ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Building Bridges: Effective Post-Secondary Transitions for Girls in Developing Countries
Author: Academy for Educational Development
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Females,Developing Nations,Transitional Programs,Postsecondary Education,Secondary Education,Academic Persistence,Student Attrition,Educational Policy,Sex Fairness,Equal Education

Transitions between education cycles represent one of the greatest hazards for girls in their educational journey throughout the developing world. It is not uncommon across sub-Saharan Africa for girls' secondary enrollment rates to drop 75% from primary enrollment rates. Between the secondary level and the tertiary level, enrollment rates often go down more than 90%, with some developing countries recording female tertiary enrollment rates of 1-2% of the age-appropriate population. Challenges with quality and relevance often prevent effective transitions between education cycles, and school-to-work planning and support is not available for the vast majority of students in the developing world. Without effective post-secondary transition strategies, investments in both primary and secondary education will be called into question. To address these complex issues, AED (Academy for Educational Development) and Advancing Girls' Education (AGE) Africa recently hosted the public forum, &quot;Building Bridges: Effective Post-Secondary Transitions for Girls in Developing Countries&quot;, held June 16th, 2010 at AED's Globe Theatre in Washington DC, followed by a workshop focused on post-secondary transitions for girls in developing countries. The goal of the workshop was to supplement the presentations presented at the public forum with a more in-depth dialogue about the complex and critical issue of post-secondary transitions. Workshop participants included a full range of experts working in this field including researchers, foundation representatives, policy advocates, and practitioners. In the two hour workshop; a number of core themes, concepts, questions and pathways for progress emerged. This booklet was created to share these ideas with a larger audience and to promote a continuation of the dialogue among stakeholders concerned with education in developing countries.
Evaluation of Education Programs Developed by the Public and Private Alliance between the Coffee Growers Committee of Caldas and the State Government of Caldas, Colombia. Final Report
Author: Moore, Audrey-Marie Schuh
Date: 2010-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Elementary Secondary Education,Metropolitan Areas,Partnerships in Education,Agricultural Occupations,Access to Education,Program Evaluation,Internet,Rural Schools,Urban Schools,Teaching Methods,Teaching Models,Human Capital,Educational Change,School Business Relationship,Systems Approach,State Government,Decision Making

This evaluation of progress in tackling the problems of access, quality, equity and completion of primary and secondary education examines the results of an alliance between the Coffee Growers Committee of Caldas (CGC) and the Department of Caldas, Colombia. The evaluation team employed a retrospective approach to understanding the social, economic, and educational contributions of the Alliance's programs serving the families of rural coffee growers. This report is intended to help inform ongoing decision-making within the programs. The design of the evaluation focused on implementation of the &quot;Escuela Nueva&quot; model at the local level, and on identifying the most important factors and conditions for successful local implementation. The retrospective approach uses participant's recollections to understand how systems change as a result of interventions. The AED team worked with the Centro de Estudios Regionales Cafeteros y Empresariales (CRECE) to collect data from a sample of 30 schools in the Caldas region. Ninety-six teachers and principals were interviewed using the CIT for grade 9. Findings reveal that the Alliance programs were 4 times more cost-effective than the national average and nearly two times more cost-effective than the urban schools in Caldas. The analysis further showed that coffee growers with a higher level of education have higher levels of production, so investing in education--particularly middle and secondary education contributes to economic development in Caldas. Teachers in the Alliance program felt the teacher training was one of the most critical elements in the Alliance programs, and they express a desire to receive more training throughout the year. Having the &quot;Escuela Virtual&quot; program in rural schools with educational software programs and Internet access is seen as an advantageous tool that is used regularly within the schools. Appended are: (1) Distribution of financial resources per student from the national level to the departmental in 2007; (2) Calculation method of the survival rate to 5th and 9th grades for the Caldas department and the Alliance schools; and (3) A Systems Approach to Education Sector Reform. (Contains 20 tables, 7 figures and 24 footnotes.)
Teachers: Powerful Innovators--Generating Classroom Based Education Reform. GEC Working Paper Series. Number 4
Author: Alvarado, Felix
Date: 2006-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Quality,Educational Innovation,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Educational Change,Job Skills,Educational Development,Teacher Empowerment,Teacher Role,Models,Intervention,Teachers

