ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Inclusion of Numeracy in Adult Basic Education
Author: Tout, Dave
Date: 2002-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Curriculum Development,Numeracy,Adult Basic Education,Adult Learning,Instructional Materials,Mathematics Skills,Mathematics Instruction,Teacher Role,Academic Standards,Literature Reviews,Faculty Development,Teaching Methods,Evaluation Methods,Constructivism (Learning),Cultural Relevance,Relevance (Education),Gender Differences,Educational Policy,Foreign Countries

In their chapter on numeracy, the authors begin by exploring the many terms used to describe the learning of mathematics by adults. They discuss the relationship between the terms &quot;mathematics&quot; and &quot;numeracy&quot; and explain why numeracy--making meaning with numbers and mathematical processes--is the term they chose for their overview. Moving on to examine adult numeracy education in the U.S, the authors find that little attention is paid to the development of math skills among adults in Adult Basic Education (ABE) research but that adult numeracy education is prominent in practice. They highlight the development of practitioner groups that share ideas, promote improvement in practice and influence curriculum development at state, local and national levels. Further, they discuss influences on math education (e.g., GED exams and commercially-produced workbooks) and discuss the place of numeracy in policy documents, including the National Reporting System and Equipped for the Future Content Standards. Given the relative paucity of work pertaining to adult numeracy education, the authors look to K-12 math education. They highlight areas of research, including constructivist models, gender and ethnomathematics (&quot;street math&quot;), and note lessons to be drawn from K-12 research on math education. In addition, they note important policy developments, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, which continue to influence math education at the K-12 and ABE levels. Beyond the U.S., they discuss research initiatives and international efforts to understand and promote effective adult numeracy education. Drawing from examples in Australia, the Netherlands and the U.K, they discuss efforts in the areas of curriculum and instruction, assessment, and teacher support and professional development. In addition, they note successful efforts to embed numeracy in curriculum and assessment frameworks and instructional materials and to involve math educators in their creation. The authors conclude the chapter with the need for future research to focus on issues of cognition and the numeracy demands of society and ways adults can meet those demands. In the policy arena, the authors recommend including numeracy practitioners in the development of ABE policies, building an understanding among the public of the importance of numeracy skills, and coordinating efforts to improve and support adult numeracy education at federal, state and local levels. (Contains 12 notes.) [Chapter 5 in: Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy. Volume 3; copublished with John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc.; see ED478329.]
Professionalization and Certification for Teachers in Adult Basic Education
Author: Sabatini, John P.
Date: 2002-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Federal Legislation,Adult Basic Education,Teacher Certification,Professional Development,Teacher Competencies,Competency Based Education,Governance,Stakeholders,Accountability,Incentives,Case Studies,Academic Standards,Educational Policy,Adult Literacy,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Educational Research,Teacher Improvement,Teacher Education

When Shanahan, Meehan, and Mogge (1994) reviewed the issue of professionalization, they characterized previous discussions and debates as controversial, negative, and heated, marked more by discord than unity. A key point of disagreement was whether or under what conditions certification could be considered necessary or desirable. They found only two points of consensus: the desire to improve the quality of teaching and the recognition of how difficult it would be to establish a process to improve it. The fieldwork the authors conducted for this report has led them to a more optimistic forecast. Although some unresolved concerns remain and recent changes in federal legislation have left the field somewhat uneasy, a common desire for consensus appears to be emerging. In this chapter, the authors identify and discuss the forces at work in this more positive atmosphere and review the concerns that continue to arise when the processes of teacher professionalization and certification are implemented. (Contains 5 notes.) [Chapter 6 in: Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy. Volume 3; copublished with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; see ED478329.]
Current Areas of Interest in Family Literacy
Author: Gadsden, Vivian L.
Date: 2002-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Adult Learning,Family Literacy,Adult Literacy,Educational Policy,Educational Practices,Educational Research,Parent Child Relationship,Emergent Literacy,Intergenerational Programs,English (Second Language),Barriers,Theory Practice Relationship,Educational Assessment,Program Evaluation,Cultural Differences,Cultural Context,Educational Development

