ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Early Impacts of the Victorian Training Guarantee on VET Enrolments and Graduate Outcomes. Research Report
Author: Leung, Felix
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Vocational Education,Enrollment,Educational Change,Outcomes of Education,Indigenous Populations,Disabilities,English (Second Language),Age Differences,Program Effectiveness,Multivariate Analysis,Regression (Statistics),Surveys

The impact of the first round of Victorian demand-driven reforms, referred to as the Victorian Training Guarantee (VTG), on enrolments and training outcomes is the focus of this report. The VTG reforms were introduced to create a more responsive training market and were implemented between July 2009 and January 2011. Subsequent reforms introduced in Victoria in 2012 are not part of this analysis. A particular focus of this report is on impacts for Indigenous students, those from a non-English speaking background and students with a disability. The impact of the VTG on enrolments and training outcomes for students from different age groups is also considered. Key messages in this report include: (1) For 15 to 19-year-olds, the Victorian Training Guarantee is estimated to improve the likelihood of being in full-time employment six months after training; this group was also satisfied with their course. The outcomes were not as positive for those aged 20 to 24 years, however, possibly suggesting that the upskilling requirements of the training guarantee are limiting the potential benefits for those looking to change their occupation; and (2) The increases in enrolments for students from a non-English speaking background or who have a disability were not as great as for those who were not in these equity groups. The Victorian Training Guarantee was estimated to have no effect on Indigenous students' enrolments. The following appendices are included: (1) VET trends across states; (2) Enrolment data; and (3) Outcome data. [Funding is provided through the Australian Department of Industry.]
Bridging Skill and Task Oriented Reading
Author: Higgs, Karyn
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Correlation,Individual Differences,Undergraduate Students,Reading Processes,Reading Strategies,Task Analysis,Reading Comprehension,Academic Discourse,Psychology,Introductory Courses,Computer Assisted Testing,Protocol Analysis,Prior Learning,Multiple Choice Tests,Hierarchical Linear Modeling,Prediction,Models

Some individual difference factors are more strongly correlated with performance on postreading questions when the text is not available than when it is. The present study explores if similar interactions occur with bridging skill, which refers to a reader's propensity to establish connections between explicit text during reading. Undergraduates read science texts using two research tools. The Reading Strategy Assessment Tool provided a measure of bridging skill. Texts and postreading questions were presented in Read&amp;Answer, and the availability of the text while answering was manipulated. Contrary to prior research, bridging skill was comparably correlated with performance in both availability conditions. Although bridging skill was not correlated with search decisions, there was a trend toward a positive correlation with search time, suggesting that readers who tend to bridge more may also tend to persist longer in searching for answers. The results are discussed in terms of dynamic perspectives of task-oriented reading. [At the time of submission to ERIC this article was in press with &quot;Discourse Processes.&quot; Additional funding for this report was provided by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy at Northern Illinois University and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant EDU2011-27091).]
Training and Its Impact on the Casual Employment Experience. Research Report
Author: Buddelmeyer, Hielke
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Employment,Job Training,Education Work Relationship,Job Satisfaction,Life Satisfaction,Employment Opportunities,National Surveys,Longitudinal Studies,Multivariate Analysis,Regression (Statistics),Gender Differences

The proportion of people who are employed casually has been stable over the last 15 years at around 20% of the working-age population. For most, casual employment is a relatively temporary state. There are some, though, for whom casual employment is a more enduring state. Does undertaking work-related training help those who are casually employed move into permanent or fixed-term work? Does such training have any impact on the level of satisfaction casually employed people have with their jobs, employment opportunities, and life in general? Using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, this report investigates these issues. The authors find the impact of training on helping to move individuals from casual employment to more permanent work was minimal, as was the impact of training on an individual's satisfaction with their job or life. Key messages in this report include: (1) Casual workers are less likely to participate in work-related training than those in permanent or fixed-term employment; (2) There is little evidence that receiving work-related training affects the probability of moving into permanent or fixed-term employment. The apparent finding that casual workers who undertake work-related training are more likely to move into permanent or fixed-term work than those who do not becomes invalid when the panel nature of the data is exploited to account for unobserved differences between those receiving and those not receiving training; and (3) There is also little evidence of any strong impacts of work-related training on the level of satisfaction reported by casual workers with their job or life. The exception to this is satisfaction with employment opportunities among casually employed women. An appendix includes: Further details on methods and data. [Funding is provided through the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.]
Achievement Network&apos;s Investing in Innovation Expansion: Impacts on Educator Practice and Student Achievement
Author: West, Martin R.
Date: 2016-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Data,Instruction,Educational Assessment,Formative Evaluation,Student Evaluation,State Standards,Academic Standards,Teacher Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Surveys,Teacher Attitudes,Satisfaction,Correlation,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Readiness,Intervention,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools,Elementary School Teachers,Middle School Teachers,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,Randomized Controlled Trials

