ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Quality, Autonomy and the Profession
Author: Urban, Mathias
Date: 2005-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Child Care,Early Childhood Education,Educational Quality,Teaching (Occupation),Professional Autonomy,National Programs,Evaluation Methods,Foreign Countries

Questions of &quot;quality&quot; of pre- and out of school-provisions for children and their families have been raised increasingly in all modern societies since the early nineties. The appropriateness of pedagogical frameworks and approaches have not been the only issues in the debate. Other strands, for instance, have been focussing on adequate investments or the quality of management and leadership in the system. Constantly, from any of these (and other) possible perspectives on &quot;quality&quot;, high expectations and demands for the profession have been expressed. In Germany, the &quot;National Quality Initiative&quot; (1999-2003) has undertaken a first attempt to develop quality criteria and evaluation procedures for pre- and out of school settings from a strictly professional perspective for the whole system in a federal country. Meanwhile--following PISA--general questions of &quot;quality&quot; are more and more linked to the introduction of formal pre-school curricula. Considering international experiences, I will argue that we should be cautious and critical whether the increase of formal regulation can lead to the desirable outcome: the development of an autonomous profession for the early years sector. [A version of this paper was presented as the Keynote Address to the CECDE International Conference on &quot;Questions of Quality,&quot; Dublin, Ireland, Sep 2004.]
Democracy and Experimentation: Two Fundamental Values for Education
Author: Moss, Peter
Date: 2010-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Democracy,Foreign Countries,Fundamental Concepts,Values,Best Practices,Educational Practices,Democratic Values,Performance Factors,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Politics of Education,Educational Change,Educational Philosophy,Educational Policy,Educational Theories,Epistemology,Experimental Curriculum,Educational Innovation,Educational Development,Theory Practice Relationship,Educational Methods

This paper is a contribution to the debate in Germany and beyond in Europe on future directions for education. It builds on and extends earlier work by the authors, on democratic experimentalism (Moss, 2009; Fielding &amp; Moss, forthcoming) and early childhood workforce professionalism (Urban, 2008, 2009, 2010; Dalli &amp; Urban 2010). At a time when managerial, technical and market approaches are increasingly influential, it argues the case for an alternative: an education based on &quot;democracy&quot; and &quot;experimentation&quot; as fundamental values and practices. By arguing for an education of democracy and experimentation, the paper assumes that there are other possible values. The issue is not whether or not to have values in education, but which values and what practices follow from the choice of values? (Contains 12 footnotes.)
Early Childhood Education in Europe. Achievements: Challenges and Possibilities
Author: Urban, Mathias
Date: 2009-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Young Children,Foreign Countries,Information Networks,Case Studies,Parent Participation,Educational Attainment,Equal Education,Lifelong Learning,Educational Policy,Holistic Approach,Public Support,Gender Differences

This document is the report of a study commissioned by Education International. The aim of this study is to present key characteristics of ECE systems, to highlight strengths and successful approaches and to identify major challenges and areas where urgent action is needed. To achieve this aim, the report comprises two main sections. The first section, Chapter 2 -- &quot;Setting the scene&quot; - provides insights into the richness of the diverse &quot;landscape&quot; of ECE across Europe and particularly the 27 member States of the EU, one candidate State, Croatia, and Norway and Russia. This section draws extensively on previously published reports, eg. Starting Strong I+II (OECD, 2001, 2006), the EFA report on early childhood education (UNESCO, 2007), the European information network on education, Eurydice (www.eurydice.org) and on the proceedings of two European conferences on the realisation of the Barcelona targets. The second section, Chapter 3 -- &quot;Changing practice in early childhood education&quot;: seven European cases - presents seven case studies of projects and programmes that have developed responses to the needs of early childhood practice in their various contexts. All of them are examples of how to make a difference in children's and practitioners' lives in their everyday practice. &quot;Key issues, challenges and possibilities&quot; for joint action are drawn from both sections and proposed for discussion in Chapter 4. (Contains 1 footnote.) [Parts of chapter 2 of this report were prepared by Maria O'Dwyer.]
School Turnarounds: Evidence from the 2009 Stimulus. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 12-04
Author: Dee, Thomas S.
Date: 2012-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Evidence,School Restructuring,Eligibility,Educational Change,School Turnaround,Governance,Educational Policy,Federal Programs,Federal Regulation,Federal Aid,Educational Improvement,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators,Audits (Verification),Progress Monitoring,Low Achievement,Multivariate Analysis,Robustness (Statistics),Academic Achievement,Achievement Rating,Achievement Gains,Predictor Variables,Change Strategies

