ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Under Pressure: Why School Managements Use Garbage Can Model of Decision?
Author: Tamir, Emanuel
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Administration,Public Schools,Decision Making,Models,Principals,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Foreign Countries,Educational Change,Coping

This qualitative study identified and analyzed the occurrences of the Garbage-Can decision making model in public schools. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 34 teachers from elementary and middle schools in Israel. Data analysis showed three major decision areas in which the Garbage-Can model was employed, and the conditions under which these decisions were made. Specifically, salient occurrences of Garbage-Can decisions making were found regarding pedagogical decisions, opportunities to obtain additional resources, and change management. The main conditions that evoke the use of the model are administrative limitations which create pressure and ambiguity, and time limits which do not allow systematic decision making. Results of this study may inform school principals and policy-makers when making decisions in schools.
Leadership Profiles of New Appointed Mexican School Leaders to Indigenous Schools through the New System of Promotion
Author: Delgado, Manuel Lopez
Date: 2018-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: American Indians,Profiles,Foreign Countries,Elementary Schools,Administrator Education,Elementary School Teachers,Administrator Characteristics,Teacher Characteristics,Instructional Leadership,School Administration,Professional Identity,Disadvantaged Schools,Leadership Effectiveness,Principals,Administrator Attitudes

The purpose of this research was to explore the leadership identity development and preparedness for the role of new appointed school heads to Mexican primary schools that serve indigenous students. The research was framed as a qualitative study and used semi-structured interviews as the method for data collection with twelve appointed school heads by the new system of promotion implemented in 2015. The study was carried out to the highest ethical standards in educational research with anonymity, confidentiality, consent, and respect for the participants observed at all times. This research found that new appointed Mexican school heads in primary schools are assigned to the post with different levels of leadership development. Based on the previous experiences new appointed school heads bring to the job, three different profiles were identified: an Extended classroom teacher profile, a managerial profile, and in few cases a leadership for learning profile.
Comprehensive Platform Networks for School Reform: A Leapfrog Strategy for Struggling State Systems
Author: Bathon, Justin
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Partnerships in Education,Contracts,Program Implementation,Technology Uses in Education,Boards of Education,Educational Cooperation,Educational Innovation,Computer Networks,Computer Software,Models,Foreign Countries,Comparative Education

This article presents a review of the development of platform network models that rely on partnership contracts to implement comprehensive school reform. The literature from the previous three decades of development of school networks, emerging largely from the United States of America, is reviewed. The recent development of similar network models in South Africa is then presented for comparison. Through the addition of technology-based platforms, emerging models of platform networks are presented through a review of minimal contractual requirements for partnering school boards. Finally, implications for educational leaders, particularly in struggling, low-income school contexts in South Africa and the United States, are presented as the impetus for considering partnerships with existing platform networks and the development of additional public models.
Meaningful Learner Information for MOOC Instructors Examined through a Contextualized Evaluation Framework
Author: Douglas, Kerrie
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Large Group Instruction,Online Courses,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Student Evaluation,Evaluation Methods,Teacher Attitudes,College Faculty,Feedback (Response)

Improving STEM MOOC evaluation requires an understanding of the current state of STEM MOOC evaluation, as perceived by all stakeholders. To this end, we investigated what kinds of information STEM MOOC instructors currently use to evaluate their courses and what kinds of information they feel would be valuable for that purpose. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 faculty members from a variety of fields and research institutions who had taught STEM MOOCs on edX, Coursera, or Udacity. Four major themes emerged related to instructors' desires: (1) to informally assess learners as an instructor might in a traditional classroom, (2) to assess learners' attainment of personal learning goals, (3) to obtain in-depth qualitative feedback from learners, and (4) to access more detailed learner analytics regarding the use of course materials. These four themes contribute to a broader sentiment expressed by the instructors that they have access to a wide variety of quantitative data for use in evaluation, but are largely missing the qualitative information that plays a significant role in traditional evaluation. Finally, we provide our recommendations for MOOC evaluation criteria, based on these findings.
District Strategic Teaming: Leadership for Systemic and Sustainable Reform
Author: Alsbury, Thomas L.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teamwork,Educational Change,Leadership,Sustainability,School Districts,Educational Cooperation,Rural Schools,Poverty,Organizational Culture,Educational Innovation,STEM Education,Middle Schools,Barriers,Longitudinal Studies

