ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Expanding National Vocational Education and Training Statistical Collections: Private Provider Engagement
Author: Smith, Andrew C.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Vocational Education,Private Education,Participation,Methods,Statistical Data,Data Collection,Barriers,Influences,Focus Groups,Surveys,Foreign Countries

The research reported was intended to identify the barriers and facilitators to the participation of private education and training providers in the supply of data to the national vocational education and training (VET) statistical collection. In addition, the research process developed a number of strategies to assist private registered training organisations (RTOs) to participate in the training market and tested those strategies with the industry. The larger context for the research can be found in the growing recognition that the private provision of VET in Australia has grown into a thriving industry that makes a considerable contribution to the national training effort. However, the nation holds only poor data on the size of this contribution, its profile, or its participants. From the private training sector viewpoint, that is an unsatisfactory position since it does not develop a public perception of the value of the sector to the nation; it is also unsatisfactory from a government perspective in that, without a clear knowledge of the total VET effort, there can only be partial planning of future growth in VET, its outputs, its contribution to the economy and economic development, and to its role in providing greater equity. The purpose of this research:  (1) to identify the barriers to private providers in supplying statistical data to the National VET Provider Collection; (2) to identify drivers that would encourage private providers to supply those data; (3) to identify some data requirements that private providers would either not be able to, or would not wish to, provide to the National VET Provider Collection; and (4) to develop and provide strategies that would assist private provider participation. Survey questions and response options are appended. (Contains 4 tables.)
What Makes Special Education Teachers Special? Teacher Training and Achievement of Students with Disabilities. Working Paper 49
Author: Feng, Li
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Education Courses,Academic Achievement,Disabilities,Special Education Teachers,Special Education,Special Needs Students,Preservice Teacher Education,Inservice Teacher Education,Faculty Development,Longitudinal Studies,Educational Attainment,Teacher Certification,Majors (Students),Teacher Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education,Public Schools

This paper contributes importantly to the growing literature on the training of special education teachers and how it translates into classroom practice and student achievement. The authors examine the impact of pre-service preparation and in-service formal and informal training on the ability of teachers to promote academic achievement among students with disabilities. Using student-level longitudinal data from Florida over a five-year span the authors estimate &quot;value-added&quot; models of student achievement. There is little support for the efficacy of in-service professional development courses focusing on special education. However, teachers with advanced degrees are more effective in boosting the math achievement of students with disabilities than are those with only a baccalaureate degree. Also pre-service preparation in special education has statistically significant and quantitatively substantial effects on the ability of teachers of special education courses to promote gains in achievement for students with disabilities, especially in reading. Certification in special education, an undergraduate major in special education, and the amount of special education coursework in college are all positively correlated with the performance of teachers in special education reading courses. (Contains 4 tables and 12 footnotes.)
Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement. Working Paper 48
Author: Vigdor, Jacob L.
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Reading Achievement,Reading Tests,Access to Computers,Disadvantaged,Computers,Internet,Secondary School Students,Racial Differences,Social Differences,Socioeconomic Status,Achievement Gap,Public Schools,Scores,Mathematics Achievement,Mathematics Tests,Academic Achievement

Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities between rich and poor? Would a program of government provision of computers to early secondary school students reduce these disparities? The authors use administrative data on North Carolina public school students to corroborate earlier surveys that document broad racial and socioeconomic gaps in home computer access and use. Using within-student variation in home computer access, and across-ZIP code variation in the timing of the introduction of high-speed internet service, the authors demonstrate that the introduction of home computer technology is associated with modest but statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores. Further evidence suggests that providing universal access to home computers and high-speed internet access would broaden, rather than narrow, math and reading achievement gaps. Coefficients on Time-Invariant Student Covariates, Across-Student Specifications is appended. (Contains 8 tables, 3 figures, and 34 footnotes.)
Scrambling the Nest Egg: How Well Do Teachers Understand Their Pensions, and What Do They Think about Alternative Pension Structures? Working Paper 51
Author: DeArmond, Michael
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Retirement,Retirement Benefits,Comprehension,Knowledge Level,Teaching Experience,Teacher Attitudes,Money Management,Investment,Beginning Teachers,Experienced Teachers

