ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Workforce Development in Early Childhood Education and Care. Research Overview
Author: Bretherton, Tanya
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Child Care,Labor Force Development,Case Studies,Employer Attitudes,Training Methods,Educational Philosophy,Performance Technology,Caregiver Training,Educational Strategies

The early childhood education and care industry in Australia is undergoing a shift in philosophy. Changes in policy are driving the industry towards a combined early childhood education and care focus, away from one on child care only. This move has implications for the skilling of the child care workforce. This research overview describes the approaches of innovative employers, those who have excelled in the delivery of early childhood education and care services while also providing staff with a high-quality workplace and attractive employment conditions. The findings are drawn from workplace case studies in the child care sector, conducted as part of a three-year project on workforce development. The employers at the heart of this study believe they have found a &quot;high skills&quot; way to develop the workforce in the sector. This overview details some of the experiences of Lady Gowrie Tasmania and Norwest Child Care in New South Wales in their search for the skill &quot;highway&quot;. [This overview is based on the research report &quot;Developing the child care workforce: Understanding &quot;fight&quot; or &quot;flight&quot; amongst workers&quot; (ED510849).]
Developing the Child Care Workforce: Understanding &quot;Fight&quot; or &quot;Flight&quot; Amongst Workers
Author: Bretherton, Tanya
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Labor Market,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Child Care,Child Caregivers,Caregiver Training,Labor Force Development,Educational Philosophy,Educational Strategies,Training Methods,Performance Factors,Skill Development,Educational Policy,Educational Quality,Benchmarking,Educational Innovation

The early childhood education and care sector in Australia is undergoing a shift in philosophy. Changes in policy are driving the industry towards a combined early childhood education and care focus, away from one only on child care. This move has implications for the skilling of the child care workforce. This report examines workforce development strategies in the early childhood education and care sector and identifies the factors that affect the development of skills. The report explores how broad policy environments and local labour market challenges shape and influence employer choices about the development and use of labour. (Contains 2 figures and 10 footnotes.)
What Works Clearinghouse Quick Review of the Report &quot;Efficacy of a Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Intervention Over 24 Months&quot;
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Intervention,Sex Education,Health Promotion,Sexuality,Middle School Students,African American Students,Low Income Groups,Grade 6,Grade 7,Public Schools,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Research

The study examined whether a theory-based abstinence-only education program could reduce sexual behavior over a 24-month follow-up period. The study recruited sixth- and seventh-grade volunteers from four public middle schools serving low-income African-American communities in a city in the northeastern United States. The study authors randomly assigned 134 students to an abstinence-only education program and 134 to a general health promotion program targeting health issues unrelated to sexual behavior. Similar numbers of students were assigned to three other sex education intervention conditions (not discussed here). The primary outcome--whether the student had ever had sexual intercourse--was measured with a survey at the conclusion of the 24-month follow-up period. Other sexual behaviors were measured with five follow-up surveys, spanning the 24-month period. Effects were estimated by comparing outcomes of students in the abstinence-only education program to those of students in the general health promotion program. The research described in this report is consistent with WWC evidence standards. Its strength is that this is a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. Of the students who had not had intercourse prior to the intervention, 49% of students in the general health promotion group reported that they had intercourse by the 24-month follow-up, compared with 34% in the abstinence-only group, a statistically significant reduction of more than 30%. Among all participants, fewer students in the abstinence-only group (21%) than in the health-promotion group (29%) reported having sexual intercourse in the past three months; this difference was statistically significant. There were no statistically significant differences in the reports of having multiple partners or having unprotected sex between these two groups. This quick review cautions that estimating effects on multiple outcomes increases the possibility that some results may be found to be statistically significant by chance. The authors do not adjust for this possibility in their analysis. [The following study is reviewed herein: Jemmott III, J. B., Jemmott, L. S., &amp; Fong G. T. (February 2010). &quot;Efficacy of a theory-based abstinence-only intervention over 24 Months: A randomized controlled trial with young adolescents.&quot; Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 164(2), 152-159.]
WWC Quick Review of the Report &quot;Head Start Impact Study: Final Report&quot;
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Readiness,Preschool Education,Nutrition,Disadvantaged Youth,Federal Programs,Program Effectiveness,Kindergarten,Mathematics Skills,Grade 1,Preschool Children,Health Services,Program Evaluation,Outcomes of Education,Scores,Comparative Analysis,Enrollment,Measures (Individuals),Student Evaluation,Language Tests,Mathematics Tests,Literacy,Sample Size

