ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Invisible Schism: Teachers' and Administrators' Differing Perceptions of Education Reforms
Author: Bridich, Sarah Melvoin
Date: 2016-08-08
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,State Legislation,Educational Legislation,Teacher Evaluation,Mixed Methods Research,Online Surveys,Educational Policy,Teacher Effectiveness,Accountability,Demography,Teacher Role,Administrator Role,Correlation,State Standards,Semi Structured Interviews

This study examined teachers' and administrators' perceptions of education reforms, focusing on a state legislated education bill that altered teacher evaluations. A mixed-method design, including an electronic survey, was used to gather perceptions of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191: Great Teachers and Leaders Act from teachers and administrators in the Rockies School District (RSD), as well as these two groups' general perceptions of teacher evaluations, education reforms, and change. Results revealed that teachers collectively hold similar views of education reforms, as do administrators; however, how each group perceives these elements of education policy and reform differs significantly. Both teachers and administrators believed that their groups see education reforms similarly, yet these groups had statistically significant differences on more than half of the survey questions. Qualitative data, in the form of open-ended responses to survey questions and semi-formal interviews, corroborated these findings. The two groups were unaware that their perceptions vary on critical issues related to the successful implementation of this education reform. This perception gap raises the questions of whether and how they can work together as reform implementation moves forward, and whether and how they can collectively support student learning as each group envisions, regardless of the policy itself.
Science Teachers' Data Use Practices: A Descriptive Analysis
Author: Rangel, Virginia Snodgrass
Date: 2016-08-08
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Teachers,Debate,Science Achievement,Low Achievement,Accountability,Information Utilization,Educational Practices,Data,Teaching Experience,Teacher Surveys,Primary Sources,Preferences,Observation,Semi Structured Interviews

There is a debate on students' low science achievement in the United States, particularly among low income, African American students, and Latino students. An important part of the education community's response to low achievement generally and in science specifically has been the implementation of high stakes accountability policies. Because of accountability's emphasis on educator data use, much research has examined different facets of it throughout educational organizations, but research has not focused on the extent to which data use might be content-specific. The purpose of this paper, then, was to investigate the data use practices of science teachers. Drawing from a broader study of science teachers in grades 5-8 across six school districts, this study reports results from teacher surveys and interviews. The findings indicate that while there were examples of science-specific data use, most of the science teachers used data in ways consistent with previous content-agnostic research. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.
Smart Money? Philanthropic and Federal Funding for the Common Core
Author: Kornhaber, Mindy L.
Date: 2016-09-12
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Common Core State Standards,Federal Aid,Philanthropic Foundations,Private Financial Support,Funding Formulas,Content Analysis,Public Education,Educational Policy,Educational Change,Academic Standards,Agency Cooperation,Partnerships in Education,Organizational Climate,Qualitative Research,Position Papers,Investment,Strategic Planning,Alignment (Education),State Aid,Federal Programs

The Common Core State Standards Initiative seeks to prepare all students to graduate high school without remedial needs, to improve transparency across states' accountability systems, and to foster efficiencies in the development and distribution of educational resources. The reform was adopted in more than 40 states and has been described as state-led. We examined federal and philanthropic funding for the reform through a conceptual lens of resource dependence theory. Our document analyses surfaced eight pathways along which funding for the Common Core traveled into, through, and around the public education system. We consider clusters of pathways according to their purposes and the consequences of such clustering for the reform. We conclude by discussing benefits derived from this funding for different types of entities that grant and receive it.
Knowledge Banking in Global Education Policy: A Bibliometric Analysis of World Bank Publications on Public-Private Partnerships
Author: Menashy, Francine
Date: 2016-09-19
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Global Approach,Educational Policy,International Organizations,Bibliometrics,Authors,Publications,Private Sector,Criticism,Economic Factors,Policy Formation,Geographic Regions,Networks,Educational Research,Educational Development