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) targeted substantial School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to the nation's &quot;persistently lowest achieving&quot; public schools (i.e., up to $2 million per school annually over 3 years) but required schools accepting these awards to implement a federally prescribed school-reform model. Schools that met the &quot;lowest-achieving&quot; and &quot;lack of progress&quot; thresholds within their state had prioritized eligibility for these SIG-funded interventions. Using data from California, this study leverages these two discontinuous eligibility rules to identify the effects of SIG-funded whole-school reforms. The results based on these &quot;fuzzy&quot; regression-discontinuity designs indicate that there were significant improvements in the test-based performance of schools on the &quot;lowest-achieving&quot; margin but not among schools on the &quot;lack of progress&quot; margin. Complementary panel-based estimates suggest that these improvements were largely concentrated among schools adopting the federal &quot;turnaround&quot; model, which compels more dramatic staff turnover. (Contains 12 figures, 12 tables, and 19 footnotes.)
Gold Standards?: State Standards Reform and Student Achievement. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 12-05
Author: Goodman, Joshua
Date: 2012-07-26
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Core Curriculum,State Standards,Academic Standards,Evidence,Correlation,Academic Achievement,Alignment (Education),Achievement Gains,Mathematics Achievement,Middle Schools,Grade 8,Scoring,Low Achievement,Educational Change

Proponents of the recent and widely adopted Common Core State Standards argue that high quality curricular standards are critical to students' educational success. Little clear evidence exists, however, linking the quality of such standards to student achievement. I remedy this by connecting data on state-level student achievement from 1994-2011 with measures of the quality of states' curricular standards as judged by two independent organizations at three different moments in time. I show that, within states, changes in the quality of standards have little impact on overall student achievement. Improved standards do, however, raise achievement of 8th graders in low-scoring states, particularly for low-scoring students. Given the known weaknesses of U.S. middle schools, this result suggests that standards may be beneficial in settings where pedagogy would otherwise be poor. (Contains 2 figures and 6 tables.)
Developing Lifelong Learners in the Middle Years of Schooling: A Report about the Practices, Processes, Strategies and Structures That Best Promote &quot;Lifelong Learning&quot; and the Development of &quot;Lifelong Learners&quot; in the Middle Years of Schooling
Author: Pendergast, Donna
Date: 2005-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Lifelong Learning,Middle School Students,Learner Engagement,Educational Change,Best Practices,Educational Innovation,Skills,Student Diversity,Relevance (Education),Alignment (Education),Educational Policy,Sustainability,School Culture,Teacher Collaboration,Instructional Leadership,Outcomes of Education,Communities of Practice,Foreign Countries,Case Studies,Student Surveys

This report presents the findings of a Project undertaken to address the broad question of how to ensure the engagement with learning of all middle years students and how to encourage in them a higher order of learning objectives and outcomes both now and throughout life. It builds on current nationwide and international efforts at school reform, intended to provide learning programs that are intellectually demanding, connected to the real world, socially supportive, community linked, and engaged with the wide diversity of student abilities, preferences, circumstances, and needs. Given that middle schooling reform is currently a key focus of educational reform in Australia and that lifelong learning is recognised as a highly desirable attribute of learners, it is appropriate to frame this project in the theoretical context of reforming schools. Academic staff from The University of Queensland's School of Education, together with consultants from Educational Priorities Pty Ltd and KPA (Consulting) Australia Pty Ltd, were contracted to undertake this national Project over the period March 2003 to August 2004. The Project brief was managed by Education Queensland on behalf of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), and had the following research question: What practices, processes, strategies and structures best promote &quot;lifelong learning&quot; and the development of &quot;lifelong learners&quot; in the &quot;middle years of schooling&quot;? The Project consisted of four elements: (1) A Literature review; (2) &quot;Case-studies&quot; of selected school sites; (3) A Student survey (&quot;School and me!&quot;); and (4) A Discussion paper: &quot;Implementing and sustaining school reform in the middle years.&quot; Each of the four elements were presented separately over the course of the Project and were subsequently amalgamated to produce this final Report. Appended are: (1) Case-studies of school sites; (2) Questions for the Middle years survey Instrument &quot;School and me!&quot;; and (3) Extracts from Case-study reports illustrating the Three Phases of reform. (Contains 9 figures, 16 tables and 36 footnotes.)
National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship Year 6 School Assessment, 2004
Author: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (Australia)
Date: 2004-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Evaluation,Academic Achievement,Program Effectiveness,Item Analysis,Guides,Guidelines,Worksheets,Educational Testing,Test Content,Test Results,Test Use,Test Items,Educational Policy,Program Descriptions,Educational Indicators,Educational Assessment,Educational Objectives,National Programs,Civics,Citizenship Education,Benchmarking,Academic Standards,Scoring,Raw Scores,Scaling