Reform efforts in schools have become increasingly focused on the nature and direction of teamwork in efforts to achieve sustained and systemic districtwide capacity for innovation and needed change. The six-year study reported in this article involved development, implementation, and assessment of a unique collaborative process for districtwide reform in some of the most challenging and fluid educational settings in the United States of America. This reform process, called District Strategic Teaming, involved a representative vertical cross-section of members from the district office to school-based support staff. Participating schools are located in isolated, rural communities in the south-eastern region of the United States of America that experience high rates of teacher turnover and serve student populations living in abject poverty. Despite these challenges, the longitudinal study revealed substantive improvement in organizational culture and reduction of systemic barriers for innovation through the process described in this article.
Market Pressure and Arizona Public School Leaders: &quot;That Package Is Like a Brand New Cadillac!&quot;
Author: Potterton, Amanda U.
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Public Schools,Leaders,Educational Change,School Districts,School Choice,Accountability,Parents,Stakeholders,Charter Schools,Educational Policy,Marketing,Student Recruitment,Enrollment

In the United States, long-standing school choice policies and practices in Arizona have developed into a market-based system of schooling for many residents in the state, especially in the larger cities. In this study, I analyze qualitative data gathered from school leaders and parents in one Arizona district public school who discussed marketing pressures and various notions of accountability and whose perceptions related to rapidly growing school choice reforms and increasing testing demands. I also describe the ways in which many members of the school team (e.g., school administrators, teachers, staff) were affected by everincreasing competitive expectations. By examining market pressures experienced by parents and other stakeholders, we can understand better some consequences of expanding school choice policies and programs on those experiencing educational reforms in local settings.
On the Efficacy of Open Educational Resources: Parametric and Nonparametric Analyses of a University Calculus Class
Author: Delgado, Huimei
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Shared Resources and Services,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Calculus,Program Effectiveness,College Mathematics,College Students,Mathematics Instruction,Academic Persistence,Withdrawal (Psychology),Grants,Foreign Students

Open educational resources (OER), which are free and openly licensed educational materials, have been a widely discussed topic in response to high textbook costs, the need for more pedagogical flexibility, and inequality in access to educational materials. In this study we examine the efficacy of OER through a quantitative analysis of the impact of OER on student final exam performance in a large calculus course. Our dataset affords us a relatively large sample size, allows us to classify students in both treatment and control groups, and includes a variety of covariates that allow us to control for multiple correlated factors. We estimate causal treatment effects using several econometric approaches. Our study adds the following insights into the research on OER efficacy: (i) OER materials do not, in general, lead to any significant change in student final exam performance; and (ii) OER materials have a significantly positive impact on both international students and Pell Grant eligible students.
Online Education for Public Health Capacity Building in Low- to Middle-Income Countries: The Peoples-Uni Experience
Author: Heller, Richard F.
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Access to Education,Online Courses,Public Health,Health Education,Electronic Learning,Educational Technology,Graduate Study,Masters Programs,Open Universities,Foreign Countries,Program Effectiveness,Low Income Groups,Middle Class,Shared Resources and Services

People's Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni, http://peoples-uni.org) aims to contribute to improvements in the health of populations in low- to middle-income countries by building public health capacity via e-learning at affordable cost. We describe experience over nine years of the initiative, including the development and delivery of a Master of Public Health (MPH) programme in public health and collaboration with a UK University. Courses rely on Open Educational Resources and volunteer tutors from over 50 countries to date. During 18 semesters since 2008, 1619 students from 92 countries (71% from Africa) enrolled. Of 128 students accepted on an MPH programme accredited by a UK University, 94 earned an MPH (73%) and a further 18 (14%) achieved a postgraduate diploma or certificate. Other developments include continuing involvement with Alumni, and a sister site for Open Online Courses to include topics not often found in MPH courses. We offer insights for further development of this and similar online capacity building programmes within low-resource environments. Our experience shows the feasibility of affordable, high quality online education and that there is scope for accelerating capacity building programmes through partnerships with higher education institutions and health(care) organisations.
Structural Relationships of Factors Which Impact on Learner Achievement in Online Learning Environment
Author: Im, Tami
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Correlation,Goal Orientation,Electronic Learning,Educational Environment,Academic Achievement,Instructional Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education,Foreign Countries,Test Anxiety,Self Efficacy,Online Courses,Student Satisfaction,Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study is to identify relationships of learners' achievement goal orientation, self-regulation, test-anxiety, self-efficacy, participation, satisfaction, and achievement in online learning environments in Korea. A total of 1,832 student responses from a Korean cyber university were used to find structural relationships of factors. Causal relationships among various variables are provided as results of this study. Achievement goal orientation--approach, self-regulated learning, test-anxiety, and self-efficacy, were positively related to participation; however, achievement goal orientation-avoidance was negatively related to participation. Test-anxiety was directly related to learning achievement and it was found that participation affected learning satisfaction and learning achievement. It was also revealed that learning satisfaction was related to learning achievement. Results of this study suggest that a comprehensive management of learners' psychological variables, such as achievement goal orientation, self-regulation, test-anxiety, self-efficacy for designing, and managing online learning environments is important to online learning organizations, instructors, and administrators for better learner support.
An Analysis of the Journey of Open and Distance Education: Major Concepts and Cutoff Points in Research Trends
Author: Çakiroglu, Ünal
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Open Education,Distance Education,Content Analysis,Educational Research,Trend Analysis,Electronic Learning,Online Courses,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education

