ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Boys, Girls and Communication: Their Views, Confidence and Why These Skills Matter
Author: Clark, Christina
Date: 2011-04-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Communication Skills,Gender Differences,Self Esteem,Student Surveys,Adolescent Attitudes,Childhood Attitudes,Workplace Literacy

This is the first large-scale survey of young people's views on communication skills in the UK. The purpose of this survey was three-fold. Since a search of the published literature had highlighted real gaps in knowledge, the author and her colleagues wanted answers to the following questions: What do young people think about communication skills? Are they confident in their skills and how important do they think these skills are at school, in the workplace or in wider society? This report explores these issues by gender. An online survey was conducted in June/July 2010. Overall, 6,865 young people aged 8 to 16 from 47 schools participated in the online survey. 46 were schools from England, one was from Wales. There was an almost equal gender split in the sample, with 51.5% of boys (N = 3,511) and 48.5% of girls (N = 3,309) participating in this survey. Findings reveal that while boys and girls agreed on the importance of good communication skills to succeed in life, at school, at university/college and in the workplace, there were some interesting differences between girls and boys in terms of their understanding of what good communication skills are, how they view these skills and how confident they are using certain communication skills. It is perhaps particularly interesting that boys generally rate themselves as more confident communicators with people in authority (teachers) as well as known and unknown adults than do girls. Boys also appear to be more concerned about the social implications of communication, being more concerned than girls about a perceived link between communication and intelligence for example. (Contains 7 tables and 6 figures.) [Funding for this paper was provided by The Communication Trust.]
Book Ownership and Its Relation to Reading Enjoyment, Attitudes, Behaviour and Attainment: Some Findings from the National Literacy Trust First Annual Survey
Author: Clark, Christina
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Ownership,Reading Achievement,Educational Attainment,Program Effectiveness,Literature Appreciation,Family Environment,Socioeconomic Status,Reading Attitudes,Recreational Reading,Parent Background,Foreign Countries,Books,Comparative Analysis,Youth

A recent ground-breaking study from the University of Nevada (Evans et al., 2010) found that the number of books in the home has as great an impact on children's attainment as parental education levels. The 20 year study by Evans and her colleagues found that having as few as 20 books in the home still has a significant impact on propelling a child to a higher level of education, and the more books you add, the greater the benefit. Similarly, a German study (Schubert and Becker, 2010) found that the home print environment was a strong predictor of reading achievement, even when income, parental education, aspects of schooling, language used at home, and other aspects of the home environment were controlled. This was the case at age 15 and also at age 10. The home print environment was about as strong a predictor as socio-economic status. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of evidence from 108 relevant studies by Reading is Fundamental in the USA (Lindsay, 2010) found that access to print material improves children's reading performance, encourages children to read more and for longer lengths of time and produces improved attitudes toward reading and learning among children. In summary, evidence is accumulating to show that book ownership has a strong influence on educational attainment irrespective of other factors. This brief report outlines additional findings that show that book ownership is not only associated with attainment but is also related more broadly to literacy and education, from reading enjoyment and frequency to confidence, attitudes towards reading and reading opportunities. Appended are: (1) Background information on our Omnibus survey; and (2) Breakdown of ethnic background. (Contains 8 figures and 3 tables.)
National Literacy Trust Survey in Partnership with Nursery World: Investigating Communication, Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years Sector
Author: Halden, Amanda
Date: 2011-07-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Nursery Schools,Literacy,Language Acquisition,Early Childhood Education,Foreign Countries,Comparative Analysis,Preschool Children,Preschool Teachers,English (Second Language),Language Impairments,Parents,Child Caregivers,Communication (Thought Transfer)

In May 2011 &quot;Nursery World&quot; and the National Literacy Trust launched its language development survey to celebrate Hello; the national year of communication. The National Literacy Trust teamed up with &quot;Nursery World&quot; to carry out research into the sector's support for children's language and literacy development. Two hundred twenty one early years professionals participated in this survey, which was online from April to May 2011. When asked how many people work at their setting, the majority (35%) indicated they come  from small settings with up to only 5 other colleagues. However, nearly a quarter indicated they worked with over 20 other people, while a fifth either worked in settings with 5 to 10 other people or with up to 20 other colleagues. The respondents that reported numbers of 100 children or more were mostly working in children's centres, meaning the numbers reported reflect the number of children that come through the centre in the course of a week. A third of the respondents were working in reception classes, nursery classes and nursery schools, meaning that the children they worked with were almost exclusively 3 and 4 year olds. Overall, professionals working in home settings appear to be more confident in identifying and supporting children with language difficulties than professional working in group settings. However, professionals working in group settings feel more confident in supporting children with English as an Additional Language than do professionals working in home settings. (Contains 8 figures and 2 tables.)
Faculty-Library Collaboration: Embedding Information Literacy in Educational Research Graduate Classes
Author: Peters, Madalienne
Date: 2011-07-12
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Graduate Students,Educational Research,Academic Libraries,Information Literacy,Librarian Teacher Cooperation,Research Skills,Student Research,Educational Strategies,Program Descriptions,Instructional Development,Curriculum Enrichment

