bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Illustrating distinctive features of cosmetic procedure litigation using a case study
Authors: Luckman Mandy
Published: March 2015

When deciding how to pursue a case brought by a patient following a medical aesthetic treatment, there are several issues to consider, from the impact of advertising and marketing to statutory regulations such as the Care Standards Act 2000. In her legal column, Mandy Luckman explores key areas of cosmetic procedure litigation by reflecting on a case study relating to a 45-year-old woman
What can voluntary registers truly offer aesthetic practitioners and the public?
Authors: Senior Yvonne
Published: March 2015

Becoming a member of a voluntary medical aesthetic register can carry both benefits and pitfalls. Although there are several added advantages, it could be argued that the sizeable fee charged to each registrant is not justified. In this month's column, Yvonne Senior reflects on the controversial topic of voluntary registers and ‘accreditation’ in the aesthetics industry
Getting traction for your clinic brand: ranking and testing marketing channels
Authors: Ratcliffe Jason
Published: March 2015

Despite the vast range of marketing channels available to aesthetic clinics looking to attract more clients, too many practices are employing the same methods. The Bullseye Framework, devised by Weinberg and Mares, can help clinic staff to evaluate the best ways to get traction by completing five straightforward steps. Jason Ratcliffe explains this process and highlights its benefits
Case study: The Success Squad
Authors: Kenwright Jennifer
Published: March 2015

A project that trains support staff to take on a mentoring role has helped to boost the performance of borderline students in both English and mathematics. Jennifer Kenwright explains
Research, review and repeat…
Authors: Fisher Caroline
Published: March 2015

Knowing where to start when creating a research-engaged school is difficult. Getting an understanding of what's involved and recognising where you are on the journey is crucial. Caroline Fisher advises
Nurse-led renal clinics
Authors: Ackerman Nicola
Published: March 2015

Renal insufficiency is commonly seen in all veterinary practices in companion animals. Veterinary nurses play a vital role in aiding the client in improving the wellbeing of their pet in the management of the disease. Veterinary nurses can contribute by aiding in owner compliance, nutritional advice and aiding in improving quality of life for the pet.
Hyperadrenocorticism: the disease, diagnostics, and treatment for dogs
Authors: Beard Katherine
Published: March 2015

The purpose of this article is to help veterinary nurses understand the pathophysiology of hyperadrenocorticism in canine patients. Veterinary nurses play a vital role in helping diagnose hyperadrenocorticism in dogs: from obtaining histories with key information, to performing diagnostic tests, to explaining treatment plans to owners. Different diagnostic tests used to help diagnose and classify HAC will be discussed, as well as how to perform these tests. In addition, commonly used treatment options will be discussed to help improve patient care and client communication.
Response to Michelson and to Willson and Kellow
Authors: Bolon Craig
Published: March 2015

The criticisms and points made by both Michelson (http://epaa.asu.edu/v10n8/) and Willson and Kellow (http://epaa.asu.edu/v10n9/) in response to my article "Significance of Test-based Ratings" (http://epaa.asu.edu/v9n42/) are here addressed.
School Rituals and Educational Practice
Authors: Vain Magister Pablo Daniel
Published: March 2015

This study on school rituals, based on an socio-anthropology view, has arisen from the hypothesis of the anthropologist Roberto Da Matta. This hypothesis supports the theory that rituals are useful, particularly in a complex society, to promote its social identity and develop its character. Da Matta observes that it is as if the ritual domain were a privileged area from whence to enter the cultural kernel of a society, its main ideology, its system of values. This is the reason why we have put forward the proposal that to enquire about rituals at schools can result in a useful contribution to the analysis of this institution in its reproductive dimension or in the construction of a determined social structure. This research was carried out in three schools in the city of Posadas, Misiones, Argentina. In two of them, the research was pursued as a sustained, long-term and ethnographic observation: students, parents, teachers and the managing staff were interviewed. In the third school, just the teachers and the managing staff were interviewed by means of a probing survey; in both cases, strategies, sources and techniques were combined.
Quantifying Quality: What Can the U.S. News and World Report Rankings Tell us About the Quality of Higher Education?
Authors: Clarke Marguerite
Published: March 2015