This study examined the effects of offering Head Start to preschoolers. Head Start is a federal program aimed at boosting the school readiness of low-income children by providing preschool education and health and nutrition services. The study analyzed data on about 4,700 preschool-aged children who applied for enrollment for the 2002-03 program year at one of about 380 Head Start centers randomly selected for the study. The study followed the students through first grade. The study compared the outcomes of children who were offered enrollment in Head Start to the outcomes of children who were not offered enrollment. School-readiness outcomes, which are the focus of this quick review, were measured using standardized cognitive assessments of language and literacy, pre-writing, and math skills administered at the end of each year through first grade. The study found that, for 3-year-olds, children offered enrollment in Head Start had higher scores on four of eight measures of language and literacy, the single measure of pre-writing, and one of two measures of math skills at the end of the Head Start year than children not offered enrollment. However, none of these effects were statistically significant when measured at the end of the following year, kindergarten, or first grade. For 4-year-olds, the study authors found that children offered enrollment in Head Start had higher scores on six of eight measures of language and literacy at the end of the Head Start year than children not offered enrollment. However, none of these effects were statistically significant when measured at the end of kindergarten or first grade. There were no significant effects for the measures of pre-writing or math skills. The research described in this report is consistent with WWC evidence standards. A strength is that the groups of students contrasted in the study were formed by random assignment. This quick review cautions that the report contains conflicting information about the sample sizes used in the main analyses of 3-year-olds at the end of their first-grade year and 4-year-olds at the end of their Head Start year, making it difficult to determine the attrition rates for these samples. For this reason, findings from these rounds of data collection should be interpreted with caution. [The following study is reviewed in this quick review: Puma, M. et al. (2010). &quot;Head Start impact study: Final report.&quot; Washington, DC: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.]
READ 180[R]. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Reading Programs,Reading Difficulties,Reading Achievement,Elementary Secondary Education,Learning Disabilities,Reading Comprehension,Group Activities,Independent Reading,Reading Instruction,Program Effectiveness,Evidence,Standards,Literature Reviews

&quot;READ 180&quot;[R] is a reading program designed for students in grades 3-12 whose reading achievement is below the proficient level. &quot;READ 180&quot;[R] aims to address gaps in individual student's skills through 90-minute sessions, during which students receive several different types of instruction. These sessions can be completed in multiple class periods and begin and end with whole-group, teacher-directed instruction. The sessions also include a period of small group activities where students rotate among direct instruction from the teacher, independent computer work, and modeled and independent reading. The program includes workbooks designed to address reading comprehension skills, paperback books for independent reading, audio books with corresponding CDs for modeled reading, and software designed to track each student's progress. However, no studies of &quot;READ 180&quot;[R] that fall within the scope of the Students Learning Disabilities review protocol meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. The lack of studies meeting WWC evidence standards means that, at this time, the WWC is unable to draw any conclusions based on research about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the program on students with learning disabilities. (Contains 2 footnotes.)
Reading Apprenticeship[R]. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Literature Reviews,Reading Instruction,Middle School Students,High School Students,College Students,Community Colleges,Learner Engagement,Reading Fluency,Reading Comprehension,Professional Development,Program Effectiveness,Evidence,Standards

