ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program
Author: Strange, Marty
Date: 2011-01-25
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Innovation,Scoring,Grants,Rural Education,Public Schools,School Districts,Rural Schools,Rural Areas,Scoring Rubrics,Academic Achievement,Educational Improvement,Program Proposals,Public Agencies,Federal Government,Education,Competition

The Investing in Innovation (i3) program is a U.S. Department of Education competitive grant program supporting innovation in public schools. To encourage projects focusing on rural education in its first round of grants in 2010 the Department offered two bonus points in the scoring system for "projects that would implement innovative practices, strategies, or programs that are designed to focus on the unique challenges of high-need students in schools within a rural [school district] and address the particular challenges faced by students in these schools." This report analyzes the impact of this "competitive rural preference" by examining the applications and the reader-scorers' reviews of the 19 applicants who claimed the rural preference points, and were ultimately successful in securing an i3 grant. This report does not address the question of whether the applicants should have been awarded a grant, but only considers whether the rural claim was well-made by the applicants and well-evaluated by the readers. A list of the 19 highly-rated proposals that made the rural competitive preference claim is appended. (Contains 3 tables and 5 footnotes.)
Strategic Plan: July 2010 to June 2013
Author: California State Library
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Library Personnel,Strategic Planning,Cultural Centers,Government Libraries,Public Libraries,Library Administration,Library Development,Program Development,Statewide Planning,Background,Values,Institutional Mission,Organizational Change,Change Strategies,Organizational Objectives

On June 15-16, 2010, California State Librarian Stacey A. Aldrich, initiated a strategic planning summit in Sacramento, California. The purpose of the summit was to build the future pathways for the California State Library (CSL)--one of California's oldest cultural institutions. This was accomplished by developing a CSL strategic plan (values, mission, vision, strategic focus areas, goals, and objectives) covering the period July 2010 to June 2013. Fifty-five stakeholders representing regional libraries, information technology, education, law, training, State Library Board, library associations, and various CSL divisions, contributed to the development of the strategic plan. This strategic plan is a management tool for improving the CSL system over the next three years. The following strategic focus areas represent the framework for the seven goals and 30 objectives that serve as pathways for the future of the California State Library system: (1) Marketing &amp; Outreach to increase awareness of CSL services; (2) Partnership &amp; Collaborations to leverage resources; (3) CSL Services to reach more Californians and align with libraries' needs; (4) Internal Operations to equip library staff for success; and (5) Technology to increase access to content and library resources. Appended are: (1) Language of the Process; and (2) Contributors to the Strategic Plan.
Reading Le Clezio: Simulating Empathy for the Marginalized Inhabitants of the Unwelcoming Global Village
Author: Moser, Keith
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Ideology,Models,Change,World Views,Liberal Arts,Social Problems,Humanities,Empathy,Role of Education,Critical Thinking,Peace,Prosocial Behavior,Global Approach,Ecology,Educational Change,Educational Administration,Systems Approach,Disadvantaged,Power Structure

The purpose of this study is to explore how the humanities, and specifically literary narratives, can help the American educational system to overcome its alarming, pedagogical deficiencies. In the United States, many educational organizations and boards have realized that the current curriculum is failing to prepare our students on multiple levels. Not only are American pupils underachieving in areas like science and math, but they are also painfully ignorant of the rest of the world. Using both an educational and philosophical approach, this investigation will underscore how a veritable, balanced liberal arts education can stimulate critical thinking, mold minds, foster a meaningful dialogue that will allow individuals to communicate across cultural boundaries, and simulate empathy for the Other. Literature may not provide absolute truths, but it forces people to reflect about the critical issues of their time by posing disconcerting questions about divisive ideologies and the extreme inequalities that are emblematic of the modern world. Given the gravity of complex problems, such as the depletion of the earth's natural resources, pollution, global warming, acute poverty, and clandestine immigration, the human family must learn how to live and work together in peace and harmony. (Contains 7 footnotes.)
Southwest Energy Innovation Forum: Summary Report
Author: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Date: 2010-10-18
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Fuels,Innovation,Educational Technology,State Government,Public Policy,Energy,Technology,Higher Education,STEM Education,Entrepreneurship,Conferences (Gatherings),Cooperation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Arizona State University (ASU), and U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) co-convened a conference on Energy Innovation in the Southwest region of the United States that included participation by entrepreneurs, state government officials, representatives of academia, private-sector leaders, nonprofit leaders, and innovators on October 18, 2010. The conference was designed to bring together diverse stakeholders in a forum to develop recommendations for growing regional energy innovation, building a network for energy innovation efforts, and ensuring Federal support for innovative approaches and partnerships that could improve the nation's energy future. In the morning, attendees heard from several speakers prior to selecting one of three breakout sessions about corporate partnerships, investment, and state policy development. Following lunch, the group reconvened for an Innovation Panel, a selection of additional breakout sessions, and a closing panel. Afternoon breakout session topics focused on building research, technology, and industrial leadership in the Southwest for solar energy, energy storage, and advanced fuels. All sessions are briefly described in this report. Following the conference, attendees showcased breakthrough energy technologies from across the Southwest as part of ARPA-E's Technology Showcase. Attendee List is appended.
Young Entrepreneurs: Young People Dream of Becoming Entrepreneurs, despite America's Lingering Recession
Author: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Entrepreneurship,Children,Adolescents,Young Adults,Attitudes,Ownership,Business,Education Work Relationship,Influences,Surveys