Since their first appearance in 1983, the U.S. News and World Report rankings of colleges and graduate schools have generated much discussion and debate, from some declaring them among the best rankings ever published to others describing them as shallow, inaccurate, and even dangerous. The research presented here addresses two of the most common criticisms of the methodology used to produce these rankings. In particular, this study answers the following questions: What is the extent of change in U.S. News' ranking formulas across years and what are the implications for interpreting shifts in a school's rank over time? How precise is the overall score that U.S. News uses to rank schools and what are the implications for assigning schools to discrete ranks? Findings confirm critic's concerns in each of these areas, particularly in relation to the ranking of graduate schools of education. Based on these results, five recommendations are made for improving the interpretability and usefulness of the rankings.
Entrepreneurial Ambitions in the Public Sector
Authors: Renzulli Linda A.
Published: March 2015

In this article, I study charter schools as social innovations within the population of established public educational institutions. I begin by briefly outlining the history of public schools in the United States. Organizational theories are applied to explain the perpetuation of the structure of public schools since World War II. Next, I delineate the characteristics of educational reform movements in the United States by focusing on the charter school movement. Then, I use an evolutionary approach to study the environmental characteristics that drive the perceived need for innovation and the promotion of experimentation. Using data compiled from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the Census Bureau, and North Carolina State Data Center, I examine the characteristics of the local environment that promotes the submission of charter school applications in North Carolina over a three-year period, 1996-1998. It is shown that school districts in need of school choice do have a higher mean charter school submission rate. Also, some community characteristics and available resources are important for the initial stage of charter school formation.
Teacher Absenteeism in Urban Schools
Authors: Bruno James E.
Published: March 2015

School reform efforts aimed at promoting equity and excellence at urban school settings are heavily dependent upon the quality of teaching personnel that are used to deliver the instructional program. Social Justice and other public policy issues related to equity and excellence at urban schools have begun to examine the impact that teacher absenteeism, and by extension the reliance on substitute teachers to deliver instructional might have on educational attainment. This study combines school district data gathering mechanisms on teacher absence rates at school sites with Geographical Information Systems (G.I.S.) to map the association between a school's geographical environmental space and the propensity for teacher absence. The disparity between teaching resources as delivered by the school district vs. teacher resources as actually received by students in the classroom via teacher absenteeism is examined in the context of schools located in positive (high income) and negative (low income) geographical space. The study concludes that there is a strong association between the geographical quality of the school site setting, teacher absenteeism, and the reliance on substitute teachers to deliver instructional programs. Disparity in teacher absenteeism rates across large urban geographical areas threatens the promotion of equity and excellence in the schools by attenuating or lessening the effect of school resources to support instruction and amplifying the risk factors of students in the classroom.
Recovering Policy Implementation
Authors: Duemer Lee S. , Mendez-Morse Sylvia
Published: March 2015

This study identifies themes in the theoretical literature on policy implementation that can then be used to develop a research-based framework for the scholar about how qualitative research can be used to analyze policy implementation through the investigation of informal and formal communication lines. This article draws from existing scholarship to bridge the gap between policy studies and qualitative research to explore innovative ways for scholars to expand our understanding of policy implementation. The article uses the literature to propose a framework that can be used to examine policy implementation. The framework is based on the concepts of Orientation, Degree, Resources, Activity, Autonomy, Societal Values, Institutional Values, Rationale and Power Relationship.
Technology is Changing What's "Fair Use" in Teaching
Authors: Howe-Steiger Linda , Donohue Brian C.
Published: March 2015

The Doctrine of Fair Use was established by the courts to exempt certain activities such as teaching and research from the legal requirements of the copyright law. Before the 1976 Revision of the Copyright Act, only two cases were brought against teachers for copyright infringements. In both cases the teachers lost because their extensive copying was found to impact the copyright owner's market for legally published copies. Although the 1976 Act explicitly recognizes the existence of potentially Fair Uses, the act makes application of the principle highly situational. Classroom Guidelines attached to the Act make application even more murky and constrained. After 1976 photocopy technology and the advent of the coursepack began a trend towards circumscribing situations in which Fair Use may be applied. Potential impact on a new, lucrative market for sale of rights to copy portions of books and journals appears to dominate contemporary case law. Desktop publishing and Internet and web-based teaching, the authors believe, will further erode traditional applications of Fair Use for educational purposes. They argue that instructors and researchers should assume that there is no Fair Use on the Internet. Guidelines are provided for faculty and others considering dissemination of potentially copyrighted materials to students via digital technologies.
The Distribution of Emergency Permit Teachers in California
Authors: Goe Laura
Published: March 2015