The countries of Central America have made great educational strides in recent years. More children are now attending school and more finish primary school; however, there is still a long way to go. We still need to ensure that the children who go to school learn effectively and can use their education to develop useful life and work skills. This document sets out to recognize and commend the many ways in which teachers innovate inside and outside the classroom, as well as to identify the ways in which institutions, programs and projects can more effectively foster innovation. While this paper focuses on experiences in Central America, the findings have worldwide applicability and it is the authors' hope that the information will be shared across regions, countries, and communities to support and improve teacher innovation. The case studies used in this publication are based on Academy for Educational Development (AED) projects in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and the Dominican Republic. In particular, the authors have relied on the help of many colleagues and leaders in these countries who are committed to improving educational quality, who have referred them to examples of teacher innovation and in many cases have written down the stories. This paper is divided into four sections. The first section explores the importance of teachers as the linchpin to effective learning in the classroom, the significance of innovation in that role and some of the assumptions that get in the way of seeing the teacher as an innovator. The second section illustrates, by using examples from teaching practice in the different countries, the wealth of innovative practices that teachers have discovered. The third section proposes a model for nurturing innovation based on teacher empowerment, teacher formation and institutional development. Examples of interventions that have been effective in strengthening teacher innovation are used to illustrate this model. Finally, the authors present a working framework of principles and components for a strategy to foster teacher innovation, taking into account the capacities and responsibilities of different actors in the education sector. Appended are: (1) Description of Projects and Initiatives; (2) Additional Resources; and (3) Bibliography. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This paper was written with Diane La Voy.]
Quality Teaching: Building a Flexible and Dynamic Approach. GEC Working Paper Series. Number 2
Author: Leu, Elizabeth
Date: 2005-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teacher Effectiveness,Faculty Development,Teacher Education,Teaching Models,Educational Development,Community Involvement

Good basic education depends on several factors working in harmony. The first is that students be healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Other essentials include an enabling policy environment and transparent management; a curriculum that reflects the society's values and aspirations for learning; and community support for education and parents' involvement in the lives of schools (UNESCO 2004; UNICEF 2000). The most important element of all, according to much current research and program experience, is the quality of teachers (ADEA 2004; Anderson 2002; Boyle, While, and Boyle 2003; Lewin and Stuart 2003; USAID 2002). Over the last two decades, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) has worked extensively with programs that address all of these crucial areas of basic education. This paper focuses on AED's approaches that address the heart of education: strengthening the quality of teachers and teaching through ongoing professional development at the local level. This paper summarizes the context and rationale for evolving approaches to teacher professional development, describe AED's early programs in this context, and outline a basic framework of AED's flexible and dynamic approach to decentralized, school- and cluster-based teacher professional development programs. The final section consists of six case studies showing how the approach has been adapted to strengthen teacher skills, morale, and professional commitment in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, and Ethiopia.
Girls' Success: Mentoring Guide about HIV and AIDS. Volume 2
Author: Academy for Educational Development
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Females,Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),Sexually Transmitted Diseases,Mentors,Guidelines,Youth Problems,Information Sources,Caring,Global Approach,Success,Caseworker Approach,Learning Processes,Learning Strategies,Prevention,Epidemiology,Best Practices,Health Activities,Health Behavior,Health Education,Health Materials,Health Promotion

The issue of HIV and AIDS is a serious global issue that affects girls and boys, women and men, from all communities. Girls and women are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV which can develop into AIDS. This guide for mentoring contains important information about HIV and AIDS related to young women and girls. The guide also provides ideas for talking about HIV and AIDS with the girls you are mentoring, and ideas for sharing the right information through activities and discussion questions. (Contains 35 footnotes.)
Principal Concerns: Iowa May Face Statewide Demand. Data Brief
Author: DeArmond, Michael
Date: 2012-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Retirement,Principals,Human Capital,Public Education,Data Analysis,Supply and Demand,Labor Turnover,Eligibility,School Location,Poverty,Comparative Analysis,Labor Needs,School Demography,School Administration,Educational Policy