An August 2010 Harris Interactive[R] survey, commissioned by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, posed questions about entrepreneurship to 5,077 U.S. young people ages eight to twenty-four. The results show that business ownership continues to capture the imaginations of America's youth, particularly for those who know a successful entrepreneur personally. (Contains 20 resources.)
Blueprint for Change: National Summary. State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2010
Author: National Council on Teacher Quality
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Teaching (Occupation),Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Policy,Teacher Evaluation,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Improvement,Tenure,Teacher Dismissal,State Government,State Regulation,Academic Achievement,Educational Improvement,Teacher Certification,Alternative Teacher Certification,Needs Assessment,Yearbooks,Retirement Benefits,Educational Change,Teacher Education,Special Education Teachers,Elementary School Teachers,Middle School Teachers,Educational Objectives

This paper is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) fourth annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's &quot;Yearbook&quot; takes a different approach than the past editions, as it is designed as a companion to the 2009 &quot;State Teacher Policy Yearbook&quot;, NCTQ's most recent comprehensive report on state teacher policies. The comprehensive &quot;Yearbook&quot;, a 52-volume state-by-state analysis produced biennially, examines the alignment of states' teacher policies with goals to improve teacher quality. The 2009 report, which addressed key policy areas such as teacher preparation, evaluation, alternative certification and compensation, found that states had much work to do to ensure that every child has an effective teacher. In 2010, an interim year, NCTQ set out to help states prioritize among the many areas of teacher policy in need of reform. With so much to be done, state policymakers may be nonplussed about where to begin. The 2010 &quot;Yearbook&quot; offers each state an individualized blueprint, identifying state policies most in need of attention. Although based on the 2009 analyses, this edition also updates states' progress in the last year, a year that saw many states make significant policy changes, largely spurred by the Race to the Top competition. Rather than grade states, the 2010 &quot;Blueprint for Change&quot; stands as a supplement to the 2009 comprehensive report, updating states' positive and negative progress on Yearbook goals and specifying actions that could lead to stronger policies for particular topics such as teacher evaluation, tenure rules and dismissal policies. In addition to a national summary report, NCTQ has customized this year's &quot;Blueprint for Change&quot; so that each state has its own edition highlighting its progress toward specific &quot;Yearbook&quot; goals. Each report also contains charts and graphs showing how the state performed compared to other states. In addition, this paper points to states that are leading the way in areas requiring the most critical attention across the country. It is hoped that this year's &quot;Blueprint for Change&quot; serves as an important guide for governors, state school chiefs, school boards, legislatures and the many advocates seeking reform. (Contains 15 figures.) [For &quot;State Teacher Policy Yearbook, 2009. National Summary&quot;, see ED511872.]
Breaking New Ground: Building a National Workforce Skills Credentialing System
Author: ACT, Inc.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Community Colleges,Labor Force Development,Credentials,Job Skills,National Programs,Education Work Relationship,Change

In 2010 ACT sponsored a strategic workforce development summit with several prominent community college presidents from across the country. The presidents provided diverse perspectives about how to effectively prepare and validate a prepared workforce. This paper represents, in part, key elements of that discussion as well as what they think is a critical part of the solution: the establishment of a national workforce credentialing system. (Contains 3 figures and 15 notes.)
Post-Baccalaureate Reverse Transfer Students in Iowa: 2006 to 2008
Author: Leigh, Rachel A.
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reverse Transfer Students,Community Colleges,College Graduates,Enrollment,School Demography,Student Educational Objectives,Biomedicine,Majors (Students)