There is a significant negative relationship between the percentage of teachers on emergency permits and student achievement at the school level in California schools, after controlling for other student and school characteristics. Generally, the more emergency permit teachers there are in a school, the lower the school's achievement. This phenomenon is examined in the context of other contributors to student achievement such as socio-economic status and school size. The effects of teacher distribution and school selection as contributing factors are considered. In addition, policy and legislative initiatives related to emergency permit teachers that have been recently debated in California will be discussed. Finally, a set of initiatives is proposed that attempt to decrease the need for emergency permit teachers and ensure that those that must be hired due to shortage conditions have the support they need to become credentialed teachers.
¿Exito en California? A Validity Critique of Language Program Evaluations and Analysis of English Learner Test Scores
Authors: Thompson Marilyn S. , DiCerbo Kristen E. , Mahoney Kate , MacSwan Jeff
Published: March 2015

Several states have recently faced ballot initiatives that propose to functionally eliminate bilingual education in favor of English-only approaches. Proponents of these initiatives have argued an overall rise in standardized achievement scores of California's limited English proficient (LEP) students is largely due to the implementation of English immersion programs mandated by Proposition 227 in 1998, hence, they claim Exito en California (Success in California). However, many such arguments presented in the media were based on flawed summaries of these data. We first discuss the background, media coverage, and previous research associated with California's Proposition 227. We then present a series of validity concerns regarding use of Stanford-9 achievement data to address policy for educating LEP students; these concerns include the language of the test, alternative explanations, sample selection, and data analysis decisions. Finally, we present a comprehensive summary of scaled-score achievement means and trajectories for California's LEP and non-LEP students for 1998-2000. Our analyses indicate that although scores have risen overall, the achievement gap between LEP and EP students does not appear to be narrowing.
Exploring the Achievement Gap Between White And Minority Students in Texas
Authors: Linton Thomas H. , Kester Donald
Published: March 2015

The Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) has been used to document and track an achievement gap between white and minority students in Texas. Some educators have credited the TAAS with fueling a drive to close the achievement gap while others suggest that TAAS scores may be misleading because of factors such as score inflation and a possible ceiling effect. The purpose of this study was to analyze the gap in mathematics achievement for eighth grade students. The study compared TAAS and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test results to determine if the achievement gap between white, Hispanic, and African-American Students had narrowed between 1996 and 2000. Results indicate that TAAS mean scores increased significantly for all three ethnic groups between 1996 and 2000. Comparison of the TAAS test score frequency distributions for each ethnic group indicated that white students' scores shifted from the middle to the upper portion of the test score range while minority students' scores shifted from the lower to the middle and higher score range. Both white and minority students' TAAS test score distributions were significantly more negatively skewed in 2000 than in 1996. Comparisons between white and minority students' TAAS scores showed that white students had significantly higher scores than either Hispanic or African-American students in both 1996 and 2000. Comparison of mean score differences in 1996 and 2000 indicated that the achievement gap between white and minority students had narrowed. NAEP scores increased significantly from 1996 to 2000 for Hispanic students, but not for white or African-American students. However, test score distribution patterns showed small positive changes for all three ethnic groups. Comparisons between ethnic groups indicated that there were significant differences between white and minority students' scores in both 1996 and 2000. Comparison of mean score differences in 1996 and 2000 indicated that the achievement gap between Hispanic white students had narrowed slightly but that there was no change in the achievement gap between white and African-American students. Analysis of the TAAS test score distribution patterns indicated the likelihood that a ceiling effect had impacted students' scores. The evidence for a ceiling effect was strongest for white students. In 2000, 60.4% of white students had a TAAS score that fell in the top 10% of the score range. In contrast, there was no evidence of a ceiling effect for the NAEP. Mean score gains on the TAAS are only partially substantiated by the NAEP data. Furthermore, there is a very strong possibility that a ceiling effect artificially restricted the 2000 TAAS scores for white students and created the illusion that the achievement gap between minority and white students had been narrowed.
Secondary Education in Argentina during the 1990s
Authors: Gorostiaga Jorge M. , Acedo Clementina , Xifra Susana E.
Published: March 2015