Family literacy has developed over the past decade into an increasingly significant--and often contested--area of research, practice, and policymaking in the fields of literacy and family studies as well as in the broader arenas of education and schooling. The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader a better understanding of the general state of family literacy today--a snapshot--with an eye toward strengthening the relationship between family literacy and adult literacy and learning. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section provides a brief background of, or context for, the research, practice, and policy that have led to current efforts. The second presents areas that have emerged as critical domains of interest to the field: parent-child interactions, including emergent literacy; intergenerational literacy; English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and language differences; assessment and evaluation; and culture and context. The third section summarizes persistent challenges to the field as well as possibilities for implementing meaningful linkages between research and practice. [Chapter 7 in: Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy. Volume 3; copublished with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; see ED478329.]
Financing Basic Education in Bangladesh. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 12
Author: Al-Samarrai, Samer
Date: 2007-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Quality,Foreign Countries,Educational Finance,Financial Support,Trend Analysis,Government Role,Expenditure per Student,Elementary Schools,Developing Nations,Federal Aid,Secondary Schools,Correlation,Socioeconomic Status,Outcomes of Education,Equal Education,Access to Education,Enrollment Trends,Basic Skills

This paper presents education finance trends for Bangladesh since 2000. It shows that while government spending on education as a proportion of national income has stagnated, it has increased in real terms. Real increases in education spending have resulted in substantial increases in per student spending in basic education. At primary, enrolment declines have reinforced these trends and in 2005 per student spending in government primary schools was 30% higher, in real terms than in 2001. Despite these increases, per student spending on education in Bangladesh remains low compared to other countries in the region and countries at similar levels of development. Levels of government funding also vary enormously across different providers of basic education although these differences do not appear to have a significant impact on education outcomes at the primary level. At secondary, there appears to be a closer correlation between levels of public funding and outcomes although the socio-economic status of student intakes also appears to play an important role. To achieve equitable access to basic education, it is important to narrow these public funding differences. However, given the comparatively low levels of funding across the basic education system it is perhaps more important to increase overall levels of funding if the quality and overall efficiency of the system is to be improved. Data used for public expenditure and budget analysis are appended. (Contains 28 footnotes, 10 tables, and 7 figures.)
EFA Politics, Policies and Progress. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 13
Author: Little, Angela W.
Date: 2008-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Political Science,Field Studies,Compulsory Education,Interests,Educational Innovation,Access to Education,Public Policy,Educational Policy,Educational Change,Politics of Education,Developing Nations,Developed Nations,Literature Reviews,Foreign Countries,Global Approach,Educational History,Educational Quality,International Cooperation

The Millennium Development Goal 2 has a target of ensuring that, by 2015, all children will complete a full course of primary schooling. This is consistent with the second goal of the Dakar Framework of Action for Education for All [EFA] that pre-dated it, except that the Dakar goal qualifies the Millennium Goal with &quot;compulsory education of good quality&quot;. Some countries have made spectacular progress towards increased access to education of good quality across all social groups; other countries have seen much less progress. Development agencies regularly appeal to political will as a key requirement for progress on EFA. But what is political will? What are the political interests that promote education for all in some contexts and hinder it in others? What role do political interests play in the formulation of public policies and in their implementation? These are questions that CREATE intends to address in a series of case studies in the future. This monograph is a prelude to these field studies and is intended to inform the conceptual framework and methods that will guide them. The monograph casts its literature net very wide. It addresses the literatures in educational policy, educational innovation and educational implementation in developed and developing countries over the past half century. It explores literatures from political science on public policy and development. It mines the literature on EFA policy and progress for glimpses of the political dimension. It delves into the history of the development of compulsory education in the West, both for the substantive lessons that may be learned, as well as for the conceptual frameworks and methods that have been employed. (Contains 20 figures and 4 footnotes.)
Inclusive Education in India: Interpretation, Implementation, and Issues. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 15
Author: Giffard-Lindsay, Katharine
Date: 2007-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Social Class,Inclusive Schools,Educational History,Negative Attitudes,Disabilities,Foreign Countries,Civil Rights,Student Rights,Access to Education,Attitudes toward Disabilities,Equal Education,Mainstreaming,Educational Quality,Poverty,Social Attitudes,Cultural Influences,Teacher Education,Educational Policy,Attitude Change