In an effort to understand trends in open and distance education more comprehensively, this study aims to identify the research trends, major concepts, and cutoff points in the articles published between 2009 and 2016. From five major peer-reviewed journals, a total of 989 articles were analyzed through a systematic literature review process using content analysis. The articles were coded based on the following three categories: level, topics, and sub-topics. The results indicated the followings: (1) emerged main themes in the articles were foundations of open and distance education, instructional process, and effects of applications; (2) there was an upward growth in the publishing of the articles on massive open online courses, open educational resources, and students' perspectives; (3) new pedagogical approaches and online learning design played a triggering role in the research topics; and (4) technological and pedagogical developments between 2011 and 2012 had an influence on the tendency of the articles. In addition, we explored cutoff points so that they may provide insights and valuable hints for researchers to design new studies in open and distance education field. Discussions about the gaps in the state-of-the-art trends and directions about future research were also included.
Participation in Online Courses and Interaction with a Virtual Agent
Author: Song, Donggil
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Interaction,Synchronous Communication,Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Integrated Learning Systems,Grades (Scholastic),Computer Mediated Communication,Graduate Students

Online learning environments could be well understood as a multifaceted phenomenon affected by different aspects of learner participation including synchronous/asynchronous interactions. The aim of this study was to investigate learners' participation in online courses, synchronous interaction with a conversational virtual agent, their relationships with learner performance, and the participation/interaction factor identification. To examine learner participation, we collected learning management system (LMS) log data that included the frequency and length of course access, discussion board postings, and final grades. To examine synchronous learner interaction, we collected learners' conversation logs from the conversational agent. We calculated the quantity and quality of discussion postings and conversations with the agent. The results showed that the frequency and length of course access, the quantity and quality of discussion postings, and the quality of conversation with the agent were significantly associated with the learner achievement. This study also identified two factors that comprise online learning participation and interaction: interaction quality and LMS-oriented interaction.
Examining the Complexities of Parental Engagement at an Online Charter High School: A Narrative Analysis Approach
Author: Borup, Jered
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Parent Participation,Charter Schools,Virtual Classrooms,Online Courses,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Parent Attitudes,High Schools,Parent Role,Student Needs,Educational Methods

With the rapid growth of K-12 online learning opportunities, calls have come for more and better parental engagement to improve student engagement and reduce student attrition. In this article, we drew from a larger study to share rich narratives from three parents of students who required high levels of parental support for their online learning while enrolled at a charter cyber school. In the first narrative, a mother describes her experiences attempting to work with her son Ivan, who rejected her efforts and disobeyed rules while enrolled in the cyber school. The move from a brick-and-mortar school to the cyber school further strained their relationship and the mother was unprepared to manage Ivan's learning. The second narrative focuses on how a mother attempted to support Matthew, who lacked self-regulation abilities. The mother who previously homeschooled Matthew, turned to the cyber school because she wanted &quot;less on [her] shoulders&quot; but underestimated the amount of support Matthew required and became frustrated at her lack of control over the pace and content of courses. The final narrative focuses on a mother who had two students enrolled in the cyber school. Each student exhibited different needs that required her to adapt the support strategies she used with Hannah, who procrastinated, and Karl, who lacked confidence. These narratives highlight some of the complexities parents navigate when engaging with their children's online learning.
Reflections on Education Reform and Team Leadership
Author: Browne-Ferrigno, Tricia
Date: 2018-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Teamwork,Leadership,Diversity (Institutional),Organizational Culture,Cooperation