The purpose of this descriptive, exploratory study investigates the number of students who hold a bachelor's degree or higher attending Iowa's fifteen community colleges between fiscal years 2006 and 2008. This group of students is referred to as post-baccalaureate reverse transfer (PBRT) students in the literature and in this paper. This study examines their demographic characteristics including age, gender, race, highest degree held and one academic characteristic, most enrolled career cluster. Quantitative data was provided by Tom Schenk, Jr., consultant for Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability in the Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Development at the Iowa Department of Education, in October and November of 2009. Between the fiscal years 2006 and 2008, PBRT students made up 1.4 to 1.9% of the total credit community college enrollment in Iowa. Male PBRT students consistently outnumbered female PBRT students. The majority of PBRT students in Iowa is White for all three years and ranged from 86.8 to 87.3% of the total PBRT student population subset. This is unsurprising as Iowa's population is predominantly White. The highest degree held by most PBRT students in Iowa is the bachelor's degree rather than a graduate degree. This study used career clusters and the category College Transfer instead of academic majors since too few PBRT students enrolled in any single major to provide meaningful analysis. The top three career clusters PBRT students enrolled in are College Transfer, Health Sciences, and Business, Management &amp; Administration. Altogether, the profile of the post-baccalaureate reverse transfer student in Iowa is a White male, age 35, whose highest level of education is a bachelor's degree and is likely to be enrolled in a College Transfer or Health Science program of study in an urban community college. This study's results provide a starting point for further and more in-depth research about post-baccalaureate reverse transfer students in Iowa. Since health sciences figured prominently in this study's finding, a study design similar to that of Evan McHugh's (2003) might be worthwhile research to conduct on Iowa's PBRT student population. Future studies may also want to investigate whether the most recession increased the number of students with a bachelor's degree or higher attending two-year colleges. Since many states do not have any information about their PBRT student population, they will want to start with a study similar to this author's. (Contains 20 tables and 12 footnotes.)
Mutual Benefits: New York City's Shift to Mutual Consent in Teacher Hiring. Updated with a New Afterword
Author: Daly, Timothy
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Unions,Educational Change,Beginning Teachers,Principals,Teacher Selection,Contracts,School Closing,Status,Enrollment,Budgets,Educational Trends,Access to Information,Disclosure,Teacher Attitudes,Personnel Policy

In 2005, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) and its teachers union,   the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), agreed to a groundbreaking contract that reformed outdated school staffing provisions. Specifically, the new contract changed the staffing process for teachers and schools in three major ways. First, it protected the right of schools to choose which teachers they hired, regardless of seniority. Second, it ended the &quot;bumping&quot; of novice teachers out of their positions by senior teachers who claimed these positions based on seniority and without input from principals or school staffs. Finally, it established a more open hiring process for &quot;excessed&quot; teachers (those displaced from their positions because of falling school enrollments, budget declines, programmatic changes, or school closures). In short, the 2005 contract saw New York City transition from a system in which teachers and principals often had no input over teacher assignments to a system of  &quot;mutual consent,&quot; in which both teachers and principals had to agree on all teacher placements. This policy shift brought to a halt the pervasive forcing of teachers on schools and of schools on teachers, trends that had tarnished the city's staffing system. Viewed through the lens of effective school staffing practices, it was a significant step forward. As this paper will illustrate, the mutual consent system has resulted in mutual benefits for teachers and schools by offering better choices, increased flexibility and greater transparency throughout the staffing process. The positive impact of this policy shift on New York City teachers is especially noteworthy. This study finds that the mutual consent system has: (1) earned strong support from New York City teachers; (2) successfully facilitated thousands of transfers; (3) resulted in positions that teachers find satisfying; (4) resulted in positions that teachers plan to keep; (5) provided fair and equal access to vacancies; and (6) not disadvantaged high-poverty schools. 2005 teachers union contract staffing rules are appended. (Contains 17 figures, 2 tables and 38 notes.)
Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts
Author: Levin, Jessica
Date: 2005-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Urban Schools,Urban Teaching,Academic Achievement,Unions,Contracts,Collective Bargaining,Personnel Policy,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Transfer,Transfer Policy,Change Strategies,Educational Quality

