematics Education Using LEGOs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Keeshan; Igel, Irina; Poveda, Ronald; Kapila, Vikram; Iskander, Magued

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a series of illustrative LEGO Mindstorms-based science and math activities, developed under an NSF GK-12 Fellows project, for elementary, middle, and high school grades. The activities, developed by engineering and science graduate Fellows in partnership with K-12 teachers, are grade appropriate, address pertinent learning…

  14. Teaching and Learning about Complex Systems in K-12 Science Education: A Review of Empirical Studies 1995-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Susan A.; Goh, Sao-Ee; Park, Miyoung

    2018-01-01

    The study of complex systems has been highlighted in recent science education policy in the United States and has been the subject of important real-world scientific investigation. Because of this, research on complex systems in K-12 science education has shown a marked increase over the past two decades. In this systematic review, we analyzed 75…

  15. The Netherlands, strengthening research in Universities of Applied Sciences: One of twelve case studies produced as part of the project on structural reform in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Boer, Harry F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at:• Increasing

  16. A comparison of higher education reforms in Egypt and Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Kohstall, Florian

    2012-01-01

    This doctoral thesis examines the impact of international aid agencies on the reform agenda of North African countries. It analyses and compares the paths of higher education reform (1997-2007) in Egypt and Morocco, using analytical instruments pertaining to new approaches in public policy theory. For a long time, both countries appeared relatively immune against reform pressure from outside. Still, the analysis of their reform processes shows that the internationalization of higher educa...

  17. Perceptions and Experiences of K-12 Educational Leaders in Response to the 27 April 2011 Tornadoes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, William E.; Fifolt, Matthew; Peters, Gary B.; Gurley, D. Keith; Collins, Loucrecia

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this phenomenological study was to capture first-hand accounts of K-12 educational leaders whose school districts were directly affected by the deadly 27 April 2011 tornadoes in rural Alabama, USA. This study was framed by the literature base of leadership; specifically crisis leadership and resilience theory. Findings are organised…

  18. A Review of Research on Content-Based Foreign/Second Language Education in US K-12 Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedick, Diane J.; Wesely, Pamela M.

    2015-01-01

    This review of the extant research literature focuses on research about content-based language instruction (CBI) programmes in K-12 foreign/second language education in the USA. The review emphasises studies on one-way language immersion (OWI) and two-way language immersion (TWI) programmes, which are school-based and subject matter-driven. OWI…

  19. The Green Pages: Environmental Education Activities K-12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clearing, 1990

    1990-01-01

    Presented are 37 environmental science activities for students in grades K-12. Topics include water pollution, glaciers, protective coloration, shapes in nature, environmental impacts, recycling, creative writing, litter, shapes found in nature, color, rain cycle, waste management, plastics, energy, pH, landfills, runoff, watersheds,…

  20. Attitudinal Variables Affecting Education Reforms and Quality of Primary Education in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyenje, Aida; Nkata, James

    2016-01-01

    This paper establishes the extent to which attitudinal variables affect the education reforms and subsequently the quality of primary education in Uganda. The paper is based on the views of a wide spectrum of different education stakeholders including: policy analysts, Members of Parliament (MPs), education officers, Headteachers, teaching staff,…

  1. Education reforms: consequences for the systems and the workers in education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heleno Araújo Filho

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This article approaches the consequences of the reforms in basic education, which started with the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1988. These reforms were elaborated without the social participation, resulting, nowadays, in high number of no literate people, big percentage of functional illiterates, the non universalization of the service school, low quality of the learning and a school with difficulties to accomplishing its paper of preparing the citizen for the life and the work. Besides, the education politics took a long time, after the Constitution, for being approved and they didn't assist to the claims and expectations of the workers’ in education. However, in the last three years, there were changes in the structure of the Brazilian education, causing some progresses; but, still, there are challenges to be overcome. The author concluded getting the attention for the importance of the participation, organization and intervention of the organized entities of the social movements so that the present challenges in the education are overcome and that the education is in the right direction.

  2. Equitable science education in urban middle schools: Do reform efforts make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewson, Peter W.; Butler Kahle, Jane; Scantlebury, Kathryn; Davies, Darleen

    2001-12-01

    A central commitment of current reforms in science education is that all students, regardless of culture, gender, race, and/ or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. The study Bridging the Gap: Equity in Systemic Reform assessed equity in systemic reform using a nested research design that drew on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. As part of the study, case studies were conducted in two urban middle schools in large Ohio cities. The purpose of the case studies was to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. Data were analyzed using Kahle's (1998) equity metric. That model allowed us to assess progress toward equity using a range of research-based indicators grouped into three categories critical for equitable education: access to, retention in, and achievement in quality science education. In addition, a fourth category was defined for systemic indicators of equity. Analyses indicated that the culture and climate of the case study schools differentially affected their progress toward equitable reform in science education.

  3. Reforming the educated person in Bolivia

    OpenAIRE

    Uski, Juha Janne Olavi

    2011-01-01

    The Bolivian educational reform law nr. 070 was approved in 2010 and its implementation is beginning in 2012. Basing itself on a combination of Marxist and Cultural Studies -influenced theories, the thesis examines the tensions between the vision of Law 070 and the conditions and aspirations of the stakeholders. A central concept in this discussion is ”the cultural production of the educated person”, and the development of the concept of the educated person through the history of Bolivia is d...

  4. Globalization, statist political economy, and unsuccessful education reform in South Korea, 1993-2003.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki Su Kim

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the relationship between globalization and national education reforms, especially those of educational systems. Instead of exploring the much debated issues of how globalization affects national educational systems and how the nations react by what kinds of systemic education reform, however, it focuses on what such a method often leaves out, viz., the internal conditions of a nation that facilitates or hampers reform efforts. Taking South Korea as an example, it explores that country's unique national context which restricts and even inhibits education reforms. Especially noted here is the established "statist" political economy in education. In the paper's analysis, although South Korea's statist political economy has made a substantial contribution to economic and educational development, it is now considered increasingly unviable as globalization progresses. Nevertheless, the internal conditions, resultant from the previous statist policies, set limits on policy makers' efforts to alter the existing educational system. The analysis suggests that a fuller assessment of globalization's impact upon national educational systems or their reforms requires a perspective which is broad enough to encompass not only the concepts and/or theories of globalization and nation states but also the power relations and ideological setup of individual nations.

  5. Developing Partnerships between Higher Education Faculty, K-12 Science Teachers, and School Administrators via MSP initiatives: The RITES Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caulkins, J. L.; Kortz, K. M.; Murray, D. P.

    2011-12-01

    The Rhode Island Technology Enhanced Science Project (RITES) is a NSF-funded Math and Science Partnership (MSP) project that seeks to improve science education. RITES is, at its core, a unique partnership that fosters relationships between middle and high school science teachers, district and school administrators, higher education (HE) faculty members, and science education researchers. Their common goal is to enhance scientific inquiry, increase classroom technology usage, and improve state level science test scores. In one of the more visible examples of this partnership, middle and high school science teachers work closely with HE science faculty partners to design and teach professional development (PD) workshops. The PD sessions focus on technology-enhanced scientific investigations (e.g. use of probes, online simulations, etc.), exemplify inquiry-based instruction, and relate expert content knowledge. Teachers from these sessions express substantial satisfaction in the program, report increased comfort levels in teaching the presented materials (both via post-workshop surveys), and show significant gains in content knowledge (via pre-post assessments). Other benefits to this kind of partnership, in which K-12 and HE teachers are considered equals, include: 1) K-12 teachers are empowered through interactions with HE faculty and other science teachers in the state; 2) HE instructors become more informed not only about good pedagogical practices, but also practical aspects of teaching science such as engaging students; and 3) the PD sessions tend to be much stronger than ones designed and presented solely by HE scientists, for while HE instructors provide content expertise, K-12 teachers provide expertise in K-12 classroom practice and implementation. Lastly, the partnership is mutually beneficial for the partners involved because both sides learn practical ways to teach science and inquiry at different levels. In addition to HE faculty and K-12 science teacher

  6. GLOBALIZATION, NEOLIBERALISM, EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND CREATIVITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Octavio González-Vázquez

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Globalization and neoliberalism strongly affect education reforms in our country. Changes involving the three processes have conditions that can promote or inhibit the development of creativity. We can use one or the other with the development of our own creativity.

  7. On Quality Education Reform in International Trade Major

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jing; Xiao, Jing

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing problems of quality education of specialization of international trade in current colleges and universities of China, and then propose several pieces of corresponding suggestion on educational reform. According to the characteristics of college and university education, we shall emphasize on the…

  8. Engineering design skills coverage in K-12 engineering program curriculum materials in the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabalengula, Vivien M.; Mumba, Frackson

    2017-11-01

    The current K-12 Science Education framework and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed curriculum materials that are being used in K-12 settings. However, little is known about the nature and extent to which engineering design skills outlined in NGSS are addressed in these K-12 engineering education programme curriculum materials. We analysed nine K-12 engineering education programmes for the nature and extent of engineering design skills coverage. Results show that developing possible solutions and actual designing of prototypes were the highly covered engineering design skills; specification of clear goals, criteria, and constraints received medium coverage; defining and identifying an engineering problem; optimising the design solution; and demonstrating how a prototype works, and making iterations to improve designs were lowly covered. These trends were similar across grade levels and across discipline-specific curriculum materials. These results have implications on engineering design-integrated science teaching and learning in K-12 settings.

  9. The transnational grip on Scandinavian education reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krejsler, John B.; Olsson, Ulf; Petersson, Kenneth

    2014-01-01

    This article reveals how templates that emerge from opaque albeit often inclusive policy processes in transnational forums (EU, OECD & the Bologna Process) affect education reform policy in Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark and Sweden. The open method of coordination is the mother template...... of the political technologies (standards, performance indicators, scorecards, best practices) that are instrumental in fashioning reforms. This template commits countries in consensus-making ways to comparison, and normalizes the competitive incentive of mutual peer pressure. The authors draw on post...

  10. Reform of the Educational Finance System as the Foundation of Compulsory Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suetomi, Kaori; Murray, Nadezhda

    2014-01-01

    The conditions required for a reform of the educational finance system as the foundation of compulsory education are 1) devolution to schools and introduction of national standards in order to deal with "individual equality" while compensating for the insufficiency of "aspectual equality," and 2) dealing with educational needs…

  11. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Zoulal Mansouri; Mohamed El Amine Moumine

    2017-01-01

    High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out since 1999. This article reviews the most important components of the higher education reforms that have been adopted in Moroccan higher education in th...

  12. Translating Globalization and Democratization into Local Policy: Educational Reform in Hong Kong and Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Wing-Wah

    2004-11-01

    The past two decades have witnessed three important international trends: an increase in the number of democratic states; economic globalization; and educational reforms in light of the challenges of the new millennium. A great deal of research has addressed educational change in relation to either globalization or democratization, but little has been said about the complex interactions among all three processes. In view of recent educational reforms in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the present contribution examines the local nature of education policy in a globalized age. It challenges those globalization theories which minimize the role of the state and exaggerate the power of globalization over local factors. In particular, it explores how the governments of these two Chinese societies have employed democratization to generate and legitimate reform proposals and have used economic globalization to justify educational reforms. The study concludes by discussing the complex interrelations of these processes, including tensions between global and local concerns in educational reform.

  13. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoulal Mansouri

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out since 1999. This article reviews the most important components of the higher education reforms that have been adopted in Moroccan higher education in their endeavor to enhance student retention in university. These components are chronologically reviewed, first in the National Charter of Education and Training (NCET launched in 1999, second in the Emergency Plan conducted in 2009-2012, and finally in the latest Strategic Vision of Reform 2015-2030. It is concluded that more efforts are necessary to strike a balance between quantity and quality in terms of student retention in university education.

  14. Effects of comprehensive educational reforms on academic success in a diverse student body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieberman, Steven A; Ainsworth, Michael A; Asimakis, Gregory K; Thomas, Lauree; Cain, Lisa D; Mancuso, Melodee G; Rabek, Jeffrey P; Zhang, Ni; Frye, Ann W

    2010-12-01

    Calls for medical curriculum reform and increased student diversity in the USA have seen mixed success: performance outcomes following curriculum revisions have been inconsistent and national matriculation of under-represented minority (URM) students has not met aspirations. Published innovations in curricula, academic support and pipeline programmes usually describe isolated interventions that fail to affect curriculum-level outcomes. United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 performance and graduation rates were analysed for three classes of medical students before (matriculated 1995-1997, n=517) and after (matriculated 2003-2005, n=597) implementing broad-based reforms in our education system. The changes in pipeline recruitment and preparation programmes, instructional methods, assessment systems, academic support and board preparation were based on sound educational principles and best practices. Post-reform classes were diverse with respect to ethnicity (25.8% URM students), gender (51.8% female), and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score (range 20-40; 24.1% scored ≤ 25). Mean±standard deviation MCAT scores were minimally changed (from 27.2±4.7 to 27.8±3.6). The Step 1 failure rate decreased by 69.3% and mean score increased by 14.0 points (effect size: d=0.67) overall. Improvements were greater among women (failure rate decreased by 78.9%, mean score increased by 15.6 points; d=0.76) and URM students (failure rate decreased by 76.5%, mean score increased by 14.6 points; d=0.74), especially African-American students (failure rate decreased by 93.6%, mean score increased by 20.8 points; d=1.12). Step 1 scores increased across the entire MCAT range. Four- and 5-year graduation rates increased by 7.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The effect sizes in these performance improvements surpassed those previously reported for isolated interventions in curriculum and student support. This success is likely to have resulted from the broad

  15. High School Diversification against Educational Equality: A Critical Analysis of Neoliberal Education Reform in South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Jeongran

    2011-01-01

    Recent reforms of high school education in Korea have focused on transforming the uniform and standardized system into a deregulated and diversified system that has an emphasis on school choice and competition. Situating the high school diversification policy in the context of the recent controversy of the neoliberal educational reform, this study…

  16. Turning Lightning into Electricity: Organizing Parents for Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Andrew P.

    2014-01-01

    Families are the primary clients of public schools, but they are one of many constituencies who have a say in how schools actually operate. In all the technocratic fervor around "education reform"--the broad effort to implement standards and accountability, reform teacher tenure and evaluation, and increase parental choice--it is easy to…

  17. VISL: A Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory For Outreach and K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, D. L. C.; Halkides, D. J.; Larour, E. Y.; Moore, J.; Dunn, S.; Perez, G.

    2015-12-01

    We present an update on our developing Virtual Ice Sheet Laboratory (VISL). Geared to K-12 classrooms and the general public, VISL's main goal is to improve climate literacy, especially in regards to the crucial role of the polar ice sheets in Earth's climate and sea level. VISL will allow users to perform guided experiments using the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM), a state-of-the-art ice flow model developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and UC Irvine that simulates the near-term evolution of the ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica. VISL users will access ISSM via a graphical interface that can be launched from a web browser on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Users select climate conditions and run time by moving graphic sliders then watch how a given region evolves in time under those conditions. Lesson plans will include conceptual background, instructions for table top experiments related to the concepts addressed in a given lesson, and a guide for performing model experiments and interpreting their results. Activities with different degrees of complexity will aim for consistency with NGSS Physical Science criteria for different grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12), although they will not be labeled as such to encourage a broad user base. Activities will emphasize the development of physical intuition and critical thinking skills, understanding conceptual and computational models, as well as observation recording, concept articulation, hypothesis formulation and testing, and mathematical analysis. At our present phase of development, we seek input from the greater science education and outreach communities regarding VISL's planned content, as well as additional features and topic areas that educators and students would find useful.

  18. Motherhood, Gender Education Reforms, Empowerment, MDGS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    reforms/innovations in motherhood/gender education in enhancing attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa for sustainable development. In doing this, responses of 1,672 working mothers, randomly selected from North, South, East, and West Africa were analyzed which identified top among ten others as ...

  19. A Vision in Aeronautics: The K-12 Wind Tunnel Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-01-01

    A Vision in Aeronautics, a project within the NASA Lewis Research Center's Information Infrastructure Technologies and Applications (IITA) K-12 Program, employs small-scale, subsonic wind tunnels to inspire students to explore the world of aeronautics and computers. Recently, two educational K-12 wind tunnels were built in the Cleveland area. During the 1995-1996 school year, preliminary testing occurred in both tunnels.

  20. Administrative Reform and the Egyptian Ministry of Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, E. Mark

    1990-01-01

    Identifies and analyzes the organizational constraints acting upon and within the Egyptian Ministry of Education that deter its capacity for administrative reform. Despite being highly bureaucratic, the ministry's administrative structure operates with relative efficiency. However, the ministry cannot seem to change the educational system's…

  1. Finding Meaningful Roles for Scientists in science Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Brenda

    Successful efforts to achieve reform in science education require the active and purposeful engagement of professional scientists. Working as partners with teachers, school administrators, science educators, parents, and other stakeholders, scientists can make important contributions to the improvement of science teaching and learning in pre-college classrooms. The world of a practicing university, corporate, or government scientist may seem far removed from that of students in an elementary classroom. However, the science knowledge and understanding of all future scientists and scientifically literate citizens begin with their introduction to scientific concepts and phenomena in childhood and the early grades. Science education is the responsibility of the entire scientific community and is not solely the responsibility of teachers and other professional educators. Scientists can serve many roles in science education reform including the following: (1) Science Content Resource, (2) Career Role Model, (3) Interpreter of Science (4) Validator for the Importance of Learning Science and Mathematics, (5) Champion of Real World Connections and Value of Science, (6) Experience and Access to Funding Sources, (7) Link for Community and Business Support, (8) Political Supporter. Special programs have been developed to assist scientists and engineers to be effective partners and advocates of science education reform. We will discuss the rationale, organization, and results of some of these partnership development programs.

  2. The Effect of Participation in Professional Development on Perceived Change in Teaching Practice by Minnesota K-12 Physical Education Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sertich, Sally Krause

    2013-01-01

    This study used a conceptual framework of professional development theory to identify characteristics of effective learning activities specific to 259 Minnesota K-12 public school physical education and developmental adapted physical education (PE/DAPE) teachers during 2012-2013. Study results confirmed that as PE/DAPE teacher participation in…

  3. Reforms in Education: The Need for Re-Engineering Teacher Education for Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofoego, O. C.; Ebebe, I. E.

    2016-01-01

    The paper is concerned with reforms in Education and the need for re-engineering Teacher education in Nigeria for better professionalism and National Development. In the process, key concepts like Teacher Education and professionalism were explained. A brief review of the state of Teacher Education and Development in Nigeria revealed the…

  4. Politics and Culture in Croation Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective on Educational Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichard, Max

    1992-01-01

    Offers a historical overview of a series of reforms of higher education in the former Yugoslavia republic, stressing the cultural importance of "obrazovanje" (formal education/training) and "odgoj" (moral education/personal development) in Croatia. Describes the development of "visa skola," comparable to U.S.…

  5. Educational Change by Commission: Attempting "Trickle Down" Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsberg, Rick; Wimpelberg, Robert K.

    1987-01-01

    The processes and procedures of national commissions on education are discussed. Elements of commonality are presented with a review of competing explanations of the popularity of such commissions. A sociopolitical thesis of educational reform through commissions is advanced, based on the "trickle down" theory of economics. (SLD)

  6. Dysfunction and Educational Reform in Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Llorent Bedmar, Vicente

    2015-01-01

    Since 1956, the year in Morocco achieved independence, until now, the school system has been the subject of many discussions and controversies in the most varied areas of the country. We provide data on the educational situation. We analyze the reforms from a critical perspective, ending with final proposals. We concluded by acknowledging the efforts made in recent years in the Moroccan education sector, although there is still a considerable number of clearly important aspects of improvement.

  7. Assessing the Impact of a Statewide STEM Investment on K-12, Higher Education, and Business/Community STEM Awareness over Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sondergeld, Toni A.; Johnson, Carla C.; Walten, Janet B.

    2016-01-01

    Despite monetary and educational investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) being at record high levels, little attention has been devoted to generating a common understanding of STEM. In addition, working with business, K-12 schools, and/or institutions of higher education to establish a grassroots effort to help…

  8. System model development for a methanol reformed 5 kW high temperature PEM fuel cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sahlin, Simon Lennart; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2015-01-01

    This work investigates the system performance when reforming methanol in an oil heated reformer system for a 5 kW fuel cell system. A dynamic model of the system is created and evaluated. The system is divided into 4 separate components. These components are the fuel cell, reformer, burner...... and evaporator, which are connected by two separate oil circuits, one with a burner and reformer and one with a fuel cell and evaporator. Experiments were made on the reformer and measured oil and bed temperatures are presented in multiple working points. The system is examined at loads from 0 to 5000 W electric...

  9. Energy Retrofit for Aging K-12 Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    3D/International, Houston, TX.

    Successfully retrofitting aging K-12 schools using energy conservation measures (ECM) that can improve the physical plant and reduce energy consumption are explored. Topics explore how certain ECM measures can benefit educational facilities, why retrofitting begun sooner rather than later is important, how to finance the retrofit program, and the…

  10. Reform Implementation and Educational Management in Vocational Colleges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friche, Nanna; Slottved, Mette

    In 2014, a new reform of the VET system in Denmark was decided by a broad political coalition in the Parliament. This reform implies fundamental changes in VET, for example by changing the course structure and design, by an intended boost of teaching quality, by limited access, and a separation...... and targets reflects governance principles of performance management. Performance management is an idea that is growing in popularity, in Europa and abroad. In Denmark, the VET reform represents an example of how management philosophy and ideas of performance management inform a number of current reforms...... in the policy area of education. The logic of performance management is that organizations and individuals are given objectives, measurable indicators are derived from these objectives, and features such as authority or incentives are deployed in order for organizational actors to meet or improve performance...

  11. Teacher Perception of Barriers and Benefits in K-12 Technology Usage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carver, Lin B.

    2016-01-01

    This study explores K-12 teachers' perceptions of the benefits and barriers to technology integration by either teachers or students in K-12 instruction. The sample was composed of 68 students enrolled in online classes in the graduate studies in education department of a small private liberal arts institution in the southeast. Data was collected…

  12. Educational Technology: A Review of the Integration, Resources, and Effectiveness of Technology in K-12 Classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adolph Delgado

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available There is no questioning that the way people live, interact, communicate, and conduct business is undergoing a profound, rapid change. This change is often referred to as the “digital revolution,” which is the advancement of technology from analog, electronic and mechanical tools to the digital tools available today. Moreover, technology has begun to change education, affecting how students acquire the skill sets needed to prepare for college and a career and how educators integrate digital technological instructional strategies to teach. Numerous studies have been published discussing the barriers of integrating technology, the estimated amount of investment that is needed in order to fully support educational technology, and, of course, the effectiveness of technology in the classroom. As such, this article presents a critical review of the transitions that technology integration has made over the years; the amount of resources and funding that has been allocated to immerse school with technology; and the conflicting results presented on effectiveness of using is technology in education. Through synthesis of selected themes, we found a plethora of technological instructional strategies being used to integrate technology into K-12 classrooms. Also, though there have been large investments made to integrate technology into K-12 classrooms to equip students with the skills needed to prepare for college and a career, the practical use of this investment has not been impressive. Lastly, several meta-analyses showed promising results of effectiveness of technology in the classroom. However, several inherent methodological and study design issues dampen the amount of variance that technology accounts for.

  13. Local Instruction Theories as Means of Support for teachers in Reform Mathematics Education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gravemeijer, K.P.E.

    2004-01-01

    This article focuses on a form of instructional design that is deemed fitting for reform mathematics education. Reform mathematics education requires instruction that helps students in developing their current ways of reasoning into more sophisticated ways of mathematical reasoning. This implies

  14. Scaling up Education Reform: Addressing the Politics of Disparity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, Russell; O'Sullivan, Dominic; Berryman, Mere

    2010-01-01

    What is school reform? What makes it sustainable? Who needs to be involved? How is scaling up achieved? This book is about the need for educational reforms that have built into them, from the outset, those elements that will see them sustained in the original sites and spread to others. Using the Te Kotahitanga Project as a model the authors…

  15. NSF GK-12 Fellows as Mentors for K-12 Teachers Participating in Field Research Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellins, K.; Perry, E.

    2005-12-01

    The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) recognizes the value of providing educational opportunities to K-12 teachers who play a critical role in shaping the minds of young people who are the future of our science. To that end, UTIG established the "Texas Teachers in the Field" program in 2000 to formalize the participation of K-12 teachers in field programs that included UTIG scientists. In 2002, "Texas Teachers in the Field" evolved through UTIG's involvement in a University of Texas at Austin GK-12 project led by the Environmental Sciences Institute, which enabled UTIG to partner a subset of GK-12 Fellows with teachers participating in geophysical field programs. During the three years of the GK-12 project, UTIG successfully partnered four GK-12 Fellows with five K-12 teachers. The Fellows served as mentors to the teachers, as liaisons between UTIG scientists leading field programs and teachers and their students, and as resources in science, mathematics, and technology instruction. Specifically, Fellows prepared teachers and their students for the field investigations, supervised the design of individual Teacher Research Experience (TRE) projects, and helped teachers to develop standards-aligned curriculum resources related to the field program for use in their own classrooms, as well as broader distribution. Although all but one TRE occurred during the school year, Texas school districts and principals were willing to release teachers to participate because the experience and destinations were so extraordinary (i.e., a land-based program in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina; and research cruises to the Southeast Caribbean Sea and Hess Deep in the Pacific Ocean) and carried opportunities to work with scientists from around the world. This exceptional collaboration of GK-12 Fellows, K-12 teachers and research scientists enriches K-12 student learning and promotes greater enthusiasm for science. The level of mentoring, preparation and follow-up provided

  16. Educational Partnership and the Dilemmas of School Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seeley, David

    Today's educational reform proposals are undermined by four dilemmas. First, the public may demand visible results before it will provide the funding needed to achieve them. Second, higher academic standards will increase failure rates, while more attainable standards will inadequately educate students. Third, the current focus on high schools may…

  17. Education Governance Reform in Ontario: Neoliberalism in Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattler, Peggy

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the relationship between neoliberal ideology and the discourse and practice of education governance reform in Ontario over the last two decades. It focuses on changes in education governance introduced by successive Ontario governments: the NDP government from 1990 to 1995, the Progressive Conservative government from 1995 to…

  18. Down by the Riverside: A CRT Perspective on Education Reform in Two River Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Celia Rousseau; Dixson, Adrienne D.