The reform of secondary education has been a fundamental part of national educational policy in Argentina since the beginning of the 1990s. Along with the decentralization of responsibilities to provinces and a new structure of primary and secondary education, changes have affected the areas of curriculum design, teaching methods, teacher training, school management, and information and evaluation systems. This study describes the main policies on secondary education implemented during the last decade, including their objectives and rationales. Focusing on how the reform can be seen to relate to issues of access, quality and equity, the study presents an analysis of its implementation, and discusses some of its effects. We argue that political, economic and technical factors as well as the strategies chosen by the national government resulted in a limited implementation, and we highlight the need for considering more focused reform strategies, alternative models of teacher training, and a more active involvement of teachers.
Using Large-Scale Research to Gauge the Impact of Instructional Practices on Student Reading Comprehension: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Wenglinsky Harold
Published: March 2015

Small-scale research has identified classroom practices that are associated with high student performance in reading comprehension. It is not known, however, whether these findings generalize to larger samples and populations, as most large-scale studies of the impact of teaching on student performance do not include measures of classroom practices. Generalizing to larger populations is particulary important at a time when policies national in their scope are calling for “scientifically-based” instruction in reading. The current study explores the possibility of using large-scale data and methods to study classroom practices in reading comprehension. It finds that such studies are both feasible and necessary. They are feasible insofar as it proved possible to collect and analyze data on classroom practices and student reading comprehension, and discern substantial effects of the one on the other. They are necessary insofar as the study confirmed the effectiveness of some classroom practices but not others. It therefore cannot be assumed that the findings of small-scale studies generalize to large populations.
A Multilevel, Longitudinal Analysis of Middle School Math and Language Achievement
Authors: Zvoch Keith , Stevens Joseph J.
Published: March 2015

The performance of schools in a large urban school district was examined using achievement data from a longitudinally matched cohort of middle school students. Schools were evaluated in terms of the mean achievement and mean growth of students in mathematics and language arts. Application of multilevel, longitudinal models to student achievement data revealed that 1) school performance varied across both outcome measures in both subject areas, 2) significant proportions of variation were associated with school-to-school differences in performance, 3) evaluations of school performance differed depending on whether school mean achievement or school mean growth in achievement was examined, and 4) school mean achievement was a weak predictor of school mean growth. These results suggest that assessments of school performance depend on choices of how data are modeled and analyzed. In particular, the present study indicates that schools with low mean scores are not always “poor performing” schools. Use of student growth rates to evaluate school performance enables schools that would otherwise be deemed low performing to demonstrate positive effects on student achievement. Implications for state accountability systems are discussed.
Some Salient Features of Guatemala's Public and Private School Sectors
Authors: Ruano Carlos R.
Published: March 2015

The purpose of this article is to analyze the formulation and implementation of educational policy processes in relation to private schools in Guatemala. Specifically, how bilingual education is defined and implemented in the private education sector in Guatemala City where the largest number of privately run establishments exist. Given the great deficits in the provision of educational coverage in the public sector, there has been an explosive expansion of private institutions which have very different levels of quality. Through an analysis of the administrative processes within the Guatemalan Government in general and its Education Ministry in particular as well as of the governance arrangements existing in the private school sector, an overall view of the curricular and policy decisions taken by private schools in the formulation and implementation of bilingual education is presented. This study was based on a sample of six private schools which cater to higher income segments of Guatemala City’s student population. Some of the relevant findings of this study include, the existence of a situation of quasi autonomous institutional functioning of the private sector, extreme differentials in the quality of services provided, inadequate levels of teacher and school administrator’s training as well as lack of cooperation between public and private sector schools.
Local Impact of State Testing in Southwest Washington
Authors: Mabry Linda , Poole Jayne , Redmond Linda , Schultz Angelia
Published: March 2015

A decade after implementation of a state testing and accountability mandate, teachers' practices and perspectives regarding their classroom assessments and their state's assessments of student achievement were documented in a study of 31 teachers in southwest Washington state. Against a background of national trends and standards of psychometric quality, the data were analyzed for teachers' beliefs and practices regarding classroom assessment and also regarding state assessment, commonalities and differences among teachers who taught at grade levels tested by the state and those who did not, teachers' views about the impact of state assessment on their students and their classrooms, and their views about whether state testing promoted educational improvement or reform as intended. Data registered (1) teachers' preferences for multiple measures and their objections to single-shot high-stakes testing as insufficiently informative, unlikely to promote valid inferences of student achievement, and often distortive of curriculum and pedagogy; (2) teachers' objections to the state test as inappropriate for nonproficient speakers of English, for students eligible for special services, and for impoverished students; and (3) teachers' preferences for personalized assessments respectful of student circumstances and readiness, rather than standardized assessments. Teachers' practical wisdom thus appeared more congruent than the state testing program with measurement principles regarding (1) multiple methods and (2) validation for specific test usage, including usage with disadvantaged subgroups of test-takers. Findings contrasted a distinction of emphasis: state focus on "testing students" as distinct from teachers' focus on "testing students."
The Role of Theory and Policy in the Educational Treatment of Language Minority Students: Competitive Structures in California
Authors: Stritikus Tom T. , Garcia Eugene
Published: March 2015