When people talk about human capital or talent in public education, they generally focus on teachers, not principals. That's a mistake. School districts and states generally don't take a strategic approach toward managing their principal workforce. Often, they lack even the most basic information about who is leading their schools: Where do most principals come from? How long do they stay? How well do they perform? How many will need to be hired and developed in the future? To answer some of these questions, states need detailed longitudinal data systems for principals like those currently being developed to track teachers and students. In some states, such systems are a few years off. In the meantime, states can get a better picture of their principal workforce by analyzing data they already collected. This &quot;Principal Concerns&quot; data brief is a short example of this type of analysis, focused on principals working in Iowa. By combining state data with U.S. Department of Education data, the authors are able to present a broad picture of the principal workforce in Iowa's schools. First, the brief identifies the share of principals who are eligible, and almost eligible, for retirement under Iowa's retirement system. This is a useful starting point because states that employ lots of younger principals need to focus on getting them training and support as they progress through their careers. Other states have a wave of principals near retirement and must plan for new hires. Determining where Iowa stands in that regard provides a rough measure of the demand for new principals in the near future. The brief then matches up retirement eligibility with the location of schools (urban, suburban, town, and rural) and their level of student poverty. These comparisons provide a sense of how Iowa's future demand for principals might be distributed across the state. (Contains 4 figures and 6 footnotes.)
The Ingredients of a Public-Private Partnership in Education: The Global Development Alliance Model School Expansion Project in Nicaragua
Author: Galisson, Kirsten
Date: 2006-08-29
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Partnerships in Education,Private Sector,Public Sector,Models,Educational Change,Business Administration,Economic Development,Global Approach,School Community Relationship,Access to Education,Educational Technology,Program Effectiveness,Best Practices,School Expansion

In May 2001, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced the establishment of the Global Development Alliance (GDA) as a key part of a new business model for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The GDA initiative aims to launch best practices in public-private partnerships around the world. The model is designed to encourage economic growth, develop businesses and workforces, address health and environmental problems, and expand access to education and technology. In response to the dire need to support education in Nicaragua, the Global Development Alliance/Public Private Alliances in Education Program was launched in October 2002 through a cooperative agreement with the Academy for Educational Development (AED). The primary objective of GDA Nicaragua was to extend the educational reforms of the USAID-funded Basic Education Project in Nicaragua (BASE) in partnership with the private sector through the Model School Expansion project (GDA/MSE). AED also strove to integrate the donations and contributions of the private sector into the Model School reform to enhance the overall impact of partner activities. In designing GDA/MSE, AED decided to link its educational goals with those of AMCHAM and ANF, two local organizations with education projects already in place. Throughout the project, various actors took on new and exciting roles, helping the project expand and reach an unprecedented number of school communities outside the initial Model School network. In fact, the GDA project went beyond its initial goal of supporting 130 schools and grew to 171 schools. The schools demonstrated improvement in a short time with an overall 3% increase in student retention and an average 4.25% increase in test scores. With the backbone of USAID support, many private-sector companies expanded their support, newly confident that their donations would positively impact education. As a result, GDA successfully harnessed the participation of more than 50 private-sector sponsors who supported the project goals in diverse ways. The synergy enabled by this alliance propelled the education initiatives to new and exciting heights in Nicaragua. The GDA/MSE project has distinguished itself as a true success story for public-private partnerships in education. This publication outlines the primary ingredients for creating this successful public-private partnership in education and provides a snapshot of how the program affected participating school communities and sponsors.
Common Core State Standards and Diverse Urban Students: Using Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Author: Gamm, Sue
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: State Standards,Evidence,Educational Change,Urban Schools,Fidelity,Core Curriculum,Alignment (Education),Intervention,School Districts,Leadership,Literacy,Numbers,Academic Achievement,Decision Making,Outcomes of Education,Learner Engagement,English Language Learners,Professional Development,Special Education,Disabilities,Grade 7,Mathematics,Mathematics Education