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the authors utilize core ideas from Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the nature of education reform in two river cities. Similar to other cases of education reform in urban districts, the reforms in the two focal cities reflect at least four characteristics in common: (1) a form of portfolio management; (2) the growth of…

  19. Prioritization of K-12 World Language Education in the United States: State Requirements for High School Graduation

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rourke, Polly; Zhou, Qian; Rottman, Isaac

    2016-01-01

    In view of the importance of increasing multilingualism in the United States, the current study examined state policy for high school graduation requirements in the 50 states and the District of Columbia as an index of the way in which the study of world language is positioned and prioritized in K--12 education. Only seven states require the study…

  20. "It's Worth Our Time": A Model of Culturally and Linguistically Supportive Professional Development for K-12 STEM Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudley, Anne H. Charity; Mallinson, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Professional development on issues of language and culture is often separate from professional development on issues related to STEM education, resulting in linguistic and cultural gaps in K-12 STEM pedagogy and practice. To address this issue, we have designed a model of professional development in which we work with educators to build cultural…

  1. Schooling Teachers, Schooling Ourselves: Insights and Reflections from Teaching K-12 Teachers How to Use Hip-Hop to Educate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irby, Decoteau J.; Hall, H. Bernard; Hill, Marc L.

    2013-01-01

    Hip-hop-based education (HHBE) research analyzes how hip-hop culture is used to produce favorable educational outcomes. Despite its richness, the work reveals little about how to prepare practicing K-12 teachers to use HHBE toward the critical ends reflected in extant HHBE literature. In this article, we challenge many tacit assumptions of HHBE…

  2. Bourdieu, Department Chairs and the Reform of Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melville, Wayne; Hardy, Ian; Bartley, Anthony

    2011-11-01

    Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu's 'thinking tools' of 'field', 'habitus' and 'capital', we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as inquiry. One teacher, Dan, has been a department chair since 2000, and has actively encouraged his department to embrace science as inquiry. The other teacher, Leslie, worked for one year in Dan's department before being transferred to another school where science teaching continues to be more traditional. Our work suggests that there are three crucial considerations for chairs seeking to lead the reform of science teaching within their department. The first of these is the development of a reform-minded habitus, as this appears to be foundational to the capital that can be expended in the leadership of reform. The second is an understanding of how to wield power and position in the promotion of reform. The third is the capacity to operate simultaneously and strategically within, and across, two fields; the departmental field and the larger science education field. This involves downplaying administrative logics, and foregrounding more inquiry-focused logics as a vehicle to challenge traditional science-teaching dispositions-the latter being typically dominated by concerns about curriculum 'coverage'.

  3. Social Justice and Resisting Neoliberal Education Reform in the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, Wayne

    2016-01-01

    Efforts to reform public education along free-market, corporate-styled models have swept across many nations. In the USA these reforms have included an intense focus on the use of high-stakes, standardized tests to quantify students, teachers, and schools for market comparisons, the deprofessionalization of teaching, and the establishment of…

  4. Jump-Starting Educational Reform. Implementing British Columbia's Comprehensive School Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Paul

    An educational reform effort to implement a comprehensive school act in British Columbia (Canada) is analyzed with a focus on some sociotechnical and political aspects. An overview of the content, background, and implementation of the reform effort is followed by identification of seven contradictions inherent in the plan. Contradictions are as…

  5. Increasing the Roles and Significance of Teachers in Policymaking for K-12 Engineering Education: Proceedings of a Convocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Steve

    2017-01-01

    Engineering is a small but growing part of K-12 education. Curricula that use the principles and practices of engineering are providing opportunities for elementary, middle, and high school students to design solutions to problems of immediate practical and societal importance. Professional development programs are showing teachers how to use…

  6. In the Image of the Great Society: Reinventing K-12 Education in the Clinton Administration. Hudson Briefing Paper, No. 174.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manno, Bruno V.

    This policy paper, by a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Policy and Planning, argues that President Clinton and the previous "education Congress" designed a top-down strategy reminiscent of the Great Society programs in the 1960s to reform America's school systems. The resultant educational legislation has occurred at a…

  7. K-12 Marketplace Sees Major Flow of Venture Capital

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ash, Katie

    2012-01-01

    The flow of venture capital into the K-12 education market has exploded over the past year, reaching its highest transaction values in a decade in 2011, industry observers say. They attribute that rise to such factors as a heightened interest in educational technology; the decreasing cost of electronic devices such as tablet computers, laptops,…

  8. Artifacts as Authoritative Actors in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    März, Virginie; Kelchtermans, Geert; Vermeir, Karen

    2017-01-01

    Educational reforms are often translated in and implemented through artifacts. Although research has frequently treated artifacts as merely functional, more recent work acknowledges the complex relationship between material artifacts and human/organizational behavior. This article aims at disentangling this relationship in order to deepen our…

  9. Dance in K through 12 Basic Education: adequacy of contemporary practices in dance teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josiane Gisela Franken

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on dance teaching in K-12 basic education from a reflection about the relevant adoption of elements from post 1950’s artistic movement on dancing creative processes in a dialogue with authors as Hassan (1985, Silva (2005, and Rengel (2008. On this perspective, changes on dance teaching and learning practical attitudes are considered, resulting from postmodern dance transformations, such as: the reformulation of body concept, the conception of dance as a democratic, collective, and creative process and the progressively narrowed bounds between school artistic approaches and art forms developed outside of the school environment

  10. SOCIAL PERCEPTION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM REFORM. SURVEY CONDUCTED IN UPPER HIGH SCHOOLS OF BIHOR COUNTY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabau Remus Mircea

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Between the elements which mark the global processes, we can include educational issues, the management of processes in pre-university education. Therefore, the synthetic approach to educational problems in Romania, studied in terms of the processes and the phenomena of social development, but also due to the need for submiting the pre-university Romanian educational process to the European Union requirements, appears to be current and important. This analysis focuses on the decentralization of education. This theme is a true significant of the stage and of the the changing potential of the management practice in the public area. Its actuality is also hard to contest under the conditions in which changes in this area have been slow compared to those of the other countries that joined the European Union (Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, contradictory and inconsistent (Herczynski and Levitas, 2001: 1-2. The legislative changes, training facilities, as well as the constant institutional reorganization of pre-university education show the presence of an active interest in this matter. However, the real reform of university education still requires essential improvements. This study analyzes the social perception of performers in pre-university system, establishes positive and negative aspects of the reform in pre-university education, all from the perspective of teachers. The research was conducted between March 1st, 2011 and April 1st, 2011. During this time the questionnaire was applied and the data interpreted. The data obtained from the questionnaire interpretation were introduced into the SPSS program. For the analysis and interpretation of data we used SPSS 15.0. under Windows license. My investigation efforts were directed towards the impact of decentralization on the performers in pre-university education system and on their perception. The main purpose of the experimental study was to determine the essential perceptions of the performers

  11. Intersections between School Reform, the Arts, and Special Education: The Children Left Behind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hourigan, Ryan M.

    2014-01-01

    Arts education and special education within public schools have faced similar challenges in the wake of school reform. Services and programming have been reduced, leaving a larger gap in resources and accessibility. Because of loopholes in policy, new reform initiatives such as vouchers and charter schools will continue to marginalize students…

  12. The Windows to the Universe Project: Using the Internet to Support K-12 Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardiner, L.; Johnson, R.; Bergman, J.; Russell, R.; Genyuk, J.; La Grave, M.

    2003-12-01

    The World Wide Web can be a powerful tool for reaching the public as well as students and teachers around the world, supporting both formal and informal science education. The Windows to the Universe Project, initiated in 1995, provides a case study of approaches for the use of the web to support earth and space science education and literacy efforts. Through the use of innovative approaches such as easy to use design, multi-level content, and science concepts presented in a broader background context that includes connections to culture and the humanities, Windows to the Universe is an accessible format for individuals of various ages and learning styles. A large global audience regularly uses the web site to learn about earth and space science as well as related humanities content such as myths from around the world. User surveys show that the site has over 4 millions users per year, 65 percent of which are K-12 teachers and students. Approximately 46 percent of users access the site once per week or more. Recently, we have had the opportunity to expand our efforts while we continue to update existing content based on new scientific findings and events. Earth science content on Windows to the Universe is currently growing with a new geology section and development efforts are underway to expand our space weather content with a new curriculum. Educational games allow users to learn about space in a playful context, and an online journaling tool further integrates literacy into the learning experience. In addition, we are currently translating the entire Windows to the Universe web site into Spanish. We have included educators in the project as co-designers from its inception, and by aggressively utilizing and providing professional development opportunities for teachers, the web site is now used in thousands of classrooms around the world. In the past year we have continued to support K-12 educators by adding to our suite of classroom activities and leading

  13. Teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland: Implications in the Indian context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pradeep Kumar Misra

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available India, a country of 1.27 billion, nowadays needs reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education to cater to the demands of changing economy and society. This call to improve teacher education becomes more significant considering the fact that 50% of India’s current population is below the age of 25 and over 65% below 35. There are two ways to proceed in this direction. First, making an internal review and assessment of present scenario of teacher education and suggesting need-based measures. The second one is to learn from those countries that have recently reviewed their teacher education systems and are continuously working for the betterment of teacher education. Following second approach, present paper analyzes teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland, argues that concerns and commitments to reform teacher education in India and Scotland are similar, and suggests implications of Scottish experiences in the Indian context.

  14. Educational Research in the United States: A Survey of Pre-K-12 Teachers' Perceptions Regarding the Purpose, Conceptions, Use, Impact, and Dissemination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, Shawn

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this survey study was to collect data from pre-K-12 educators in the U.S. regarding their perceptions of the purpose, conceptions, use, impact, and results of educational research. The survey tool was based on existing questionnaires and case studies in the literature, as well as newly developed items. 3,908 educators in a database…

  15. Major Reforms of the Swedish Education System: 1950-1975. Staff Working Paper No. 290.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidenheimer, Arnold J.

    To develop a mass education structure that met the goals of both equality and efficiency, Sweden carried out extensive educational reforms between 1950 and 1975, starting at lower educational levels and moving in gradual staqes to the highest levels. This report looks at the background, nature, and history of these reforms. Its chapter on the…

  16. Pushing up against the Limit-Horizon of Educational Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Popular Education Reform Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Ashlee; Aronson, Brittany; Ellison, Scott; Fairchild-Keyes, Sherrie

    2015-01-01

    With this article, we work to identify the limit-horizon of possible ideas, practices, and ways of talking about education reform and schooling via a critical discourse analysis of selected popular political and governmental texts. To do so, we explore the popular discourse of education reform in the United States through our analyses of three…

  17. Educational Development and Reformation in Malaysia: Past, Present, and Future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Rahimah Haji

    1998-01-01

    Discusses educational development in Malaysia, focusing on curriculum changes, issues, and future perspectives. Discusses the development of values education, its importance in the curriculum, and the government's efforts to mold a united nation with Malaysian values. Current reforms target tertiary education. The school curriculum has not been…

  18. Education Policy Reform in Sri Lanka: The Double-Edged Sword of Political Will

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Angela W.

    2011-01-01

    In 1997, the Government of Sri Lanka launched a comprehensive set of education reforms designed to promote equitable access to basic education and improvements in learning outcomes. The package of reforms arose as a political response to widespread youth unrest in the late 1980s and attracted considerable "political will", a vague but…

  19. Lebanon's 2011 ICT Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan: Curriculum Success or Abeyance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of Lebanon's Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan (LERSAP) set in 2011 as a form of the educational reform the curriculum underwent through focusing on promoting and employing the information communication technology (ICT) tools. The LERSAP was launched to equip teachers…

  20. Reforms and innovations in Nordic vocational education:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Christian Helms

    2018-01-01

    The chapter examines policy reforms and innovations in the Nordic vocational education and training systems (VET) related to two challenges. The first is to improve the links of the VET system to the labour market and to ease the students’ transition to employment. It examines three new types...

  1. Climate Change Education Today in K-12: What's Happening in the Earth and Space Science Classroom?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzer, M. A.; National Earth Science Teachers Association

    2011-12-01

    Climate change is a highly interdisciplinary topic, involving not only multiple fields of science, but also social science and the humanities. There are many aspects of climate change science that make it particularly well-suited for exploration in the K-12 setting, including opportunities to explore the unifying processes of science such as complex systems, models, observations, change and evolution. Furthermore, this field of science offers the opportunity to observe the nature of science in action - including how scientists develop and improve their understanding through research and debate. Finally, climate change is inherently highly relevant to students - indeed, students today will need to deal with the consequences of the climate change. The science of climate change is clearly present in current science education standards, both at the National level as well as in the majority of states. Nonetheless, a significant number of teachers across the country report difficulties addressing climate change in the classroom. The National Earth Science Teachers Association has conducted several surveys of Earth and space science educators across the country over the past several years on a number of issues, including their needs and concerns, including their experience of external influences on what they teach. While the number of teachers that report external pressures to not teach climate change science are in the minority (and less than the pressure to not teach evolution and related topics), our results suggest that this pressure against climate change science in the K-12 classroom has grown over the past several years. Some teachers report being threatened by parents, being encouraged by administrators to not teach the subject, and a belief that the "two sides" of climate change should be taught. Survey results indicate that teachers in religious or politically-conservative districts are more likely to report difficulties in teaching about climate change than in

  2. Proactive educational reforms in South Korea: Schools for Improvement and multicultural education

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Hye-Won

    2014-01-01

    Introduction This paper discusses the educational issues and societal changes that have led to proactive reforms in the education system of South Korea. Korean pupils achieve high academic levels, but there have been some criticisms relating to sociocultural issues. In addition, Korea is being transformed into a multicultural society. Here we consider two examples of Korea’s educational interventions, introduced in response to contextual demands and societal changes: firstly, the Schools for...

  3. The Challenges of Educational Reform in Modern-Day Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Jane; Lammert, Jill

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to examine a nationwide effort of educational reform in Peru. Specifically, the authors take a close look at the nation's efforts to change secondary education through the implementation of a 2-year postsecondary learning opportunity called the "bachillerato." First, the authors briefly present the…

  4. Influence of Social Reform Ideologies on Industrial/Technology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ireh, Maduakolam

    2016-01-01

    The founding of industrial/technology education in Ameria represents the convergence of many influences dating back to the pre-industrial revolution era. Social reform movement, one of these influences, set out to change conditions considered to be causes of poverty and other social problems through active engagements in political, educational,…

  5. Blended Learning: enabling Higher Education Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen Matheos

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Blended learning research and practice have been areas of growth for two decades in Canada, with over 95% of Canadian higher education institutions involved in some form of blended learning. Despite strong evidence based research and practice blended learning, for the most part, has remained at sidelined in Canadian universities. The article argues the need for blended learning to situate itself within the timely and crucial Higher Education Reform (HER agenda. By aligning the affordances of blended learning with the components of HER, blended learning can clearly serve as an enabler for HER.

  6. Ghana's education reform 2007: A realistic proposition or a crisis of vision?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuyini, Ahmed Bawa

    2013-07-01

    Ghana's recent "Education Reform 2007" envisions a system that strives to achieve both domestic and internationally-oriented goals emanating (1) from the Education for All (EFA) initiative, (2) from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and (3) from global trends in education. Emboldened by the implementation of foreign-donor-funded programmes such as EFA, the restructuring of the Ghana Education Sector Project (EdSeP) and the Science Resource Centres (SRC) project, both the education reform of 2007 and recent educational policy debates have reiterated the need to emphasise the teaching of science and information and communication technology to make Ghana's students/graduates more competitive in the global labour market. However, the bulk of Ghana's economic activity actually remains domestic or unglobalised. And given a weak economy and declining social spending due to strict adherence to the prescribed structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), there is concern that a focus on international competitiveness may be a crisis of vision. On the basis of the Ghanaian government's failure to meet the stated goals of previous reforms such as that of 1974, and the education system's continuing dependence on foreign donor support, this paper argues that the goals of the new reform may be unachievable on a sustainable basis. It also argues that rather than subjugate national domestic priorities to a mirage of international credibility/competitiveness, Ghana should concentrate on capacitating her students/graduates to make maximum impact at domestic and local community levels.

  7. Regulatory Autonomy and Performance: The Reform of Higher Education Re-Visited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enders, Jurgen; de Boer, Harry; Weyer, Elke

    2013-01-01

    The main aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of organizational autonomy and control in higher education reform and related expectations as regards the performance of universities. Our analyses draws on principal-agent models as a normative theory of policy reform, and institutionalist approaches in public policy and…

  8. The Delicate Balance between Research, Teaching and Outreach: A Case Study of Physicists in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leslie-Pelecky, Diandra

    2003-04-01

    Recent calls from a variety of sectors including some funding agencies and professional societies encourage physicists to take a more active interest in the education of K-12 students and their teachers. Although there are a broad range of possible activities, finding time to participate is always a challenge for the researcher. How does the busy physicist ensure that the time devoted to education or outreach activities produces meaningful results without adversely affecting his or her research program? Project Fulcrum, a NSF-funded program that teams science and math graduate students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with 4th -8th grade teachers in the Lincoln Public Schools, presents a case study of how research scientists can be meaningfully involved with K-12 education. Project Fulcrum's preliminary results indicate that the impact scientists have in the classroom goes far beyond providing expertise in physics, and turns out to be very different than originally anticipated. There are a wide variety of models for involvement in education and outreach that cover a broad span of time and energy commitments. Careful project choice, establishing administrative infrastructure, collaborating with other departments and colleges, and involving colleagues can optimize the impact-made-to-time-spent ratio. Challenges such as project evaluation, overcoming the negative attitudes of some physicists towards anything not related to research, and ensuring that participants get appropriate credit for their efforts will also be discussed. The conclusion will address the personal and professional rewards of involvement in education and outreach. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF-DGE0086358). The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of co-PIs G. Buck, S. Kirby, R. Kirby and P. Dussault, and all of the Project Fulcrum Fellows and Teachers.

  9. Education Reform Sparks Teacher Protest in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Bradley A.

    2014-01-01

    The current tumult in the Mexican education arena has deep roots in politics and tradition, but it is latter-day global competition and international measures of student performance that are driving reform efforts. Teacher strikes and demonstrations are not new in Mexico, but issues raised by today's protesting teachers represent a combination of…

  10. Enhancing teaching and learning in the Dutch vocational education system : Reforms enacted

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elly de Bruijn; Stephen Billett; Jeroen Onstenk

    2017-01-01

    This book discusses how the Dutch vocational education system has undergone significant waves of reform driven by global imperatives, national concerns and governmental policy goals. Like elsewhere, the impetuses for these reforms are directed to generating a more industry-responsive,

  11. Mobile internet and technology for optical teaching reform in higher education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Muchun; Zhao, Qi; Chen, Yanru

    2017-08-01

    There are some problems in optical education such as insufficient flexibility, individuality and adaptability to students who need information and education at present. The development of mobile internet and technology provides support to solve these problems. Basic characteristics, advantages and developments of these techniques used in education are presented in this paper. Mobile internet is introduced to reform the classroom teaching of optical courses. Mobile network tool selection, teaching resources construction and reform in teaching methods are discussed. Academic record and sampling surveys are used to assess intention to adopt mobile internet and learning effect of academic major of students, the results show that high quality optical education can be offered by adopting mobile internet and technologies in traditional instruction.

  12. systemic chemical education reform [scer] in the global era

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IICBA01

    growing the systemic way of thinking of our students that is one of the most important characteristics of Global Era. Here is the systemic education reform which means the change of our educational system from linearity to systemic in which we design the curriculum and write content systemically, which presented by SATL ...

  13. STEM professional volunteers in K-12 competition programs: Educator practices and impact on pedagogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zintgraff, Alfred Clifton

    This mixed methods dissertation study explored how secondary school educators in specific K-12 competition programs recruited and deployed STEM professional volunteers. The study explored which practices were viewed as most important, and how practices related to constructivist pedagogy, all from the viewpoint of educators. The non-positivist approach sought new knowledge without pursuing generalized results. Review of the literature uncovered extensive anecdotal information about current practices, and suggested that large investments are made in engaging volunteers. One National Science Foundation-sponsored study was identified, and its recommendations for a sustained research agenda were advanced. Three study phases were performed, one to explore practices and operationalize definitions, a second to rate practice's importance and their relation to pedagogy, and a third to seek explanations. Educators preferred recruiting local, meaning recruiting parents and former students, versus from industry or other employers. Most educators preferred volunteers with mentoring skills, and placing them in direct contact with students, versus deploying volunteers to help with behind-the-scenes tasks supporting the educator. Relationships were identified between the highest-rated practices and constructivism in programs. In STEM professional volunteers, educators see affordances, in the same way a classroom tool opens affordances. A model is proposed which shows educators considering practicality, pedagogy, knowledge and skills, and rapport when accessing the affordances opened by STEM professional volunteers. Benefits are maximized when programs align with strong industry clusters in the community.

  14. Cataclysms and Catastrophes: A Case Study of Improving K-12 Science Education Through a University Partnership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fennell, T.; Ellins, K. K.; Morris, M.; Christeson, G.

    2003-12-01

    The K-12 science teacher is always seeking ways of improving and updating their curriculum by integrating the latest research into their most effective classroom activities. However, the daily demands of delivering instruction to large numbers of students coupled with the rapid advances in some fields of science can often overwhelm this effort. The NSF-sponsored Cataclysms and Catastrophes curriculum, developed by scientists from the The University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG), middle and high school teachers, and UT graduate students (NSF GK-12 fellows) working together through the GK-12 program, is a textbook example of how universities can facilitate this quest, benefiting education at both K-12 and university levels. In 1992, "The Great K-T Extinction Debate" was developed as an activity in the Planet Earth class at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy of Austin as an interdisciplinary approach to science. Taking advantage of the media attention generated by the impact scenario for the K-T extinction, the activity consists of students participating in a simulated senate hearing on the potential causes of the K-T extinction and their implications for society today. This activity not only exposes students to the wide range of science involved in understanding mass extinctions, but also to the social, political and economic implications when this science is brought into the public arena and the corresponding use of data in decision making and disaster preparedness. While "The Great K-T Extinction Debate" was always a popular and effective activity with students, it was in desperate need of updating to keep pace with the evolving scientific debate over the cause of the K-T extinction and the growing body of impact evidence discovered over the past decade. By adding two inquiry-based learning activities that use real geophysical data collected by scientists studying the buried Chicxulub feature as a

  15. Educational reform and the public: Two case studies of Poland and Saskatchewan (Canada)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaproń, Danuta; Stephan, Werner

    1991-09-01

    The involvement of the public in educational reform processes in modern democratic societies primarily serves the purpose of politically legitimizing the reform agenda. This study examines the rationales implicitly or explicitly submitted to the public to explain why educational reforms in the two countries should be endorsed. Although differences in the political culture caution against a hasty comparison of the two case studies, a number of politico-economic similarities allow for a valid juxtaposition. In Poland the context of socio-political and economic renewal prompted the reformers to emphasize the human-capital model which heightened public awareness and participation in the debate surrounding the reform. Public involvement in Saskatchewan was negatively affected for mainly two reasons. First, the government evidently manipulated public input by various means and thereby appears to have predetermined the outcome. Second, the rationale for the reform, based on a free-market model, tightened the linkage between the needs of the labour market and the mandate of the schools. As a result, public interest and participation was greatly diminished.

  16. Involving Practicing Scientists in K-12 Science Teacher Professional Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertram, K. B.

    2011-12-01

    The Science Teacher Education Program (STEP) offered a unique framework for creating professional development courses focused on Arctic research from 2006-2009. Under the STEP framework, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) training was delivered by teams of practicing Arctic researchers in partnership with master teachers with 20+ years experience teaching STEM content in K-12 classrooms. Courses based on the framework were offered to educators across Alaska. STEP offered in-person summer-intensive institutes and follow-on audio-conferenced field-test courses during the academic year, supplemented by online scientist mentorship for teachers. During STEP courses, teams of scientists offered in-depth STEM content instruction at the graduate level for teachers of all grade levels. STEP graduate-level training culminated in the translation of information and data learned from Arctic scientists into standard-aligned lessons designed for immediate use in K-12 classrooms. This presentation will focus on research that explored the question: To what degree was scientist involvement beneficial to teacher training and to what degree was STEP scientist involvement beneficial to scientist instructors? Data sources reveal consistently high levels of ongoing (4 year) scientist and teacher participation; high STEM content learning outcomes for teachers; high STEM content learning outcomes for students; high ratings of STEP courses by scientists and teachers; and a discussion of the reasons scientists indicate they benefited from STEP involvement. Analyses of open-ended comments by teachers and scientists support and clarify these findings. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze teacher and scientist qualitative feedback. Comments were coded and patterns analyzed in three databases. The vast majority of teacher open-ended comments indicate that STEP involvement improved K-12 STEM classroom instruction, and the vast majority of scientist open-ended comments

  17. QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS LEADING TO REFORMS IN EAST EUROPEAN EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arjen Vos

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines the evolution of qualifications frameworks across Europe. Five years ago, it was not clear if the discussions on national qualification frameworks (NQF in Eastern Europe would lead to the new standards and qualifications development, or initiate the reforms in education and training. Now, there is evidence of more countries using the NQFs to promote a dialogue between the public and private sectors on the expected outcomes of educational process. In some countries, the private sector has even taken the lead in the NQF discussions, being increasingly involved in their implementation. This is a fundamentally new paradigm in education policies and a cornerstone of the demand driven education and training. Each country is following its own patterns while moving to the comparable results. However, this is just the initial stage of NQF implementation. The author regards learning by doing and the local expertise expansion as the key challenges of the coming years. Although the reforms take time, they increasingly tend to become a shared public and private responsibility.

  18. Teachers' Emotions in the Context of Education Reform: Labor Process Theory and Social Constructionism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsang, Kwok Kuen; Kwong, Tsun Lok

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, many teachers suffered different kinds of negative emotions in the context of education reforms. A typical explanation was that the education reforms disempowered teachers in teaching, so teachers were forced to do much non-instructional work. Teachers considered their work meaningless but were powerless to change it, and…

  19. It's Our School Too: Youth Activism as Educational Reform, 1951-1979

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajunwa, Kelechi

    2011-01-01

    Activism has the potential for reform (Howard, 1976). Unlike previous studies on high school activism this study places a primary focus on underground newspapers and argues that underground newspapers allowed high school students to function as activists as well as educational reformers. In order to make this argument, this study examined over 150…

  20. [Exploration of the oral health education experimental teaching for oral health education reform].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yingying; Hu, Wenting; Zhang, Juanjuan; Sun, Yan; Gao, Yuguang

    2014-04-01

    This study aimed to improve students' ability in practical and theoretical courses of oral health education and to promote students' learning interest and initiative. Fourth-year students of the oral medical profession from 2006 to 2008 at Weifang Medical University were chosen as research objects for oral health education to explore the experimental teaching reform. The students were divided into test and control groups, with the test group using the "speak out" way of teaching and the control group using the traditional teaching method. Results of after-class evaluation of the test group, as well as final examination and practice examination of the two groups, were analyzed and compared. After-class evaluation results of the test group showed that the "speak out" teaching method was recognized by the students and improved students' ability to understand oral health education. The final examination and practice examination results showed that the score of the test group was higher than that of the control group (P teaching methods can improve students' ability for oral health education, in accordance with the trend of teaching reform.