For teachers, theories play a central role in guiding the intellectual work that they have chosen to perform. Teachers are guided by both theories which they use to interpret, analyze and take action in their professional worlds. At any given time, teachers may be faced with multiple and competing theoretical perspectives which attempt to influence their classroom practice. In this article, we examine the theoretical and policy-based positions currently competing to shape the nature of educational practice for language minority students. We highlight the salient theoretical differences between additive and subtractive conceptions for the education of language minority students and their policy- and practice-based implications. Then, we examine select findings from one district’s implementation of Proposition 227, and consider how teachers react when competing theories attempt to shape their classroom practice. Specifically, we consider: How might teachers’ theories be complemented or contrasted by the underlying theoretical position of Proposition 227? How do teachers’ theories about their students mediate the manner in which they react and respond to the policy shift away from native language instruction? We conclude by considering what implications additive and subtractive competitive structures have for the future of policy and practice for language minority students in the United States.
Research or "Cheerleading"? Scholarship on Community School District 2, New York City
Authors: Weiner Lois
Published: March 2015

This article examines data on student achievement and school demographics not explored by the researchers who have promoted Community School District 2 (CSD 2) as a model of urban school reform that should be replicated elsewhere. Data on achievement indicate a remarkable degree of social and racial stratification among CSD 2's schools and levels of achievement that closely correlate with race, ethnicity, and poverty. In addition, when CSD 2's scores on state and city tests of mathematics are compared with results from CSD 25 in Queens, a school district that serves a population demographically similar, the superiority of its functioning becomes questionable. The article explains why the design of research on CSD 2 illustrates the perils to both research and policy when university-based researchers assume the role of “cheerleader” (Cuban, 1988), promoting reforms they have aided in implementing and assessing.
Relationship between Exposureto Class Size Reductionand Student Achievementin California
Authors: Stecher Brian M. , McCaffrey Daniel F. , Bugliari Delia
Published: March 2015

The CSR Research Consortium has been evaluating the implementation of the Class Size Reduction initiative in California since 1998. Initial reports documented the implementation of the program and its impact on the teacher workforce, the teaching of mathematics and Language Arts, parental involvement and student achievement. This study examines the relationship between student achievement and the number of years students have been exposed to CSR in grades K-3. The analysis was conducted at the grade level within schools using student achievement data collected in 1998-2001. Archival data collected by the state were used to establish CSR participation by grade for each school in the state. Most students had one of two patterns of exposure to CSR, which differed by only one year during grade K-3. The analysis found no strong association between achievement and exposure to CSR for these groups, after controlling for pre-existing differences in the groups.
Absent Assessment
Authors: Balonga Pablo E.
Published: March 2015

Absent elements in the evaluation processes of science and technology activities in Buenos Aires University are discussed. The main deficiencies identified are shown to be linked to the organization of the technological scientific system and to inherent conceptions of the scientists. Remedies are analyzed.
Portfolios, the Pied Piper of Teacher Certification Assessments: Legal and Psychometric Issues
Authors: Wilkerson Judy R. , Lang William Steve
Published: March 2015

Since about 90% of schools, colleges, and departments of education are currently using portfolios of one form or another as decision-making tools for standards-based decisions regarding certification or licensure (as well as NCATE accreditation), it is appropriate to explore the legal and psychometric aspects of this assessment device. The authors demonstrate that portfolios being used in a high-stakes context are technically testing devices and therefore need to meet psychometric standards of validity, reliability, fairness, and absence of bias. These standards, along with federal law, form the cornerstone for legal challenges to high-stakes decisions when students are denied a diploma or license based on the results of the assessment. The conclusion includes a list of requirements and caveats for using portfolios for graduation and certification decisions in a standards-based environment that help institutions reduce exposure to potential litigation.
University Strategic Planning in Cameroon
Authors: Ngwana Terfot Augustine
Published: March 2015