Children with disabilities are a minority that are not prioritised in the context of education programmes in India, although they are often found in many marginalised groups that are catered for if non-disabled, for example, girls, scheduled tribe, scheduled caste, and other backward caste children. Inclusive education may be a way of merging these children's needs in order to improve school quality and achieve EFA [Education for All]. However, a dominant special needs conceptualisation of IE [Inclusive Education] in India, combined with negative attitudes towards disability, are currently preventing this approach. After exploring the relevance of disability and inclusive education in the context of EFA, this paper analyses the interpretation and implementation of inclusive education in India. The issues and constraints faced by the stakeholders involved, and the implications these may have, particularly for children with disabilities, lead to the conclusion that a twin-track approach to disability may assist not only in improving education access, but also the reconceptualisation of inclusive education as a school quality issue. In the long-term, it is hoped that this could assist in fulfilling the right to education for all children. The vicious cycle of poverty and disability is succinctly demonstrated in the Department for International Development (DFID) framework in Appendix 1. Information on access and zones of exclusion from primary and secondary schooling is provided in Appendix 2. (Contains 4 footnotes.)
Small, Multigrade Schools and Increasing Access to Primary Education in India: National Context and NGO Initiatives. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 17
Author: Blum, Nicole
Date: 2007-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Small Schools,Rural Areas,Elementary Education,Access to Education,Multigraded Classes,Economically Disadvantaged,Nongovernmental Organizations,Educational Policy,Profiles,Case Studies

Small schools are a significant feature of the educational landscape in India, with approximately 78% of primary schools having three or fewer teachers to attend to all grade levels, and more than 55% with 100 or fewer students in 2005. These schools are commonly found in impoverished rural communities, where they are often characterised by the need for multigrade classroom management as a result of low enrolment and/or too few teachers, and usually face significant shortages in terms of teaching and learning resources and basic infrastructure. This frequently leads to poor educational quality, student disillusionment, high rates of drop-out and low rates of retention. Ironically, many of these schools, especially in rural areas, were established in direct response to domestic and international pressure to achieve Education For All and the Millennium Development Goals. As such, they represent an important part of efforts to improve access to primary education for the most marginalised groups. The teaching and learning which occurs in small schools, however, varies a great deal depending on a number of factors such as local social and economic circumstances, the availability of physical and human resources, curriculum and assessment methods, and type of school management. Yet to date research on small schools in India largely consists of quantitative datasets which attempt to measure their characteristics (class size, number of classrooms, style of management, etc.) and geographical distribution. The qualitative dimension of students', teachers', and policy makers' perspectives and experiences of education in these settings, on the other hand, has remained largely unexplored. This research therefore applied both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to understand the contemporary context of small schools in India. It included an extensive literature and policy review, and quantitative analysis of data available from India's District Information System for Education (DISE), as  well as fieldwork with policy makers in Delhi and in small, multigrade NGO schools in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. This mixture of methods allowed for an exploration of small schools on several levels. At the national level, the influences and impacts of national primary education policy on small schools were examined and a national profile of small schools was created using available data. This national level work was complemented by a local-level exploration of small school initiatives by two NGOs which have shown positive results through innovations in multigrade management, teacher education, and school-community networking. Selected photographs of case study schools are appended. (Contains 8 footnotes.)
Gender Equity in Education: A Review of Trends and Factors. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 18
Author: Bandyopadhyay, Madhumita
Date: 2008-04-00
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Social Class,Equal Education,Females,Foreign Countries,Sex Fairness,Gender Issues,Participation,Access to Education,Enrollment Trends,Gender Bias,Social Influences,Ethnicity,Religious Factors,Educational Policy,Educational Improvement,Educational Quality,Elementary Education,Secondary Education

This review paper draws on recent data to map the access and participation rates of girls relative to boys. This paper offers a critical assessment of findings of different recent researches on school education in India identifying the areas that need further research. The paper reveals that while enrolment of girls has increased rapidly since the 1990s, there is still a substantial gap in upper primary and secondary schooling and gender inequalities interlock with other forms of social inequality, notably caste, ethnicity and religion. The paper concludes with recommendation for implementation of enabling policy to meet the challenges for improving the quality of schools ensuring better opportunities for girls at higher levels of education, notably upper primary and secondary schools. (Contains 18 tables and 7 footnotes.)
Education and Social Equity: With a Special Focus on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Elementary Education. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 19
Author: Sedwal, Mona
Date: 2008-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Social Class,Elementary Education,Educationally Disadvantaged,Role of Education,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Access to Education,Tribes,Social Justice,Educational Discrimination,Socioeconomic Status,Improvement Programs,Educational Policy,Ideology,Social Attitudes,Critical Theory,Outreach Programs,Equal Education,Literacy,Barriers,Change Strategies