&quot;Reading Apprenticeship&quot;[R] is an instructional approach that intends to help middle school, high school, and community college students develop skills and knowledge to improve their engagement, fluency, and comprehension of content-area materials and texts. To achieve these goals, &quot;Reading Apprenticeship&quot;[R] provides a range of professional development activities for teachers, as well as an academic literacy curricula for students. Twenty-seven studies reviewed by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) investigated the effects of &quot;Reading Apprenticeship&quot;[R] on adolescent learners. One study (Kemple et al., 2008) is a randomized controlled trial that meets WWC evidence standards. The remaining 26 studies do not meet either WWC evidence standards or eligibility screens. Appended are: (1) Study characteristics: Kemple et al., 2008; (2) Outcome measures for the comprehension domain; (3) Summary of study findings included in the rating for the comprehension domain; (4) &quot;Reading Apprenticeship&quot;[R] rating for the comprehension domain; and (5) Extent of evidence by domain. (Contains 8 footnotes.)[The following study is reviewed in this intervention report: Kemple, J. J., Corrin, W., Nelson, E., Salinger, T., Herrmann, S., &amp; Drummond, K. (2008). &quot;The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: Early impact and implementation findings (NCEE report no. 2008-4015&quot;) Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Additional source: Corrin, W., Somers, M., Kemple, J. J., Nelson, E., &amp; Sepanik, S. (2008). &quot;The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: Findings from the second year of implementation (NCEE report no. 2009-4036)&quot;. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.]
Rockets: Educator's Guide with Activities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Author: Shearer, Deborah A.
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Subjects: Space Exploration,Science Activities,Class Activities,Learning Activities,Experiments,Individual Activities,Space Sciences,Transportation,State Standards,Vocabulary,Cooperative Learning,Motion,Teaching Guides

This guide provides teachers and students many opportunities. Chapters within the guide present the history of rocketry, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) 21st Century Space Exploration Policy, rocketry principles, and practical rocketry. These topics lay the foundation for what follows--a wealth of dynamic rocket science classroom activities that work. The activities focus on Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion and how they apply to rockets. They incorporate cooperative learning, problem solving, critical thinking, and hands-on involvement. They support national and state standards for science, mathematics, and technology across many grade levels. All of the activities are designed with the classroom in mind. They include clear descriptions, background information for the teacher and student, detailed procedures and tips, lists of readily available materials, assessments, questions for discussion, and extensions. The activities are designed to foster excitement and a passion for learning. It has been created as a two to six week classroom unit depending upon the grade level of the students but individual activities can be extracted and used as stand-alone classroom experiences. Teachers will find activity objectives and principles clearly stated along with the vocabulary terms necessary for understanding the principles involved. [The original "Rockets Teacher Guide" was published by NASA's Education Division in the mid-1990s.]
GAO Review of LEA Controls over and Uses of Recovery Act Education Funds (Avery County Schools). Monitoring of Recovery Act Education Funds. GAO-10-746R
Author: Ashby, Cornelia M.
Date: 2010-07-09
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Programs,Federal Aid,Accountability,Federal Regulation,Grants,Expenditures,Benchmarking

This paper is a transcript of a letter written by the author, Cornelia M. Ashby, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, to June St. Clair Atkinson, State Superintendent of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. In this letter, the author reports that she and her colleagues have examined the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, they reviewed efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); as amended. As part of this effort, they met with various DPI staff and, from February 1 through 3, 2010, they visited Avery County Schools (ACS) to review and test the adequacy of controls and procedures in place pertaining to Recovery Act funds for these three federal programs. Specifically, they found the following: For its two largest Recovery Act purchases, ACS staff could not provide documentation to show that the district obtained multiple bids or price quotes for contracts for goods and services. (Contains 12 footnotes.)
GAO Review of LEA Controls over and Uses of Recovery Act Education Funds (Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools). Monitoring of Recovery Act Education Funds. GAO-10-747R
Author: Ashby, Cornelia M.
Date: 2010-07-09
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Programs,Audits (Verification),Expenditures,Federal Aid,Federal Regulation,Accountability,Benchmarking

This paper is a transcript of a letter written by the author, Cornelia M. Ashby, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, to June St. Clair Atkinson, State Superintendent of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. In this letter, the author reports that she and her colleagues have examined the efforts of selected states and local educational agencies (LEA) to ensure appropriate uses of Recovery Act funds. In North Carolina, they reviewed efforts undertaken by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and selected LEAs to administer and oversee the use of Recovery Act funds under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) education stabilization funds; Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA Title I), as amended; and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended. As part of this effort, they met with various DPI staff and, from February 23 through 25, 2010, they visited Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS) to review and test the adequacy of controls and procedures in place pertaining to Recovery Act funds for these three federal programs. They found the following: (1) WSFCS expended $38,400 of ESEA Title I funds on a program that included some expenses that appeared to constitute entertainment, a potentially unallowable use of these funds; and (2) WSFCS staff could not provide documentation to show that the district obtained multiple bids or price quotes for contracts for goods and services. (Contains 14 footnotes.)
National Research Priorities for Tertiary Education and Training: 2011-13
Author: National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Postsecondary Education,Foreign Countries,Vocational Education,Research Needs,Role of Education,Economic Impact,Disadvantaged,Needs Assessment,Educational Research,Training,Research Administration,Research Opportunities,Feasibility Studies,Consultation Programs