This article argues that the global, regional, and local realities can complement rather than contradict each other in the process of strategic planning for universities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using the case of the University of Buea in Cameroon, it attempts to use the global trends of polarisation in knowledge production capacity as an input or tool for identifying strategic choice in the process of strategic planning in institutions. The national policy background is used to highlight the context and inherent role of the central government in the process of institutional strategic planning.
Education, Cooperation and Development: The Latin American Situation at the Beginning of the XXI Century
Authors: Neira Gómez Isabel , Portela Maseda Marta
Published: March 2015

In this article, we analyze the basic educational needs of the countries of Latin America, the education policies that are evolving within the region, and the policies that are proposed by the developed countries to meet these needs in the future. Educational aid for development will be the focus of this study. The first section contains an analysis of the basic needs in these countries, complemented by an analysis of the policies proposed by international organizations to resolve those needs. Finally, we discuss the influence that education exerts on economic growth and the role placed by international aid to education in the process of development of Latin American countries.
Privatization of Rights in the Nineties: The Role Of Political Municipal Education
Authors: Reis Silva Júnior João dos
Published: March 2015

The goal of this short essay is to study the reforms and political role of the Brazilian process of educational municipalization as well as to analyze some of the changes developed in the space of civil society. To do so, this study analyzes the main documents which oriented and were produced for the reform.
A Multilevel Study on Factors of School Effectiveness in Developing Countries: The Case of Brazilian Resources
Authors: Gaviria José Luis , Castro María
Published: March 2015

Classic research on school effectiveness ensures that the material resources of schools do not have any relevant effects on the academic performance of the pupils.  Such research was carried out in developed countries, with no serious economic problems. This research is based on a secondary data analysis from the evaluation of basic education in Brazil in 1995. Specifically, a multi-level study has been performed with data on pupils (6.471), teachers and schools (975), and the Brazilian Federal States (27). The main conclusion is that educational resources have an important impact on the academic development of the pupils, both with regard to the amount and quality of the resources and, above all, the use to which they are put.
Income and financial aid effects on persistence and degree attainment in public colleges
Authors: Dowd Alicia C.
Published: March 2015

This study examined the distribution of financial aid among financially dependent four-year college students and the effectiveness of different types of financial aid in promoting student persistence and timely bachelor’s degree attainment. The findings of descriptive statistical and logistic regression analyses using the NCES Beginning Postsecondary Students (1990-94) data show that subsidized loans taken in the first year of college have a positive effect on persistence. The first-year distribution of aid does not close the income gap in bachelor’s degree attainment. Living on campus and first-year grade point average are the most important predictors of timely degree completion.
Effective Technological Delivery in Nigerian Polytechnics:Need for Academic Manpower Development Policy
Authors: Adeyemi J. K. , Uko-Aviomoh E. E.
Published: March 2015

Technical education, especially as provided in the Nigerian polytechnics, leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge. The production function of the polytechnics in terms of producing quality middle-level manpower through effective teaching delivery depends largely on the quantity and quality of teachers available. However, teacher adequacy is a function of many factors, which include funding, student enrollment overtime, and staff turnover. This article, however, revealed a mismatch between enrollment and available teachers, with huge staff shortfall over the years when the student enrollment was matched with the available teachers, using the ideal teacher-student ratios. Student and teacher projections were carried out based on five-percent annual increase and average teacher-student ratio of 1:12, so as to meet the vision 2010 target year set by the Nigerian government for total development. The projection showed that the polytechnics would require a large additional number of teachers. An all-inclusive funding approach for the polytechnics was recommended so as to increase their financial status, which would allow for improved facilities, workshops, equipment and also improved conditions of service of teachers. We believe that if this was done, more teachers would be attracted from across the world, those who left would return, and new and younger ones will be encouraged to join the teaching force. Such development would to a great extent meet and sustain the anticipated growth for the target year.
Growth and Financing of Elementary Education in Uttar Pradesh:A Province in India
Authors: Rani P. Geetha
Published: March 2015

The present article attempts to study financing patterns of elementary education in Uttar Pradesh. A review of educational development in the state reveals that the goal of universalizing elementary education in a resource-poor state seems to be elusive in the near future. Neither the financing pattern of education per se nor elementary education in particular is conducive to achieving the target of universal elementary education. The magnitude of out-of-school children (leaving or dropped-out children) vis-à-vis the resources allocated toward elementary education provides a gloomy picture in the state. Financing the additional resources required to universalize elementary education in the state would require significant reallocations in overall expenditure with federal assistance, since the fiscal situation in Uttar Pradesh is highly imbalanced. The state and central government should bear the entire responsibility of funding and ensure the twin principles of equity and efficiency in the public education system in the state. This requires an indomitable political commitment in terms of reorientation of spending priorities and improving the efficiency of resource use in the state. This study reaffirms that the goal of universal elementary education could become a reality only if there is a joint commitment between the federal and state polities.
Educational Values and Sexual Difference: Reality and educational policies in the Spanish context
Authors: Carrillo Isabel
Published: March 2015