As America's Great City Schools implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they have a unique opportunity to integrate strategies for teaching, intervening, and supporting the nation's urban students in a way that will ensure they have the literacy, numeracy, behavioral, and engagement skills necessary to be successful in college and careers. Instituting the Common Core State Standards with fidelity means embracing and addressing the diverse needs of ALL students. This imperative reflects the reality that regardless of how effectively school district leaders develop and implement high-quality curricula aligned with the new standards, some students will need additional support and interventions to be successful. Implementing the Common Core State Standards within a framework of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) will help ensure that all students have an evidence-based system of instruction to assist them in achieving success. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports is designed so that schools can provide the appropriate level of instruction and intervention for their students. Using performance data and monitoring learning rates through MTSS, educators can make important instructional decisions to meet the needs of students from different backgrounds, learning styles, and levels of attainment. The paper outlines the key components of an integrated, multi-tiered system of instruction, interventions, and academic and behavioral supports needed by school districts in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. It also underscores the importance of data-based decision making in implementing these standards while meeting the specialized and diverse needs of urban students. In addition, the paper provides concrete examples using a model lesson based on the Common Core State Standards. Common Core Unit: A Close Reading of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is appended. (Contains 13 footnotes and 45 online resources.)
New York State Special Education Enrollment Analysis
Author: Lake, Robin
Date: 2012-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Disabilities,Charter Schools,Special Education,Enrollment Influences,Enrollment Trends,Accessibility (for Disabled),Enrollment Management,Enrollment Rate,Comparative Analysis,Disadvantaged,Educational Opportunities,Educational Policy,Compliance (Legal),Outreach Programs,Educational Improvement,Improvement Programs

Responding to concerns that charter schools do not provide equal access to students with disabilities, advocates in districts, states, and courts across the country have sought to improve such access. Adding to these concerns, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recently released a report showing that charter schools, on average, serve a smaller proportion of students with disabilities than do district-run public schools. In New York, state lawmakers amended the New York State Charter Schools Act in 2010 to include enrollment targets for particular student groups. According to the amended law, charter school authorizers must set enrollment and retention targets for students with disabilities, as well as for students eligible for free and reduced-price meals and English language learners. Failure to meet the targets or make diligent efforts toward them could be considered a factor in the renewal of a school's charter. Broadly, these policies were developed to make certain that students in these traditionally underserved groups are provided full access to charter schools. In this report the authors provide some context to these policy responses to special education enrollment in charter schools by describing the distribution of students with disabilities in New York State charter and district-run schools. The authors show that different levels of comparison--state level, school type, district level, and authorizer level--yield different results, and comparisons at high levels of aggregation (such as those made at the state level) mask important information and variation. (Contains 6 figures, 2 tables, and 17 footnotes.)
Getting down to Dollars and Cents: What Do School Districts Spend to Deliver Student-Centered Learning?
Author: Miller, Lawrence J.
Date: 2012-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: School Districts,Educational Finance,School District Spending,Student Centered Curriculum,High Schools,Traditional Schools,Comparative Analysis,Educational Resources,Resource Allocation,Technology Uses in Education,Field Experience Programs,School Schedules,School Policy,Expenditure per Student,Rural Schools,Urban Schools

In the era of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, school districts are under increasing pressure from policymakers to hold all students to high performance standards. In response, a growing number of schools are embracing the principles of student-centered learning (SCL). SCL is a contemporary approach that combines progressive and constructivist philosophies, an approach that incorporates real-life experiences into learning, with the technologies readily available to today's schools. More and more districts and schools are making plans to incorporate the principles of SCL. Research, however, offers little guidance on the practical finance and policy issues associated with redesigning schools to embrace these principles. Real concerns about the level of district spending needed to bring about and sustain such ambitious changes must be addressed to help schools and districts expand SCL programs. In this report the authors explore these practical questions: (1) How do high schools put SCL principles into practice?; (2) What resources do high schools need to implement SCL strategies, and how do they compare to the resources required by schools using traditional curricula and pedagogy?; and (3) Do SCL schools use their resources differently than schools with traditionally structured models? The authors answer these questions through seven comparative case studies of district spending on public high schools located in six states--Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington--as well as a statistical analysis of 79 SCL high schools in New York City. They compare district spending on SCL schools to district spending on similar schools offering a traditional curriculum that are located within or near the sample schools' districts. In general, they found district spending on SCL schools to be similar to district spending on the matched comparison schools they studied. But for districts to keep spending on SCL schools in check, they will need to provide schools with resource flexibility; impose hard budget constraints to incentivize decision-making about preferred resources, possibly including co-location of small SCL schools; and enlist the support of the community to contribute both in-kind and non-district financial resources. (Contains 1 box, 2 figures, 4 tables, and 28 footnotes.) [This study was conducted with the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers-Newark.]