Nearly everyone involved in the enterprise of schooling understands the profound importance of building and sustaining a high-quality team of teachers. Moreover, the research is clear: the single most important school-based determinant of student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Yet, urban schools must often staff their classrooms with little or no attention to quality or fit because of the staffing rules in their teachers union contracts. This report focuses on the contractual staffing rules governing "voluntary transfers" and "excessed teachers." Voluntary transfers are incumbent teachers who want to move between schools in a district, while excessed teachers are those cut from a specific school, often in response to declines in budget or student enrollment. Appended are: (1) How the Five Studied Districts Place Voluntary Transfers and Excessed Teachers; (2) What Happens in Your District: A Primer; and (3) Methodology. (Contains 43 endnotes.)
The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness. Second Edition
Author: Weisberg, Daniel
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Instructional Effectiveness,Academic Achievement,School Districts,Educational Improvement,Administrators,Educational Administration

This report examines the pervasive and longstanding failure to recognize and respond to variations in the effectiveness of teachers. At the heart of the matter are teacher evaluation systems, which in theory should serve as the primary mechanism for assessing such variations, but in practice tell everyone little about how one teacher differs from any other, except teachers whose performance is so egregiously poor as to warrant dismissal. The failure of evaluation systems to provide accurate and credible information about individual teachers' instructional performance sustains and reinforces a phenomenon that people have come to call the &quot;Widget Effect&quot;. The &quot;Widget Effect&quot; describes the tendency of school districts to assume classroom effectiveness is the same from teacher to teacher. This decades-old fallacy fosters an environment in which teachers cease to be understood as individual professionals, but rather as interchangeable parts. In its denial of individual strengths and weaknesses, it is deeply disrespectful to teachers; in its indifference to instructional effectiveness, it gambles with the lives of students. (Contains 17 figures and 64 notes.) [Additional funding for this paper was provided by the Robertson Foundation, and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. For the executive summary, see ED515659.]
Which Students to Serve? Universal or Targeted Eligibility for Postsecondary Opportunity Programs. WISCAPE Policy Brief
Author: Vaade, Elizabeth
Date: 2011-01-20
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: College Preparation,Eligibility,School Choice,Public Policy,College Admission,Higher Education,Access to Education,Educational Policy,Equal Education,Educational Research,Policy Analysis,Student Financial Aid,Academic Support Services,Program Descriptions,Disproportionate Representation,Role of Education,Guidelines,Program Effectiveness,Social Justice

Dramatic changes in the higher education landscape and the recent recession have intensified the challenges students face in postsecondary enrollment and completion. In response, some states, communities, and institutions have developed &quot;postsecondary opportunity programs (POPs)&quot;--comprehensive college access and success programs offering a combination of funding and support services. POPs have the potential to transform students' educational careers as well as enhance their future success; therefore, the decision of who will be eligible to access these programs is extremely important and often highly contentious. The debate over eligibility has influenced education policies and programs for pre-K, school choice, financial aid, and college admissions. But while public policy literature has much to say about the theoretical implications of universal and targeted eligibility, less research exists on how these classic debates play out in policymaking and practice. This brief examines how the designers of POPs determine eligibility for their programs, focusing on their decision either to employ universal eligibility or target students who are underrepresented in postsecondary education. The authors explore the factors that influence the eligibility decision for 10 programs, including how closely the identified aspects align with those cited in the existing literature. To conclude, the brief offers lessons for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers and recommendations for POPs stakeholders moving forward. The appendix contains: Advantages and Disadvantages of Universal and Targeted Eligibility Cited in Public Policy Research (Modified for POPs). (Contains 1 table, 1 figure and 11 notes.)
Applying Insights from Faculty Teaching Practices to Science and Math Education Reforms. WISCAPE Policy Brief
Author: Hora, Matthew Tadashi
Date: 2011-01-25
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Change,Educational Policy,Mathematics Education,Science Education,College Faculty,College Environment,College Instruction,Teaching Methods,Research Methodology,Educational Research,STEM Education,Federal Programs,Barriers,Observation,Interviews,Systems Approach,Classroom Observation Techniques,Classroom Research,Network Analysis

Policymakers and educators are increasingly expressing concerns that the U.S. is lagging behind other countries in educating the next generation of mathematicians and scientists. In response, the federal government, private foundations, and many &quot;institutions of higher education&quot; (IHEs) are encouraging STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) instructors to adopt interactive, inquiry-based teaching methods in their classes, laboratories, and discussion sections. However, a major challenge facing policymakers and educators engaged in pedagogical reform in math and science is to fully understand teaching practices in IHEs and how instructors experience their organizational environment in regards to their teaching responsibilities. An adequate accounting of these complex phenomena involves capturing many different aspects of teaching practice. This brief presents an approach that captures the nuances of teaching practice with the specific aim of providing actionable evidence for policymakers and practitioners. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 12 notes.)