This paper addresses two questions: How well do teachers understand their current pension plans? And, what do they think about alternative plan structures? The data come from administrative records and a 2006 survey of teachers in Washington State. The results suggest Washington's teachers are fairly knowledgeable about their pensions, though new entrants and mid-career teachers appear to be less knowledgeable than veteran teachers. As for teachers' preferences for plan structure, the survey suggests that when it comes to investing additional retirement savings, a plurality of teachers favor defined contribution plans which offer more portability and choice, but more risk than traditional defined benefit plans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all else equal, teachers newer to the profession are more likely than veteran teachers to favor a defined contribution structure. An appendix is included. (Contains 1 figure, 7 tables, and 29 footnotes.)
Measure for Measure: The Relationship between Measures of Instructional Practice in Middle School English Language Arts and Teachers' Value-Added Scores. Working Paper 45
Author: Grossman, Pamela L.
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Characteristics,Teaching Methods,Academic Achievement,Scores,Middle School Teachers,English Teachers,English Instruction,Language Arts,Differences,Educational Quality,Measurement,Middle School Students,Writing Instruction

Even as research documents that teachers matter, there is less certainty about the attributes of teachers that make the most difference in raising student achievement. Many studies have estimated the relationship between teachers' characteristics (i.e., experience and academic performance) and their value-added to student achievement. Few have explored whether instructional practices predict student test score gains. In this study, the authors ask what classroom practices, if any, differentiate teachers with high impact on student achievement in middle school English Language Arts from those with lower impact. The study further explores the extent to which value-added measures signal differences in instructional quality. Even with the small sample used in the analysis, the authors find evidence that high value-added teachers have a different profile of instructional practices than do low value-added teachers. Teachers in the top quartile as measured by value-added scores score higher than second-quartile teachers on all 16 elements of instruction that were measured. The differences are statistically significant for a subset of practices including explicit strategy instruction. (Contains 4 footnotes, 6 figures, and 5 tables.)
Two-Generation Strategies and Involving Immigrant Parents in Children's Education
Author: Crosnoe, Robert
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Parent Participation,Migrant Children,Parent School Relationship,Asian Americans,Immigrants,Latin Americans,Migrant Programs,Educational Strategies,Change Strategies,School Readiness,Intervention,Intergenerational Programs

Intervening in the parent generation can improve current and future prospects in the child generation. Such two-generation strategies target either parents' life circumstances or parenting behaviors. Because many immigrants do not have the English capabilities, inside knowledge about schools, or social standing, engaging them more fully in the educational process in the home, school, and community could bring academic returns for children. This paper describes two-generation approaches to the education of young children from immigrant families that center on parental involvement in education. It focuses on Latin American and Asian immigrants, who make up the bulk of the immigrant population. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.) [This paper was prepared for the Young Children in Immigrant Families and the Path to Educational Success roundtable meeting at the Urban Institute, June 28, 2010.]
Understanding Quality in Context: Child Care Centers, Communities, Markets, and Public Policy
Author: Rohacek, Monica
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Child Care Centers,Public Policy,Child Care,Early Childhood Education,Child Development,Professional Development,Educational Improvement,Program Improvement,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Interviews,Observation,Decision Making,Measures (Individuals),Educational Finance,Administrators

Early care and education can prepare children for school, but while some preschool and child care programs do an excellent job, others are inadequate and some may even harm healthy development. This study focuses on child care center directors to better understand why there is so much variation, and how public initiatives can better help poor-quality programs improve. Using data from in-depth interviews and classroom observations, the research considers how various factors--including director and program characteristics, market forces, and federal state and local policies--are associated with each other, director decision making, and program quality. Appended are: (1) Director Interview Guide; (2) Obtaining Nominations for High-Quality Centers to Include in Sample; (3) Sampling Steps; and (4) Additional Details on CLASS Dimensions and ECERS-R Items Used in the Research. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, 4 boxes and 10 notes.) [&quot;Understanding Quality in Context: Child Care Centers, Communities, Markets, and Public Policy&quot; was written with Anna Danziger, Teresa Derrick-Mills and Heidi Johnson.]
Violence Prevention in Schools: A Case Study of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. Final Report
Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: High Schools,Violence,Models,Prevention,Logical Thinking,Charter Schools,Urban Schools,Surveys,Discipline,Safety,Student Characteristics,Neighborhoods,Parent Child Relationship,Aggression,Victims of Crime,Educational Environment,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Parent Role,Teacher Role,Administrator Role