In 2004, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs  (MCEETYA) conducted an assessment of a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students across Australia to assess their proficiency in civics and citizenship. The assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is being put progressively in place to monitor and report on student achievement against the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century. The National Goals--and the importance of monitoring student achievement in relation to them--were agreed to by all State, Territory and Federal Education Ministers in 1999. Under the national plan, student performance is being assessed in science, civics and citizenship and information and communications technology (ICT) in three-yearly cycles. The results are being reported against proficiency levels and standards that are established after the first round of testing in each of the three priority areas. The civics and citizenship assessment domain, which defined the scope of the National Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessment in 2004, was developed during 2002-03 in consultation with a national Review Committee, established to ensure that the domain was inclusive of the different State and Territory curricula and that the items in the assessments were fair for students, irrespective of where they attended school. The information and assessment materials in this document have been designed to assist teachers to gauge their own students' proficiency in civics and citizenship. By replicating components of the National Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessment for Year 6 in the classroom, teachers will be able to compare the results of their classes and individual students with the national proficiency levels and standards in civics and citizenship. It is anticipated that teachers will be able to reflect on this information to enhance teaching and monitoring programs in our schools. Appended are: (1) Professional Elaboration of the Assessment Domain; (2) Year 6 Assessment Booklet; (3) Year 6 Assessment Administration Guidelines; (4) Year 6 Marking Guide; (5) Year 6 Class Record Sheet; (6) Year 6 Item Analysis Sheet; and (7) Year 6 Class Analysis Sheet. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.) [For related reports, see &quot;National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship Year 10 School Assessment, 2004&quot; (ED534657) and &quot;National Assessment Program--Civics and Citizenship Years 6 &amp; 10 Report, 2004&quot; (ED530362).]
National Assessment Program--Science Literacy Year 6 Report, 2006
Author: Donovan, Jenny
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Scientific Literacy,Science Achievement,Comparative Analysis,Sampling,Geographic Location,Gender Differences,Indigenous Populations,Student Characteristics,Urban Schools,Rural Schools,Media Literacy,Scientific Concepts,Science Tests,Science Curriculum,Investigations,Data Analysis,Grade 6,National Standards,Objective Tests,Performance Based Assessment,Student Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Educational Testing,Test Content,Test Results,Test Use,Test Items,Educational Policy,Program Descriptions,Educational Indicators,Educational Assessment,Educational Objectives,National Programs,Benchmarking,Academic Standards,Scoring,Scaling

In 2003 the first nationally-comparable science assessment was designed, developed and carried out under the auspices of the national council of education ministers, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA). In 2006 a second science assessment was conducted and, for the first time nationally, the achievement of students has been compared over time and publicly reported. The National Assessment Program--Science Literacy is one of a suite of national assessments (with ICT and Civics &amp; Citizenship) which are conducted with a random sample of students in three-yearly cycles. Development of these nationally-comparable assessments stands as one of the most notable recent achievements of MCEETYA. The assessments are a key result of a collaborative venture between the States and Territories and the Australian Government to measure and report on how our students are progressing towards the achievement of the National Goals of Schooling in the Twenty-First Century. This report on the 2006 National Year 6 Science Assessment provides the results from the national sample assessment. It provides a snapshot of student results against the national scientific literacy scale, and an analysis of various findings across States and Territories and student sub-groups. It also makes comparisons with the findings from 2003. Appended are: (1) National Year 6 Primary Science Assessment Domain; (2) Sampling; (3) Proficiency Levels, Assessment Strand Descriptors, Illustrative Items and Item Descriptors; (4) Sample Item Statistics; and (5) Performance by Geographic Location. (Contains 43 tables, 18 figures and 1 footnote.) [For school release materials, &quot;National Assessment Program--Science Literacy Year 6 School Release Materials, 2006,&quot; see ED534661. For technical report, &quot;National Assessment Program--Science Literacy Year 6 Technical Report, 2006,&quot; see ED534660.]
National Report on Schooling in Australia, 2007. Preliminary Paper. National Benchmark Results Reading, Writing and Numeracy Years 3, 5 and 7
Author: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (Australia)
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Literacy,Numeracy,Benchmarking,Elementary School Students,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Writing Achievement,Educational Assessment,Metropolitan Areas,Rural Areas,Public Schools,Private Schools,Males,Females,Indigenous Populations,English Language Learners,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,Student Participation,Educational Trends