The objective of a national government-funded research program for tertiary education and training is to support the achievement of major social and economic goals. These include increased opportunities for participation in the labour market, improvements in productivity and enhanced social inclusion. In essence, the overarching lens is to consider the &quot;outcomes&quot; of education and training. Research into Australia's tertiary education, training and employment sector is commissioned and undertaken by a variety of researchers, academics, vocational education and training (VET) practitioners, government and non-government agencies, industry and provider bodies. National research priorities give greater direction to this substantial research effort. The priorities will become the basis for research undertaken through the National VET Research and Evaluation (NVETRE) Program and guide the National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER's) in-house research activities. Other agencies and organisations may also elect to frame their research activities within the national priorities. These priorities will be used to generate research and to initiate primary data-gathering exercises. NCVER will report to ministers on the efficacy of the priorities and will ensure that any gaps in the research are addressed, either through open funding rounds or direct commissions. This document sets out the context for the priorities, what was gleaned from the consultations and, finally, the advice by the NCVER Board on research priorities for 2011-13 to the Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment, subsequently endorsed by the Ministerial Council at their June 2010 meeting. Appended are: (1) NCVER's current research and statistics; (2) Council of Australian Governments; (3) Organisations consulted; and (4) Written submissions. (Contains 5 tables and 3 boxes.)
Implications of Civility for Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Literature
Author: Wilkins, Keely
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Collected Works - Serial
Subjects: Children,Adolescents,Prosocial Behavior,Definitions,Values Education,Prevention,Violence,Intervention,Crime,Influence of Technology,Citizenship Responsibility,Antisocial Behavior,Empathy,Adolescent Development,Psychological Patterns,Literature Reviews

The purpose of this article is to review the literature exploring various definitions of civility, along with reasons why civility is vital to children and adolescents in any community. The authors examine definitions and components of civility in both historical and current contexts. The need for increased civility in modern society is described. The authors also explore the relationship of civility education to character and moral education and outline civility interventions suggested in the literature. Finally, suggestions are given for methods and strategies that have been found to be successful in bringing civility into schools.
Indigenous VET Research and Statistics: Terms and Definitions. Support Document
Author: National Centre for Vocational Education Research
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reference Materials - Vocabularies/Classifications
Subjects: Vocational Education,Research Reports,Vocabulary,Definitions,Indigenous Populations,Statistics,Statistical Data,Classification,Information Sources,Trainees,Apprenticeships,Learning Modules,Fundamental Concepts,Educational Research

This document covers the data terms used in the "Indigenous Research and Statistics" resources. It covers information contained in the "Apprentices and Trainees June Quarter 2009 report," the "Students and Courses 2009" report and the "Student Outcomes 2009" report and their associated data tables. The primary purpose of this document is to assist users of the report in understanding the specific data terms used within it. Terms that appear in the report are listed in alphabetical order with the following information provided for each: (1) Definition, a brief explanation of the term; (2) Classification categories, where applicable, defined categories that apply to each term are listed; and (3) Source, a description of the source of this information, including details of any calculations or derivations. Training packages grouped by industry skills councils is appended. [This report was produced as an added resource for the report "Indigenous Students," which is available on NCVER's website. To access "Students and Courses 2009: Terms and Definitions. Support Document," see ED510697. For the main document, "Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics: Students and Courses, 2009", see ED510696. To access support documents available in ERIC for the "Student Outcomes 2009 Report" see  "Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistics: Outcomes from the Productivity Places Program, 2009" ED507551. To access the following support documents see: "Outcomes from the Productivity Places Program 2009: Terms and Definitions. Support Document" ED507565; "Outcomes from the Productivity Places Program 2009: Technical Notes. Support Document" ED507563. Other support documents also include a Questionnaire, Cover letters, and a data dictionary, which can be accessed via the NCVER website. ]