This report is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008-2009 school year. Based on an assessment of the school's violence prevention approach using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, field observations, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty, this report includes: a logic model of the school's violence prevention approach; detailed information on each of the violence prevention activities within the violence prevention approach and how they compare to national best practices; student and faculty perceptions of the school climate and the violence prevention approach; and recommendations to the school administrators on how to strengthen their violence prevention approach based on the assessment findings. The report concludes with brief remarks on next steps in school violence prevention research. (Contains 1 figure, 28 tables and 9 footnotes.) [The contents of this report were funded by the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. For &quot;Violence Prevention at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. Summary Brief&quot;, see ED511769.]
Violence Prevention at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. Summary Brief
Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: High Schools,Violence,Models,Prevention,Logical Thinking,Charter Schools,Urban Schools,Surveys,Discipline,Safety,Student Characteristics,Neighborhoods,Parent Child Relationship,Aggression,Victims of Crime,Educational Environment,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Parent Role,Teacher Role,Administrator Role

This summary brief is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008-2009 school year. Researchers from the Justice Policy Center conducted an assessment of the school's violence prevention activities using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty. This brief provides an overview of Thurgood Marshall Academy's violence prevention approach; a more detailed report on the full assessment follows in Summer 2010. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables and 2 footnotes.) [The contents of this brief were funded by Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. For &quot;Violence Prevention in Schools: A Case Study of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. Final Report&quot;, see ED511768.]
Using Data to Promote Collaboration in Local School Readiness Systems
Author: Kingsley, G. Thomas
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Neighborhoods,School Readiness,Early Childhood Education,Children,Data,Child Development,Cooperation,Risk,Urban Areas,Poverty,Poverty Areas,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gap

This brief reviews results of an Annie E. Casey Foundation sponsored project that challenged local data intermediaries in eight cities (all partners in the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, NNIP) to use their data to promote strengthening of their local school readiness systems. The project showed it was possible to develop rich neighborhood level information on factors affecting early childhood development in all cities and that the effective presentation of such information in reports and public forums did help build momentum for coherence in school readiness initiatives. Particularly valuable were data showing the spatial concentration of early childhood risks in low-income neighborhoods. (Contains 1 table, 7 maps and 38 footnotes.) [This brief was prepared for the Annie E. Casey Foundation.]
Young Children of Immigrants: The Leading Edge of America's Future. Brief No. 3
Author: Fortuny, Karina
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Young Children,Immigrants,Parents,Immigration,Trend Analysis,Citizenship,Tables (Data),Educational Attainment,Enrollment Rate,Limited English Speaking,Family Characteristics,Parent Background,Individual Characteristics,English (Second Language)

Children of immigrants have nearly doubled as a share of pre-K to 3rd grade students since 1990. The share of children under age 8 with immigrant parents stood at 24 percent in 2008, up from 13 percent in 1990. Young children of immigrants account for more than 30 percent of children in seven states, with California leading the nation at 50 percent. The majority (93 percent) of children of immigrants are U.S. citizens. This fact sheet also includes state-by-state data on the number of children of immigrants and the number of children whose parents come from more than 130 countries. Two tables are appended: (1) Number and Share of Children Age 0-8 with Immigrant Parents by State, 1990-2008; and (2) Children Age 0-8 with Immigrant Parents by Parents' Country of Origin, 2008. (Contains 12 figures, 2 tables and 7 notes.)
Aspects of a Neoteric Approach to Advance Students' Ability to Conjecture, Prove, or Disprove
Author: McLoughlin, M. Padraig M. M.
Date: 2010-08-05
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Student Needs,Mathematics Education,Definitions,Inquiry,Active Learning,Teaching Methods,Mathematics Instruction,College Mathematics,Theories,Mathematical Concepts,Educational Objectives,Student Development,Instructional Effectiveness,College Students,Educational Philosophy