Data-based instructional programs have proliferated in American schools despite limited evidence of their effectiveness in improving educator practice and raising student achievement. We report results from a two-year school-randomized evaluation of the Achievement Network (ANet), a program providing schools with standards-aligned interim assessments and intensive supports for instructional data use. Survey data show that ANet increased teacher satisfaction with the timeliness and clarity of the data they receive and available supports for instructional data-use and caused them to review and use interim assessment data more often. ANet did not, however, affect their confidence in data use or how frequently they differentiated instruction. Student impact estimates show no overall effect on student achievement in English language arts or mathematics. Despite the lack program effects on student achievement, we find that achievement is positively correlated with our survey-based measures of teacher perceptions and practices around instructional data use. Exploratory analyses suggest that the success of ANet in improving teacher practice and student achievement varies with the pre-existing capacity of schools to engage in data-based instruction. Schools rated by program staff as having a high level of readiness to implement the intervention prior to random assignment experienced positive impacts on student achievement, while those rated as a having a low level of readiness experienced negative impacts. The following are appended: (1) School Screener Scoring Rubric; (2) Year 2 School Leader and Teacher Survey Scale Items; and (3) School Leader and Teacher Survey Impact Tables.
Traditional Games and Pupils' Violent Behaviour in Elementary Education
Author: Kovacevic, Tatjana
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Games,Violence,Prevention,Intervention,Elementary School Students,Grade 2,Grade 3,Grade 4,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Video Games,Student Surveys,Peer Relationship,Behavior Change,Hypothesis Testing,Age Differences,Gender Differences,Aggression,Antisocial Behavior,Student Behavior

The aim of this research was to examine the impact of using traditional games with the purpose of decreasing violent behavior among pupils in elementary schools as well as improving their mutual relationships. The research was conducted among second-, third- and fourth-graders in elementary schools in Karlovac (a total of 232 pupils). In order to get pupils' opinion on the subject, a questionnaire was designed for the needs of this research. It was based on the Questionnaire of School Violence (QSV 2003) of the Child Protection Center of Zagreb. Various traditional games were practiced during the period of eight weeks; pupils were learning and applying them. The final survey was carried out afterwards. Based on the results obtained, the impact of using traditional games with the purpose of decreasing violent behavior was confirmed. Mutual relationships among pupils improved, children started spending more time together, even after school, while the number of all types of violent behavior, both experienced and committed, was reduced. The results of this research indicate that traditional games could be a quality and efficient model for preventing violent behavior among pupils in elementary education. [This paper was published in: &quot;Education between Tradition and Modernity&quot; (pp.74-80), Skopje: Faculty of Philosophy, Institute of Pedagogy.]
Automated Detection of Essay Revising Patterns: Applications for Intelligent Feedback in a Writing Tutor
Author: Roscoe, Rod D.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Intelligent Tutoring Systems,Automation,Feedback (Response),Revision (Written Composition),Essays,High School Students,Writing Instruction,Persuasive Discourse,Scoring

The Writing Pal is an intelligent tutoring system designed to support writing proficiency and strategy acquisition for adolescent writers. A fundamental aspect of the instructional model is automated formative feedback that provides concrete information and strategies oriented toward student improvement. In this paper, the authors explore computational methods for expanding automated feedback by taking into account students' essay revising patterns. High school students (n = 87) used the Writing Pal to write and revise a persuasive essay each day across eight daily sessions. Analyses of the linguistic properties of original and revised essays revealed that students were more likely to implement document-level revisions focused on improving elaboration, organization, and cohesion, rather than surface word-level edits focused on incorporating bigger words or less common words. Implications and applications of essay revising data for automated feedback and essay scoring are discussed.
Second Language Literacies in the City: New Practices in Urban Spaces of Medellín, Colombia
Author: Mora, Raúl Alberto
Date: 2015-04-18
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Language Usage,Urban Areas,Literature,Reading Materials,Ethnography,Creativity,Advertising,Language Planning,Signs,Second Language Instruction,Literacy