This article deals with the policies promoted during the conservatiSpanish government of the partido popular and the changes implemented by the 2002 Act of Educational quality and their impact on gender issues, in particular women’s human rights. This article will contend that the Act did not guarantee equality of opportunity for women. The 2000 Act’s objective was to search for solutions to contemporary technological changes and market criteria by implementing an educational reform oriented to “review, adjust and improve the life of schools”. To do so, the conservative government proposed that “quality” was the mechanism to “reach bigger social and economical progress”. This article concludes that the new socialist government, elected in March of 2004, must introduce an alternative model for the current transition, implementing both bold and transforming measures.
Colorado's Voucher Law:Examining the Claim of Fiscal Neutrality
Authors: Welner Kevin G.
Published: March 2015

Colorado's voucher law was declared unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court on June 28, 2004. Voucher supporters have begun drafting revised legislation designed to address the legal problem. This article calls into question the key financial claim of revenue neutrality'a claim that was central to the promotion and passage of the departing voucher law. The author concludes that the voucher law was not revenue neutral, even though it attempts to exclude from eligibility those children already enrolled in private schools. In fact, this law, as well as any revised law with similar eligibility provisions, would actually cost taxpayers an additional $10 million per year once fully implemented because the eligibility provision provides little more than a short-term damper on the law's long-term fiscal impact.
Factors Predicting Achievement, Drop Out And High School Enrolment In A Sample Of Peruvian Rural Students Abstract
Authors: Cueto Santiago
Published: March 2015

The educational system in Peru has many challenges to conquer, among them providing student populations in high poverty areas with quality service. Rural students are one of the groups that represent an important challenge, because they often speak an indigenous language and study in classrooms that combine a wide variety of ages and grades under a single teacher. This study used a longitudinal design to follow a group of students in 20 public schools in two rural areas. The first measurements were carried out in 1998, when all the students where in fourth grade. Tests of reading comprehension and mathematics were administered at the end of the school year, and again in 2000. Background information included anthropometric measures, questionnaires for the students, teachers, and schools. We went back to the schools in 2001 to record the grade reached by the students. We found that 43% of the students were in high school, while 20% had dropped out; the rest had repeated a grade one or more times. Educational achievement in 2000 was best explained by achievement in 1998, but dropping out was not associated with achievement. Dropping out was associated with gender (women were more likely to drop out), age (older students were more likely to drop out), height for age (positive association) and not living with both parents. We found no in-school support programs for students that fall behind their peers or are at risk of dropping out. In a way we could describe the observed schools as "Darwinian" in the sense that it is expected that students will adapt to the school. The performance of Factores Predictivos del Rendimiento Escolar 3 students has no consequences for their teachers. In terms of policy implications, we suggest considering interventions that account for not only educational variables, but also other needs of the students and families that are served by these schools.
Reclassification of English Learners
Authors: Grissom James B.
Published: March 2015

Ron Unz, originator of Proposition 227, claimed, prior to the passage of Prop. 227, that the five percent annual reclassification rate of English learners to fluent English proficient indicated bilingual education was a failure. Critics of Prop. 227 have countered that the annual reclassification rate has changed little since the passage of Prop. 227, indicating the new legislation had no effect on reclassification rates. Unfortunately, the annual reclassification rate does not provide a clear indicator of how long it takes students to be reclassified after entering the school system. To better estimate reclassification rates for English learners in California, cohorts were created to track the same groups of students over time. Ron Unz also claimed that test scores for immigrant students improved dramatically after the passage of Prop. 227. To evaluate his claim, average test scores were calculated by language fluency. Based on statewide data from three different cohorts tracked across four years, Prop. 227 has had no effect on reclassification rates or test scores.
The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on Kentucky's Public School Accountability System:Does Poverty Impact School Effectiveness?
Authors: Lyons Robert
Published: March 2015