The author of this paper suggests several neoteric, unconventional, idiosyncratic, or unique approaches to beginning Set Theory that he found seems to work well in building students' introductory understanding of the Foundations of Mathematics. This paper offers some ideas on how the author uses certain &quot;unconventional&quot; definitions and &quot;standards&quot; to get students to understand the essentials of basic set theory. These approaches continue through the canon and are employed in subsequent courses such as Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Real Analysis, Point-Set Topology, etc. The author of this paper submits that a mathematics student needs to learn how to conjecture, to hypothesise, &quot;to make mistakes,&quot; and to prove or disprove said ideas; so, the paper's thesis is learning requires &quot;doing&quot; and the point of any mathematics course is to get students to do proofs, produce examples, offer counterarguments, and create counterexamples. We propose a quintessentially inquiry-based learning (IBL) pedagogical approach to mathematics education that centres on exploration, discovery, conjecture, hypothesis, thesis, and synthesis which yields positive results--students doing proofs, counterexamples, examples, and counter-arguments. Moreover, these methods seem to assist in getting students to be willing to make mistakes for, we argue, that we learn from making mistakes not from always being correct! We use a modified Moore method (MMM, or M[superscript 3]) to teach students how to do, critique, or analyse proofs, counterexamples, examples, or counter-arguments. We have found that the neoteric definitions and frame-works described herein seem to encourage students to try, aid students' transition to advanced work, assists in forging long-term undergraduate research, and inspirits students to do rather than witness mathematics. We submit evidence to suggest that such teaching methodology produces authentically more adept students, more confident students, and students who are better at adapting to new ideas. (Contains 36 footnotes.)
Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2007-08. Web Tables. NCES 2010-205
Author: Staklis, Sandra
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Student Financial Aid,Student Characteristics,Higher Education,Part Time Students,Full Time Students,Tables (Data),Enrollment,Profiles,Postsecondary Education,Statistical Data,Marital Status,Citizenship,Distance Education,Debt (Financial),College Attendance,Remedial Instruction

These tables provide comprehensive information on undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions during the 2007-08 academic year. Estimates for enrolled students are presented by attendance status, degree program, undergraduate major, average grades, student characteristics, financial aid status and credit card debt, work, community service, voting, disability status, and distance and remedial education. These tables are similar to those produced for the 1995-96, 1999-2000, and 2003-04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) undergraduate profiles, and they are grouped into six sections: Section 1 focuses on postsecondary enrollment and attendance, displaying estimates for all undergraduates by institution level, control and type, student class level, attendance status, distance from home, community college attendance, and participation in distance education. Section 2 provides percentage distributions of all undergraduates by degree program, undergraduate major, and average grades. Section 3 presents estimates by student characteristics, including sex, race/ethnicity, age, dependency status, income, marital status, responsibility for dependents, high school completion status, local residence while enrolled, citizenship status, and parents' education. Section 4 looks at financial aid and credit card debt. The analysis summarizes financial aid among all, dependent, and independent undergraduates, as well as the percentage of students with credit cards in their own name and, for those who carried a balance, the average and median monthly balance. Section 5 explores students' work, community service participation, and voting behavior. Estimates are reported by the number of hours spent working while enrolled, the amount and type of community service, and whether students were registered to vote and had ever voted. Section 6 presents estimates of undergraduate enrollment by students' disability status and remedial education coursetaking. A glossary is included. (Contains 68 tables and 2 endnotes.)
Survey of Outcomes Measurement in Research on Character Education Programs. NCEE 2009-006
Author: Person, Ann E.
Date: 2009-12-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Ethical Instruction,Research Tools,Research Methodology,Personality,Values Education,Educational Research,Measures (Individuals),Outcomes of Education,National Surveys,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation

Character education programs are school-based programs that have as one of their objectives promoting the character development of students. This report systematically examines the outcomes that were measured in evaluations of a delimited set of character education programs and the research tools used for measuring the targeted outcomes. The multi-faceted nature of character development and many possible ways of conceptualizing it, the large and growing number of school-based programs to promote character development, and the relative newness of efforts to evaluate character education programs using rigorous research methods all combine to make the selection or development of measures relevant to the evaluation of these programs especially challenging. This report is a step toward creating a resource that can inform measure selection for conducting rigorous, cost effective studies of character education programs. The report, however, does not provide comprehensive information on all measures or types of measures, guidance on specific measures, or recommendations on specific measures. Appendices include: (1) Program Tables; and (2) Constructs Measured for 36 Selected Programs. (Contains 92 tables, 3 figures, and 9 footnotes.)