The Scheduled Castes (SCs, also known as Dalits) and Scheduled Tribes (STs, also known as Adivasis) are among the most socially and educationally disadvantaged groups in India. This paper examines issues concerning school access and equity for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and also highlights their unique problems, which may require divergent policy responses. The paper is divided into seven main parts. The first two sections introduce the reader to the nature of exclusion and discrimination faced by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and outline the debates on the role of education in improving the socio-economic profile of both groups. The third section explains the socio-economic conditions within which Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes live and their marginalized status in contemporary India. The fourth section provides a discussion of literacy advancement among these groups, and of national policies and programmes which aim to improve school access and equity. The fifth section highlights special efforts made by certain state governments to improve educational participation of these two communities as well as the educational experiments on a more modest scale undertaken by community-based nongovernmental organisations. The sixth section focuses on casteism as a deeply ideological issue that undercuts even the most genuine reform measures, and suggests research and policy options that may help to address underlying structural and ideological issues. The concluding section highlights a critical area for further research in the area. (Contains 4 footnotes, 7 tables, 4 figures, and 7 boxes.)
Education For All, The Quality Imperative and the Problem of Pedagogy. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 20
Author: Alexander, Robin
Date: 2008-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Quality,Foreign Countries,Access to Education,Discourse Analysis,Educational Indicators,Benchmarking,Educational Policy,Evaluation Criteria,International Education,Cultural Context,Educational Research,Research Problems,Item Analysis,Teaching Methods,Educational Practices,Literature Reviews,Meta Analysis

This monograph critically examines the emerging discourse on quality associated with Education for All (EFA). It contends that EFA discourse has moved from a welcome and vital commitment to quality to its measurement without adequate consideration of what &quot;quality&quot; entails, particularly in the vital domain of pedagogy. Meanwhile, the demand for quality indicators by governments and international agencies has left important methodological questions unanswered. Citing various international examples, the paper notes a concern with input and context at the expense of the proper elucidation of educational process and outcome, arbitrariness in what is focused upon, excessive use of proxies, overly selective use of international research on learning and teaching, and confusions about the key terms &quot;quality&quot;, &quot;indicators&quot; and &quot;measures&quot;. The paper proposes criteria for assessing frameworks for evaluating the quality of classroom provision, central to which are evidential breadth, conceptual comprehensiveness, validity, reliability, impact, manageability and appositeness to level and context of use. Arguing that at root the problem is as much conceptual as empirical and procedural, the paper proposes a map of the territory of pedagogy at the levels of ideas and action, together with principles of procedure to guide future work on indicators and measures of quality in the EFA context. Originally prepared for use in India, the paper uses examples from that country by way of illustration. (Contains 2 figures and 4 footnotes.)
Human Capital, Poverty, Educational Access and Exclusion: The Case of Ghana 1991-2006. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 22
Author: Rolleston, Caine
Date: 2009-01-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Human Capital,Family (Sociological Unit),Living Standards,Role of Education,Attendance,Child Labor,Foreign Countries,Sex Fairness,Access to Education,Regression (Statistics),Literature Reviews,Correlation,Poverty,Educational Attainment,Trend Analysis,Graduation Rate,Dropout Rate,Attendance Patterns,Equal Education,Gender Bias,Socioeconomic Status,Age Differences

The period since 1991 has seen a general improvement both in terms of household welfare and schooling participation in Ghana. This monograph explores the patterns among descriptive indicators and uses regression analysis to examine possible causal relationships with special reference to the role of education in determining welfare and its reciprocal, the role of welfare and other aspects of economic privilege in the determination of school attendance and progression. It reviews the literature on modelling of the household consumption function as well as on modelling schooling decisions based on the household production function. Two groups of models are then fitted using data from the Ghana Living Standards Surveys. The results suggest that education levels play an important role in determining household welfare and that, for higher levels of education, these effects may be strengthening. Educational expansion has, however, meant that access to the benefits from these effects has widened somewhat. Demographic change has also played an important role in welfare improvements. In terms of absolute numbers, access to schooling in Ghana has expanded dramatically. Rates of completion and of drop-out have not improved, however, and there appears to be a worsening of age-appropriate completion rates. Nonetheless, the first half of the period since 1991 saw substantial increases in rates of ever-attendance and of current-attendance at the basic education level. This growth appears to have been driven by narrowing regional differentials, increasing welfare, urbanisation, improving gender equity, smaller and less dependent households and a reduction in the number of children involved in child labour. It is in relation to progression towards higher levels of education that more significant inequity emerges and in 2006 completion of lower secondary education in Ghana remains the preserve of children in areas and households of relative economic privilege. (Contains 3 footnotes, 15 tables, and 9 figures.)