  1. A phenomenological case study concerning science teacher educators' beliefs and teaching practices about culturally relevant pedagogy and preparing K-12 science teachers to engage African American students in K-12 science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, Janice Bell

    Due to the rising diversity in today's schools, science teacher educators (STEs) suggest that K-12 teachers must be uniquely prepared to engage these students in science classrooms. Yet, in light of the increasing white-black science achievement gap, it is unclear how STEs prepare preservice teachers to engage diverse students, and African Americans in particular. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find out how STEs prepare preservice teachers to engage African American students in K-12 science. Thus, using the culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) framework, this phenomenological case study explored beliefs about culturally relevant science teaching and the influence of reported beliefs and experiences related to race on STEs' teaching practices. In the first phase, STE's in a mid-Atlantic state were invited to participate in an electronic survey. In the second phase, four participants, who were identified as exemplars, were selected from the survey to participate in three semi-structured interviews. The data revealed that STEs were more familiar with culturally responsive pedagogy (CResP) in the context of their post-secondary classrooms as opposed to CRP. Further, most of the participants in part one and two described modeling conventional ways they prepare their preservice teachers to engage K-12 students, who represent all types of diversity, without singling out any specific race. Lastly, many of the STEs' in this study reported formative experiences related to race and beliefs in various manifestations of racism have impacted their teaching beliefs and practices. The findings of this study suggest STEs do not have a genuine understanding of the differences between CRP and CResP and by in large embrace CResP principles. Secondly, in regards to preparing preservice teachers to engage African American students in science, the participants in this study seemed to articulate the need for ideological change, but were unable to demonstrate pedagogical changes

  2. NASA Education Activity Training (NEAT): Professional Development for Montana K-12 Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Kathryn; McKenzie, D.; Des Jardins, A.; Key, J.; Kanode, C.; Willoughby, S.

    2012-05-01

    Piloted during the 2011-2012 academic year, the NASA Education Activity Training (NEAT) teacher workshop program has introduced five solar astronomy and space weather activities to over forty Montana K-12 teachers. Because many Montana schools are geographically isolated (40% of Montana students live more than 50 miles from a city) and/or serve traditionally underrepresented groups (primarily Native Americans), professional development for teachers can be costly and time consuming. However, with funding shared by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly EPO team and the Montana Space Grant Consortium, graduate student specialists are able to host the two-hour NEAT workshops on-site at the schools free of charge, and participating teachers earn two continuing education credits. Leveraging the existing catalogue of research-based NASA activities, the featured NEAT activities were chosen for their ease-of-use and applicability to Montana science standards. These include three advanced activities for older students, such as a paper plate activity for the June 5th, 2012 Transit of Venus, Kinesthetic Astronomy, and the Herschel Infrared experiment, along with two simpler activities for the younger students, such as Solar Cookies and the Electromagnetic War card game. Feedback surveys show that NEAT workshop participants were interested and engaged in the activities and planned on using the activities in their classrooms. With such positive responses, the NEAT program has been a huge success and can serve as a model for other institutions looking to increase their space public outreach and education.

  3. EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL COHESION ATTEMPTS IN LEBANON: REFLECTIONS ON THE 1994 AND 2010 EDUCATION REFORMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Shuayb

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Following the end of the Lebanese civil war, education was put forward as a major means for rebuilding Lebanon and promoting social cohesion and unity. A huge education development plan was launched in 1994 culminating in a new national curriculum in 1997 and the production of new textbooks.  Although the quality of education improved in public schools, dropout rates continued to be high, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged groups. As education inequality soared, a new education reform strategy was launched in 2010. This paper investigates how social cohesion has been tackled in the two reforms (1994 and 2010. In defining social cohesion, the study adopts Nancy Fraser’s framework of social justice which includes redistribution, recognition, and participation. In addition, Novelli, Lopes Cardozo and Smith’s (2014 fourth component of social justice ‘reconciliation’ is added to the analytical framework. Findings revealed an emphasis on distributive justice by widening access to education including during early years and tackling causes of dropout, specifically in the 2010 reform. Reconciliation, in particular nationalism and promoting one narrative of the past, is given a major priority. Conflict is reduced to religious intolerance while structured barriers to social justice, including the use of languages that are considered foreign as mediums of instruction, the marginalisation of disadvantaged groups, a lack of participation, and sectarian nepotism, were downplayed. Critical reflections on the past has been suppressed in favour of building a national memory.  

  4. Recipients, Agents, or Partners?: The Contradictions of Teacher Participation in Mexican Secondary Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Bradley A.; Blackwood, Janet; Cross, Valerie

    2013-01-01

    The countries of Latin America have been no exception to global calls for educational transformation and teacher professionalization at the secondary level. One of the newest of these reforms is Mexico's Reforma de la Educacion Secundaria (RS) (Reform of Secondary Education), launched in 2006. This article examines portrayals by various actors of…

  5. Apply Deming's Methods to K-12 Curriculum and Improve Student Achievement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Thomas F.

    2008-01-01

    The United States has been engaged in school reform for three decades. The federal government as well as all fifty states have passed numerous versions of reform legislation to mandate and regulate the process. Educators have adjusted their practices to the policy created by this legislation. They have also allocated hundreds of billions of…

  6. K-12 Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Flipped Classroom Model for Teaching and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gough, Evan; DeJong, David; Grundmeyer, Trent; Baron, Mark

    2017-01-01

    A great deal of evidence can be cited from higher education literature on the effectiveness of the flipped classroom; however, very little research was discovered on the flipped classroom at the K-12 level. This study examined K-12 teachers' perceptions regarding the flipped classroom and differences in teachers' perceptions based on grade level…

  7. Education for a Green and Resilient Economy: An Educator Framework for Teaching Climate and Energy Literacy for K-12 Teachers Across the Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niepold, F., III; Ledley, T. S.; Lockwood, J.; Youngman, E.; Manning, C. L. B.; Sullivan, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    The U.S. is embarking on a major transition to a green and resilient economy, a monumental change requiring all sectors and segments of the population to pull together. Transforming our nation's economic, energy, and environmental systems to in this way will require a sustained level of expertise, innovation, and cooperative effort unseen since the 1940s to meet the challenges involved. Education can - and must - help people understand the true connections, the linkages and interdependencies, between the environment, our energy sources and the economy which underpin and form the very foundation of the concept of a green and resilient economy. To produce such a literate future workforce and citizenry, the United States will need to make major new investments in our educational systems. Teachers across the nation are helping to increase science-based understanding and awareness of current and future climate change, enhancing climate and energy literacy in K-12 classrooms, on college and university campuses. There has been tremendous progress to date, but there is still more work to be done. The new academic standards in mathematics and science (the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) represent a sea change from the nation's previous sets of standards. Addressing these standards in the currently over 40 percent of the nation's classrooms that have adopted or adapted the NGSS will demand that we prepare new and current teachers, who can effectively address the interdisciplinary nature of climate change and societal responses. To address this opportunity and need a collaboration between NOAA, TERC and CIRES has been established to develop an Educator Framework for Teaching Climate and Energy Literacy for K-12 teachers across the curriculum based on the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. This collaboration is developing an effective way to frame the use of

  8. Education, Culture and Indigenous Rights: The Case of Educational Reform in Bolivia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comboni Salinas, Sonia; Juarez Nunez, Jose Manuel

    2000-01-01

    Examines the implementation of intercultural bilingual education throughout Bolivia and its relationship to the linguistic and cultural rights of the majority indigenous population. Discusses institutional and curriculum reforms, particularly in rural schools; a new emphasis on students' learning needs; relationship to indigenous…

  9. New Directions in Education? A Critique of Contemporary Policy Reforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skourdoumbis, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    This paper draws on facets of Foucault's theoretical resources to critique current education policy reform from within the Australian State of Victoria, namely the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) discussion paper "New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession." Implicit in the reform…

  10. Healthy Competition and Unsound Comparison: Reforming Educational Competition in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Søren

    2015-01-01

    It is frequently claimed that the "competition state" responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore "excessive" competition in education is now targeted by…

  11. Improved education after implementation of the Danish postgraduate medical training reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kodal, Troels; Kjær, Niels Kristian; Qvesel, Dorte

    2012-01-01

    A reform of educational postgraduate medical training was launched in Denmark in 2004. The reform was based on a report by the Danish Medical Specialist Commission and consisted of a number of initiatives that were all aimed at improving the quality of medical training. Since 1998, all junior...... doctors in Denmark have been requested to rate the quality of their training on a Danish standardized questionnaire (DSQ) comprising 24 questions. In this study, we examined how junior doctors in hospitals rated their postgraduate medical training before and six years after the reform was implemented....

  12. School-Based Management: The Next Needed Education Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, James W.

    1986-01-01

    Recommends the implementation of school-based management systems as one way to meet government demands for educational reform. Describes the functions of principals, school advisory councils, school-site budgeting and accounting, and annual planning and performance reports in successful school-based management systems. Presents examples of…

  13. The landscape of PreK-12 engineering online resources for teachers: global trends

    OpenAIRE

    Bagiati, Aikaterini; Evangelou, Demetra; Magana, Alejandra; Kaloustian, Garene; Zhu, Jiabin; Yoon, So Yoon

    2014-01-01

    Background: The newly formed discipline of engineering education is addressing the need to (a) enhance STEM education for precollege students and (b) identify optimum ways to introduce engineering content starting, perhaps, from the early ages. Introducing engineering at the Prekindergarten through 12th grade (PreK-12) education level requires significant changes in teacher preparation and support. It highlights the need for developing developmentally appropriate content knowledge and ped...

  14. Education Inputs, Student Performance and School Finance Reform in Michigan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhary, Latika

    2009-01-01

    This paper estimates the impact of the Michigan school finance reform, "Proposal A," on education inputs and test scores. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, I find that school districts in Michigan used the increase in educational spending generated through "Proposal A" to increase teacher salaries and reduce…

  15. Reformed Teaching and Learning in Science Education: A Comparative Study of Turkish and US Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozfidan, Burhan; Cavlazoglu, Baki; Burlbaw, Lynn; Aydin, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    Achievements of educational reform advantage constructivist understandings of teaching and learning, and therefore highlight a shift in beliefs of teachers and apply these perceptions to the real world. Science teachers' beliefs have been crucial in understanding and reforming science education as beliefs of teachers regarding learning and…

  16. "Compensatory Legitimation" in Greek Educational Policy: An Explanation for the Abortive Educational Reforms in Greece in Comparison with Those in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persianis, Panayiotis

    1998-01-01

    Examines the political dynamics of planning and implementing educational reforms in Greece, with comparisons to France. Argues that, as in France, the state's concern for "compensatory legitimation" provides a better tool than those advanced by sociologists or historians for explaining Greece's many failed educational reforms. Compares…

  17. Plickers: A Formative Assessment Tool for K-12 and PETE Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Jennifer M.; O'Neil, Kason; Dauenhauer, Brian

    2017-01-01

    Classroom response systems have become popular in K-12 and higher education settings in recent years in order to gauge student learning. The physical education environment is unique in that it is difficult to manage the technology associated with these systems, and therefore, student assessment can be cumbersome. A free classroom response system…

  18. Battling Obesity in K-12 Learners from an Exercise Physiology Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattigan, Peter; Biren, Greg

    2007-01-01

    Physical education practitioners and programs have the opportunity and obligation to help children become physically educated, healthy, and active adults. This article discusses the battle against obesity in K-12 learners from an exercise physiology perspective and focuses on the fact that practitioners have all the tools they need to battle this…

  19. Transforming K-12 Rural Education through Blended Learning: Teacher Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellerer, Paula; Kellerer, Eric; Werth, Eric; Werth, Lori; Montgomery, Danielle; Clyde, Rozella; Cozart, Joe; Creach, Laura; Hibbard, Laura; LaFrance, Jason; Rupp, Nadine; Walker, Niki; Carter, Theresa; Kennedy, Kathryn

    2014-01-01

    A qualitative study exploring rural teacher perspectives on the impact of blended learning on students and teachers was conducted in Idaho during the Fall of 2013. Researchers from Northwest Nazarene University's DOCEO Center in partnership with Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA) and the International Association for K-12 Online Learning…

  20. Applying the Quadratic Usage Framework to Research on K-12 STEM Digital Learning Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luetkemeyer, Jennifer R.

    2016-01-01

    Numerous policymakers have called for K-12 educators to increase their effectiveness by transforming science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning and teaching with digital resources and tools. In this study we outline the significance of studying pressing issues related to use of digital resources in the K-12 environment and…

  1. Internal Revolutions: Auto-Ethnography as a Method for Faculty Who Prepare K-12 Educators and Leaders at Hispanic Serving Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar, Israel

    2017-01-01

    This article reinforces the use of research for faculty who prepare K-12 educators and leaders for social justice. The author conceptualizes auto-ethnography as a form of professional development and maintains that faculty must first experience an internal revolution before they can expect to model it, especially in a Hispanic Serving Institution…

  2. Chinese perceptions of the interface between school and museum education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Changyun; Anderson, David; Wu, Xinchun

    2010-09-01

    The current political and social backdrop in China that is characterized by rapid educational reforms to the K-12 education system, rapid growth in the number of science museum institutions, and Central Government policy which encourages collaboration between museums and school has the potential to be fertile ground for meaningful engagement between museums and schools. Notwithstanding, the Chinese K-12 education system generally does not utilize museum resources to support the curriculum, as is common in Western countries. This hermeneutic phenomenographic study elucidates the current Chinese views and perceptions among three stakeholders—school teachers, museum staffs and science educators—around this collaborative concept. The outcomes demonstrate that strongly entrenched cultural views and long-standing practices among stakeholder groups are obstacles to meaningful collaboration despite Central Government policy which encourages such engagement. The cultural values and perceptual views of stakeholder groups were discerned with the purpose of promoting mutual understandings and ultimately enabling meaningful collaboration in support of K-12 education in China.

  3. Assessment and Educational Reform: Doing More than Polishing Brass on the Titanic, a Call for Discussion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackman, Andrew

    This exploration of evaluation strategies for systemic educational reform considers whether there is a way to design an assessment and delivery system that can accomplish the goals of the total educational process. A basic question that must be addressed in systemic reform is the role of education in the socialization processes of society. Beyond…

  4. Response to science education reforms: The case of three science education doctoral programs in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwekwerere, Yovita Netsai

    Doctoral programs play a significant role in preparing future leaders. Science Education doctoral programs play an even more significant role preparing leaders in a field that is critical to maintaining national viability in the face of global competition. The current science education reforms have the goal of achieving science literacy for all students and for this national goal to be achieved; we need strong leadership in the field of science education. This qualitative study investigated how doctoral programs are preparing their graduates for leadership in supporting teachers to achieve the national goal of science literacy for all. A case study design was used to investigate how science education faculty interpreted the national reform goal of science literacy for all and how they reformed their doctoral courses and research programs to address this goal. Faculty, graduate students and recent graduates of three science education doctoral programs participated in the study. Data collection took place through surveys, interviews and analysis of course documents. Two faculty members, three doctoral candidates and three recent graduates were interviewed from each of the programs. Data analysis involved an interpretive approach. The National Research Council Framework for Investigating Influence of the National Standards on student learning (2002) was used to analyze interview data. Findings show that the current reforms occupy a significant part of the doctoral coursework and research in these three science education doctoral programs. The extent to which the reforms are incorporated in the courses and the way they are addressed depends on how the faculty members interpret the reforms and what they consider to be important in achieving the goal of science literacy for all. Whereas some faculty members take a simplistic critical view of the reform goals as a call to achieve excellence in science teaching; others take a more complex critical view where they question

  5. Science Education Reform in Qatar: Progress and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Said, Ziad

    2016-01-01

    Science education reform in Qatar has had limited success. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), Qatari 4th and 8th grade students have shown progress in science achievement, but they remain significantly below the international average. Also, in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Qatari…

  6. Education Reform in Bolivia: Transitions towards Which Future?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrueta, Jose Antonio; Avery, Helen

    2012-01-01

    This article concerns the impact of educational reforms on young people in Bolivian society as they transition into adulthood, against the backdrop of globalisation and far-reaching structural changes. Ethnicity and cultural capital are linked in complex ways with social stratification in Bolivia. In a pluricultural society, the language of…

  7. From the Classroom to Washington: Einsteins on Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Kent H., Ed.; Byers, Elizabeth A., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was delighted to host a group of current and former Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fellowship program. Outstanding math and science teachers in America's K-12 schools, the Einstein Fellows spend a year (or sometimes two) working on…

  8. GIS in the K-12 Classroom: Research Agenda from EDGIS '96

    OpenAIRE

    National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis; National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE); Technical Education Research Centers (TERC)

    1996-01-01

    This meeting of education researchers and teachers immediately followed the November 1996 Annual Meeting of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) in Santa Barbara, California. Participants explored the issues facing the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the K-12 classroom and developed a research agenda related to Pedagogy Issues, Curriculum Issues, Software Issues, and Cognitive Issues.

  9. Reconstructing a lost tradition: the philosophy of medical education in an age of reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    At the 100th anniversary of Abraham Flexner's landmark report on medical education, critical reassessment of the direction of medical education reform evinced valuable interdisciplinary contributions from biomedicine, sociology, psychology and education theory. However, to date, philosophy has been absent from the discussion despite its long standing contribution to studies on education in other professions. This discussion paper examines how the philosophical tradition can contribute to scholarship in medical education. It begins with an explanation of the scholarly tradition of philosophy of education and its role in thinking in education more generally. It then makes links between this tradition and the context of medical education in the Flexner era of education reform. The paper then argues that this tradition is necessary to the understanding of medical education reform post-Flexner and that doctors must benefit from an education derived from this tradition in order to be able to carry out their work. These foundations are characterised as a hidden, but always present, tradition in medical education. Two ways in which this 'lost tradition' can inform medical education theory and practice are identified: firstly, by the establishment of a public canon of medical education texts that express such a tradition, and, secondly, by the incorporation of a variety of 'signature pedagogies' exemplary of liberal education. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

  10. Perspectives in medical education 9. Revisiting the blueprint for reform of medical education in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, R Harsha; Rao, Kanchan H

    2010-01-01

    Reform of medical education at Keio University has been underway since 2003. We measure the progress made since then in five specific categories that span fifteen recommendations presented in our "Blueprint for Reform" at the outset of the effort. These are effectiveness of leadership, curriculum reform, recognition of teaching, clinical competence, and comprehensive training in general internal medicine (GIM). First, effective leadership is being sustained through a succession of Deans, although a potentially crippling loss of leadership in the Department of Medical Education must be offset through timely appointment. Second, curriculum reform is awaiting the implementation in 2012 of an integrated, organ system-based curriculum with an emphasis on ward clerkships, but the introduction of PBL has been delayed indefinitely. Third, teaching is being recognized through the use of student feedback to reward good teachers and through funds for six full-time equivalent salaries dedicated to medical education, but promotions still depend exclusively on research, without consideration of teaching ability. Fourth, clinical skills training is still lacking, although enthusiasm for it seems to be building, thanks to the presence on the wards of a (still miniscule) cadre of dedicated teachers. Finally, exposure to GIM remains non-existent; however, visionary leadership in a newly-independent Emergency Department and the wide variety of medical problems seen there provide a remarkable opportunity to craft a uniquely Japanese solution to the problem. The changes implemented to date are impressive, and we remain enthusiastic about the future, even as we recognize the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.

  11. Elementary school teachers perspective about educative reform in Zacatecas, México

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Cristina Bañuelos Sánchez

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The results of a research carried out in the state of Zacatecas, México, aiming at probing teachers perceptions about the Educative Reform (RE to elementary school education approved in 2013 in the country are presented. Structural reforms served as the research theoretical frame and are the starting point to analyze changes that reorganized educative institutions in general. The information gathering was conducted by an interview with open answers, focusing on the aspects which have direct effects on teachers: evaluation, entry requirements and the job continuity. The results show that most teachers do not oppose the evaluation, provided that it is used as a tool for improving their teaching practice. Yet they do mistrust the transparency of the system, since they consider that the RE is a hidden mechanism to fire teachers, instead of a mechanism to improve the quality of education.

  12. Administrative Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plum, Maja

    Through the example of a Danish reform of educational plans in early childhood education, the paper critically addresses administrative educational reforms promoting accountability, visibility and documentation. Drawing on Foucaultian perspectives, the relation between knowledge and governing...... of administrative technology, tracing how the humanistic values of education embed and are embedded within ‘the professional nursery teacher' as an object and subject of administrative practice. Rather than undermining the humanistic potential of education, it is argued that the technology of accounting...

  13. Nursing education reform in South Africa--lessons from a policy analysis study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaauw, Duane; Ditlopo, Prudence; Rispel, Laetitia C

    2014-01-01

    Nursing education reform is identified as an important strategy for enhancing health workforce performance, and thereby improving the functioning of health systems. Globally, a predominant trend in such reform is towards greater professionalisation and university-based education. Related nursing education reform in South Africa culminated in a new Framework for Nursing Qualifications in 2013. We undertook a policy analysis study of the development of the new Nursing Qualifications Framework in South Africa. We used a policy analysis framework derived from Walt and Gilson that interrogated the context, content, actors, and processes of policy development and implementation. Following informed consent, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 key informants from national and provincial government; the South African Nursing Council; the national nursing association; nursing academics, managers, and educators; and other nursing organisations. The interviews were complemented with a review of relevant legislation and policy documents. Documents and interview transcripts were coded thematically using Atlas-ti software. The revision of nursing qualifications was part of the post-apartheid transformation of nursing, but was also influenced by changes in the education sector. The policy process took more than 10 years to complete and the final Regulations were promulgated in 2013. The two most important changes are the requirement for a baccalaureate degree to qualify as a professional nurse and abolishing the enrolled nurse with 2 years training in favour of a staff nurse with a 3-year college diploma. Respondents criticised slow progress, weak governance by the Nursing Council and the Department of Health, limited planning for implementation, and the inappropriateness of the proposals for South Africa. The study found significant weaknesses in the policy capacity of the main institutions responsible for the leadership and governance of nursing in South Africa, which

  14. Place Matters: Mathematics Education Reform in Urban Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseau Anderson, Celia

    2014-01-01

    While mathematics education research has often focused at the level of the classroom (Rousseau Anderson & Tate, 2008), there are emerging calls for attention to shift from individual classrooms to consider the process of reform at the school or district level. Investigating the role of the institution and conditions of the organization becomes…

  15. An Analysis of Merit Pay Reforms in Educational Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Brulle

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available With roots in behaviorist philosophy, performance pay for teachers is often linked to accountability regimes in school reform. The theory girding such programs suggests that pay as an economic incentive can help cause teachers to increase student outcomes as measured by standardized test scores. What is little noticed by many educationists, but particularly by policy makers, is how programmatic effects affect the ontology of educational environment. There are several ways to approach the viability of such programs. In this study of three pay-for-performance programs, two in the U.S. and one in the UK, we provide theoretic insights in light of three variables: (i their psychological framework, (ii teacher efficacy and the teacher-student relationship, and (iii how the psychological impact of such programs coincides with larger institutional forces. Using theory to examine pay-for-performance is necessary in order to get beneath mere data and secure more thorough understandings of the phenomenological impacts of performance pay. And better understanding of these foundational features is necessary, even critical, in order to fully appreciate the economic and informational trade-offs in implementation. Our study suggests that as a small-scale reform measure and when it specifically accounts for complexities of educational production, performance pay may be a viable reform option.

  16. Zero Energy Schools: Designing for the Future: Zero Energy Ready K-12 Schools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torcellini, Paul A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-09-29

    Designing, building, and operating zero energy ready K-12 schools provides benefits for districts, students, and teachers. Optimizing energy efficiency is important in any building, but it's particularly important in K-12 schools. Many U.S. school districts struggle for funding, and improving a school building's energy efficiency can free up operational funds that may then be available for educational and other purposes.

  17. Critique of the „official critique” of neoliberal reforms in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oskar Szwabowski

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this article I criticise theoretical structure which is employed in critiquesof higher education reforms within the domain of pedagogy. I argue thatcritique of neoliberalism in education doesn’t recognise the dynamics of change and„necessity” of transformation. Both critique and defense of neoliberal reforms donot transcend capitalist „separation” and institutionalization typical of particularorders. In practical terms, it results in reactive resistance, either in the form of defenseof privileges of „leisure class or attempt to brink back the period of „class compromise”.In this way, it is not able to develop a radical practice, transcend „ideologicalstate apparatus” and produce a radical practice as well as education based on democracyand equality.

  18. Action Research as Professional Development: Its Role in Education Reform in the United Arab Emirates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hathorn, Conley; Dillon, Anna Marie

    2018-01-01

    This paper is concerned with exploring the microsystem of teachers' experiences with education reform within the action research (AR) model for professional development (PD). Within the macrosystem of current major education reform in the UAE, it is timely to explore teachers' experiences of AR as PD to improve pedagogy. The process of engaging in…

  19. Overcoming Constraints of Building Successful Partnerships Incorporating STEM Research Into K-12 Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radencic, S.; McNeal, K. S.; Pierce, D.; Hare, D.

    2011-12-01

    The Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) program at Mississippi State University (MSU), funded by the NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education (GK12) program, focuses on the advancement of Earth and Space science education in K-12 classrooms. INSPIRE is currently in its second year of partnering ten graduate students from the STEM fields of Geosciences, Engineering and Chemistry at MSU with five teachers from local, rural school districts. The five year project serves to increase inquiry and technology experiences in science and math while enhancing graduate student's communication skills as they create interactive lessons linking their STEM research focus to the state and national standards covered in the classrooms. Each graduate student is responsible for the development of two lessons each month of the school year that are then published on the INSPIRE project webpage, www.gk12.msstate.edu, where they are a free resource for any K-12 classroom teacher seeking innovative activities for their classrooms. Many of the participating teachers and graduate students share activities developed with non-participating teachers, expanding INSPIRE's outreach throughout the local community. Numerous challenges were met during the formation of the program as well as throughout the first year in which the project management team worked together to find solutions ensuring that INSPIRE maintained successful partnerships for all involved. Proposed solutions of the following key components were identified by INSPIRE through the development, implementation, and continuous evaluation (internal and external) of the first year of the program as areas that can pose challenges to the construction of strong relationships between STEM research and K-12 classrooms: initializing the partnerships with the K-12 classrooms and STEM graduate fields at the university; maintaining strong partnerships; providing appropriate training and support; developing sound

  20. International Experience in Reforming the System of Higher Education Governance in terms of Increasing the University Autonomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chmutova Iryna M.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to summarize the international experience of reforming the system of higher education governance and develop directions that will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the Ukrainian model for governance of higher education and ensuring its autonomy. There identified common elements and trends in European higher education reforms: greater autonomy for higher education institutions with less direct administrative intervention; greater emphasis on private rather than public funding; emphasis on the quality and effectiveness of education. The tools for implementing reforms in the European higher education system are identified: the New Public Management (NPM model, governance through networks, and new forms of governance. The changes in the university autonomy of European countries for the period of 2010-2016 are summarized. The content of the reforms in terms of increasing the autonomy of HEIs in the countries of Asia is disclosed. Possible vectors for reforming the system of higher education governance in Ukraine are identified: introduction of a model for funding HEIs on the basis of combining a one-time full budgeting and financing by results; assigning universities ownership of their buildings and their sale in the market; strengthening the decentralization of government control of higher education; development of legislative bases for the self-sufficiency of HEIs; inclusion of external stakeholders in decision-making governing bodies of HEIs; maximum involvement of students in decision-making.