As a leading mobilizer of international development and educational knowledge, the World Bank has been critiqued in two key areas: (1) the dominance of economic thinking in its policies, and (2) its Northern-generated knowledge which informs its work in the Global South. In this paper, we investigate the disciplinary foundation of Bank knowledge, as well as its geographic representation. This study pays particular attention to knowledge mobilization relating to one of the most contentious policy prescriptions worldwide, and one that the Bank has historically supported: private sector engagement in education. By employing the concepts of economic imperialism and policy networks to frame our study, and through the use of a bibliometric methodological approach, we trace the authorship patterns of publications cited in a series of key World Bank documents on private sector engagement in education. Our findings show that the World Bank mobilizes research production from the Global North, which reflects a disproportionate economic disciplinary focus. Moreover, through a mapping of the cited authors, this network is shown to be highly narrow and privileges authors from a small subset of elite institutions.
Public Expenditures and the Production of Education
Author: Neely, Stephen R.
Date: 2016-08-15
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Expenditures,Public Education,Productivity,Outcomes of Education,Educational Objectives,Longitudinal Studies,Educational Policy,Models,Hypothesis Testing,School Statistics,Data Analysis,Predictor Variables,Value Added Models,Elementary Secondary Education

The relationship between public education expenditures and student outcomes remains an important concern for policy analysts, educational administrators, and the public at large. While previous studies have failed to identify a consistent relationship between public investments in education and positive student outcomes, most analyses have not accounted for the different educational goals associated with various instructional expenditure categories. This study builds on prior research by using Pennsylvania's public school districts to test proposed improvements in model specification for the traditional education production function. Using longitudinal, fixed-effects models, a detailed disaggregation of instructional expenditures is undertaken in order to account for the likelihood that different instructional subcategories (i.e. regular programming, special education, and vocational instruction) influence student outcomes in varying ways. The results suggest that the impact of expenditures may be understated in previous studies based on a failure to account for these distinctions, particularly in the case of Mathematics education.
Investigating the Effectiveness of Group Work in Mathematics
Author: Sofroniou, Anastasia
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Group Activities,Instructional Effectiveness,Mathematics Instruction,Civil Engineering,Mathematical Concepts,Student Surveys,Program Effectiveness,Comparative Analysis,Cooperative Learning,Surveys,Likert Scales,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,College Students,Questionnaires,Intervention,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research

Group work permits students to develop a range of critical thinking, analytical and communication skills; effective team work; appreciation and respect for other views, techniques and problem-solving methods, all of which promote active learning and enhance student learning. This paper presents an evaluation of employing the didactic and pedagogical customs of group work in mathematics with the aim of improving student performance as well as exploring students' perceptions of working in groups. The evaluation of group work was carried out during tutorial time with first year civil engineering students undertaking a mathematics module in their second semester. The aim was to investigate whether group work learning can help students gain a deeper understanding of the module content, develop improved critical and analytical thinking skills and see if this method of pedagogy can produce higher performance levels. The group work sessions were conducted over four weeks whilst studying the topic of integration. Evaluation surveys were collected at the end of the intervention along with an investigation into the examination results from the end of semester examinations. In order to derive plausible and reasonable conclusions, these examination results were compared with an analogous cohort of first year mathematics students, also studying integration in their engineering-based degree. The investigation into the effectiveness of group work showed interesting and encouraging positive outcomes, supported by a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Networked Social Enterprises: A New Model of Community Schooling for Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Facing Challenging Times
Author: Kerr, Kirstin
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Schools,Neighborhoods,Disadvantaged Environment,Poverty,Economically Disadvantaged,Partnerships in Education,Instructional Design,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Outcomes of Education

Community schools have long been accepted as an institutional mechanism for intervening in the relationship between poverty, poor educational outcomes, and limited life chances. At a time when public services are being retracted, and disadvantaged places are being increasingly left to struggle, community schools are poised to become more important in offering a response to the needs of children, families, and communities in these places. Yet, despite their apparent promise, community schools remain badly under-conceptualized. As an international field, research on community schooling has rarely articulated or questioned how--by providing additional learning and leisure opportunities and personal and social supports--community schools might create a viable intervention in the relationship between poverty and poor outcomes. This paper explicitly addresses this significant challenge. Conceptualizing empirical findings emerging from a research-practice partnership, it identifies the core features of a new institutional design for community schools which can help to clarify their potential contribution to addressing disadvantage. Marking a considerable shift from a traditional design of simply adding new services to the school day, it argues that community schools will need to operate as social enterprises with networked governance arrangements, and to develop strategies which engage with children's social ecologies, and are risk-reducing and resilience-building within these. This, in turn, sets a new agenda for significantly advancing the field of community schooling by further defining--conceptually and empirically--the core elements of a new institutional design as identified here.
Slow Shift--Developing Provisions for Talented Students in Scandinavian Higher Education
Author: Wolfensberger, Marca
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Talent,Talent Development,Higher Education,Honors Curriculum,Specialists,Excellence in Education,Role,Incentives,Educational Quality,Educational Change,Comparative Education,Foreign Countries,College Admission,Admission Criteria,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational History,Semi Structured Interviews