This paper shows the results of a study that described how people in Medellín, Colombia are using English as a communicative resource. Relying on an ethnographic approach, the research team discovered that English appears as an element that helps enrich the complexity of the messages that one finds in urban spaces in the city. These findings expand previous research regarding this new complexity of meanings and defy conventional wisdom that portrays the city as &quot;monolingual&quot;. Instead, the data showed more creative uses of English in advertisements, malls, and restaurants, as well as a growing interest in English literature in bookshops and libraries. Implications for research on second language education in Latin America bookend the discussion.
Why Is Learning Fraction and Decimal Arithmetic so Difficult?
Author: Lortie-Forgues, Hugues
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Arithmetic,Fractions,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematical Concepts,Concept Formation,Prior Learning,Cultural Influences,Intervention,Grade 6,Grade 8

Fraction and decimal arithmetic are crucial for later mathematics achievement and for ability to succeed in many professions. Unfortunately, these capabilities pose large difficulties for many children and adults, and students' proficiency in them has shown little sign of improvement over the past three decades. To summarize what is known about fraction and decimal arithmetic and to stimulate greater amounts of research in the area, we devoted this review to analyzing why learning fraction and decimal arithmetic is so difficult. We identify and discuss two types of difficulties: (1) Difficulties that are inherent to fraction and decimal arithmetic, and (2) Culturally contingent sources that could be reduced by improved instruction and prior knowledge of learners. We conclude the review by discussing commonalities among three interventions that have helped children overcome the difficulties of mastering fraction and decimal arithmetic. [This article was published in the &quot;Developmental Review,&quot; v38 p201-221 Dec 2015.]
Connection between Exposure to Internet Content and Violent Behavior among Students
Author: Perišin, Dijana
Date: 2013-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Internet,Violence,Student Behavior,Foreign Countries,Bullying,Behavior Problems,Computer Mediated Communication,Elementary School Students,High School Students,Aggression,Hypothesis Testing,Correlation,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Statistical Significance

Internet allows great interaction between real and perceived anonymous environment. Adolescents, acting under the assumption of anonymity show different patterns of behavior, which has lead to a new form of violence: cyberbullying. There is a possibility of both positive and negative behavior in virtual space, however, the negative side of the Internet is what attracts our attention. The aim of this research is to examine the connection between exposure to Internet content and violent behavior among students. The study has included 190 primary school students and 174 high school students (N = 364) from area of Karlovac County (Republic of Croatia). The hypothesis of a connection between students' violent behavior on the Internet and students' violent behavior in school has been confirmed, while the hypothesis of connection between experiencing and committing violent behavior on the Internet has been partially confirmed. The results of this study indicate a need for further research on the role of Internet in students' behavior, i.e. their violent behavior, in both virtual and real world.
Creating the Context and Employing Best Practices for Teacher Professional Development: A Brief Review of Recent Research
Author: Hammer, Patricia Cahape
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Best Practices,Faculty Development,Context Effect,Literature Reviews,Educational Research,Program Length,Time Perspective,Teamwork,Alignment (Education),Active Learning,Program Content,Communities of Practice,Coaching (Performance),Institutional Role

A review of the research on teacher professional development identified an emerging consensus on important contextual and implementation characteristics that can promote or inhibit teachers' use of new knowledge and skills in their classroom practice. Findings suggest that professional development is best viewed as one component in an overall system that also requires alignment among tests, policy, and curriculum. Within this context, research has shown that effective professional development tends to have the following elements: Content and content pedagogy focus; coherence; active learning; collective participation; and duration, including at least 30 contact hours distributed across a time span of at least a year.
Findings from the 2012 West Virginia Online Writing Scoring Comparability Study
Author: Hixson, Nate
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Scoring Formulas,Scoring Rubrics,Interrater Reliability,Test Scoring Machines,Comparative Analysis,Comparative Testing,Essays,Participant Characteristics,Outcome Measures,Equated Scores,Test Theory,Tables (Data),Educational Testing,State Standards