  1. Moving from Traditional Teacher Education to a Field-Based Urban Teacher Education Program: One Program's Story of Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddell, Jennifer; Vartuli, Sue

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, teacher education has been charged with reforming programs to better align curriculum, clinical practice, and accountability. The sense of urgency for reform has been heightened by competition from alternative routes to teaching that jump straight to practice, often criticized for foregoing essential knowledge and theory. This…

  2. Education Reform in Hong Kong: The ``Through-Road'' Model and its Societal Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poon, Anita Y. K.; Wong, Yiu-Chung

    2008-01-01

    Although Hong Kong's education system has long been criticized as lacking in creativity and over-emphasising rote learning, on the whole it has served Hong Kong well in the past years, breeding outstanding business, academic and political leaders who continue to maintain Hong Kong's competitive edge. The traditional elite schools have played a crucial role in the process. The education reform, which is still on-going, aims to overhaul the entire system by introducing the "through-road" model. To accomplish this, some mechanisms need to be changed. J.P. Farrell's concepts of equality and equity, C.W. Mills' concept of elitism, and P. Bourdieu and J. Coleman's concepts of cultural and social capital will be applied to analyse the consequences of the reform. The paper argues that the education reform may be well-intentioned in eliminating some elements of inequality and inequity in education, but that this comes at the expense of Hong Kong's cultural and social capital and leads to the development of new forms of inequality.

  3. Educational Reforms in Morocco: Evolution and Current Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llorent-Bedmar, Vicente

    2014-01-01

    Since 1956, the year in Morocco achieved independence, until now, the school system has been the subject of many discussions and controversies in the most varied areas of the country. We provide data on the educational situation. We analyze the reforms from a critical perspective, ending with final proposals. He underlined that the sector was…

  4. Thermal analysis of cylindrical natural-gas steam reformer for 5 kW PEMFC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Taehyun; Han, Junhee; Koo, Bonchan; Lee, Dohyung

    2016-11-01

    The thermal characteristics of a natural-gas based cylindrical steam reformer coupled with a combustor are investigated for the use with a 5 kW polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A reactor unit equipped with nickel-based catalysts was designed to activate the steam reforming reaction without the inclusion of high-temperature shift and low-temperature shift processes. Reactor temperature distribution and its overall thermal efficiency depend on various inlet conditions such as the equivalence ratio, the steam to carbon ratio (SCR), and the fuel distribution ratio (FDR) into the reactor and the combustor components. These experiments attempted to analyze the reformer's thermal and chemical properties through quantitative evaluation of product composition and heat exchange between the combustor and the reactor. FDR is critical factor in determining the overall performance as unbalanced fuel injection into the reactor and the combustor deteriorates overall thermal efficiency. Local temperature distribution also influences greatly on the fuel conversion rate and thermal efficiency. For the experiments, the operation conditions were set as SCR was in range of 2.5-4.0 and FDR was in 0.4-0.7 along with equivalence ratio of 0.9-1.1; optimum results were observed for FDR of 0.63 and SCR of 3.0 in the cylindrical steam reformer.

  5. Public Management Reform and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Assessment of the U.K. Labour Government's Public Service Improvement Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Richard M.; Boyne, George A.

    2006-01-01

    We present the first empirical assessment of the U.K. Labour government's program of public management reform. This reform program is based on rational planning, devolution and delegation, flexibility and incentives, and enhanced choice. Measures of these variables are tested against external and internal indicators of organizational performance.…

  6. Why the Best Isn't so Bad: Moderation and Ideals in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerdeman, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    In "Moderating the Debate: Rationality and the Promise of American Education," Michael Feuer counsels reformers to "satisfice": moderate their expectations and accept that flawed reforms can be good enough. Implicit in Feuer's view of satisficing is the assumption that moderating expectations entails eschewing ideals and replacing optimal goals…

  7. Laying Bare Educational Crosstalk: A Study of Discursive Repertoires in the Wake of Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGrath, Cormac; Laksov, Klara Bolander

    2014-01-01

    In the wake of the Bologna process, many European universities are undergoing comprehensive educational reform. Our attention in this paper is focused on how a medical university came to terms with the challenges presented therein. We wished to explore how educators identify, understand and deal with opportunities for change at a medical…

  8. The History of Education Institutions in Developed Countries has Lessons for the Reform of the System of Higher Education in Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Howells, John

    2007-01-01

    Universities in African countries are widely considered to be a colonial relic that is in desperate need of reform. This article argues that useful lessons for such a reform may be drawn from the developed countries' own education institution policy debates and history, especially as those relate...... to development. In that history, innovation-oriented industrial employers that advocate adjustment and institutional change at universities often clash with the vested interests of the educated elite and its desire to buttress its privileged social position with restrictions on entry into various professions...... and continued as useful complements to the stock of the technically educated in later stages of development. It is therefore suggested that the proper basis for university reform in Africa is to ask first whether the range and quality of educational institutions is appropriate to the current state of private...

  9. Exploring the role of curriculum materials to support teachers in science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Rebecca M.

    2001-07-01

    For curriculum materials to succeed in promoting large-scale science education reform, teacher learning must be supported. Materials were designed to reflect desired reforms and to be educative by including detailed lesson descriptions that addressed necessary content, pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge for teachers. The goal of this research was to describe how such materials contributed to classroom practices. As part of an urban systemic reform effort, four middle school teachers' initial enactment of an inquiry-based science unit on force and motion were videotaped. Enactments focused on five lesson sequences containing experiences with phenomena, investigation, technology use, or artifact development. Each sequence spanned three to five days across the 10-week unit. For each lesson sequence, intended and actual enactment were compared using ratings of (1) accuracy and completeness of science ideas presented, (2) amount student learning opportunities, similarity of learning opportunities with those intended, and quality of adaptations , and (3) amount of instructional supports offered, appropriateness of instructional supports and source of ideas for instructional supports. Ratings indicated two teachers' enactments were consistent with intentions and two teachers' enactments were not. The first two were in school contexts supportive of the reform. They purposefully used the materials to guide enactment, which tended to be consistent with standards-based reform. They provided students opportunities to use technology tools, design investigations, and discuss ideas. However, enactment ratings were less reflective of curriculum intent when challenges were greatest, such as when teachers attempted to present challenging science ideas, respond to students' ideas, structure investigations, guide small-group discussions, or make adaptations. Moreover, enactment ratings were less consistent in parts of lessons where materials did not include lesson specific

  10. The Effectiveness of Educational Technology Applications for Enhancing Mathematics Achievement in K-12 Classrooms: A Meta-Analysis. Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Alan C. K.; Slavin, Robert E.

    2011-01-01

    The use of educational technology in K-12 classrooms has been gaining tremendous momentum across the country since the 1990s. Many school districts have been investing heavily in various types of technology, such as computers, mobile devices, internet access, and interactive whiteboards. Almost all public schools have access to the internet and…

  11. Strategic Priorities for Improving Access to Quality Education in the Kurdistan Region--Iraq. Monograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernez, Georges; Culbertson, Shelly; Constant, Louay

    2014-01-01

    The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) began an ambitious reform of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's (KRI's) kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) education system beginning in 2007 in an effort to modernize the curriculum, upgrade school facilities, and raise the quality of instruction. In 2010, RAND was asked to conduct a one-year study to assess…

  12. Seeing through Transparency in Education Reform: Illuminating the "Local"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koyama, Jill; Kania, Brian

    2016-01-01

    Utilizing "assemblage," a notion associated with Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we explore what discourses of transparency can, and cannot, accomplish in a network of education reform that includes schools, government agencies, and community organizations. Drawing on data collected between July 2011 and March 2013 in an…

  13. Educational Management Organizations as High Reliability Organizations: A Study of Victory's Philadelphia High School Reform Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, David E.

    2013-01-01

    This executive position paper proposes recommendations for designing reform models between public and private sectors dedicated to improving school reform work in low performing urban high schools. It reviews scholarly research about for-profit educational management organizations, high reliability organizations, American high school reform, and…

  14. The Implementation of Entrepreneurship Education through Curriculum Reform in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seikkula-Leino, Jaana

    2011-01-01

    How has entrepreneurship education been implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools. A two-part survey was undertaken in 43 municipalities with different educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The first part, in 2005, dealt with the local curriculum reform with a focus on the development of entrepreneurship education. The second part, in…

  15. Educational Reform in Japan towards Inclusion: Are We Training Teachers for Success?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forlin, Chris; Kawai, Norimune; Higuchi, Satoshi

    2015-01-01

    Within a tradition of a dual regular and special education system in Japan, the Government is promoting education reform that encourages an inclusive approach to education. This research investigates whether teachers are being trained for successful inclusion in Japan by reviewing the perceptions of all pre-service teachers in one university…

  16. Prescription, Ceremony, or "Trickle Down": How Do National Commissions Try to Reform Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimpelberg, Robert K.; Ginsberg, Rick

    Educational reform commissions and their reports can be traced back to the massive expansion of public schools during the 1890s. The reports of reform commissions over the years follow the same format: problems are identified, experts are selected to examine them, and improvement proposals are recommended. This report examines 14 national studies…

  17. In Flesh and Bone: Bodily Image and Educational Patterns in Early Reformation Theatre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvarani, Luana

    2018-01-01

    From its very beginning, the Protestant Reformation adopted the theatre as one of its educational tools. Together with choral music, visual arts, and preaching, Luther, Melanchthon, Oekolampad, and other Reformers promoted both the cultivated school theatre and the popular street theatre in order to spread the new faith, create a community ethos,…

  18. General Education Today. A Critical Analysis of Controversies, Practices, and Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaff, Jerry G.

    The range of controversies and changes emerging from the current revival of general education are examined, and many ideas, examples, and recommendations for achieving realistic and successful curricular reform are offered. Instead of either offering an apology for general education or advocating any particular approach, the book draws on solid…

  19. Teachers' Views on an ICT Reform in Education for Social Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarman, Bülent; Baytak, Ahmet; Duman, Harun

    2015-01-01

    FATIH project (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) is an information and communication technologies (ICT) project to promote social justice for all schools in Turkey. The educational movements and reforms in Turkish Educational System (TES) are not new but this project has a purpose to integrate the newest technologies…

  20. Comparing Academic Library Spending with Public Libraries, Public K-12 Schools, Higher Education Public Institutions, and Public Hospitals between 1998-2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regazzi, John J.

    2012-01-01

    This study compares the overall spending trends and patterns of growth of Academic Libraries with Public Libraries, K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and hospitals in the period of 1998 to 2008. Academic Libraries, while showing a growth of 13% over inflation for the period, far underperformed the growth of the other public institutions…

  1. Education Reform, Indigenous Politics, and Decolonisation in the Bolivia of Evo Morales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Rosaleen

    2009-01-01

    The paper explores the relationship between education reform and Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) for Bolivia's majority indigenous peoples, as this has evolved since the 1990s into the era of Evo Morales, Latin America's first indigenous president, elected in 2005. In order to bring out the significance of the new Education Bill awaiting…

  2. Transforming City Schools through Art: Approaches to Meaningful K-12 Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutzel, Karen; Bastos, Flavia M. C.; Cozier, Kimberly J.

    2012-01-01

    This anthology places art at the center of meaningful urban education reform. Providing a fresh perspective on urban education, the contributors describe a positive, asset-based community development model designed to tap into the teaching/learning potential already available in urban cities. Rather than focusing on a lack of resources, this…

  3. Makerspaces: The Next Iteration for Educational Technology in K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strycker, Jesse

    2015-01-01

    With the continually growing number of computers and mobile devices available in K-12 schools, the need is dwindling for dedicated computer labs and media centers. Some schools are starting to repurpose those facilities into different kinds of exploratory learning environments known as "makerspaces". This article discusses this next…

  4. Education Reform and Equal Opportunity in Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akito Okada

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Recently, there have been concerns that equality of educational opportunity has been lost and that this is leading to the stratification of Japanese society through the widening of income differentials, in a 'gap society'. In such a disparity society, secure full- time jobs are increasingly becoming limited to those who graduate from prestigious universities, and entry into those institutions is becoming connected more clearly with family income and investments. Parental attitudes towards their children taking extra lessons after school, going to cram schools, getting into university, and getting into a relatively highly-ranked university have influenced educational costs. This article examines the historical formation of the concept of equality of opportunity, which has been applied to the educational policy in Japan, particularly from the end of World War II to the new millennium. This paper also expands on the existing literature on educational policies in contemporary Japan by examining how the current educational reform efforts have affected equality of educational opportunity among children from different family backgrounds.

  5. Reforming Society through Education for Gifted Children: The Case of Kazakhstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakavets, Natallia

    2014-01-01

    This paper explores the current education reform agenda in Kazakhstan, which is underpinned, in part, by the argument that investment in human capital through elite institutions for gifted children can lift up the whole system of education. The paper revisits two broad theoretical perspectives, relating to human capital and to ideas about…

  6. Implementing the Strategy for financial reform of higher education in Mozambique (EFES)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fonteyne, Bart; Jongbloed, B.W.A.

    2018-01-01

    This report describes the results of more than fifteen years of cooperation between the Government of Mozambique, the Government of the Netherlands, the Mozambican higher education institutions and the relevant stakeholders in designing and implementing reforms in the financing of higher education

  7. Nursing education reform in South Africa – lessons from a policy analysis study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duane Blaauw

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Nursing education reform is identified as an important strategy for enhancing health workforce performance, and thereby improving the functioning of health systems. Globally, a predominant trend in such reform is towards greater professionalisation and university-based education. Related nursing education reform in South Africa culminated in a new Framework for Nursing Qualifications in 2013. Objective: We undertook a policy analysis study of the development of the new Nursing Qualifications Framework in South Africa. Design: We used a policy analysis framework derived from Walt and Gilson that interrogated the context, content, actors, and processes of policy development and implementation. Following informed consent, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 key informants from national and provincial government; the South African Nursing Council; the national nursing association; nursing academics, managers, and educators; and other nursing organisations. The interviews were complemented with a review of relevant legislation and policy documents. Documents and interview transcripts were coded thematically using Atlas-ti software. Results: The revision of nursing qualifications was part of the post-apartheid transformation of nursing, but was also influenced by changes in the education sector. The policy process took more than 10 years to complete and the final Regulations were promulgated in 2013. The two most important changes are the requirement for a baccalaureate degree to qualify as a professional nurse and abolishing the enrolled nurse with 2 years training in favour of a staff nurse with a 3-year college diploma. Respondents criticised slow progress, weak governance by the Nursing Council and the Department of Health, limited planning for implementation, and the inappropriateness of the proposals for South Africa. Conclusions: The study found significant weaknesses in the policy capacity of the main institutions

  8. Education under the Heel of Caesar: Reading UK Higher Education Reform through Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Sophie

    2012-01-01

    UK higher education reform (BIS, ) has been presented as a common-sense movement towards efficiency. This article will argue that, in reality, the marketisation of higher education is a movement towards negative freedom, defined after Berlin (2007) as unrestricted choice. Using Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" as a means to explore…

  9. Has the Elite Foundation Agenda Spread beyond the Gates? An Organizational Network Analysis of Nonmajor Philanthropic Giving in K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrare, Joseph J.; Reynolds, Katherine

    2016-01-01

    Previous research focusing on major philanthropic foundations suggests that these actors have collectively converged around a set of jurisdictional challengers promoting market-based education reforms. Using correspondence analysis, network analysis, and geographic information science, this article empirically tests whether this convergence has…

  10. A view to educational reforms and the formation of citizenship in Bolivia (century XX and XXI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weimar Iño

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The article takes a historical look at the educational reforms implemented in Bolivia with reference to the formation of citizenship. For this purpose historical research was used and the bibliographic review was used to collect, describe and analyze the written sources. This in order to understand the relationship between State, education and citizenship, which identifies two aspects that guide educational policies and the formation of citizenship. In this way, we can also elucidate the types of citizens who projected these educational reforms in Bolivia during the 20th century: the liberal (1899-1920, the nationalist (1954-1964 and the neoliberal (1994-2004; And in the 21st century, the sociocommunity. In each of these reforms there are common characteristics, on the one hand, there is the centralization of public education at the hands of the State; On the other hand, the role given to education for civic formation and the construction of national identity, in this case Bolivianity; For example, for the indigenous majority was their assimilation to the national culture and homogenization, through education. Likewise, each reform sought the formation of a citizenship; In the case of the liberal raised the Bolivian identity; The nationalist point towards mestizaje as a citizen, neoliberal ideal for the construction of a pluricultural and multilingual citizenship; And the sociocommunity towards an intercultural and decolonized citizenship.

  11. Educational reform as a dynamic system of problems and solutions: Towards an analytic instrument

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luttenberg, J.; Carpay, T.; Veugelers, W.

    2013-01-01

    Large-scale educational reforms are difficult to realize and often fail. In the literature, the course of reform and problems associated with this are frequently discussed. The explanations and recommendations then provided are so diverse that it is difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of what

  12. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansouri, Zoulal; Moumine, Mohamed El Amine

    2017-01-01

    High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out…

  13. Syngas Production from CO2 Reforming and CO2-steam Reforming of Methane over Ni/Ce-SBA-15 Catalyst

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, J. S.; Danh, H. T.; Singh, S.; Truong, Q. D.; Setiabudi, H. D.; Vo, D.-V. N.

    2017-06-01

    This study compares the catalytic performance of mesoporous 10 Ni/Ce-SBA-15 catalyst for CO2 reforming and CO2-steam reforming of methane reactions in syngas production. The catalytic performance of 10 Ni/Ce-SBA-15 catalyst for CO2 reforming and CO2-steam reforming of methane was evaluated in a temperature-controlled tubular fixed-bed reactor at stoichiometric feed composition, 1023 K and atmospheric pressure for 12 h on-stream with gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 36 L gcat -1 h-1. The 10 Ni/Ce-SBA-15 catalyst possessed a high specific BET surface area and average pore volume of 595.04 m2 g-1. The XRD measurement revealed the presence of NiO phase with crystallite dimension of about 13.60 nm whilst H2-TPR result indicates that NiO phase was completely reduced to metallic Ni0 phase at temperature beyond 800 K and the reduction temperature relied on different degrees of metal-support interaction associated with the location and size of NiO particles. The catalytic reactivity was significantly enhanced with increasing H2O/CO2 feed ratio. Interestingly, the H2/CO ratio for CO2-steam reforming of methane varied between 1 and 3 indicated the occurrence of parallel reactions, i.e., CH4 steam reforming giving a H2/CO of 3 whilst reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction consuming H2 to produce CO gaseous product.

  14. Reforms, Leadership and Quality Management in Greek Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadimitriou, Antigoni

    2011-01-01

    This article reports on research to form an understanding of how to account whether and how quality management (QM) has been adopted in Greek higher education. Greece only recently introduced quality assurance policies. In this study, I will describe governmental reforms related to QM policies until 2010. An issue that is frequently addressed…

  15. Development of Problem Sets for K-12 and Engineering on Pharmaceutical Particulate Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savelski, Mariano J.; Slater, C. Stewart; Del Vecchio, Christopher A.; Kosteleski, Adrian J.; Wilson, Sarah A.

    2010-01-01

    Educational problem sets have been developed on structured organic particulate systems (SOPS) used in pharmaceutical technology. The sets present topics such as particle properties and powder flow and can be integrated into K-12 and college-level curricula. The materials educate students in specific areas of pharmaceutical particulate processing,…

  16. Neoliberalism as Nihilism? A Commentary on Educational Accountability, Teacher Education, and School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuck, Eve

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses neoliberalism as an extension of settler colonialism. The article provides commentary on five recent articles on teacher education and the neoliberal agenda. The article presents an analysis of neoliberalism as despair, and as a form of nihilism. The author discusses an indigenous model of school reform and…

  17. Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying-Syuan; Asghar, Anila

    2018-03-01

    This empirical study investigates secondary science teachers' perspectives on science education reform in Taiwan and reflects how these teachers have been negotiating constructivist and learner-centered pedagogical approaches in contemporary science education. It also explores the challenges that teachers encounter while shifting their pedagogical focus from traditional approaches to teaching science to an active engagement in students' learning. Multiple sources of qualitative data were obtained, including individual interviews with science teachers and teachers' reflective journals about Confucianism in relation to their educational philosophies. Thematic analysis and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that Confucian traditions play a significant role in shaping educational practices in Taiwan and profoundly influence teachers' epistemological beliefs and their actual classroom practice. Indeed, science teachers' perspectives on Confucian learning traditions played a key role in supporting or obstructing their pedagogical commitments to inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches. This study draws on the literature concerning teachers' professional struggles and identity construction during educational reform. Specifically, we explore the ways in which teachers respond to educational changes and negotiate their professional identities. We employed various theories of identity construction to understand teachers' struggles and challenges while wrestling with competing traditional and reform-based pedagogical approaches. Attending to these struggles and the ways in which they inform the development of a teacher's professional identity is vital for sustaining current and future educational reform in Taiwan as well as in other Eastern cultures. These findings have important implications for teachers' professional development programs in East Asian cultures.

  18. The New Basic Education and Whole School Reform: A Chinese Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bu, Yuhua; Li, Jiacheng

    2013-01-01

    Since the 1980s, China has entered an era of transformation which has extended its reach to education and school reforms. The "New Basic Education" (NBE) was born in this era and implemented by the East China Normal University together with schools around the country. NBE aims at nurturing the active, healthy development of a new…

  19. Report of the Two-Day National Seminar on New Directions in Higher Education, Organized by the Kerala State Higher Education Council on 12th and 13th July 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praveen, C.

    2010-01-01

    This is a report of the Two-Day National Seminar on New Directions in Higher Education, organized by the Kerala State Higher Education Council on 12th and 13th July 2010. The objective of the seminar was to deliberate upon the reforms being undertaken by the Government of India in Higher Education. Reputed scholars from within and outside the…

  20. Assessment Strategies for Implementing Ngss in K12 Earth System Science Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuliffe, C.

    2016-12-01

    Several science education researchers have led assessment efforts that provide strategies particularly useful for evaluating the threedimensional learning that is central to NGSS (DeBarger, A. H., Penuel, W. R., Harris, C. J., Kennedy, C. K., 2016; Knight, A. M. & McNeill, K. L., 2015; McNeill, K. L., KatshSinger, R. & Pelletier, P., 2015; McNeill K.L., et.al., 2015; McNeill, K.L., & Krajcik, J.S., 2011; Penuel, W., 2016). One of the basic premises of these researchers is that, "Assessment is a practice of argument from evidence based on what students say, do, and write" and that "the classroom is the richest place to gather evidence of what students know (Penuel, W., 2016). The implementation of the NGSS in Earth System Science provides a unique opportunity for geoscience education researchers to study student learning and contribute to the development of this research as well as for geoscience educators to apply these approaches and strategies in their own work with K12 inservice and preservice educators. DeBarger, A. H., Penuel, W. R., Harris, C. J., Kennedy, C. K. (2016). Building an Assessment Argument to Design and Use Next Generation Science Assessments in Efficacy Studies of Curriculum Interventions. American†Journal†of†Evaluation†37(2) 174192Æ Knight, A. M. & McNeill, K. L. (2015). Comparing students' individual written and collaborative oral socioscientific arguments. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education.10(5), 23647. McNeill, K. L., KatshSinger, R. & Pelletier, P. (2015). Assessing science practices-Moving your class along a continuum. Science Scope. McNeill, K.L., & Krajcik, J.S. (2011). Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Penuel, W. (2016). Classroom Assessment Strategies for NGSS Earth and Space Sciences. Implementing†the†NGSS†Webinar†Series, February 11, 2016.

  1. Balancing the Readiness Equation in Early Childhood Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Christopher P.

    2010-01-01

    As policy-makers continue to implement early childhood education reforms that frame the field as a mechanism that is to ready children for elementary school success, questions arise as to how the multiple variables in the readiness equation, such as the child, family, and program, are affected by these policies. The instrumental case study…

  2. The Engaged Microbiologist: Bringing the Microbiological Sciences to the K-12 Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westenberg, David J

    2016-03-01

    Exposing K-12 students to cutting edge science that impacts their daily lives can bring classroom lessons to life. Citizen-science projects are an excellent way to bring high-level science to the classroom and help satisfy one of the cornerstone concepts of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), "engaging in practices that scientists and engineers actually use." This can be a daunting task for teachers who may lack the background or resources to integrate these projects into the classroom. This is where scientific societies such as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) can play a critical role. ASM encourages its members to engage with the K-12 community by providing networking opportunities and resources for ASM members and K-12 teachers to work together to bring microbiology into the classroom. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

  3. Engineering Design Skills Coverage in K-12 Engineering Program Curriculum Materials in the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabalengula, Vivien M.; Mumba, Frackson

    2017-01-01

    The current "K-12 Science Education framework" and "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed…

  4. Females and STEM: Determining the K-12 Experiences that Influenced Women to Pursue STEM Fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Anne Marie

    In the United States, careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are increasing yet there are not enough trained personnel to meet this demand. In addition, of those that seek to pursue STEM fields in the United States, only 26% are female. In order to increase the number of women seeking STEM based bachelor's degrees, K-12 education must provide a foundation that prepares students for entry into these fields. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the perceived K-12 experiences that influenced females to pursue a STEM field. Twelve college juniors or seniors seeking a degree in Biology, Mathematics, or Physics were interviewed concerning their K-12 experiences. These interviews were analyzed and six themes emerged. Teacher passion and classroom characteristics such as incorporating challenging activities played a significant role in the females' decisions to enter STEM fields. Extra-curricular activities such as volunteer and mentor opportunities and the females' need to benefit others also influenced females in their career choice. Both the formal (within the school) and informal (outside of the traditional classroom) pipeline opportunities that these students encountered helped develop a sense of self-efficacy in science and mathematics; this self-efficacy enabled them to persist in pursuing these career fields. Several participants cited barriers that they encountered in K-12 education, but these barriers were primarily internal as they struggled with overcoming self-imposed obstacles in learning and being competitive in the mathematics and science classrooms. The experiences from these female students can be used by K-12 educators to prepare and encourage current female students to enter STEM occupations.