Teaching students how to conduct research that helps them develop a scholarly work is often a daunting task. A fortuitous collaboration between faculty members in the School of Education and the academic library led to the development of strategies for teaching graduate students how to conduct quality research. Over the course of four years, faculty worked to include library search tools and strategies into graduate research classes.
Using Multiple Sources of Information in Establishing Text Complexity. Reading Research Report. #11.03
Author: Hiebert, Elfrieda H.
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Reading Research,State Standards,Information Sources,Achievement Rating,Continuous Progress Plan,Academic Standards,Readability Formulas,Readability,Measurement Objectives,Measurement Techniques,Difficulty Level,Text Structure

A focus of the Common Core State Standards/English Language Arts (CCSS/ELA) is that students become increasingly more capable with complex text over their school careers. This focus has redirected attention to the measurement of text complexity. Although CCSS/ELA suggests multiple criteria for this task, the standards offer a single measure of text complexity--Lexiles. In this paper, I propose that additional quantitative measures are available--including the two components of a Lexile rating--that can provide more comprehensive views of text complexity. I apply these two "intra-Lexile" measures and one additional measure, referential cohesion, to sets of exemplars for grade bands 2-3 and 4-5 within the CCSS/ELA. The analyses suggest that conclusions about text complexity vary considerably when multiple quantitative measures are used, rather than a single, omnibus index. (Contains 6 tables.)
Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters. Reading Research Report. #11.02
Author: Hiebert, Elfrieda H.
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Language Arts,Vocabulary Development,Selection,Teaching Methods,Metacognition,Reading Research,Developmental Continuity,Semantics,Grade 4

The typical approach to teaching vocabulary in English/Language Arts programs has been to focus on six to eight words per text. Even though these words may add meaning to a particular story, the target words are often rare and their generalizability is limited. The Vocabulary Megaclusters provides a framework for selecting and teaching words according to their shared meaning and function in stories. Within each of the 13 Vocabulary Megaclusters, words are clustered according to  conceptual connections such as emotions and traits of characters or the actions and motions in which characters engage. This article develops the rationale for the Vocabulary Megaclusters framework and illustrates how this approach provides students with a metacognitive stance that supports them in developing a rich literary vocabulary. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)
eLearning for Pluralism: The Culture of eLearning in Building a Knowledge Society
Author: Kurubacak, Gulsun
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Expertise,Delphi Technique,Citizenship Education,Academic Education,Electronic Learning,Cultural Pluralism,Cultural Influences,Educational Needs,Intercultural Communication,Global Education,Computer Mediated Communication,Distance Education,Surveys,Educational Principles,Role of Education,Multicultural Education,Higher Education

This paper discusses culture, as a source of conflict than of synergy, how affects the use of elearning for pluralism to build a knowledge society. It also argues that the cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede, who demonstrates that there are national and regional cultural groupings that affect the behavior of organizations, are very persistent across time. The main purpose of this paper is to identify, categorize and rank the future priorities and needs for elearning for pluralism. Based on the main purpose of this study, the key concerns are about how elearning for pluralism can cover the challenges with fairness, expectations, respect, and communications; engage the digital citizens in critical civic responsibilities, dynamic academic curriculum plans and powerful social; obtain genuine equal opportunities and democratic participations in building online knowledge; and promote critical communications for elearner-engagements in democratic decision-making. This is quantitative study. The Delphi Study was used to represent a constructive communication device among a group of experts. A total of 28 elearning professionals (14 females and 13 males) were selected and all of them completed all three rounds of the study. These experts discussed top issues and challenges, categories, priorities and needs of elearning for pluralism. (Contains 5 tables.)
Closing the Achievement Gap: A Policy Action Guide for Washington State's School Directors
Author: Boeck, Debora
Date: 2002-11-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Achievement Gap,Academic Achievement,Administrator Guides,Administrative Principles,Educational Improvement,Improvement Programs,Background,Educational Policy,Educational Change,Change Strategies,State Action,Evidence,Alignment (Education),Resource Allocation,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Placement,Educational Opportunities,Educational Environment,Time Factors (Learning),Intervention,Community Cooperation,Accountability,Interpersonal Competence,State Programs,Cultural Awareness,Parent Participation