Student responses to the West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST) 2 Online Writing Assessment are scored by a computer-scoring engine. The scoring method is not widely understood among educators, and there exists a misperception that it is not comparable to hand scoring. To address these issues, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) conducts an annual scoring comparability study that compares scoring by trained human raters to scoring by the computer engine. This year, 45 educators from West Virginia participated in the study. Each scored a set of training essays and operational student essays that also were scored by the scoring engine. Each operational essay was scored independently by two human raters. Human raters' scores were compared to each other and to the engine. Two research questions were posed: (RQ1) what is the level of calibration to the automated scoring engine that is achieved among human raters as a result of the training provided by the WVDE?, and (RQ2) what is the comparability of scores assigned by human rater pairs as well as between human-to-engine pairs? Approximately 58% of human raters met three industry standard calibration criteria for calibration; the remaining 40% did not. Human rater pairs tended to provide the most consistent scores. However, in many cases we found that human raters were more likely to agree with the engine's scores than with each other's. When disagreements did occur though, human raters consistently scored student essays slightly higher than the engine. We believe this outcome should serve to mitigate some concerns that the engine scores student essays wildly differently from regular classroom educators or that the engine scores essays too forgivingly. We do not draw definitive conclusions about the consistency of the engine from the results of this study because so few raters met rigorous standards for calibration. However, we note that the test vendor has provided considerable evidence to establish the comparability of the scoring process based upon studies that use only human raters judged to be experts based upon industry standard criteria. We recommend continued use of the annual comparability study as a professional development experience for educators and additional data collection around educators' perception of the accuracy and fairness of scores assigned by the engine. The following is appended: Agreement Statistics for H2 Sample. [For previous year, see ED606720.]
MDRC Research on Career Pathways. Issue Brief
Author: Kazis, Richard
Date: 2016-03-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Career Education,Career Development,Career Guidance,Career Readiness,Program Effectiveness,Job Skills,Definitions,Models,Out of School Youth,Low Income Groups,Evidence,High Schools

As postsecondary credentials have become increasingly important to accessing higher-quality employment, a growing number of education and workforce programs are implementing &quot;career pathways&quot; approaches to help both youth and adults prepare for further education and better jobs. In recent years, the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) has conducted research on a range of career pathways programs and program components. This Issue Brief describes the career pathways approach, highlighting core design elements, and profiles MDRC projects that shed light on the effectiveness of this approach and its potential to improve education and career outcomes.
Mission Promise Neighborhood: Residence and SFUSD Student Enrollment Patterns 2011-2012. Issue Brief
Author: Lash, Cristina
Date: 2014-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Districts,Neighborhoods,Enrollment Trends,Academic Achievement,Family (Sociological Unit),Place of Residence,Student Records,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools,High Schools,School Choice,Student Characteristics,Statistical Analysis,Institutional Characteristics

The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University (Gardner Center) are collaborating to understand residence and school enrollment patterns of students and families in the Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) service population. MPN was established to ensure that children, youth, and their families in San Francisco's Mission District achieve both academic success and economic security. The initiative defines its service population as families living within the established MPN boundaries or SFUSD students who live elsewhere in the city but are enrolled in one of the four MPN focus schools. This brief explores a question that is central to MPN's efforts: Who are the children and youth involved with MPN? Using SFUSD student records from the 2011-12 school year, the authors first look at the four MPN focus schools: Bryant Elementary (K-5), Cesar Chavez Elementary (PreK-5), Everett Middle School (6-8), and John O'Connell High School (9-12), and investigate where in San Francisco students enrolled in these schools live. They then examine school enrollment of students living outside MPN, paying particular attention to the students who enroll in MPN focus schools, and explore demographic differences between students enrolled in focus schools and those who enroll in other schools in SFUSD. The authors conclude by highlighting potential implications of these findings for MPN. Notably, this analysis includes families with school-age children and not those whose children have yet to begin school. Nevertheless, families with younger children are also in the MPN service population and will be considered in future reports that draw on data from other service providers. The following tables are appended: (1) Social and school demographics of MPN focus schools and non-focus schools, 2011-12; and (2) Percent of students enrolled in MPN focus schools and other schools, by residence and age group, 2011-12.