In March 1997, all State, Territory and Commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. To provide focus for this goal, ministers also agreed to a sub-goal: that every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a minimum acceptable literacy and numeracy standard within four years. To help support the achievement of these goals, ministers agreed to the implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan, the essential features of which are: (1) early assessment and intervention for students at risk of not achieving minimum required standards; (2) development of national benchmarks for each of years 3, 5 and 7; (3) assessment of student progress against these benchmarks; (4) national reporting of benchmark data, and (5) professional development for teachers. Education authorities in all States and Territories, assisted by the Commonwealth, have been engaged in implementing these elements of the plan since its formulation. This paper concerns the national reporting of benchmark data for 2007 and follows on from earlier editions of the &quot;National Report on Schooling in Australia,&quot; which published data for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The publications reflect the continuing development of the benchmark reporting process. This 2007 edition also provides data on the performance of students in metropolitan, provincial, remote and very remote areas. In each State and Territory, students' school locations are categorised using the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Geographical Location Classification, and procedures closely related to the approaches of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. From 2005, States and Territories commenced collecting information on student socioeconomic background through school enrolment processes. Preliminary data from this collection approach has indicated there is a relatively low response rate from parents/care-givers. Information about student socioeconomic background will be published in the relevant chapter of the full &quot;National Report on Schooling in Australia.&quot; (Contains 36 tables and 12 figures.) [For &quot;National Report on Schooling in Australia, 2006. Preliminary Paper. National Benchmark Results Reading, Writing and Numeracy Years 3, 5 and 7,&quot; see ED534692.]
National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools
Author: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (Australia)
Date: 2006-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Asian Studies,Indigenous Populations,Quality Control,Position Papers,Foreign Countries,Educational Policy,Policy Formation,Politics of Education,National Curriculum,Curriculum Development,Curriculum Enrichment,Educational Resources,Professional Education,Parent Participation,Family Involvement,Teacher Education,Quality Assurance,Educational Needs,Educational Objectives,Educational Philosophy,Educational Principles,Learning Strategies,Teaching Methods

&quot;Engaging Young Australians with Asia&quot; is a national policy statement which supports &quot;The Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-First Century.&quot; These goals promote understanding of the value of cultural and linguistic diversity, and possessing the knowledge, skills and understanding to contribute to, and benefit from, such diversity in the Australian community and internationally. The &quot;Statement&quot; identifies the broad knowledge, understandings, values and skills required to engage with Asia in the context of existing policies and practices in teaching and learning. It is based on the understanding that, across all learning areas, studies of Asia and Australia will achieve a status comparable with other studies traditionally included in the curriculum. &quot;Engaging Young Australians with Asia&quot; has been prepared by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF) and builds on &quot;Studies of Asia: A Statement for Australian Schools&quot; (Second Edition, 2000). It reflects the significant work undertaken since 1993 by all education jurisdictions and schools across Australia in integrating the study of Asia across learning areas, including Asian languages. It draws on this experience to outline six interlinked elements for education jurisdictions, schools and teachers which are optimal to assist all Australian students gain such essential capabilities from their schooling. These elements are: teaching and learning, curriculum resources, teacher professional learning, engaging parents and community, teacher education and quality assurance. The statement integrates responses from a widely representative consultation of school education stakeholders including parents, business leaders, education sectors, classroom practitioners, school principals, curriculum leaders, teacher educators and Asian Studies academics. (Contains 16 footnotes.)
National Assessment Program--ICT Literacy Years 6 &amp; 10 School Assessment Exemplars, 2005
Author: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (Australia)
Date: 2005-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Computer Literacy,Technological Literacy,National Competency Tests,Learning Modules,Computer Assisted Testing,Database Management Systems,Courseware,Skill Analysis,Information Skills,Information Technology,Task Analysis,Test Content,Test Format,Program Descriptions

In 2005, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) conducted an assessment of Year 6 and Year 10 students across Australia to assess their proficiency in ICT literacy. The 2005 ICT literacy assessment instrument consisted of seven discrete thematic modules. One module, the General Skills Test, included only simple software skills performance and multiple-choice assessment items. The remaining six modules, referred to as &quot;Hybrid Assessment Modules&quot; (HAMs), integrated skills simulations, performance and multiple choice items with large open ended tasks completed using live software applications on notebook computers. This paper presents a brief description of the content of each of the three exemplar assessment modules with hyperlinks to play, or download and play, each module. [For related report, &quot;National Assessment Program--ICT Literacy Years 6 &amp; 10 Report, 2005,&quot; see ED530360.]