For decades, Scandinavian culture effectively prohibited the development of special provisions for talented students in higher education. However, in recent years, a cultural shift has gradually made more room for excellence and talent development in the national discourses. This paper analyzes the climate for talent development in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Following a first inventory of honors programs in Scandinavian higher education in which the only programs were found in Denmark, 10 experts were interviewed to analyze their national situation and reflect on the leading role of Denmark. In this country, external incentives, focus on quality, pioneers, and an open atmosphere were found to produce a culture more appreciative of excellence over the last decade. Starting from the Danish experience, the situation in Norway and Sweden is analyzed, showing that the combination of factors leading to change in Denmark is not yet present here. Lessons for other countries are highlighted, notably the importance of sharing information and exchanging knowledge at an international level.
Perfectionism, Coping, and Underachievement in Gifted Adolescents: Avoidance vs. Approach Orientations
Author: Mofield, Emily
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Personality Traits,Coping,Underachievement,Gifted,Correlation,Stress Variables,Middle School Students,Academic Achievement,Behavior Problems,Prediction,Models,Scores,Comparative Analysis,Educational Practices,Surveys,Parent Aspiration,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Criticism,Multiple Regression Analysis

Perfectionism can influence how one approaches challenges and deals with setbacks, and, consequently, can inhibit or facilitate achievement. The present study (1) explored the relationship between Frost's six dimensions of perfectionism and five types of coping strategies; (2) examined how dimensions of perfectionism predict coping in response to academic stress; and (3) investigated differences between gifted underachievers and other gifted students on perfectionism and coping among 130 American gifted students in grades 6-8. Results of stepwise regression models revealed approach coping was predicted by adaptive perfectionism (Positive Strivings-notably Organization), whereas avoidance coping (Internalizing, Externalizing, and Distancing) was predicted by various combined models. Gifted underachievers displayed lower Positive Strivings perfectionism scores and lower positive coping when compared to achievers. This information is helpful when considering ways to guide gifted students to high levels of academic achievement while utilizing adaptive approaches.
A Virtual Social Learner Community--Constitutive Element of MOOCs
Author: Meinel, Christoph
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Online Courses,Large Group Instruction,Educational Technology,Electronic Learning,Social Media,Cooperative Learning,Telecommunications,Peer Evaluation,Foreign Countries

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have seen enormous growth throughout the last four years. This format has fundamentally enriched the traditional method of web-based teaching and e-learning. Nevertheless, there have always been skeptical voices who announce the &quot;death of MOOCs&quot;. We do not believe in this pessimistic scenario and in this article we will explain how we came to this conclusion. E-learning already existed long before the arrival of the first MOOC. However, e-learning has often shown itself to be merely a source of downloadable learning material, leaving the learner alone in the learning phase. To get through an e-learning program and to actually finish it requires a high level of discipline and motivation. In this way, e-learning has proven itself as a learning method mainly with autodidacts. How have MOOCs changed the landscape of e-learning offers? The evolving MOOC format now combines interactive elements with short video lectures. This is done in a new and playful way with a strong focus on community building. The secret of MOOCs lies in their open accessibility and their incorporation of learning content with social media. The goal of this paper is to describe how MOOCs enforce e-learning activity in a virtual social community--whose importance for learning cannot be over-emphasized. We point out the social learning features currently used in MOOCs and the next steps that must be taken to further improve them. This article is based on the experiences we have made with the MOOC platforms openHPI and openSAP, both powered by the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam.
A Latin Functionalist Dictionary as a Self-Learning Language Device: Previous Experiences to Digitalization
Author: Márquez, Manuel
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Latin,Dictionaries,Independent Study,Grammar,Secondary School Students,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Teaching Methods,Lexicography,Statistical Analysis