  5. Governance and Funding Reforms in Dutch Higher Education: Past, Present, and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritzen, Jozef M. M.; Marconi, Gabriele

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews the history of higher education governance and funding in The Netherlands, generalising when possible to other European countries. It finds that governance reforms and the funding of higher education appear to be driven by economic and demographic factors, including massification. Furthermore, the Bologna Process can be…

  6. Welcome to the "New Normal": The News Media and Neoliberal Reforming Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Rebecca A.; Macrine, Sheila; Chesky, Nataly Z.

    2011-01-01

    This article demonstrates how media coverage employs dominant neoliberal narratives and discourses to blame public education for societal ills. The authors examine how the media's use of neoliberal narrative and discourse has hegemonically become the "new normal" of public education and school reform. Utilizing data from media coverage…

  7. Do American and Korean Education Systems Converge? Tracking School Reform Policies and Outcomes in Korea and the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jaekyung; Park, Daekwon

    2014-01-01

    This study examines key school reform policies and outcomes of the USA and Korea over the past three decades from comparative perspectives. Since the two nations' unique educational problems brought divergent educational reform paths--standardization versus differentiation, high-stakes testing versus individualized assessment, and centralization…

  8. Impact of National Physical Activity and Health Guidelines and Documents on Research on Teaching K-12 Physical Education in U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Weidong; Xiang, Ping; Gao, Zan; Shen, Bo; Yin, Zhihua; Kong, Qingtao

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined the impact of published national physical activity (PA) and health guidelines, documents, and initiatives on the evolution of research on teaching K-12 physical education (PE) in U.S.A. from 1996 to October 2013. Methods: A total of 262 peer-reviewed, data-based journal articles meeting our inclusion and exclusion…

  9. Documentos de consulta para iniciar la reforma educativa (Preparatory documents on educational reform).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consejo Nacional Tecnico de la Educacion (Mexico).

    This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of two booklets on Mexican educational reform. The first booklet cites the parts of the Mexican Constitution dealing with education, the legal foundation of Mexican education, stipulating that it shall be universal, democratic, national, compulsory, free and immune from…

  10. "Flipping" educational technology professional development for K-12 educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Daniel

    As the demand for more effective professional development increases in K-12 schools, trainers must adjust their training methods to meet the needs of their teacher learners. Just as lecture-heavy, teacher-centered instruction only meet the learning needs of a small minority of students, "sit and get" professional development rarely results in the teachers gaining the skills and confidence necessary to use technology effectively in their instruction. To resolve the frustrations of teachers related to ineffective professional development, a "Flipped PD" training model was developed based on the learning needs of adult learners, the integration of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK), learning activities, and the Flipped Classroom concept. Under this model, training shifts from a passive, trainer-centered format, to an active, learner-centered format where teachers learn to use technology in their classrooms by first focusing on pedagogical issues, then choosing the options that work best for addressing those issues in their unique situation, and completing "learn-by-doing" projects. Those who participate in "Flipped PD" style trainings tend to have more confidence upon completion that they can use the tools they were trained on in their teaching, as well as believe that the PD was engaging and a good use of their time.

  11. Early Educational Provision--Emphasised in Education Policy Reforms in Norway? An Analysis of Education Policy Documents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørnsrud, Halvor; Nilsen, Sven

    2014-01-01

    The article analyses how the intentions of early provision in Norwegian schools have been expressed in the education policy reforms in Norway from the 1970s to the present day. The first area deals with the intentions that most explicitly cover early provision; prevention, early detection and intervention. The second area of analysis relates to…

  12. Teacher Agency in Educational Reform: Lessons from Social Networks Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datnow, Amanda

    2012-01-01

    This article provides a context for understanding how social networks among teachers support or constrain school improvement in terms of instructional practice, professional development, and educational reform. It comments on the articles in this special issue, summarizing their contributions to the field. This analysis reveals several important…

  13. Organizational Policies and Programs to Reduce Job Stress and Risk of Workplace Violence Among K-12 Education Staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landsbergis, Paul; Zoeckler, Jeanette; Kashem, Zerin; Rivera, Bianca; Alexander, Darryl; Bahruth, Amy

    2018-02-01

    We examine strategies, programs, and policies that educators have developed to reduce work stressors and thus health risks. First, we review twenty-seven empirical studies and review papers on organizational programs and policies in K-12 education published from 1990 to 2015 and find some evidence that mentoring, induction, and Peer Assistance and Review programs can increase support, skill development, decision-making authority, and perhaps job security, for teachers-and thus have the potential to reduce job stressors. Second, we describe efforts to reduce workplace violence in Oregon, especially in special education, including legislation, collective bargaining, research, and public awareness. We conclude that to reduce workplace violence, adequate resources are needed for staffing, training, equipment, injury/assault reporting, and investigation. Third, we discuss collective bargaining initiatives that led to mentoring and Peer Assistance and Review and state legislation on prevention of bullying and harassment of school staff. Finally, we present a research agenda on these issues.

  14. Key Aspects of Current Educational Reforms in Islamic Educational Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Hashim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is based on the premise that Islamic education plays a significant role in producing an integrated personality of young generation in order to fulfil the needs of present society. This study is important to address the key educational changes in pedagogy, curricular and teaching approach that relate directly to the effectiveness of the implementation of Islamic Education in Islamic schools. Questions raised in this writing is whether and how Muslim schools have transformed to meet the changes and challenges of the globalizing world and what should be done to ensure Islamic schools meet current needs. Thus, it argues that there is a need for reform in contemporary Islamic schools with particular reference to the changes in the curriculum, teaching style, role of Islamic schools and gender participation. The paper considers the possibility of integrating new perspectives across the curriculum and outlines the integrated approach to ensure the quality and excellence of their graduates.

  15. CONCEPTS AND INSTITUTIONS FOR A NEW BUDDHIST EDUCATION : REFORMING THE SAṂGHA BETWEEN AND WITHIN STATE AGENCIES

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Travagnin, Stefania

    2014-01-01

    Education reforms have played a key role in the turning points of Chinese history. Slogans like jiaoyu jiuguo 教育救國 became well-known when the first Republic succeeded the Empire, at the dawn of the Mao era, and with Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s. China used to base her reinvention on education reforms,

  16. In Pursuit of Social Democracy: Shena Simon and the Reform of Secondary Education in England, 1938-1948

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ku, Hsiao-Yuh

    2018-01-01

    Shena Simon (1883-1972), a leading English socialist and educationist, actively called for the reform of secondary education in the 1930s and 1940s in order to bring the ideal of 'equality of opportunity' into the English educational system. This paper explores the continuity and changes in Simon's proposed reforms in relation to her ideals of…

  17. Keeping Pace with K-12 Digital Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice. Eleventh Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, John; Pape, Larry; Murin, Amy; Gemin, Butch; Vashaw, Lauren

    2014-01-01

    "Keeping Pace with K-12 Digital Learning" (2014) is the 11th in a series of annual reports that began in 2004 that examine the status of K-12 online education across the country. The report provides an overview of the latest policies, practices, and trends affecting online learning programs across all 50 states. It summarizes that at a…

  18. Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: Books Published in 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Science and Children, 2016

    2016-01-01

    Science teachers and mentors continue to be challenged to meet the high expectations of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" and the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Indeed the "Framework" urges to help learners "[build] progressively more sophisticated explanations of natural…

  19. The Preparation of Teacher Candidates for K-12 Online Learning Environments: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Nicole V.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine how teacher education programs may better prepare teacher candidates to teach in K-12 online learning environments. The primary research question addressed was: What specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions should teacher education programs include in their curriculum to better prepare teacher…

  20. Globalization and Language and Education Reform in Colombia: A Critical Outlook

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime Usma

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the connection between economic, political, and cultural globalization processes and recent education and language reforms in Colombia. Throughout the article, the author attempts to demonstrate that current education and language policies in Colombia are tightly connected to transnational agendas and models of reform that do not necessarily represent a real benefit for the majority of the population, but, instead, may render privileges for a few. With this analysis, the author insists on the need for an equitable plan for the improvement of language teaching and learning in Colombia in a way that considers local priorities of economic development, respects local knowledge and culture, and accounts for a systemic and fundamental improvement of the public system based on the dissimilar conditions that affect schools, teachers, and students in both the private and the public sectors in the country.

  1. National Assessment and the Opportunity to Learn in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Conrad Wesley, Jr.; Mereku, Kofi D.; Amedahe, Francis K.; Etsey, Kofui; Adu, John

    2013-01-01

    Over two decades, national assessments in Ghana have revealed generally poor performances across curriculum-based tests for primary school (Grades 1-6). Various reform agendas have been applied to the education system, sometimes with isolated success, but the overall performances remained stable and low. Surveying teacher mentors in schools…

  2. A Co-Construction Perspective on Organizational Change and Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehan, Hugh; Hubbard, Lea; Datnow, Amanda

    2010-01-01

    In their earlier work, the authors explained how the co-construction perspective has been heuristic in the study of organizational change and educational reform, often providing more nuanced analyses and findings than "technical-rational" models that dominated the field previously (Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan, 2002). In framing organizational change…

  3. Professional Development in a Reform Context: Understanding the Design and Enactment of Learning Experiences Created by Teacher Leaders for Science Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafer, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Teacher in-service learning about education reforms like NGSS often begin with professional development (PD) as a foundational component (Supovitz & Turner, 2000). Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of education reform, are positioned to play a contributing role to the design of PD. As early implementers of reforms, Teacher Leaders…

  4. Higher Education Policy Reform in Ethiopia: The Representation of the Problem of Gender Inequality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molla, Tebeje

    2013-01-01

    The higher education (HE) subsystem in Ethiopia has passed through a series of policy reforms in the last 10 years. Key reform areas ranged from improving quality and relevance of programmes to promoting equality in access to and success in HE. Despite the effort underway, gender inequality has remained a critical challenge in the subsystem. This…

  5. Education for Sustainable Development in Malaysia's National Curriculum Reformation: A Theoretical Exploration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aai Sheau Yean

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to examine the feasibility and potential of including appropriate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD elements in the National Curriculum Reformation of Malaysia that is set to be introduced in the year 2017. This is done through the proposal of a theoretical approach for understanding ESD fit for Malaysia from an environmental epistemology. To start with, this article outlines dominant ideologies and epistemologies revolving around the concept of Sustainable Development (SD and focuses on critiquing the underlying anthropocentric tendencies found within. Drawing principally from the ideas of Schumacher (1973, Orr (2004, and Sterling (1992, the article then sets out to examine the ideologies and epistemologies needed to support education reformation that are more environmentally sensitive in nature.

  6. Teacher's voices in the context of higher education : reforms in Armenia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karakhanyan, S.; Veen, S.J.; Bergen, T.C.M.

    2011-01-01

    In this article, teachers' sense-making and reasoning about higher education reforms in a post Soviet country, namely Armenia, are examined using an analytical framework with six sensitising concepts: beliefs, emotions, attitudes, change knowledge, attributions and organisational culture. The

  7. Negotiating science and engineering: an exploratory case study of a reform-minded science teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzey, S. Selcen; Ring-Whalen, Elizabeth A.

    2018-05-01

    Engineering has been slowly integrated into K-12 science classrooms in the United States as the result of recent science education reforms. Such changes in science teaching require that a science teacher is confident with and committed to content, practices, language, and cultures related to both science and engineering. However, from the perspective of the science teacher, this would require not only the development of knowledge and pedagogies associated with engineering, but also the construction of new identities operating within the reforms and within the context of their school. In this study, a middle school science teacher was observed and interviewed over a period of nine months to explore his experiences as he adopted new values, discourses, and practices and constructed his identity as a reform-minded science teacher. Our findings revealed that, as the teacher attempted to become a reform-minded science teacher, he constantly negotiated his professional identities - a dynamic process that created conflicts in his classroom practices. Several differences were observed between the teacher's science and engineering instruction: hands-on activities, depth and detail of content, language use, and the way the teacher positioned himself and his students with respect to science and engineering. Implications for science teacher professional development are discussed.

  8. Transformative Education? A Philosophic-Augustinian Response to the 2010 Albertan Reform Initiatives in "Inspiring Education"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steel, Sean

    2012-01-01

    The Alberta Government's 2010 "Inspiring Education" reform proposals claim to be "transformational" in nature. This paper examines these proposals in light of ancient philosophy and various among the world's wisdom traditions. Drawing particularly on the philosophic reflections of St. Augustine in his "Confessions",…

  9. Perceptions of Higher Education Reforms in Russia: the Role of Institutions and Social Capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volchik Vyacheslav, V.

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent reforms of higher education in Russia are aimed at boosting the quality and efficiency of the educational process. Nevertheless, in most cases, implemented institutional and organizational innovations do not work properly. Calculative technologies and various ratings, which are widespread today, opened up the opportunities for regular managerial interventions. These interventions are not neutral. In Russian higher education, the mania for measurement resulted in a deficit of trust and rampant bureaucracy. Historically, the system of higher education has been based on specific values and institutions. Academic freedom and autonomy are extremely important for the members of the academic community, and these values cannot be eliminated. Implemented reforms destroy old institutions and organizational structures. However, new institutions, being inconsistent with present working rules and practices, are not able to replace the old ones. Such inconsistency can result in inefficiency. Social capital plays a crucial role for development and growth in the field of higher education. The structure of social capital in the field embraces three components: trust, social engagement and social integration. These elements must be taken into account when implementing educational reforms. The higher the employees are motivated and experience personal growth, the more they feel embedded in their job. We have analyzed the discourses of the key actors within the universities of Rostov Region. The discourse analysis shows that bureaucracy, constant institutional and organizational changes and the reduction of academic freedom are perceived as significant factors that influence labor productivity, organizational efficiency and the quality of educational services in the field of higher education.

  10. Using Practitioner Inquiry within and against Large-Scale Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Mary Beth; Conner-Zachocki, Jennifer

    2015-01-01

    This research study examines the impact of teacher research on participants in a large-scale educational reform initiative in the United States, No Child Left Behind, and its strand for reading teachers, Reading First. Reading First supported professional development for teachers in order to increase student scores on standardized tests. The…

  11. Will Mayor De Blasio Turn Back the School Reform Clock?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Peter

    2014-01-01

    While heads were spinning, policy watchers seemed genuinely perplexed by New York City's Mayor de Blasio's education opinions. De Blasio opposed many of Bloomberg's reform efforts despite the achievement gains realized by the nation's largest school district during the last 12 years. Yet on close reading, de Blasio's nine-page education plan…

  12. Reforming STEM Undergraduate Education: What's a Faculty Member to Do?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairweather, J.

    2011-12-01

    Efforts to improve undergraduate STEM education lie at the forefront of many national educational policies. The recent National Academies of Science study of discipline-based educational research (DBER)is typical of such efforts. Most of the initiatives to improve student learning in STEM focus on the the student or the instructor in the classroom (Austin, 2011). This focus is consistent with the work by Seymour & Hewitt (1997), which found that poor teaching in STEM adversely affects learning and retention in the major. Professional development efforts focus on helping the individual STEM faculty member to figure out what to do to improve student learning. Substantial research (Austin, 2011) shows that the origin of many learning problems lies beyond the control of the instructor or the individual classroom. In these circumstances what is a STEM faculty member to do? This paper explores answers to this question. The first step is to define the nature of the problem. Is it related to classroom teaching and learning such as knowledge, skills, and interest in the major? If so then what environmental factors affect strategic alternatives, including type of course, instructor characteristics, and prior teaching experience (Fairweather & Rhoads, 1995)? Does good disciplinary-based research on the learning problem exist? If so then how can the research results be translated into practice? If not then does good research from other disciplines exist? If relevant evidenced-based research does not exist at all then how can STEM instructors learn to evaluate key learning outcomes and find ways to ameliorate problems? Despite appearances not all STEM teaching and learning problems are classroom-based. Some problems derive from curricula, others from faculty work-related issues such as rewards and work load. Any classroom reform effort must reflect accurately the system in which the teaching and learning take place. Understanding these systemic interactions improves the ability

  13. Research on reform plan of civil engineering adult education graduation design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Zhibin; Sun, Shengnan; Cui, Shicai

    2017-12-01

    As for civil engineering adult education graduation design, reform program is put forward combined with our school. The main points of reform include the following aspects. New pattern of graduation design which is consisted of basic training of engineering design, technical application and engineering innovation training is formed. Integration model of graduation design and employment is carried out. Multiple professional guidance graduation design pattern is put forward. Subject of graduation design is chosen based on the school actual circumstance. A “three stage” quality monitoring system is established. Performance evaluation pattern that concludes two oral examinations of the dissertation is strictly carried out.

  14. Implementation Issues in Federal Reform Efforts in Education: The United States and Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Paige

    Multiple data sources are used in this study of educational change in the United States and Australia. The author considers political issues that may affect the implementation of educational reform efforts at the federal level, such as homogeneity versus heterogeneity, centralization versus decentralization, constitutional responsibility for…

  15. Investigation of Problem Solving Skills among 12th Grade Engineering Students

    OpenAIRE

    Shanta, Susheela

    2017-01-01

    US competitiveness in the 21st century global economy depends on a workforce that is science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literate, and has knowledge and skills to tackle complex technological problems. In response to the need for a STEM literate workforce equipped with 21st century skills there is a push for K-12 educational reform. STEM literacy is the ability to use content knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering and math in solving human problems in a c...

  16. Why Do Policy-Makers Adopt Global Education Policies? Toward a Research Framework on the Varying Role of Ideas in Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verger, Antoni

    2014-01-01

    Globalization is profoundly altering the education policy landscape. It introduces new problems in education agendas, compresses time and space in policy processes, and revitalizes the role of a range of supra-national players in educational reform. This deterritorialization of the education policy process has important theoretical and…

  17. Qualitative Advances of China's Basic Education since Reform and Opening up: A Brief Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Xin; Chunhua, Kang

    2012-01-01

    Basic education is universal education, which aims to improve the basic quality of a nation's people. In the three decades since reform and opening up, earth-shaking changes have taken place in the quality of China's basic education. This article describes the path of development and changes in China's basic education over the past thirty years…

  18. One-to-One Technology in K-12 Classrooms: A Review of the Literature from 2004 through 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Ben; Milman, Natalie B.

    2016-01-01

    This literature review examined empirical research conducted between 2004 and 2014 regarding 1:1 technologies in K-12 educational settings. Our overarching research question was: What does research tell us about 1:1 technology in K-12 classrooms? We used the constant-comparative method to analyze, code, and induce themes from 46 relevant articles.…

  19. Past/Forward Policy-Making: Transforming Chinese Engineering Education since the Reform and Opening-Up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qin; Jesiek, Brent K.; Gong, Yu

    2015-01-01

    Although engineering education has played important roles in China's growing power and influence on the world stage, engineering education policy since the Reform and Opening-up in the late 1970s has not been well documented in current English-language scholarship. Informed by historical and sociological studies of education, engineering and…

  20. Reforming Lao Teacher Education to Include Females and Ethnic Minorities--Exploring Possibilities and Constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berge, Britt-Marie; Chounlamany, Kongsy; Khounphilaphanh, Bounchanh; Silfver, Ann-Louise

    2017-01-01

    This article explores possibilities and constraints for the inclusion of female and ethnic minority students in Lao education in order to provide education for all. Females and ethnic minorities have traditionally been disadvantaged in Lao education and reforms for the inclusion of these groups are therefore welcome. The article provides rich…

  1. The Reform Process of Portuguese Higher Education Institutions: From Collegial to Managerial Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruckmann, Sofia; Carvalho, Teresa

    2014-01-01

    Portuguese public higher education institutions have been undergoing a major reform process since 2007. The most noticeable changes were introduced by Law 62/2007, which gave higher education institutions the option to choose between two different institutional models (foundational and public institute), and allowed the implementation of new…

  2. The discussion about classical and Real education in Russia: the debate on D. Tolstoy`s «Educational reform» in State Council (1871-1872

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Всеволод Евгеньевич Воронин

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This article is devoted to the important event in the Russian political history of the Great reforms epoch. It's the discussion about the role of classical and real education led in Governmental circles in the beginning of 1870s. Special attention is paid to the consideration of reform projects of gymnasium education occurred in State Council, the highest legislative institution of Empire, and to the positions elaboration of supporters and opponents of Public Education Minister D. Tolstoy.

  3. Toward a Teacher Solidarity Lens: Former Teachers of Color (Re)envisioning Educational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip, Thomas M.; Martinez, Danny C.; Lopez, Eduardo; Garcia, Antero

    2016-01-01

    Based on a two-year self-study by a group of early-career scholars of color, we explore and purposefully name our role, within the contemporary context of neoliberal reform, as educational researchers of color who are former K-12 teachers. We capture the insights that emerged from our self-study through a close reading of dominant neoliberal…

  4. K-12 Schools: The Effect of Public School Choices on Marine Families’ Co-Location Decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE K-12 SCHOOLS: THE EFFECT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICES ON MARINE FAMILIES’ CO...be educated ? One theory regarding decision-making in general is the rational choice theory . This approach to explaining the process of making...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. K-12 SCHOOLS

  5. Perceptions of Participating K-12 Educational Leaders' Experiences and Decisions Regarding the Crisis Caused by the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes in Rural Alabama

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, William E., Jr.

    2013-01-01

    April 27, 2011, will be remembered by many as a catastrophic day and event in Alabama, and specifically by K-12 educational leaders. Natural disasters like tornadoes have a significant impact on leaders, on their decision making and, obviously, on the survival of many of their victims. The possibility and threat of a major crisis caused by natural…

  6. Empowered Intersectionality among Black Female K-12 Leaders: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeal, Carla

    2017-01-01

    Black female school leaders remain underrepresented as educational leaders in the K-12 context as marginalizing factors persist in the field. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black female school leaders through the lens of intersectionality. For this research study, intersectionality…

  7. Incorporating the Tuning Approach in Higher Education curricular reforms and course design in Tanzania for enhancing graduates’ competencies: stakeholders’ views

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johnson Muchunguzi Ishengoma

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Available documentary and research evidences reveal that the majority of Tanzania universities’ graduates (public and private universities lack competencies or technical skills (employability skills required for the job market and by potential employers, despite massive curricular reforms implemented in the public higher education sector since the early 1990s. Lack of employability skills which consequently leads to graduate unemployment or un-employability is attributable to the fact that curricular reforms and design in Tanzania public universities undertaken by lecturers and professors do not incorporate basic Tuning principles of competence-based teaching and learning which puts emphasis on competencies and skills by identifying generic and specific competencies during course design or curriculum reform. This study using the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM’s School of Education sought to: (1 explore faculty and students’ views on the application of the Tuning approach in curricular reforms and degree/course design as a mitigation of university graduates’ unemployment and un-employability, (2 solicit stakeholders’(academic staff and students perceptions of Tuning approach and its relevance in higher education curriculum reforms and design to make higher education more competence-based, and (3 find out students perceived causes of graduate unemployment and un-employability and whether the application of Tuning approach in curriculum reforms and design in universities can be a solution to graduate unemployment. Findings from the study reveal that both faculty and students concur that application of Tuning approach in higher education reforms and curricular design could enhance graduates competences and skills and reduce graduate unemployment.First published online: 30 November 2017

  8. EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND TEACHERS’ WORKING CONDITIONS: EMOTIONS EXPERIENCED BY AN IN-SERVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neide Nunes RODRIGUES

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we analyze the relation among educational reforms and teachers’ work, and emotions. This study was conducted with a public school English teacher, in Minas Gerais. The aim was to verify the role that contextual factors play in the production of emotions, and detect the emotions that influence her practice with students, colleagues, and school managers. The theoretical framework was based on studies about educational reforms and teachers’ work (AUGUSTO, 2005; HYPOLITO; VIEIRA; PIZZI, 2009; DUARTE; AUGUSTO, [s.d.], the relationship between emotions and the process of teaching and learning languages (HARGREAVES, 2000; ZEMBYLAS, 2002, 2003; ARAGÃO, 2008; DAY; QING, 2009; SHUTZ; ZEMBYLAS, 2009; COWIE, 2011; RIBEIRO, 2012. We used a semistructured questionnaire and a narrative interview as data collection instruments. The analysis has pointed out poor work condition, crowded classrooms, poor physical and technological structures, strict school curriculum, students’ indiscipline, and the institution pessimistic atmosphere as frustrating, stressful, and de-motivating factors. These results indicate the need to create alternative ways of school workplaces organization, and to modify the way people interact in schools. They also suggest the need of educators to participate in the design and implementation of educational reforms.

  9. Is Reform in Accounting Education Needed in China and Russia: A Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theodore T. Y. Chen

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine, through literature review, whether China and Russia are in need of accounting education reforms when they are not English-speaking, do not have developed accounting systems as major English-speaking countries do, have a different political orientation from the selected Englishspeaking countries and are at a transition stage from a state-planned economy to a market-driven economy. The paper is based entirely on literature review of global forces at play on accounting education reform, accounting education change in selected English-speaking countries and developments in accounting education in Russia and China. The review indicates that the two countries have a desperate need for accounting education change and that gradual changes are taking place in both countries, although China is at a more advanced stage of development because of its international trade. There are signs of both countries leaning towards the direction of the Accounting Education Change Commission’s (AECC initiatives. China is focusing more on breadth of education than specialization and Russia is at a preliminary stage having to enhance its financial reporting system. The available literature on accounting education in Russia and China is limited, particularly in Russia as the Soviet’s old system did not offer accounting degrees. However, this does not present a problem in identifying an accounting education trend in these two countries from the available literature as explained in the final section of this paper “Limitations of This Study and Future Research”. With major English-speaking and non English-speaking countries leaning towards AECC in their accounting education reforms regardless of the political orientation of the country, one may conclude that AECC is the direction that developing countries having the same need for change should consider. The comparison made in this paper provides insights into an area that

  10. Adopting reform-based pedagogy in post-secondary microbiology education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonner, Jeffery W.