This guide presents some of the best thinking about the difficult and puzzling work of improving student achievement. Taken as whole, it gives a complete picture of what it will take to close the achievement gap. It contains background, findings, and key policy recommendations from a 22-month study conducted by the Washington State School Directors' Association Ad Hoc Achievement Gap Task Force. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Charting a New Course to Retirement: How Charter Schools Handle Teacher Pensions
Author: Olberg, Amanda
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Charter Schools,Retirement,School Districts,Retirement Benefits,Teacher Recruitment,Economic Climate,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Effectiveness

In the wake of the economic downturn that began in 2008, public schools face serious and seemingly long-term fiscal challenges. Rising pension costs are a particular concern for school districts, whose dollars help prop up state retirement plans that often have substantial unfunded liabilities. Yet public school districts have no alternatives; almost all of them are joined by statute to state pension systems (or, sometimes, to their own local pension systems). It's different in some states for public charter schools, which are often allowed to develop their own policies and offer pension or retirement plans for their staffs. In this paper, the authors examine two questions: (1) When given the option, how many charter schools choose to participate in their regular state (or local) teacher pension plans, and how many do not?; and (2) In the case of charter schools that do not participate in state plans, what--if anything--do they offer instead? To answer these questions, the authors analyzed data for six charter-heavy states that permit their charter schools to choose whether or not to participate in the state pension plan. They found that charter participation rates are low in jurisdictions where teachers in the state plan also participate in Social Security (New York, Florida, Michigan, Arizona). However, in states where teachers in the state retirement plan are not also included in Social Security (California, Louisiana), charter participation rates are high. In the latter states, opting &quot;out&quot; of the state system means opting in to Social Security, which evidently creates an incentive for charters to favor their state retirement systems. When charter schools do not participate in state retirement plans, they most often provide their teachers with defined-contribution plans--401(k) or 403(b)--with employer matches that resemble those for private-sector professionals. A continuing study of the alternatives employed by such schools could instruct the reform of traditional pension systems, while also informing issues of teacher recruitment, retention, and quality. States profiles are appended. (Contains 10 tables, 8 figures, and 40 footnotes.)
Early Warning System Implementation Guide: For Use with the National High School Center's Early Warning System Tool v2.0
Author: Therriault, Susan Bowles
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: High Schools,Dropout Prevention,At Risk Students,Decision Making,Data,Intervention,Identification,Program Implementation,Academic Achievement,Student Evaluation

This Early Warning System (EWS) Implementation Guide is a supporting document for schools and districts that are implementing the National High School Center's Early Warning System (EWS) Tool v2.0. Developed by the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the guide and tool support the establishment and implementation of an early warning system for identifying and monitoring students who are at risk of dropping out of high school. This Implementation Guide is designed to build the capacity of school- and district-level practitioners to analyze data from the EWS Tool v2.0. The aim of the guide and the tool is to support school and district efforts to systematically identify students who are showing signs that they are at risk of dropping out of high school, match these students to interventions to get them back on track for graduation, and monitor students' progress in those interventions. The guide describes an implementation process that draws on the research on data-driven decision making. The process has seven steps: (1) Establish roles and responsibilities; (2) Use the EWS Tool v2.0; (3) Review the EWS data; (4) Interpret the EWS data; (5) Assign and provide interventions; (6) Monitor students and interventions; and (7) Evaluate and refine the EWS process. The guide is organized so that each of the seven steps constitutes a section of the guide. Appended are: (1)  EWS Action Planning Tool; and (2) Dropout Prevention Intervention Mapping. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures and 11 endnotes.) [For &quot;National High School Center Early Warning System Tool v2.0: Technical Manual,&quot; see ED521687.]
National High School Center Early Warning System Tool v2.0: Technical Manual
Author: National High School Center
Date: 2011-02-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: High Schools,School Districts,School Administration,Identification,At Risk Students,Response to Intervention,Dropouts,Academic Persistence,School Holding Power,Spreadsheets