The application of a methodology based on S.C. Dik's Functionalist Grammar linguistic principles, which is addressed to the teaching of Latin to secondary students, has resulted in a quantitative improvement in students' acquisition process of knowledge. To do so, we have used a self-learning tool, an ad hoc dictionary, of which the use in different practices has made students understand, at a basic level, the functioning of this language.
Relations between Child Poverty and New Migrant Child Status, Academic Attainment and Social Participation: Insights Using Social Capital Theory
Author: Forbes, Joan
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Capital,Immigrants,Educational Attainment,Poverty,Foreign Countries,Correlation,Power Structure,Public Policy,Socioeconomic Influences,Social Isolation,Well Being,Low Achievement,Children,Civil Rights,Social Justice,Policy Analysis

Currently, around one in five children in the United Kingdom and the United States live in poverty. This has a devastating effect on their wellbeing, education and broader socio-political participation, and life chances. In this paper, Scottish policy documentary data are used to discuss the effects of relations amongst categories of children in poverty, migrant child status, and academic under-attainment. The study draws on social capital and intersectionalities theory to explore some of the power and knowledge relations that are effects of policy statements. The paper concludes by suggesting that addressing the issues of poverty and educational under-attainment, including for migrant children, requires a policy strategy beyond education. Disconnections across social, cultural, and economic child policy need to be redesigned in order to change the very real socio-economic-cultural-political relations which policy produces; these relations can lead to either high levels of social participation and potential academic attainment of new arrival children or to their social exclusion. Accordingly, knowledge practices aiming to improve the socio-economic-cultural-political inclusion of migrant children make central the conditions and experiences constitutive of new migrants' lived social lives.
MOOCs as Change Agents to Boost Innovation in Higher Education Learning Arenas
Author: Ossiannilsson, Ebba
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Large Group Instruction,Online Courses,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Higher Education,Distance Education,Literature Reviews,Lifelong Learning,Educational Innovation,Educational Quality,Change Agents,Content Analysis

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide opportunities for learners to benefit from initiatives that are promoted by prestigious universities worldwide. The introduction of MOOCs in 2008 has since then transformed education globally. Consequently, MOOCs should be acknowledged as a pedagogical innovation and recognized as change agents and facilitators in the transition of opening up education, in the transition from traditional campus education to open online learning arenas, which increases learners' access to and equity in lifelong learning. There is a need to consider MOOCs as a natural part of universities' course offerings and business models and to recognize MOOCs as valuable for learners. Furthermore, MOOCs should be regarded as valuable learning and educational initiatives in the same way that journals and books are recognized. Learners should be able to take MOOCs either at their own university or from other providers. Moreover, MOOCs should be valued in policies, strategies, and action plans, and they should be included in processes of quality enhancement and quality assurance. This paper points out the merits of the innovative use of MOOCs in higher education. In this qualitative literature research, a content method analysis was conducted through a systematic review of the literature. Through the findings from the literature research it is suggested that MOOCs could be permanent change agents that boost innovation in higher education learning arenas. In particular, the findings revealed the benefits of MOOCs in various areas, such as lifelong learning, professional competence development, validation of learning, and degree recognition, in addition to clarifying several business models of higher education.
&quot;We're One Team&quot;: Examining Community School Implementation Strategies in Oakland
Author: Fehrer, Kendra
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Schools,School Community Relationship,Academic Achievement,Partnerships in Education,Qualitative Research,Educational Policy,Educational Improvement,Outcomes of Education,Educational Change,Community Organizations,Semi Structured Interviews

The community school model posits that the traditional school model is not sufficient to overcome the role of poverty in equitable access to learning, and that improving student achievement requires addressing the needs of the whole child. By leveraging community partnerships to address student barriers to learning and shift relationships between schools, families, and community, the community school model represents an expanded vision of what schools are, who they include, and what they are responsible for. This paper aims to improve our understanding of community school implementation, based on qualitative research in five community schools in Oakland, California. We apply the Children's Aid Society's framework of four community school capacities including: (1) comprehensiveness; (2) collaboration; (3) coherence; and (4) commitment (Lubell, 2011) in our analysis. We find evidence of a collaborative culture, in which school and community partner staff worked together across traditional boundaries to serve students. Schools showed signs of coherence of vision and goals, and alignment of services and supports with the instructional core of the school. Community school strategies not only provided important school-based services but also represented an expansion of the traditional school model by leveraging and aligning community partners to improve student outcomes.