    Current emphasis on improving student learning and retention in post-secondary science education can potentially motivate veteran faculty to reconsider what is often a traditional, instructor-centered instructional model. Alternative models that foster a student-centered classroom environment are more aligned with research on how students learn. These models often incorporate active-learning opportunities that engage students in ways that passively taking notes in an instructor-centered classroom cannot. Although evidence is mounting that active-learning is an effective strategy for improving student learning and attitude, university professors, without formal pedagogical knowledge and training, can face uncertainty about where to start and how to implement these strategies. The research presented here was conducted in two parts under the same context during one semester of a post-secondary microbiology course. First, a quantitative study was conducted to compare collaborative and individual completion of a reform-based instructional strategy that utilized a student-centered, active-learning component. Students were evaluated on learning, critical thinking, and epistemological beliefs about biology. Results indicated no significant differences between treatment groups. Interestingly, the impact of active-learning implementations had positive effects on students' epistemological beliefs. This was a finding contradicting previous research in which epistemological beliefs became more novice-like in science majors enrolled in courses without an active-learning component. Study two represents one case in which a professor with a traditional instructional model became motivated to pursue instructional change in his introductory microbiology course. A single-case qualitative study was conducted to document the professor's initial effort at instructional reform. Results indicated that his utilization and understanding of reform-based instructional strategies improved over

  11. The Discourse of Partnership and the Reality of Reform: Interrogating the Recent Reform Agenda at Initial Teacher Education and Induction Levels in Ireland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Harford

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decade, teacher education in Ireland has experienced radical reconceptualization and restructuring at both initial teacher education [ITE] and induction levels, with reform of continuous professional development now in the planning phase. The establishment of the Teaching Council (2006 as a statutory, regulatory body, with a role in the review and accreditation of teacher education, increased the visibility of and policy focus on teacher education. Significant reform of initial teacher education was announced in 2011 that included both an extension of the duration of programmes and, most notably, the period the student teachers were to be engaged in school-based professional development. This increased period has been accompanied by a shift in the understanding of what is involved in practicum and implies a redefinition of the respective roles of the university and the school, and the development of a new form of partnership between both agencies. The period of induction and probation has also become an area of reform with an emphasis on school-based coaching and the evaluation of newly qualified teachers, which devolves decisions on teachers’ full recognition and membership of the profession, to principals and colleagues. This shift, which changes the established approach to induction for primary level teachers, has resulted in the withdrawal of cooperation with this policy by the main teacher union and to the implementation process being stymied. Both policy developments bring the concept of partnership within Irish education into sharp focus: a partnership between schools and universities in ITE, but also partnership in policy development and implementation in the case of induction.

  12. Imaging the Frame: Media Representations of Teachers, Their Unions, NCLB, and Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Rebecca A.

    2011-01-01

    This article examines the political discourse surrounding NCLB, educational reform, and how that discourse shaped perceptions of public education during the Bush Administration. Examining mass media campaigns in the New York Times and Time Magazine, the article demonstrates how the media has visually and textually framed and reinforced NCLB and…

  13. Administrative reform in the Venezuelan Ministry of Education: A case analysis of the 1970's

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, E. Mark

    1984-06-01

    Democracy arrived in Venezuela in 1958, and reforming the rigid, centralized and unrepresentative institutions of government subsequently assumed a high priority. This article, based on data gathered in Venezuela several times over a twelve-year period by means of a standard field research methodology, represents a longitudinal case study of efforts through the 70's to generate administrative reform in the Ministry of Education. Specifically, the reform proposed to decentralize and regionalize the organization and management of education in order to promote regional socio-economic development. The study describes and discusses political and organizational factors which disrupted and frustrated the reform process, including: (1) lack of political continuity and maturity; (2) lack of appropriate structures within the system and of real desire on the part of ministry officials to initiate an effective delegation of powers and responsibilities; (3) lack of adequate mechanisms for gathering, processing and distributing information; and (4) lack of sufficient personnel within the ministry with the training and sustained experience to manage complex programs. As in many other countries, the ideals of the reform in Venezuela outstripped the political and human realities of the situation there. Comparative research is now needed to enable other nations to learn from this experience.

  14. A Library approach to establish an Educational Data Curation Framework (EDCF) that supports K-12 data science sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branch, B. D.; Wegner, K.; Smith, S.; Schulze, D. G.; Merwade, V.; Jung, J.; Bessenbacher, A.

    2013-12-01

    It has been the tradition of the libraries to support literacy. Now in the realm of Executive Order, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information, May 9, 2013, the library has the responsibility to support geospatial data, big data, earth science data or cyber infrastructure data that may support STEM for educational pipeline stimulation. (Such information can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable-new-default-government-.) Provided is an Educational Data Curation Framework (EDCF) that has been initiated in Purdue research, geospatial data service engagement and outreach endeavors for future consideration and application to augment such data science and climate literacy needs of future global citizens. In addition, this endorsement of this framework by the GLOBE program may facilitate further EDCF implementations, discussion points and prototypes for libraries. In addition, the ECDF will support teacher-led, placed-based and large scale climate or earth science learning systems where such knowledge transfer of climate or earth science data is effectively transferred from higher education research of cyberinfrastructure use such as, NOAA or NASA, to K-12 teachers and school systems. The purpose of this effort is to establish best practices for sustainable K-12 data science delivery system or GLOBE-provided system (http://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/) where libraries manage the data curation and data appropriateness as data reference experts for such digital data. Here, the Purdue University Libraries' GIS department works to support soils, LIDAR and water science data experiences to support teacher training for an EDCF development effort. Lastly, it should be noted that the interdisciplinary collaboration and demonstration of library supported outreach partners and national organizations such the GLOBE program may best foster EDCF development. This trend in data

  15. A Critical Analysis of The Holmes Group's Proposals for Reforming Teacher Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, Willis D.

    1986-01-01

    The Holmes Group proposals for reforming teacher education are evaluated by looking at the effects on teacher knowledge and competence, attraction and retention of talented teachers, organization of schools and the teaching profession, and cost effectiveness. (MT)

  16. Education Reform in Alberta: Where Do We Go from Here?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Brenda L.; Webber, Charles F.

    This paper discusses what educational leadership might look like at the start of the 21st century, specifically within the context of Alberta. It also provides a brief synopsis of some of Alberta's major reforms of the past decade, and it presents some of the key findings and recommendations of a 1998 study entitled "An Analysis of Attitudes…

  17. The Influence of Lean on K-12 District Management: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Beverly

    2011-01-01

    For decades, policymakers and educators have focused on public school equity and adequacy, while paying little attention to efficiency. This qualitative single case study was designed to capture explicit information about Lean management, operations, and culture in a K-12 Michigan school district engaged in Lean training and implementation for a…

  18. After 60 Years, Do the Arguments for K-12 Vouchers Still Hold?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laitsch, Dan

    2016-01-01

    In 1955, Milton Friedman authored a foundational paper proposing a shift in funding and governance mechanisms for public K-12 schools, suggesting that parents be awarded tuition vouchers that they could use to pay for private sector education services for their children, rather than relying on government provided neighborhood schools. Friedman…

  19. Facing the Knowledge Society: Reforming Secondary Education in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Education Working Paper Series. Number 5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Kai Ming; Yip, Hak Kwong

    2006-01-01

    This paper attempts to describe and analyze the development and reforms of secondary education in Hong Kong and Shanghai over the past 25 years. Comparing the two cities is useful in constructing a spectrum of possibilities on the one hand, and identifying some common themes in the development of secondary education on the other. The…

  20. Education Reform as Platform for Promoting Lifelong Learning: The Case of Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poon-McBrayer, Kim Fong

    2008-01-01

    The fierce competition largely brought by the globalization of a knowledge-based economy provided an impetus for the Hong Kong government to endorse massive education reforms in 2000, as proposed by the Education Commission, as the central strategy to improve and sustain workforce quality and social justice through the provision of lifelong…

  1. Why Are Studies of Neighborhoods and Communities Central to Education Policy and Reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopson, Rodney

    2014-01-01

    To understand the long shadow of education policy and reform in the United States, especially in the urban core, requires a full and elaborate understanding of the neighborhoods and communities that have transformed in the last 20 or 30 years. Studying classrooms and educational spaces without concomitant understanding of the dynamics and facets…

  2. Anti-Clericalism and Educational Reform in the French Third Republic: A Retrospective Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keylor, William R.

    1981-01-01

    Reviews the educational reform movement in France during the late nineteenth century which produced one of the most tightly organized, centrally controlled, and pedagogically effective models of elementary education in the world, with emphasis on the role of the Catholic clergy and attempts of the republican regime to uproot clerical influence in…

  3. Integrating the iPod Touch in K-12 Education: Visions and Vices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banister, Savilla

    2010-01-01

    Advocates of ubiquitous computing have long been documenting classroom benefits of one-to-one ratios of students to handheld or laptop computers. The recent sophisticated capabilities of the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad have encouraged further speculation on exactly how K-12 teaching and learning might be energized by such devices. This paper…

  4. Development of a coupled reactor with a catalytic combustor and steam reformer for a 5 kW solid oxide fuel cell system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Sanggyu; Lee, Kanghun; Yu, Sangseok; Lee, Sang Min; Ahn, Kook-Young

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Proposes the scale-up strategy to develop a large-scale coupled reactor. • Investigation of performance of steam reformer coupled with catalytic combustor. • Experimental parameters are inlet temp., air excess ratio, SCR, fuel utilization. • Evaluation of the heat transfer distribution along the gas flow direction. • The mean value of methane conversion rate is approximately 93.4%. - Abstract: The methane (CH 4 ) conversion rate of a steam reformer can be increased by thermal integration with a catalytic combustor, called a coupled reactor. In the present study, a 5 kW coupled reactor has been developed based on a 1 kW coupled reactor in previous work. The geometric parameters of the space velocity, diameter and length of the coupled reactor selected from the 1 kW coupled reactor are tuned and applied to the design of the 5 kW coupled reactor. To confirm the scale-up strategy, the performance of 5 kW coupled reactor is experimentally investigated with variations of operating parameters such as the fuel utilization in the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack, the inlet temperature of the catalytic combustor, the excess air ratio of the catalytic combustor, and the steam to carbon ratio (SCR) in the steam reformer. The temperature distributions of coupled reactors are measured along the gas flow direction. The gas composition at the steam reformer outlet is measured to find the CH 4 conversion rate of the coupled reactor. The maximum value of the CH 4 conversion rate is approximately 93.4%, which means the proposed scale-up strategy can be utilized to develop a large-scale coupled reactor

  5. A New School for Brats: Improving the K-12 Education of Military Connected Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-01

    Schools: How Technology Can Transform Education (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2012), ProQuest Ebook Central. 33 allowing the...Hack Education , April 25, 2015. http://hackeducation.com/2015/04/25/factory-model. West, Darrell M. Digital Schools: How Technology Can Transform ...BRATS: IMPROVING THE K–12 EDUCATION OF MILITARY-CONNECTED CHILDREN by Robert G. Stimis September 2017 Thesis Advisor: Rodrigo Nieto

  6. K-5 mentor teachers' journeys toward reform-oriented science within a professional development school context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manno, Jacqueline L.

    between mentor teachers' engagement in PDS activities and their thinking about classroom practice. The main focus of this research study was on change in science teaching within the context of a professional development school. PDS literature and current literature on the learning and teaching of science in grades K-8 provided a theoretical orientation to guide the research. Additionally, literature on the process of change in schools helped to narrow the focus of the study while using a lens of situated learning provided additional insight. Analysis of the interview data generated seven assertions that captured the nature of the change process of mentor teachers. Science-specific professional development as well as strong support and encouragement within an active community of learners played significant roles in the transformation of mentor teachers from traditional or activity-based science teachers into educators who use reform-oriented methods and a lens of evidence and explanation to guide their science teaching. Mentor teachers acknowledged an increase in student interest and excitement toward science as a result of these changes in science teaching practices. In addition, data revealed that mentor teachers remained committed to their changed practice after several years. By examining the change process of mentor teachers in a PDS environment, findings from this study are discussed based on implications regarding the factors that contribute to and affect change as reform-oriented practices are implemented in science, a curricular area that is often neglected by elementary teachers.

  7. Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context: Lessons learnt from reforms in Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyeampong, Kwame

    2014-04-01

    Early notions of life skills in Africa did not take into account the importance of a flexible and portable set of skills that would enable youth to adapt to changes in the world of work and lay the foundations for productive well-being and behaviour. Rather, life skills education in many secondary education curricula in Africa started with an emphasis on developing specific technical vocational skills considered essential for employability or self-employment. Using Ghana as an example, this paper shows how secondary education curriculum reformers recommended shifts that embraced a new interpretation of life skills focused on 21st-century skills. This gradual move also reflected the difficulty that secondary education in general has had in networking with the world of work to provide work experience that would lead to the development of work-related skills and enhance employability. The author's main argument is that although the reconceptualisation of life skills in secondary education to reflect 21st-century skills is a welcome shift in the African context, this needs to be accompanied by reforms in teacher education. Classroom teaching and learning need to be adapted in a fundamental way in order to ensure that youth fully benefit from the inclusion of 21st-century life skills in secondary education curricula. Such reforms must include pedagogical practices which nurture communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills.

  8. Weighted Student Formula: Putting Funds Where They Count in Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Bruce S.; DeRoche, Timothy R.; Ouchi, William G.; Segal, Lydia G.; Brown, Carolyn

    2006-01-01

    Ever since the publication of "A Nation At Risk" in 1983, Americans have been preoccupied with two problems regarding public education: (1) student performance is unsatisfactory to most Americans despite large increases in real spending per student; and despite several attempts at reforming curricula, teacher training, testing, and other…

  9. California K-12 Schools and Communities Collaborate to Support Student Mental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodbridge, Michelle W.; Goldweber, Asha; Yu, Jennifer; Golan, Shari; Stein, Bradley D.

    2013-01-01

    Across the education, public health, and human and social services areas, there is renewed interest in bringing agency representatives together to work on the promotion of student mental health and wellness. One of the aims of California's Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) K-12 Student Mental Health (SMH) initiative funded under Proposition…

  10. Debates on the Basic Education Curriculum Reform and Teachers' Challenges in China: The Case of Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiong; Ni, Yu-jing

    2012-01-01

    Focusing on the case of mathematics, this paper reviews debates on China's new Basic Education Curriculum Reform program, including the status of knowledge within the reformed curriculum, the arrangement of the curriculum system, and the push toward real-life applicability and hands-on participation. It discusses the related challenges that…

  11. Anne K. Bang: Islamic Sufi Networks in the Western Indian Ocean (c. 1880-1940. Ripples of Reform.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelika Brodersen

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This contribution offers a review of Anne K. Bang's book: Islamic Sufi Networks in the Western Indian Ocean (c. 1880-1940. Ripples of Reform. Islam in Africa, Volume 16. Leiden: Brill 2014. xiv + 227 pages, € 104.00, ISBN 978-900-425-1342.

  12. A Mixed-Method Approach on Digital Educational Games for K12: Gender, Attitudes and Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Effie Lai-Chong; Gamble, Tim; Schwarz, Daniel; Kickmeier-Rust, Michael D.; Holzinger, Andreas

    Research on the influence of gender on attitudes towards and performance in digital educational games (DEGs) has quite a long history. Generally, males tend to play such games more engagingly than females, consequently attitude and performance of males using DEGs should be presumably higher than that of females. This paper reports an investigation of a DEG, which was developed to enhance the acquisition of geographical knowledge, carried out on British, German and Austrian K12 students aged between 11 and 14. Methods include a survey on initial design concepts, user tests on the system and two single-gender focus groups. Gender and cultural differences in gameplay habit, game type preferences and game character perceptions were observed. The results showed that both genders similarly improved their geographical knowledge, although boys tended to have a higher level of positive user experience than the girls. The qualitative data from the focus groups illustrated some interesting gender differences in perceiving various aspects of the game.

  13. Reforming Science Education: Part I. The Search for a Philosophy of Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Roland M.

    2009-04-01

    The call for reforms in science education has been ongoing for a century, with new movements and approaches continuously reshaping the identity and values of the discipline. The HPS movement has an equally long history and taken part in the debates defining its purpose and revising curriculum. Its limited success, however, is due not only to competition with alternative visions and paradigms (e.g. STS, multi-culturalism, constructivism, traditionalism) which deadlock implementation, and which have led to conflicting meanings of scientific literacy, but the inability to rise above the debate. At issue is a fundamental problem plaguing science education at the school level, one it shares with education in general. It is my contention that it requires a guiding “metatheory” of education that can appropriately distance itself from the dual dependencies of metatheories in psychology and the demands of socialization—especially as articulated in most common conceptions of scientific literacy tied to citizenship. I offer as a suggestion Egan’s cultural-linguistic theory as a metatheory to help resolve the impasse. I hope to make reformers familiar with his important ideas in general and more specifically, to show how they can complement HPS rationales and reinforce the work of those researchers who have emphasized the value of narrative in learning science. This will be elaborated in Part II of a supplemental paper to the present one. As a prerequisite to presenting Egan’s metatheory I first raise the issue of the need for a conceptual shift back to philosophy of education within the discipline, and thereto, on developing and demarcating true educational theories (essentially neglected since Hirst). In the same vein it is suggested a new research field should be opened with the express purpose of developing a discipline-specific “philosophy of science education” (largely neglected since Dewey) which could in addition serve to reinforce science education

  14. An Empirical Evaluation of Distance Learning's Effectiveness in the K-12 Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris-Packer, Jerilyn D.; Ségol, Geneviève

    2015-01-01

    This study evaluated the effect of online instruction on the academic achievement of K--12 students in ten states as measured by the percentage of proficient students in reading and mathematics at the school level. We used publicly available data provided by the Department of Education in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania,…

  15. Peer Mentoring and Peer Tutoring among K-12 Students: A Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodrich, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this literature review is to examine research on peer mentoring among K-12 students to assist practitioners with how to incorporate these instructional techniques into their own music programs. Primary themes across the music education literature of peer mentoring include the role of music teachers, the role of students as they…

  16. Some Trends and Reforms in the Educational Policy of Norway in the Light of the Concept of Life-Long Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udjus, Ingelise

    An emphasis on planned and completed educational reforms in Norway which reflect the attitude that education is a lifelong process is presented in this document. A study is made of some of the trends in the development of the formal school system which have been influenced by the concept of life-long education. This study includes primary,…

  17. Teacher Education Policies, Practices, and Reform in Scotland: Implications in the Indian Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Pradeep Kumar

    2015-01-01

    India, a country of 1.27 billion, nowadays needs reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education to cater to the demands of changing economy and society. This call to improve teacher education becomes more significant considering the fact that 50% of India's current population is below the age of 25 and over 65% below 35. There are…

  18. Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renee, Michelle; McAlister, Sara

    2011-01-01

    Community organizing for school reform offers an urgently needed alternative to traditional approaches to school change. Many current reforms fail to thrive due to lack of trust, understanding, or cultural relevance to the community being targeted. The high turnover of reformers (superintendents, principals, or outside organizations) in high-need…

  19. The 21st Century Skills and Job Performance of Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pa-alisbo, Mark Anthony Cenas

    2017-01-01

    The Philippines' Department of Education through the implementation of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) is pursuing a package of policy reforms to further improve education. One of its reforms is the K-12 Program which has opened the way to the mandated 21st Century Skills. These include Learning and Innovation; Information, Media…

  20. Reforming Science Education: Part II. Utilizing Kieran Egan's Educational Metatheory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Roland M.

    2009-04-01

    This paper is the second of two parts and continues the conversation which had called for a shift in the conceptual focus of science education towards philosophy of education, with the requirement to develop a discipline-specific “philosophy” of science education. In Part I, conflicting conceptions of science literacy were identified with disparate “visions” tied to competing research programs as well as school-based curricular paradigms. The impasse in the goals of science education and thereto, the contending views of science literacy, were themselves associated with three underlying fundamental aims of education (knowledge-itself; personal development; socialization) which, it was argued, usually undercut the potential of each other. During periods of “crisis-talk” and throughout science educational history these three aims have repeatedly attempted to assert themselves. The inability of science education research to affect long-term change in classrooms was correlated not only to the failure to reach a consensus on the aims (due to competing programs and to the educational ideologies of their social groups), but especially to the failure of developing true educational theories (largely neglected since Hirst). Such theories, especially metatheories, could serve to reinforce science education’s growing sense of academic autonomy and independence from socio-economic demands. In Part II, I offer as a suggestion Egan’s cultural-linguistic theory as a metatheory to help resolve the impasse. I hope to make reformers familiar with his important ideas in general, and more specifically, to show how they can complement HPS rationales and reinforce the work of those researchers who have emphasized the value of narrative in learning science.

  1. The Educational Reform in Argentina: A Look at the Labor Trajectories and Teaching Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlanda Señorino

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Eleven years after the implementation of Argentina’s Federal Law of Education, this paper offers a critical analysis of the impact this educational reform has had on the career paths and working conditions of teachers in the Argentine educational system. The changes brought about in the economic and political field, the redefinition of the relationship between State and Society, and its impact on the labor market constitute the framework or context for our study of the reform. We maintain the methodology of analyzing labor trajectories, in order to recover the voices of the protagonists, in an attempt to break with the representations built from an external view only. We have attempted, through a cooperative construction of meaning, to capture the dynamic aspects by relating the social practice of the actors with the structural aspects already mentioned.

  2. Pre-K as School Turnaround Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buenafe, Anthony Q.

    2011-01-01

    Both state and local school systems, recognizing the strong and growing evidence of pre-kindergarten's effectiveness in closing achievement gaps, are implementing early learning programs as part of their education reform efforts. In low-performing districts, pre-k has emerged as a promising turnaround strategy, reaching children before they become…

  3. Misrecognition and science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Carol B.

    2012-09-01

    In this forum, I expand upon Teo and Osborne's discussion of teacher agency and curriculum reform. I take up and build upon their analysis to further examine one teacher's frustration in enacting an inquiry-based curriculum and his resulting accommodation of an AP curriculum. In this way I introduce the concept of misrecognition (Bourdieu and Passeron 1977) to open up new ways of thinking about science inquiry and school reform.

  4. Education Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manna, Paul, Ed.; McGuinn, Patrick, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    America's fragmented, decentralized, politicized, and bureaucratic system of education governance is a major impediment to school reform. In this important new book, a number of leading education scholars, analysts, and practitioners show that understanding the impact of specific policy changes in areas such as standards, testing, teachers, or…

  5. Education, Dictatorship and Democracy in Spain: An Analysis of Administrative Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, E. Mark

    Spain's transition from dictatorship to pacific and stable democracy without producing major national convulsions is remarkable in a world where many such attempts have been made and most have failed. Within the context of government reform, this study identifies and examines strengths and weaknesses of the regionalization process in education 10…

  6. Excavating Silences and Tensions of Agency|Passivity in Science Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

    2010-01-01

    I reflect on studies by Rodriguez and Carlone, Haun-Frank, and Kimmel to emphasize the ways in which they excavate silences in the science education literature related to linguistic and cultural diversity and situating the problem of reform in teachers rather than contextual factors, such as traditional schooling discourses and forces that serve…

  7. Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the State of Sangon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightfoot, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims to highlight the issues associated with the implementation of education reform policies relating to "future schools" in a small state in the Middle East and North Africa region. The study points to the consistency with which global corporations and the supranational organisations, such as UNESCO and the World Bank,…

  8. Implementing Marzano's Model: The Reality of Educational Leadership and School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keaveny, Stacy M.

    2013-01-01

    Federal and state guidelines for school reform dominate the landscape of public education. Florida and its school districts, as a Race to the Top state, are in the process of fully implementing a value-added model of teacher evaluation. Effective school leaders are calling upon the theoretical framework of transformational, visionary and…

  9. Nucleoli in human early erythroblasts (K2, K1, K1/2 cells).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smetana, K; Jirásková, I; Klamová, H

    2005-01-01

    Human early erythroid precursors classified according to the nuclear size were studied to provide information on nucleoli in these cells using simple cytochemical procedures for demonstration of RNA and proteins of silver-stained nucleolar organizers. K2 cells with nuclear diameter larger than 13 microm and K1 cells with nuclear diameter larger than 9 microm corresponding to proerythroblasts and macroblasts (large basophilic erythroblasts) mostly possessed large irregularly shaped nucleoli with multiple fibrillar centres representing "active nucleoli". K1/2 cells with nuclear diameter smaller than 9 microm corresponding to small basophilic erythroblasts were usually characterized by the presence of micronucleoli representing "inactive nucleolar types". On the other hand, a few K1/2 cells contained large nucleoli with multiple fibrillar centres similar to those present in K2 cells and thus appeared as "microproerythroblasts". The nucleolar asynchrony expressed by the presence of large irregularly shaped nucleoli with multiple nucleoli (active nucleoli) and ring-shaped nucleoli (resting nucleoli) in one and the same nucleus of K2 or K1 cells was not exceptional and might reflect a larger resistance of these cells to negative factors influencing the erythropoiesis. The intranucleolar translocation of silver-stained nucleolus organized regions was noted in K2 cells and might indicate the premature aging of these cells without further differentiation. More studies, however, are required in this direction.

  10. Learner Autonomy as an Element in Chinese Education Reform: A Case of English Language Subject

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Jinjin; Liu, Yingliang

    2016-01-01

    Enhancing students' learning autonomy has been emphasized in the current round of English curriculum reforms by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in China. The initial aim of the new guidelines was developed to enhance students' English proficiency to better fulfil their basic education (Nine-year compulsory education). However, up until now, very…

  11. Preparing University Students to Lead K-12 Engineering Outreach Programmes: A Design Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Anika B.; Greene, Howard; Post, Paul E.; Parkhurst, Andrew; Zhan, Xi

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes an engineering outreach programme designed to increase the interest of under-represented youth in engineering and to disseminate pre-engineering design challenge materials to K-12 educators and volunteers. Given university students' critical role as facilitators of the outreach programme, researchers conducted a two-year…

  12. Technology Integration in K-12 Science Classrooms: An Analysis of Barriers and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hechter, Richard P.; Vermette, Laurie Anne

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the barriers to technology integration for Manitoban K-12 inservice science educators (n = 430) based on a 10-item online survey; results are analyzed according to teaching stream using the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. Quantitative descriptive statistics indicated that the leading barriers…

  13. An Investigation of the Engagement of Elementary Students in the NCTM Process Standards after One Year of Standards-Based Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fillingim, Jennifer Gale

    2010-01-01

    Contemporary mathematics education reform has placed increased emphasis on K-12 mathematics curriculum. Reform-based curricula, often referred to as "Standards-based" due to philosophical alignment with the NCTM Process Standards, have generated controversy among families, educators, and researchers. The mathematics education research…

  14. Scaffolding Mathematics Remediation for Academically At-Risk Students Following Developmental Education Reform in Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brower, Rebecca L.; Woods, Chenoa S.; Jones, Tamara Bertrand; Park, Toby J.; Hu, Shouping; Tandberg, David A.; Nix, Amanda N.; Rahming, Sophia G.; Martindale, Sandra K.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how educational scaffolding may explain changing patterns of student success in mathematics in the era of developmental education (DE or remediation) reform in Florida College System (FCS) institutions. Specifically, we apply the concept of scaffolding to underprepared FCS students who are at…

  15. A Nonverbal Language for Imagining and Learning: Dance Education in K-12 Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanna, Judith Lynne

    2008-01-01

    Curriculum theorists have provided a knowledge base concerning aesthetics, agency, creativity, lived experience, transcendence, learning through the body, and the power of the arts to engender visions of alternative possibilities in culture, politics, and the environment. However, these theoretical threads do not reveal the potential of K-12 dance…

  16. Calls for reform of medical education by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: 1910 and 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irby, David M; Cooke, Molly; O'Brien, Bridget C

    2010-02-01

    The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which in 1910 helped stimulate the transformation of North American medical education with the publication of the Flexner Report, has a venerated place in the history of American medical education. Within a decade following Flexner's report, a strong scientifically oriented and rigorous form of medical education became well established; its structures and processes have changed relatively little since. However, the forces of change are again challenging medical education, and new calls for reform are emerging. In 2010, the Carnegie Foundation will issue another report, Educating Physicians: A Call for Reform of Medical School and Residency, that calls for (1) standardizing learning outcomes and individualizing the learning process, (2) promoting multiple forms of integration, (3) incorporating habits of inquiry and improvement, and (4) focusing on the progressive formation of the physician's professional identity. The authors, who wrote the 2010 Carnegie report, trace the seeds of these themes in Flexner's work and describe their own conceptions of them, addressing the prior and current challenges to medical education as well as recommendations for achieving excellence. The authors hope that the new report will generate the same excitement about educational innovation and reform of undergraduate and graduate medical education as the Flexner Report did a century ago.