Under the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS), Kentucky's public schools have been assigned individualized baseline and improvement goal indices based upon past school performance in relation to the 2014 statewide index goal of 100. Each school's CATS Accountability Index, a measure of school performance based upon both cognitive and non-cognitive
measures, has then been compared to these individualized improvement goals for the purpose of designating schools as Meet Goal, Progressing, and Assistance Level (Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), 2000). Considered an interim target model, the design of CATS has been intended to negate the biasing effects of socioeconomic factors on school performance on accountability tests through the individualization of school goals (Ladd. 2001). Results of this study showed that 39.9% to 55.5% of the variance of the CATS indices was shared by school socioeconomic factors. Analysis of this interim target model for the 2000-2002 biennium showed that for elementary and middle schools this model negated the biasing effects of socioeconomic factors, but not for high schools. Moreover, analysis of the progress of schools toward their Improvement Goals in 2001 showed that both elementary and high schools from higher poverty backgrounds lagged significantly behind their more affluent peers, indicating inequitable capacity to meet improvement goals between the poorest and most wealthy schools. Adaptations to the present accountability systems were suggested for the purpose of providing more accurate information to the public regarding the effectiveness of public schools in Kentucky.
Conceptions About Curriculum, School Content and The teachers in the process to produce texts Curriculum in Argentina
Authors: Amantea Alejandra , Cappeletti Graciela Laura , Cols Estela Beatriz , Feeney Silvina
Published: March 2015

This work analyzes curriculum development processes that have taken place in Argentina during the period 1980-2000. The purpose of this article is to identify the main trends in the conceptions used by the key actors/designers of curriculum for school content, curricular texts and teachers´ place as interpreters of curricular texts. Three lines of thought are distinguished that have impacted curricular decision making processes carried out at the central levels of the system: the tradition of the General Didactics, the tradition of the Special Didactics, and the disciplinary tradition. Finally, this article concludes that a view of curriculum development as a social process needs to incorporate how cultural and political elements are articulated with technical decisions in the particular spaces and agencies where curricular texts are produced.
An Approach to the Study of Organizational Culture Educational Centers
Authors: Sarasola Marcos R.
Published: March 2015

The main goal of this research is to approach to the school’s culture and subcultures knowledge. Teachers, as learning communities’ members, should be conscious of their basic assumptions in order to accomplish effective change. Culture, as a socio-critical metaphor, includes organizational clime and goes over artefacts and values. It refers to the organizational deeper level of the unconscious assumptions constructed and shared by it members. The quantitative research uses two instruments. A cultural model including six elements (Teacher Efficacy, Teachers as Learners, Collegiality, Mutual Empowerment/Collaboration, Shared visions/School-wide Planning and Transformational Leadership) and proposes that the prevailing culture is the result of the level of development of each individual element. It assumes that in different cultures or at different times in the same culture, there would be a variation in these levels of development. The second scale help to reach two organisational constructs: ‘Transformational leadership culture’ and ‘Transactional leadership culture’. This phase of the investigation centred upon the development and administration of a survey instrument in twenty-five schools and almost eight hundred teachers. That phase of the study is followed by case studies of two schools in which there is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research strategies. Finally, main guidelines are featuring in order to orientate change and innovation for both schools.
Intercultural Education in School and Recognition of the Other
Authors: Sousa Isabela Cabral Félix de
Published: March 2015

This article describes a potential project of intercultural education for schools. It begins by emphasizing the growing importance of this kind of project in an era of globalization. Then, I describe some educational proposals toward the construction of a new way to look to oneself and "the other." Third, I discuss the possibility that a project of this nature may be resisted since it challenges the status quo. Finally, the article stresses that the implementation of this project depends on educational policies and the efforts of the total society.
Systemic Reform in a Federated System:Los Angeles at the Turn of the Millennium
Authors: Menefee-Libey David
Published: March 2015

I synthesize some of the lessons we have learned about systemic school reform in order and derive two explicit hypotheses about when such reforms are likely to be more and less successful. The first hypothesis focuses on program implementation: to achieve success, any systemic reform must overcome challenges at each stage of the policy-making process, from agenda-setting to policy choice to implementation. The second hypothesis focuses on the federated nature of education policymaking in the United States: any successful systemic reform must offer a program that aligns local efforts with state and sometimes federal policy. I derive and test more specific hypotheses related to recent systemic reform efforts in the Los Angeles region—especially the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project, or LAAMP—which ran from 1995 through 2001. The case confirms the hypotheses and enables a clearer understanding of systemic school reform.