The Early Warning System (EWS) Tool v2.0 is a Microsoft Excel-based tool developed by the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with Matrix Knowledge Group. The tool enables schools, districts, and states to identify students who may be at risk of dropping out of high school and to monitor these students' responses to interventions. The intended purpose is to support students with an increased risk of disengagement, in order to get them back on track for graduation. This technical manual provides basic information about how to use the EWS Tool v2.0. Appended are: (1) Import Data Templates; (2) Backing Up Data; and (3) Custom Report Field Definitions. (Contains 4 tables, 10 endnotes and 29 exhibits.) [For related report, "Early Warning System Implementation Guide: For Use with the National High School Center's Early Warning System Tool v2.0," see ED521686.]
Special Education Inclusion. Center for School Success Promising Practices Series
Author: Imbimbo, Josephine
Date: 2009-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Special Needs Students,Special Education,Inclusion,Mainstreaming,Regular and Special Education Relationship,Educational Environment,Disabilities,Equal Education,Team Teaching,Teacher Collaboration,Faculty Development,Planning,Teacher Competencies,Institutional Characteristics,Academic Achievement

This publication focuses on special education inclusion. Inclusion is a term that expresses commitment to providing specially designed instruction and support for students with special needs in the context of a general education classroom. All students in the school are full members of the community, participating equitably in the opportunities available in a general education environment. Support services are brought to the child, rather than moving the child to the support services, and the only requirement is that the child benefit from being in a general education class rather than having to keep up with other students. Inclusion is a revolutionary concept that addresses concerns of self worth and strives to meet the needs of all students. Appended are: (1) References; (2) Resources; and (3) Guide to School Visits. [This paper was supported by The Clark Foundation.]
Student Progress to Graduation in New York City High Schools: A Metric Designed by New Visions for Public Schools. Part I: Core Components
Author: Fairchild, Susan
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Public Schools,Academic Achievement,At Risk Students,Graduation Requirements,Information Systems,Educational Change,Credits,Grades (Scholastic),Attendance,Intervention,Attendance Patterns,College Readiness,Identification,Program Effectiveness,High Schools,High School Graduates,High School Students,Educational Indicators,Measurement,Benchmarking

Students who achieve critical academic benchmarks such as high attendance rates, continuous levels of credit accumulation, and high grades have a greater likelihood of success throughout high school and beyond. However, keeping students on track toward meeting graduation requirements and quickly identifying students who are at risk of falling off track present challenges for school leaders, teachers, parents, and students. This paper describes the core components of New Visions for Public Schools' (New Visions) early warning system--clear benchmarks and multiple tools for multiple audiences--and the movement of these tools into the DataCation platform, a web-based student information system providing real-time data delivery to 77 New York City schools. (Contains 1 table, 5 figures and 23 footnotes.)
Professional Development. Center for School Success Promising Practices Series
Author: Imbimbo, Josephine
Date: 2009-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Restructuring,Educational Change,Professional Development,Academic Achievement,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Recruitment,Governance,Decision Making,Institutional Mission,Institutional Characteristics,Educational Finance,Models,Teacher Selection,School Visitation,Educational Environment,Charter Schools

This publication focuses on professional development, a key element of school reform. In order to improve instruction and learning, schools need to increase the capacity of teachers to promote academic excellence in their classrooms. As part of their school and district plans, educators need to include professional development for teachers that is ongoing, school-based, collaborative, and focused on student learning. This investment in teachers' professional growth will better enable schools to attract, motivate, and sustain quality teachers. The two schools featured in this publication provide examples of professional development that rely on a governance model of distributive staff leadership. In both schools teachers are key decision makers in how professional development is structured and implemented. Appended are: (1) References; (2) Resources; and (3) Guide to School Visits. [This paper was supported by The Clark Foundation.]
Student Advisory. Center for School Success Promising Practices Series
Author: Imbimbo, Josephine
Date: 2009-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Public Schools,High Schools,Adults,Adolescents,Interpersonal Relationship,Role,Academic Advising,Academic Achievement,Emotional Development,Social Development,Faculty Advisers

This publication focuses on student advisory programs. High school students often feel disconnected and have few personalized relationships with the adults who educate them. Advisory programs are based on the belief that students need the opportunity to develop trusting relationships with adult educators and that doing so benefits students in a variety of ways. In a student advisory program, each student in the school is assigned a teacher or staff member who assists the student in achieving his or her academic and personal goals. Advisory usually includes an advisory class and one-to-one advisement to address personal issues. This publication describes the advisory programs offered in three New York City public high schools. Appended are: (1) Some High Schools with Advisories that You Can Contact for More Information; (2) References; (3) Resources; and (4) Guide to School Visits. [This paper was supported by The Clark Foundation.]