  17. Fiscal Policy in Urban Education. A Volume in Research in Education Fiscal Policy and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roellke, Christopher, Ed.; Rice, Jennifer King, Ed.

    This volume focuses on school finance challenges in large urban school districts, fiscal accountability in these schools, and the fiscal dimensions of urban school reform. The 12 papers are (1) "School Finance and Urban Education Reform" (Christopher Roellke and Jennifer King Rice); (2) "Can Whole-School Reform Improve the…

  18. Performance Measures for Teachers and Teacher Education: Corporate Education Reform Opens the Door to New Legal Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pullin, Diana

    2015-01-01

    Recent efforts to change the teaching profession and teacher preparation include a number of innovations to use portfolio assessment, value added measures (VAM), accountability metrics and other corporate education reform ideas. These approaches may provoke considerable potential legal consequences. Traditional constitutional and civil rights…

  19. Understanding Learning and Teaching in Papua New Guinea: Elementary Teacher Trainers Engaged in Cultural Authorship in the Context of National Educational Reforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownlee, Joanne M.; Farrell, Ann; Davis, Julie

    2012-01-01

    Over the last decade, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has pursued educational reform in elementary teacher education. Because elementary teachers and teacher education are central to the reform agenda, there is a need to gain empirical evidence about how PNG teacher trainers' understandings about learning and teaching impact on their practice. The study…

  20. Changes in educational inequalities in Poland. Comments on Zbigniew Sawiński’s article “Education reform and inequality: fifteen years of new lower secondary schools in Poland”

    OpenAIRE

    MICHAŁ SITEK

    2017-01-01

    In his text published in Edukacja, 141(2), 2017 („Education reform and inequality: fifteen years of new lower secondary schools in Poland”), Zbigniew Sawiński analyses data from the 2000 to 2012 editions of the OECD PISA study and argues that lower secondary school reform has not reduced educational inequalities in Poland. The importance of students’ social origin remained at the same level as before the reform, the impact of social origin on the choice of type of secondary school remained th...

  1. Addressing the Nets for Students through Constructivist Technology Use in K-12 Classrooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niederhauser, Dale S.; Lindstrom, Denise L.

    2006-01-01

    The National Educational Technology Standards for Students promote constructivist technology use for K-12 students in U.S. schools. In this study, researchers reported on 716 cases in which teachers described technology-based activities they conducted with their students. Narrative analysis was used to examine case transcripts relative to the…

  2. Is K-12 Blended Learning Disruptive? An Introduction to the Theory of Hybrids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Clayton M.; Horn, Michael B.; Staker, Heather

    2013-01-01

    The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, formerly the Innosight Institute, has published three papers describing the rise of K-12 blended learning--that is, formal education programs that combine online learning and brick-and-mortar schools. This fourth paper is the first to analyze blended learning through the lens of…

  3. Cisco Networking Academy: Next-Generation Assessments and Their Implications for K-12 Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Meredith

    2014-01-01

    To illuminate the possibilities for next-generation assessments in K-12 schools, this case study profiles the Cisco Networking Academy, which creates comprehensive online training curriculum to teach networking skills. Since 1997, the Cisco Networking Academy has served more than five million high school and college students and now delivers…

  4. The Realities of K-12 Virtual Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glass, Gene V.

    2009-01-01

    In a decade, virtual education in its contemporary form of asynchronous, computer-mediated interaction between a teacher and students over the Internet has grown from a novelty to an established mode of education that may provide all or part of formal schooling for nearly one in every 50 students in the US. In a non-random 2007 survey of school…

  5. Co-current and Counter-Current Operations for Steam Reforming of Heptane in a Novel CFB Membrane Reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Z.; Elnashaie, S.S.E.H.

    2004-01-01

    Hydrogen production by steam reforming of higher hydrocarbon over nickel supported catalyst is investigated in an earlier suggested novel Circulating Fast Fluidized Bed Membrane Reformer (CFFBMR). Palladium hydrogen membranes are used with co-current and counter-current operation modes. It is found that hydrogen production has a non-monotonic dependence upon the reaction temperature in the range of 623-823 K. Between 623 and 723 K. the yields of hydrogen decrease and then increase between 723 and 823 K. This important phenomenon is investigated, discussed and explained. The simulation results shows that the reformer performance can be significantly improved using hydrogen membranes, especially in the counter-current operation mode. At low temperatures around 623 K, both .co-current and counter-current operation modes provide similar yields of hydrogen. While at temperature 723 K and higher, the counter-current operation provides the highest yield of hydrogen

  6. Mathematics Reform Curricula and Special Education: Identifying Intersections and Implications for Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayeski, Kristin L.; Paulsen, Kim J.

    2010-01-01

    In many general education classrooms today, teachers are using "reform" mathematics curricula. These curricula emphasize the application of mathematics in real-life contexts and include such practices as collaborative, group problem solving and student-generated algorithms. Students with learning disabilities in the area of mathematics can…

  7. Intertextuality in Educational Reform: Reflections on Equity in Swedish School Reform La Intertextualidad en las reformas educativas: reflexiones sobre la equidad en la reforma escolar sueca.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guadalupe Francia

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available This article proposes intertextuality as a conceptual instrument for the deeper understanding of the phenomenon of equity in educational Reform in times of decentralization. This analysis starts from a dynamic vision of education reforms as interactions of texts. To illustrate the use of intertextual analysis of equity in education, this article introduces and discusses the analyzed examples of the educational national policy and of educational practice in the educational reform implemented in the 90?s and currently in force in the compulsory school in Sweden. It is argued that the meaning of equity is never a fixed one; it varies according to the interactions between political texts at a national level and texts of educational practice at communal and school levels. En este artículo se propone la intertextualidad como herramienta conceptual para lograr una mayor comprensión de la equidad en las reformas educativas en tiempos de descentralización. En este análisis se parte de una visión de reforma educativa como sistema dinámico de interacciones de textos. Para ilustrar la utilidad del análisis intertextual de la equidad educativa se presentan y discuten ejemplos de la política y de la práctica escolar en la reforma introducida en la década de los noventa y actualmente vigente en la escuela obligatoria sueca. Se argumenta que el significado de equidad nunca es fijo, sino que varía de acuerdo con las interacciones de los diferentes textos de la política educativa y de la práctica escolar.

  8. Digital education reform for improving interaction between students and instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qiansong; Li, Yuanjie; Zheng, Lixin

    2017-08-01

    Nowadays it is difficult to attract undergraduate students' interesting to put sufficient time to learn major courses in China, which are too hard for them to quick grasp and fully understanding. Here we report a digital education reform for improving interactions between students and instructors, in which we transform the abstract, obscure and boring knowledge, such as physical, mathematical, electronic or optical concepts into direct and dynamic 3-D model and flash. Therefore, this method can convert theoretical concepts into easy understanding pictures. Our several years' experience shows that this education mode can make students' willing to think and practice, then it is helpful for attracting their learning interests. Most students benefit from this education mode which can greatly enhance their understanding abilities.

  9. Future directions for Public Health Education reforms in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjay P Zodpey

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Health systems globally are experiencing a shortage of competent public health professionals. Public health education across developing countries is stretched by capacity generation and maintaining an adequate ‘standard’ and ‘quality’ of their graduate product. We analyzed the Indian public health education scenario using the institutional and instructional reforms framework advanced by the Lancet Commission report on Education of Health Professionals. The emergence of a new century necessitates a re-visit on the institutional and instructional challenges surrounding public health education. Currently, there is neither an accreditation council nor a formal structure or system of collaboration between academic stakeholders. Health systems have little say in health professional training with limited dialogue between health systems and public health education institutions. Despite a recognized shortfall of public health professionals, there are limited job opportunities for public health graduates within the health system and absence of a structured career pathway for them. Public health institutions need to evolve strategies to prevent faculty attrition. A structured development program in teaching-learning methods and pedagogy is the need of the hour.

  10. Keeping Pace with K-12 Online & Blended Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice. 10 Year Anniversary Issue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, John; Murin, Amy; Vashaw, Lauren; Gemin, Butch; Rapp, Chris

    2013-01-01

    "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online & Blended Learning" (2013), the 10th in a series of annual reports that began in 2004, examines the status of K-12 online education across the country. The report provides an overview of the latest policies, practices, and trends affecting online learning programs across all 50 states. In this 10th…

  11. Overview of the Common Core State Standard initiative and educational reform movement from the vantage of speech-language pathologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staskowski, Maureen

    2012-05-01

    Educational reform is sweeping the country. The adoption and the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in almost every state are meant to transform education. It is intended to update the way schools educate, the way students learn, and to ultimately prepare the nation's next generation for the global workplace. This article will describe the Common Core State Standard initiative and the underlying concerns about the quality of education in the United States as well as the opportunities this reform initiative affords speech-language pathologists. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  12. How to Launch an Energy Star Energy Efficiency Competition for K-12 Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utebay Kudret; McArthur, Ashley

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, schools have been forced by rising costs and shrinking budgets to stretch their resources further than ever before in order to meet the educational needs of today's students. EPA's ENERGY STAR program helps K-12 schools and districts improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and redirect critical resources into the…

  13. Analysis of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lei; Cai, Qiaoling; Cheng, Liming; Kosik, Russell; Mandell, Greg; Wang, Shuu-Jiun; Xu, Guo-Tong; Fan, Angela P

    2014-01-01

    A comprehensive search of the literature published between 2001 and 2010 was performed to gain a greater understanding of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools. There were 10,948 studies published between 2001 and 2010 that were retrieved from the database. Following preliminary screening, 76 publications from 49 different medical schools were selected. Thirty-one publications regarding clinical medicine curricular reforms were analyzed further. Of the 76 studies, 53 described curricular reforms that were instituted in theoretical courses, 22 described curricular reforms that were instituted in experimental courses, and 1 described curricular reforms that were instituted in a clinical skills training course. Of the 31 clinical medicine publications, 2 described reforms that were implemented for 3-year program medical students, 12 described reforms that were implemented for 5-year program medical students, 6 described reforms that were implemented for 7-year program medical students, and 2 described reforms that were implemented for 8-year program medical students. Currently, the majority of medical schools in China use the discipline-based curriculum model. Thirteen studies described transition to an organ-system-based curriculum model, 1 study described transition to a problem-based curriculum model, and 3 studies described transition to a clinical presentation-based curriculum model. In 7 studies educators decided to retain the discipline-based curriculum model while integrating 1 or several new courses to remedy the weaker aspects of the traditional curriculum, in 7 studies educators decided to integrate the preclinical courses with the clinical courses by using the systemic-integrating curricular system that dilutes classical disciplines and integrates material based on organ systems, and in 2 studies educators limited reforms to clinical courses only. Eight studies discussed the implementation of a formative evaluation system, 4 studies

  14. Accountability in K-12 Education. Education Policy Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour-Garb, Allison

    2008-01-01

    With the No Child Left Behind Act in limbo, the time is right for big thinking on intergovernmental collaboration in the ways we measure and report results in our schools. The Rockefeller Institute convened 40 experts including former New York education commissioner Gordon Ambach, Chester E. Finn, Jr., of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute,…

  15. Learning Not Borrowing from the Queensland Education System: Lessons on Curricular, Pedagogical and Assessment Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Martin; McGregor, Glenda

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides a detailed account of the Queensland education system's engagement with reforming curriculum, pedagogies and assessment. In so doing, it responds to the University College London's Institute of Education report on "high-performing" jurisdictions, of which Queensland, Australia, was identified as one. In this report,…

  16. International Tests and the U.S. Educational Reforms: Can Success Be Replicated?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turgut, Guliz

    2013-01-01

    The ranking of the United States in major international tests such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is used as the driving force and rationale for the current educational reforms in the United…

  17. Governmental Reform and Education for the Gifted in Japan: A Current Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bugaj, Stephen J.

    2009-01-01

    Though targeted for governmental reform since 2002, services envisioned for gifted and talented students have not materialized in Japan. From the perspective of his personal experience as a Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund participant in 2005 and an extensive review of available literature and contacts with the Japanese Ministry of Education,…

  18. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international organizations and domestic policy-makers. The transfer of international models like grant-based funding and the Bologna process has become the driving force of these reforms. But when imposed through a top-down approach these models do not necessarily bring about the outcome they might have promised. They rather illustrate an example of distorted internationalization.

  19. Validity Theory: Reform Policies, Accountability Testing, and Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline

    2016-01-01

    Educational policies such as Race to the Top in the USA affirm a central role for testing systems in government-driven reform efforts. Such reform policies are often referred to as the global education reform movement (GERM). Changes observed with the GERM style of testing demand socially engaged validity theories that include consequential…

  20. Indiana's New and (Somewhat) Improved K-12 School Finance System. School Choice Issues in the State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aud, Susan L.

    2005-01-01

    Education finance policy has become an urgent concern in many state legislatures. Demands for greater equity and accountability have forced states to review, and in many cases to revise, the method by which schools are funded. This study sheds light on Indiana's financing of public K-12 education by providing a clear explanation of the components…

  1. Expressions of agency within complex policy structures: science teachers' experiences of education policy reforms in Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Jim; Lidar, Malena; Lundqvist, Eva; Östman, Leif

    2018-03-01

    We explore the experiences of school science teachers as they enact three linked national curriculum and assessment policy reforms in Sweden. Our goal is to understand teachers' differing responses to these reforms. A sample of 13 teachers engaged in 2 interviews over a 6-9-month period. Interviews included exploration of professional background and school context, perceptions of the aims of the policy reforms and experiences of working with these reforms in the classroom. Analysis was guided by an individual-oriented sociocultural perspective on professional agency. Here teaching is conceptualised as an ongoing interplay between teachers' knowledge, skills and personal goals, and the characteristics of the social, institutional and policy settings in which they work. Our analysis shows that navigating the ensuing continuities and contradictions results in many different expressions of teacher agency, e.g. loss of autonomy and trust, pushing back, subversion, transfer of authority, and creative tensions. Typically, an individual teacher's enactment of these reforms involved several of these expressions of agency. We demonstrate that the sociocultural perspective provides insights into teachers' responses to education policy reform likely to be missed by studies that focus largely on individual teacher knowledge/beliefs about reform or skills in 'implementing' reform practices.

  2. The evaluator as technical assistant: A model for systemic reform support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Century, Jeanne Rose

    This study explored evaluation of systemic reform. Specifically, it focused on the evaluation of a systemic effort to improve K-8 science, mathematics and technology education. The evaluation was of particular interest because it used both technical assistance and evaluation strategies. Through studying the combination of these roles, this investigation set out to increase understanding of potentially new evaluator roles, distinguish important characteristics of the evaluator/project participant relationship, and identify how these roles and characteristics contribute to effective evaluation of systemic science education reform. This qualitative study used interview, document analysis, and participant observation as methods of data collection. Interviews were conducted with project leaders, project participants, and evaluators and focused on the evaluation strategies and process, the use of the evaluation, and technical assistance. Documents analyzed included transcripts of evaluation team meetings and reports, memoranda and other print materials generated by the project leaders and the evaluators. Data analysis consisted of analytic and interpretive procedures consistent with the qualitative data collected and entailed a combined process of coding transcripts of interviews and meetings, field notes, and other documents; analyzing and organizing findings; writing of reflective and analytic memos; and designing and diagramming conceptual relationships. The data analysis resulted in the development of the Multi-Function Model for Systemic Reform Support. This model organizes systemic reform support into three functions: evaluation, technical assistance, and a third, named here as "systemic perspective." These functions work together to support the project's educational goals as well as a larger goal--building capacity in project participants. This model can now serve as an informed starting point or "blueprint" for strategically supporting systemic reform.

  3. Medical workforce education and training: A failed decentralisation attempt to reform organisation, financing, and planning in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovseiko, Pavel V; Buchan, Alastair M

    2015-12-01

    The 2010-2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government proposed introducing a radical decentralisation reform of the organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education and training in England. However, following public deliberation and parliamentary scrutiny of the government's proposals, it had to abandon and alter its original proposals to the extent that they failed to achieve their original decentralisation objectives. This failed decentralisation attempt provides important lessons about the policy process and content of both workforce governance and health system reforms in Europe and beyond. The organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education is as an issue of national importance and should remain in the stewardship of the national government. Future reform efforts seeking to enhance the skills of the workforce needed to deliver high-quality care for patients in the 21st century will have a greater chance of succeeding if they are clearly articulated through engagement with stakeholders, and focus on the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate multi-professional education and training in universities and teaching hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Looking Forward: Rethinking the National Education Reform Blueprint with the Contributing Authors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yimin; Ross, Heidi

    2013-01-01

    This article concludes the two issues on the College Entrance Examination (CEE) in which the contributing authors were invited to take part in a moderated discussion of their opinions on a newly unveiled national policy document titled "Blueprint for Medium and Long-Term National Education Reform and Development (2010-0)" (hereafter, the…

  5. School Autonomy Reform and Public Education in Australia: Implications for Social Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keddie, Amanda

    2017-01-01

    The renewed commitment to school autonomy reform in Australia is based on the view that it will drive up academic standards. There remains, however, little conclusive evidence to support this view. Simply instating the structural changes to bring about greater autonomy for schools within public education systems across the world has not led…

  6. Tobacco Use Prevention Education. K-12 Lesson Plans from the Montana Model Curriculum for Health Enhancement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montana State Office of Public Instruction, Helena.

    This publication presents K-12 tobacco use prevention lesson plans for schools in the state of Montana. Lessons for students in grades K-6 include: family connections; body tracing; smokeless tobacco; prenatal development; tobacco look-alikes; tobacco chemicals; analyzing tobacco and alcohol ads; tobacco use and the lungs; and a personal health…

  7. Science Education Reform in Confucian Learning Cultures: Teachers' Perspectives on Policy and Practice in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying-Syuan; Asghar, Anila

    2018-01-01

    This empirical study investigates secondary science teachers' perspectives on science education reform in Taiwan and reflects how these teachers have been negotiating constructivist and learner-centered pedagogical approaches in contemporary science education. It also explores the challenges that teachers encounter while shifting their pedagogical…

  8. Guided by Principles. Shaping the State of California's Role in K-12 Public School Facility Funding. Full Policy Research Working Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Jeffrey M.; Gross, Liz S.

    2015-01-01

    K-12 public school facilities need regular investment to ensure student health and safety and support educational programming. Yet, the future of K-12 school facility funding in California is uncertain. A strong state-local partnership has existed that funded new construction, modernization, and other investments in public school facilities across…

  9. School Finance Reform. At Issue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weston, Margaret

    2010-01-01

    Californians are very concerned about funding for their K-12 public schools. They consistently say that K-12 education should be protected from spending cuts over and above any other area of the state budget. California's system of school finance is in trouble. Many studies have found it to be inequitable, with wide variation in per-pupil funding.…

  10. Quasi-free K+ photo-production in 12C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, K.; Yamazaki, H.; Asano, S.; Emura, T.; Endo, I.; Endo, S.; Ito, S.; Itoh, H.; Ifuku, K.; Konno, O.; Koike, M.; Maruyama, K.; Niki, K.; Niwa, K.; Okuno, H.; Sakaguchi, A.; Sasaki, T.; Suda, T.; Sumi, Y.; Takeya, M.; Terasawa, T.; Uchida, H.; Yamashita, H.; Yoshida, K.

    1994-01-01

    Quasi-free K + photo-production in the 12 C(γ,K + ) reaction has been investigated in a photon energy range of 0.7-1.1GeV. Differential cross sections for the quasi-free process of the 12 C(γ,K + ) reaction have been obtained and they are compared with a calculation of a quasi-free K + photo-production. The effective proton number Z eff =4.2±0.6 obtained from the experiment was in good agreement with a calculation of a semi-classical attenuation model. ((orig.))

  11. Leadership practices and inclusive education reform in primary schools in Bangladesh

    OpenAIRE

    Mullick, Jahirul

    2017-01-01

    This study was undertaken to investigate leadership practices for Inclusive Education (IE) reform in primary schools in Bangladesh. Specifically, the study investigated leadership practice structures, views of school leaders about the accountability approach in primary schools, school leaders’ opinions on challenges to implementing IE and possible strategies to address the identified challenges. The study also explored the relationships between school variables, teachers’ demographic variabl...

  12. The single most important education reform in developing country

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orija, O.

    2007-05-01

    I deciding teaching as peer educator and working with NGOs in my country, as method to need to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curriculum as determined by their school district. Strengthening relationships among students and adults, Improving engagement, alignment and rigor of teaching and learning in every classroom, every day. My single most reform achieves is the rural school and community trust is a national non-profit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving communities. Our mission is to help rural schools and communities get better together. Working in some of the poorest, most challenging places, the rural trust involves young people in learning linked to their communities, improves the quality of teaching and school leadership, and advocates in a variety of ways for appropriate state educational policies, including the key issue of equitable and national agenda (serve Peer Educator) where rural people and their issues are visible and credible for rural schools.

  13. Reform in Turkish Elementary Mathematics Curriculum

    OpenAIRE

    BABADOĞAN, Cem; OLKUN, Sinan

    2006-01-01

    Disappointed from such major international studies as TIMSS, PISA, PIRLS andsome internal indicators such as national university entrance examination, the Turkish Ministry ofNational Education initiated a massive reform movement in education. These reforms includedeveloping new curricula for both elementary and secondary education and developing teachercompetencies. The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of the elementary schoolmathematics curriculum, which is a part of the ref...

  14. Anil K Rajvanshi

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Anil K Rajvanshi. Articles written in Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Volume 12 Issue 3 March 2007 pp 4-12 General Article. Nikola Tesla – The Creator of the Electric Age · Anil K Rajvanshi · More Details Fulltext PDF. Volume 13 Issue 7 July 2008 pp ...

  15. A reform strategy of the energy sector of the 12 countries of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patlitzianas, Konstantinos D.; Doukas, Haris; Kagiannas, Argyris G.; Askounis, Dimitris Th.

    2006-01-01

    The development of an energy reform strategy based on the market economy so as to introduce competition in the market segments is of crucial importance for provision of a stable and favourable environment for energy investments. Reform strategies have begun developing in most of the 12 Mediterranean Countries of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, especially in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area. Even though energy sector reforms have been initiated, they are still at an early stage in most of these countries. The majority of energy utilities remain state owned, vertically integrated monopolies. Few of these countries have established energy regulators, and where they have, these institutions have many difficulties in effective development. In addition, competition is virtually absent from the sector, and private participation has been confined to independent power plants, which tend to be introduced into unreformed sectors. The aim of this paper is to propose energy reform strategies for the reform of the sector by 2010 in terms of the development of the regional oil, gas and electricity sectors in these countries

  16. Mixed Methods Evaluation of Statewide Implementation of Mathematics Education Technology for K-12 Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brasiel, Sarah; Martin, Taylor; Jeong, Soojeong; Yuan, Min

    2016-01-01

    An extensive body of research has demonstrated that the use in a K-12 classroom of technology, such as the Internet, computers, and software programs, enhances the learning of mathematics (Cheung & Slavin, 2013; Cohen & Hollebrands, 2011). In particular, growing empirical evidence supports that certain types of technology, such as…

  17. ramón de la sagra: early spanish socialism and educational reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antón Costa Rico

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The present contribution analyses the figure of the ideologist, social theoretician, economist and international comparative education scholar, Ramón de la Sagra (1798-1871. Originally from Galicia and having begun his university studies in Santiago, he soon moved to Madrid, where he would become one of the founders of the Ateneo. University professor and naturalist in Havana. Observer of social reforms in the U.S.A. (1835. Later, he travelled through Europe comparing various attempts at social reform. Writer. Scholar and propagator, as well as a keen attender at intellectual salons, alongside Arhens, Cousin, Hippolyte Colins, Engels, or Proudhon (with whom he was involved in a variety of social undertakings in Paris between 1848 to 1849, as well as other well-known characters in the field of political economy and of social theory. Liberal Spanish member of parliament. Promoter of the first infant schools in Madrid (1839-1842. An idealistic reformer: an attractive and complex figure. One of the most outstanding Spanish intellectuals of the 19th Century but until now largely unknown.

  18. Community Engagement in K-12 Tutoring Programs: A Research-Based Guide for Best Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozolic, Jennifer; Shuster, Julia

    2016-01-01

    This report on historical trends and recent findings in the literature on academic tutoring is the first step in a community-based research collaboration between faculty and students at a small liberal arts college, the local public school district, and a nonprofit foundation that supports public K-12 education. Each year, this nonprofit…

  19. The Blueprint for Change: A National Strategy to Enhance Access to Earth and Space Science Education Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geary, E. E.; Barstow, D.