During recent decades, the notion of team leadership has emerged as a central theme in the international discourse on systemic education reform. This issue of &quot;Research in Educational Administration and Leadership&quot; not only captures a collective sense of commitment to education as means for advancing national social, economic, and political wellbeing but also reflects a changing nature of leadership across a wide spectrum of educational organizations and contexts. Given the increasing complexity of 21st century education, effective leaders at all levels tend to rely less on bureaucratic, hierarchical structures and more on relational approaches to accomplish tasks. In this regard, teamwork has become an indispensable characteristic of organizational life, and depending on the task, teams may involve a wide array of stakeholders (e.g., superintendents, school board members, district support staff, principals, teachers, parents, students) or a select few representing specific constituencies to address specific issues.
The PERLA Framework: Blending Personalization and Learning Analytics
Author: Chatti, Mohamed Amine
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Guidelines,Data Analysis,Learning Experience,Metacognition,Goal Orientation,Learning Strategies,Learning Activities,Data Collection,Online Courses,Social Media,Computer Assisted Instruction,Learning Processes,Lifelong Learning,Distance Education,Independent Study,Privacy,Comparative Analysis

Personalization is crucial for achieving smart learning environments in different lifelong learning contexts. There is a need to shift from one-size-fits-all systems to personalized learning environments that give control to the learners. Recently, learning analytics (LA) is opening up new opportunities for promoting personalization by providing insights and understanding into how learners learn and supporting customized learning experiences that meet their goals and needs. This paper discusses the Personalization and Learning Analytics (PERLA) framework which represents the convergence of personalization and learning analytics and provides a theoretical foundation for effective analytics-enhanced personalized learning. The main aim of the PERLA framework is to guide the systematic design and development of effective indicators for personalized learning.
OER Mainstreaming in Tonga
Author: Abeywardena, Ishan Sudeera
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Shared Resources and Services,Sustainability,Career Readiness,College Readiness,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Change,Access to Education,Online Courses,Distance Education,Strategic Planning,Capacity Building,Educational Policy,Program Development

In the race towards achieving the Education 2030 agenda, open educational resources (OER) act as a key enabler for sustainable development goal 4 (SDG4). Leading to the 2014 Regional Focal Points Meeting, Commonwealth of Learning's (COL) Focal Point for Tonga had identified top priorities for the country where COL can further support the national agenda till 2021. Based on these needs, the Strategic OER Implementation Project in Tonga was initiated by COL in response to a request by the Ministry of Education and Training (MET) of Tonga. The project aims to assist MET in (a) developing a framework for fully utilizing the new fiber optic network infrastructure to deliver online learning to Tongans distributed in the 45 islands; and (b) improve the chances of sustainable livelihoods for Tongan youth by training them in life skills tailored to higher education and employment opportunities in Australia and New Zealand. This paper details the use of the horizontal framework for OER mainstreaming and the OER mainstreaming checklist within this project. The novelty of this project is its approach to mainstreaming OER at an institution in a systemic manner. The contribution this paper makes is to provide a proven plan for sustainable OER mainstreaming in a development setting.
The Impact of Social Media Participation on Academic Performance in Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students
Author: Santoveña-Casal, Sonia
Date: 2019-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Media,Academic Achievement,Undergraduate Students,Graduate Students,Foreign Countries,Program Effectiveness,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Teaching Methods,Student Participation

The main objective of this study was to analyse the influence of social media participation on academic performance. The sample consisted of 1960 students taking one of two courses at undergraduate or postgraduate level, respectively (Faculty of Education, National Distance Education University, Spain), of whom 411 students carried out an activity based on social media participation. We used a mixed quantitative (descriptive analysis and ANOVA) and qualitative (content analysis) design. Our results showed that the students who participated in a social media-based activity presented better academic performance than those who did not carry out any activity or who took part in a more traditional learning activity. We conclude that regardless of educational level, social media participation exerts a positive influence on performance. Consequently, it is important to consider the variable of social networking site use because this can partially explain academic performance. We also found that the networks generated during the course did not constitute stable communities of practice. Our main recommendation is that three stages of instruction should be considered when designing a course based on social media participation: beginners, intermediate, and professional.