    2001-12-01

    Enhancing access to high quality science education resources for teachers, students, and the general public is a high priority for the earth and space science education communities. However, to significantly increase access to these resources and promote their effective use will require a coordinated effort between content developers, publishers, professional developers, policy makers, and users in both formal and informal education settings. Federal agencies, academic institutions, professional societies, informal science centers, the Digital Library for Earth System Education, and other National SMETE Digital Library Projects are anticipated to play key roles in this effort. As a first step to developing a coordinated, national strategy for developing and delivering high quality earth and space science education resources to students, teachers, and the general public, 65 science educators, scientists, teachers, administrators, policy makers, and business leaders met this June in Snowmass, Colorado to create "Earth and Space Science Education 2010: A Blueprint for Change". The Blueprint is a strategy document that will be used to guide Earth and space science education reform efforts in grades K-12 during the next decade. The Blueprint contains specific goals, recommendations, and strategies for coordinating action in the areas of: Teacher Preparation and Professional Development, Curriculum and Materials, Equity and Diversity, Assessment and Evaluation, Public Policy and Systemic Reform, Public and Informal Education, Partnerships and Collaborations, and Technology. If you develop, disseminate, or use exemplary earth and space science education resources, we invite you to review the Blueprint for Change, share it with your colleagues and local science educators, and join as we work to revolutionize earth and space science education in grades K-12.

  20. A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Universal Preschool Education: Evidence from a Spanish Reform

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Huizen, T.M.; Dumhs, E.; Plantenga, J.

    2016-01-01

    This study provides a cost-benefit analysis of expanding access to universal preschool education. We focus on a Spanish reform that lowered the age of eligibility for publicly provided universal preschool from age 4 to age 3. We extrapolate the benefits in terms of maternal employment and child

  1. Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language Policy: An Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamat, Hamidah; Umar, Nur Farita Mustapa; Mahmood, Muhammad Ilyas

    2014-01-01

    Today's global economy and dependency on technology has led to educational reforms in Malaysia, which includes language policies; namely the Upholding the Malay Language, and Strengthening the English Language ("MBMMBI") policy. This policy underpins the project presented and discussed in this paper; on the development of a bilingual…

  2. Tensions between Teaching Sexuality Education and Neoliberal Policy Reform in Quebec's Professional Competencies for Beginning Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Dan; McGray. Robert

    2015-01-01

    This research draws into question the effects that neoliberal policy reforms--with an emphasis on individual and measurable "competencies"--has on new teachers teaching sexuality education in Quebec. While we examine professional competencies that teachers can use to define their mandate for teaching sexuality education as a beginning…

  3. Intended Consequences: Challenging White Teachers' Habitus and Its Influence in Urban Schools Implementing an Arts-Based Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woollen, Susan; Otto, Stacy

    2014-01-01

    Reform efforts like the urban, arts-based initiative Project ARTS are designed to provide intentional, equitable methods of improving students' learning, yet few urban educators have been sufficiently trained to recognize differences in habitus between themselves and their students. For equitable reform to occur teachers must understand their…

  4. Professional Development in a Reform Context: Understanding the Design and Enactment of Learning Experiences Created by Teacher Leaders for Science Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafer, Laura

    Teacher in-service learning about education reforms like NGSS often begin with professional development (PD) as a foundational component (Supovitz & Turner, 2000). Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of education reform, are positioned to play a contributing role to the design of PD. As early implementers of reforms, Teacher Leaders are responsible for interpreting the purposes of reform, enacting reforms with fidelity to meet those intended goals, and are positioned to share their expertise with others. However, Teacher Leader knowledge is rarely accessed as a resource for the design of professional development programs. This study is unique in that I analyze the knowledge Teacher Leaders, who are positioned as developers of PD, bring to the design of PD around science education reform. I use the extended interconnected model of professional growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002; Coenders & Terlouw, 2015) to analyze the knowledge pathways Teacher Leaders' access as PD developers. I found that Teacher Leaders accessed knowledge pathways that cycled through their personal domain, domain of practice and domain of consequence. Additionally the findings indicated when Teacher Leaders did not have access to these knowledge domains they were unwilling to continue with PD design. These findings point to how Teacher Leaders prioritize their classroom experience to ground PD design and use their perceptions of student learning outcomes as an indicator of the success of the reform. Because professional development (PD) is viewed as an important resource for influencing teachers' knowledge and beliefs around the implementation of education reform efforts (Garet, et al., 2001; Suppovitz & Turner, 2000), I offer that Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of reform measures, can contribute to the professional development system. The second part of this dissertation documents the instantiation of the knowledge of Teacher Leaders, who are positioned as designers and

  5. Mind the Gap: An Initial Analysis of the Transition of a Second Level Curriculum Reform to Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Mark; Faulkner, Fiona; Breen, Cormac; Carr, Michael

    2017-01-01

    This article details an initial analysis of the transition of a second level curriculum reform to higher education in Ireland. The reform entitled 'Project Maths' involved changes to what second level students learn in mathematics, how they learn it, and how they are assessed. Changes were rolled out nationally on a phased basis in September 2010.…

  6. Increasing participation in the Earth sciences through engagement of K-12 educators in Earth system science analysis, inquiry and problem- based learning and teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burrell, S.

    2012-12-01

    Given low course enrollment in geoscience courses, retention in undergraduate geoscience courses, and granting of BA and advanced degrees in the Earth sciences an effective strategy to increase participation in this field is necessary. In response, as K-12 education is a conduit to college education and the future workforce, Earth science education at the K-12 level was targeted with the development of teacher professional development around Earth system science, inquiry and problem-based learning. An NSF, NOAA and NASA funded effort through the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies led to the development of the Earth System Science Educational Alliance (ESSEA) and dissemination of interdisciplinary Earth science content modules accessible to the public and educators. These modules formed the basis for two teacher workshops, two graduate level courses for in-service teachers and two university course for undergraduate teacher candidates. Data from all three models will be presented with emphasis on the teacher workshop. Essential components of the workshop model include: teaching and modeling Earth system science analysis; teacher development of interdisciplinary, problem-based academic units for implementation in the classroom; teacher collaboration; daily workshop evaluations; classroom observations; follow-up collaborative meetings/think tanks; and the building of an on-line professional community for continued communication and exchange of best practices. Preliminary data indicate increased understanding of Earth system science, proficiency with Earth system science analysis, and renewed interest in innovative delivery of content amongst teachers. Teacher-participants reported increased student engagement in learning with the implementation of problem-based investigations in Earth science and Earth system science thinking in the classroom, however, increased enthusiasm of the teacher acted as a contributing factor. Teacher feedback on open

  7. Retaining K-12 Online Teachers: A Predictive Model for K-12 Online Teacher Turnover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larkin, Ingle M.; Lokey-Vega, Anissa; Brantley-Dias, Laurie

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure and explore factors influencing K-12 online teachers' turnover intentions, with job satisfaction and organizational commitment serving as moderating variables. Using Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior (1975), this study was conducted in public, private, charter, for-profit,…

  8. Between Competition Imperative and Europeanisation: The Case of Higher Education Reform in Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dakowska, Dorota

    2015-01-01

    While the Europeanisation of Higher Education (HE) systems has triggered much debate, the relationship between European factors and domestic economic processes, has been less thoroughly analysed. This article analyses HE reforms in the light of two parallel processes, which have shaped this sector: the introduction of market mechanisms and a…

  9. Evaluation of Undergraduate Teaching at Institutions of Higher Education in China: Problems and Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yukun, Chen

    2009-01-01

    This paper reviews the achievements of the first cycle of undergraduate teaching evaluation at institutions of higher education in China. Existing problems are identified, and suggestions are made for corresponding reforms for improving the standard and quality of China's undergraduate teaching evaluation.

  10. Missing Pieces of the Educational Reform Agenda: Or, Why the First and Second Waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, Willis D.

    1988-01-01

    Contends that two of the most important goals of educational reform should be (1) narrowing the learning gap between high- and low-achieving pupils; and (2) developing in all children a greater capacity for higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. (TE)

  11. The secret adventures of order: globalization, education and transformative social justice learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alberto Torres

    Full Text Available There are many definitions of globalization, or perhaps more accurately, there are many globalizations. Discussing the four faces of globalization - globalization from above, globalization from below, the globalization of human rights, and the globalization of the war against terrorism - and their impacts on education and learning, this article offers an analysis of neoliberal globalization and how "competition-based reforms" affected educational policy in K-12 and higher education. These reforms are characterized by efforts to create measurable performance standards through extensive standardized testing (the new standards and accountability movement, introduction of new teaching and learning methods leading to the expectation of better performance at low cost (e.g., universalization of textbooks, and improvements in the selection and training of teachers. Competition-based reforms in higher education tend to adopt a vocational orientation and to reflect the point of view that colleges and universities exist largely to serve the economic well-being of a society. Privatization is the final major reform effort linked to neoliberal globalization and perhaps the most dominant. As an alternative, the article provides insights into the possibilities of employing the concept of marginality as a central construct for a model of transformative social justice learning. Following the inspiration of Paulo Freire, I argue that transformative social justice learning is a social, political and pedagogical practice which will take place when people reach a deeper, richer, more textured and nuanced understanding of themselves and their world.

  12. After Access: Canadian Education and Copyright Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geist, Michael

    2006-01-01

    With the dramatic growth of the Internet in the 1990s, the Canadian government developed a well-regarded strategy for addressing the emerging issues posed by the "information highway." The strategy featured legal reforms to address privacy and e-commerce, administrative reforms for the government online initiative, and connectivity…

  13. Commercially Available or Home-Grown: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of K-12 Online Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proffitt, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Online learning in K-12 education is becoming a familiar option for students. By the end of 2011, all 50 states and the District of Columbia offered some form of online learning as an option for some students (Watson, Murin, Vashaw, Gemin, & Rapp, 2011). Online courses are appealing to students for a variety of reasons. The five most common…

  14. A Dark Knight for Public Education: Using Batman as an Apparatus of Diffraction with Neoliberal Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huddleston, Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    Diffraction is defined as the process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow aperture or across an edge. In this article, the author employs his favorite comic book character, Batman, and positions him as a tool of diffraction for education reforms. Huddleston argues that it is…

  15. Distance education: Physics through the University of South Carolina for pre-service and in-service K-12 teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safko, John L.; Edge, Ronald D.

    1997-03-01

    For the past several years (10 years for JLS, 3 years for RDE) we have been offering telecommunications-based distance education for K-12 teachers through our Office of Distance Education. In addition to practicing teachers and those majoring in science education, we also enroll students who are working on their Master's of Art in Teaching. These latter students often have an undergraduate degree in some science and are completing content and methods courses for state certification as a teacher. These courses are delivered by video cassette and written material. The courses offered are a two semester introductory physics course (by JLS) and a one semester course in physics demonstrations and experiments suitable for the elementary/middle/high school with little or no sources of equipment (by RDE). These courses will be described in the next two sections. First, a few comments on the services provided by the Office of Distance Education and Instructional Services. The University of South Carolina has been offering courses by telecommunications instruction since 1972. During that time it has developed excellent support services for the instructor. Currently the university offers courses live over satellite links and by video cassette to over 10,000 students. The office provides recording capabilities as well as taking care of distribution of video and print materials. They coordinate the receipt and return of any assignments and exams and provide student services for questions about enrollment, supplies, and other technical problems versus content questions. Keeping all of this organized is a full time job for many staff.

  16. Implementing "Abbott v. Burke": A Guide to the 2006 K-12 Abbott Regulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Education Law Center, 2005

    2005-01-01

    Except for school construction, there is no legislation to guide implementation of the programs and reforms ordered by the New Jersey Supreme Court in the landmark "Abbott v. Burke" case. Instead, in its 1998 "Abbott V decision," the Supreme Court directed the Commissioner of Education to provide standards and procedures to…

  17. Impacts of the Doha Development Agenda on People's Republic of China: The Role of Complementary Education Reforms

    OpenAIRE

    Zhai, Fan; Hertel, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    This paper evaluates the poverty impact of mutlilateral trade liberalization under Doha Round WTO negotiation, using a household-disaggregated, recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It explores how trade liberalization interacts with the reform of improving rural education. Simulation results show that multilateral trade reforms reduce poverty in the PRC, with biggest reductions occurring in the rural areas due to higher prices f...

  18. Analyses of science education reform in Florida: Emerging from the eclipse or trapped in the darkness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muire, Willis Christian, Jr.

    This research is focused on the changes that have occurred across the complex web of systems and subsystems of education in Florida and to examine the relative impact these changes have exacted upon science education. The primary purpose of this research is to describe and interpret the practices of reform efforts in Florida as a way to inform educational stakeholders such that new visions of school improvement can be discussed and planned for improving the teaching and learning of science. This study begins with the questions of "what is happening in science education in an extremely large and diverse state and why is it happening?" The solutions to these questions required a blend of investigatory techniques to answer. The needs of elementary school teachers for improving science education were initially used to provide the organizational foci of this research. As trends emerged from analyzing these needs, a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative data sources were acquired and analyzed in a longitudinal, multi-level design to obtain rich insights into the factors associated with achievement and equity in the teaching and learning of science in Florida. Relevant statistical indicators obtained from state, district and school data in combination with interviews of teachers, principals, parents, state and district level leaders were used for interpreting qualitative evidence. As credible data were acquired, I also examined the evidence in terms of educational policy formulation and the "filter down process" associated with the impact of national, state, and district policies on schools. Moreover, I investigated issues of policy and governance and their interrelations with student achievement science. I am interested in identifying the most robust indicators of science education reform in authentic ways with the goal of ascertaining if and where reform is occurring, and in terms of grounded theory, why these changes are occurring. Though the focus of this study

  19. Constitutional Reform and the Opportunity for Higher Education Access in Ecuador since 1950

    Science.gov (United States)

    Post, David

    2011-01-01

    Ecuador's 2008 Constitution--and a subsequent law on higher education passed in its wake--effectively suspended student fees for public universities. The goal of this reform was to increase equality of opportunity. In this article I use newly-available individual-level retrospective information from the 2001 Census to explore gender and ethnic…

  20. Educational and school managers training in the context of educational reforms: consensus and dissensus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Oliveira Rescia

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows some of the results from a doctoral research on the educational and school managers training to the beginning of XXI century, in the context of decentralization and trends of educational reforms in Latin America at the end of 1980s and 1990s. Guided by a qualitative, bibliographic and documentary research, the methodological procedures had reference in studies conducted by international organizations, such as: UNESCO, ECLAC and ILPE as well as scholars from different management paradigms, considering the Latin-American education systems’ needs. In Brazil, we sought to understand the requirements of transformation of local competences in planning and educational management after implications and managers training initiatives within this new reality. Therefore, it was analyzed for comparative purposes, three educational and school managers training programs in public schools: Management Circuit Program; Distance Learning Program for School Managers and the Managers’ School Program of Public Basic Education. It was intended to identify the trends of each program for educational and school managers training, with a view to the changes occurred in our society and education and the requirements to acquire new skills and abilities. As conclusion, the research indicated that although the training programs have originated from different instances and explain various guidelines, everything converges to the same set of skills in educational and school managers training.

  1. Changes in educational inequalities in Poland. Comments on Zbigniew Sawiński’s article “Education reform and inequality: fifteen years of new lower secondary schools in Poland”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MICHAŁ SITEK

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In his text published in Edukacja, 141(2, 2017 („Education reform and inequality: fifteen years of new lower secondary schools in Poland”, Zbigniew Sawiński analyses data from the 2000 to 2012 editions of the OECD PISA study and argues that lower secondary school reform has not reduced educational inequalities in Poland. The importance of students’ social origin remained at the same level as before the reform, the impact of social origin on the choice of type of secondary school remained the same, and an increasing differentiation of lower secondary schools did not lead to an increase in educational inequalities. I present methodological arguments and the results of a re-analysis of PISA data, indicating changes in wider educational inequalities. Between 2000 and 2012: (a the strength of association in the performance of 15-year-olds with the socio-economic status of students’ families did not change, but (b the variation of results decreased, which was mainly due to the improved performance of the lowest performing students, (c the differences between students of high and low socio-economic status decreased, (d the influence of social origin on the choice of the type of upper secondary school decreased. The effects of socio-economic status on upper secondary school choice is largely direct: it is not mediated by the educational achievements of students. The commentary also highlights the complexity of lower secondary school reform, which was not limited to the introduction of such schools. I indicate the role of factors that make it difficult to interpret the results of the reform in causal terms – particularly the role of unobserved variables related to the changes in the learning environments of subsequent cohorts of students.

  2. Discrete mathematics in deaf education: a survey of teachers' knowledge and use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagliaro, Claudia M; Kritzer, Karen L

    The study documents what deaf education teachers know about discrete mathematics topics and determines if these topics are present in the mathematics curriculum. Survey data were collected from 290 mathematics teachers at center and public school programs serving a minimum of 120 students with hearing loss, grades K-8 or K-12, in the United States. Findings indicate that deaf education teachers are familiar with many discrete mathematics topics but do not include them in instruction because they consider the concepts too complicated for their students. Also, regardless of familiarity level, deaf education teachers are not familiar with discrete mathematics terminology; nor is their mathematics teaching structured to provide opportunities to apply the real-world-oriented activities used in discrete mathematics instruction. Findings emphasize the need for higher expectations of students with hearing loss, and for reform in mathematics curriculum and instruction within deaf education.

  3. The Bologna reform of subject teacher education in the newly founded states in the territory of the former Yugoslavia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Protner Edvard

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article provides an overview of carrying out the principles of the Bologna reform in the education of subject teachers in the newly founded states in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Drawing upon official documents, particularly laws and by-laws, study programmes and constituent documents of individual universities, the comparative analysis of the reform processes between 2004 and 2013 is made within a relatively homogeneous area in teacher education that existed before the break-up of the former joint state. Positive effects and weak points of the reform activities are observed and detected. The analysis has shown that by implementing the Bologna process the differences in the training of subject teachers among the states and universities, and even among individual universities, increased significantly compared to the previous state of education. This is evident not only in the simultaneous implementation of different models (i.e., the duration of studies (3+2, 4+1, 5+0, but also in concurrent application of simultaneous and successive forms of acquiring teacher competences, different academic titles, and particularly in the greatest issue - different levels of education at which teachers acquire teaching competences for the same teacher profile.

  4. Participation in a Multi-Institutional Curriculum Development Project Changed Science Faculty Knowledge and Beliefs about Teaching Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donovan, Deborah A.; Borda, Emily J.; Hanley, Daniel M.; Landel, Carolyn C.

    2015-01-01

    Despite significant pressure to reform science teaching and learning in K12 schools, and a concurrent call to reform undergraduate courses, higher education science content courses have remained relatively static. Higher education science faculty have few opportunities to explore research on how people learn, examine state or national science…

  5. Financing the New Adequacy: Towards New Models of State Education Finance Systems That Support Standards Based Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verstegen, Deborah A.

    2002-01-01

    Discusses need for reinventing state education finance systems to provide adequacy and equity aligned to standards-based reform. Provides initial specifications for "The New Finance." Examines in depth approaches for determining a base spending level considered adequate for the average child to reach high educational standards. (Contains…

  6. Popularity of the Decentralization Reform and Its Effects on the Quality of Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Channa, Anila

    2016-01-01

    Policymakers have increasingly advocated decentralization as a way of enhancing educational quality, although its potential in this area is still subject to debate. This article traces the impetus and popularity of the reform as a policy solution over the past few decades. It argues that three trends in particular have characterized the post-2000…

  7. Meteorites for K-12 Classrooms: NASA Meteorite Educational Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindstrom, M.; Allen, J.

    1995-09-01

    The fall of a new meteorite is an event that catches the interest of the public in matters of science. The threat of a huge impact like last year's comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 gives us all reason to evaluate such potential risks. NASA's meteorite educational materials use our natural interest in rocks from space to present classroom activities on planetary science. The meteorite educational package includes a meteorite sample disk, a teachers's guide and a slide set. The sample disk is a lucite disk containing chips of six different kinds of meteorites (3 chondrites, achondrite, iron, stony-iron). EXPLORING METEORITE MYSTERIES is a teacher's guide with background information and 19 hands-on or heads-on activities for grades 4-12. It was prepared in a partnership of planetary scientists and teachers. The slide set consists of 48 slides with captions to be used with the activities. The materials will be available in Fall 1995. Teachers may obtain a loan of the whole package from NASA Teacher Resource Centers; researchers may borrow them from the JSC meteorite curator. The booklet is available separately from the same sources, and the slide set will be available from NASA CORE. EXPLORING METEORITE MYSTERIES is an interdisciplinary planetary science unit which teaches basic science concepts and techniques together with math, reading, writing and social studies The activities are done in a variety of different teaching styles which emphasize observation, experimentation and critical thinking. The activities are ideal for middle schools where teaming makes interdisciplinary units desireable, but most of the activities can be easily modified for grade levels from upper elementary through high school. Meteorites are a natural subject for interdisciplinary teaching because their study involves all fields of science and offers fascinating historical accounts and possibilities for creative expression. Topics covered in EXPLORING METEORITE MYSTERES are centered around basic

  8. Earth Science for Educators: Preparing 7-12 Teachers for Standards-based, Inquiry Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloan, H.

    2002-05-01

    "Earth Science for Educators" is an innovative, standards-based, graduate level teacher education curriculum that presents science content and pedagogic technique in parallel. The curriculum calls upon the resources and expertise of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to prepare novice New York City teachers for teaching Earth Science. One of the goals of teacher education is to assure and facilitate science education reform through preparation of K-12 teachers who understand and are able to implement standard-based instruction. Standards reflect not only the content knowledge students are expected to attain but also the science skills and dispositions towards science they are expected to develop. Melding a list of standards with a curriculum outline to create inquiry-based classroom instruction that reaches a very diverse population of learners is extremely challenging. "Earth Science for Educators" helps novice teachers make the link between standards and practice by constantly connecting standards with instruction they receive and activities they carry out. Development of critical thinking and enthusiasm for inquiry is encouraged through engaging experience and contact with scientists and their work. Teachers are taught Earth systems science content through modeling of a wide variety of instruction and assessment methods based upon authentic scientific inquiry and aimed at different learning styles. Use of fieldwork and informal settings, such as the Museum, familiarizes novice teachers with ways of drawing on community resources for content and instructional settings. Metacognitive reflection that articulates standards, practice, and the teachers' own learning experience help draw out teachers' insights into their students' learning. The innovation of bring science content together with teaching methods is key to preparing teachers for standards-based, inquiry instruction. This curriculum was successfully piloted with a group of 28 novice teachers as

  9. A Survey of K-12 Teachers' Utilization of Social Networks as a Professional Resource

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Leah J.; Hall, Cristin M.

    2018-01-01

    Teachers are increasingly using social networks, including social media and other Internet applications, to look for educational resources. This study shares results from a survey examining patterns of social network application use among K-12 teachers in the United States. A sample of 154 teachers (18 males, 136 females) in the United States…

  10. Beyond Concern: K-12 Faculty and Staff's Perspectives on Privacy Topics and Cybersafety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hipsky, Shellie; Younes, Wiam

    2015-01-01

    In a time when discussions about information privacy dominate the media, research on Cybersafety education reveals that K-12 teachers and staff are concerned about information privacy in schools and they seek to learn more about the protection of their students' and own personal information online. Privacy topics are typically introduced to the…

  11. An Exploratory Study of the Ascendancy of Women to the Position of K-12 Superintendent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Karen M.

    2011-01-01

    Despite earning over half of the doctoral degrees in education, women are underrepresented in the position of K-12 superintendent. In 2000, although 72% of all classroom teachers were female, only 14% of all superintendents in the United States were women. Research indicates that women experience barriers in their ascendancy to superintendent.…

  12. Have you ever considered a career in total revolution?: drama and the corporate reform of higher education.

    OpenAIRE

    Connolly, Roy

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the corporate reform of UK higher education and its implications for drama. The paper first sets out the background to this reform and its ideological reference points. It then outlines the discourse surrounding the foundation of drama in British Universities and relates this to the discourse developed several decades later by performance studies. In mapping out these areas, the paper draws attention to drama academics’ professed emphasis on rejecting commodification in fa...

  13. Neoliberalism and Corporate School Reform: "Failure" and "Creative Destruction"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltman, Kenneth J.

    2014-01-01

    In the United States, corporate school reform or neoliberal educational restructuring has overtaken educational policy, practice, curriculum, and nearly all aspects of educational reform. Although this movement began on the political right, the corporate school model has been heralded across the political spectrum and is aggressively embraced now…

  14. Mapping Government Reforms in Quality against Higher Education Theory: Is the Relationship Symbiotic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alderman, Lyn

    2016-01-01

    In Australia, a review of the higher education sector is usually triggered by a change in government leadership, followed by the development and implementation of the government's response in the form of a reform package to enact change. The aim of this study was to conduct an independent evaluation of a large-scale national government policy…

  15. How should we teach diverse students? Cross-cultural comparison of diversity issues in K-12 schools in Japan and the US

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuyu Shimomura

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Increasing student diversity in K-12 schools has gained attention in Japan and the US. In the US, racial diversity has historically shaped inequity in educational access and teacher quality. In Japan, regardless of its reputation for cultural homogeneity among its residents, issues surrounding student diversity have gained attention because of the increasing number of returnees—Japanese students raised overseas because of their parents’ expatriation. This paper compares and contrasts the diversity issues in K-12 school settings in both countries, and explores potential approaches to improve the accommodation of diversity in K-12 schools.

  16. Reforms in pedagogy and the Confucian tradition: looking below the surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Felix M.

    2018-03-01

    This Forum article addresses some of the issues raised in the article by Ying-Syuan Huang and Anila Asghar's paper entitled: Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan. An attempt is made to highlight the need for a more nuanced approach in considering the Confucian education tradition and its compatibility with education reforms. In particular, the article discusses issues concerning the historical development of the Confucian education tradition, challenges in reform implementation that are in reality tradition-independent, as well as opportunities and points of convergence that the Confucian education tradition presents that can in fact be favorable to implementation of reform-based pedagogies.

  17. K-12 Online Teacher Beliefs: Relationships among Intelligence, Confidence, Teacher-Student Interactions, and Student Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vander Ploeg, Guadalupe

    2012-01-01

    The vigorous expansion of online learning in K-12 education is a recent change to the conceptualization of schooling that has been occurring for more than 10 years. However, methods used for recruiting, hiring, and preparing online teachers have not been altered beyond the current federal standard defined by No Child Left Behind of Highly…

  18. Curriculum Implementation and Reform: Teachers' Views about Kuwait's New Science Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alshammari, Ahmad

    2013-01-01

    The MoE (Ministry of Education) in the state of Kuwait is starting to reform the science curriculum in all school academic stages: primary (1-5) grades, intermediate (6-9) grades, and secondary (10-12) grades. The purpose of this study was to explore the opinions of science teachers about Kuwait's new sixth and seventh grade science curriculum,…

  19. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-01-01

    This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international orga...

  20. G K Suryaprakash

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education. G K Suryaprakash. Articles written in Resonance – Journal of Science Education. Volume 22 Issue 12 December 2017 pp 1111-1153 General Article. George Andrew Olah: Across Conventional Lines · Ripudaman Malhotra Thomas Mathew G K Suryaprakash.