ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
&quot;Bildungskrise&quot;--PISA and the German Educational Crisis
Author: Odendahl, Wolfgang
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Achievement Tests,International Assessment,Secondary School Students,Competition,Prediction,Social Class,Educational Policy,Test Results,Teaching Methods,Basic Skills,Labor Force Development,Human Resources,School Role,Academic Achievement,Marketing

After consistently bad results in every PISA test (Programme for International Student Assessment) and an accompanying prediction of lack of skills in its future workforce, Germany might be on track for losing out in international competition. Because of PISA's overwhelming marketing presence, its results are a major political influence. The OECD PISA committee's recommendations based on the results are challenging the fundamental structure of Germany's three-tiered educational system, aiming to eliminate its segregational effects on social classes. In order to analyze PISA's effects on German society from the angle of educational policy, this study compares the goals stated in its documentation with its effects on the public perception of Germany's future workforce. Three fields of research are considered: Education as a concept for furthering society as a whole, assessment logic, and the educational system as a functional module of the nation state. The study will show that PISA's test results are valid in indicating an urgent necessity to improve the teaching of basic skills, such as mathematics, reading, and writing. The interpretations of and recommendations based on these results, however, are reflecting a solely utilitarian view of educational systems as supplying human resources for industry.
English, Education, and Globalisation: A Bangladesh Perspective
Author: Akteruzzaman, Mohammad
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Global Approach,Interviews,Surveys,Questionnaires,Language Usage,Foreign Policy,Policy Formation,Language Planning,Foreign Countries,Language Attitudes,Bilingual Education,Educational Policy,Teaching Methods,Second Language Instruction,College Students,Secondary Education

As a third world country and a former British colony, Bangladesh has seen a dramatic upsurge in the use of the English language. Built on the concept of imperialistic aspects of the English language, this paper draws on responses from anonymous survey results and interviews and attempts to provide deeper insights into the global aspects of English as a language and the credibility of this language in the minds of the populace. This paper assesses the English language as a feature of globalization where English is considered to be of the utmost value. Questionnaires were designed and interviews were arranged to evaluate the commercial and linguistic aspects of English in Bangladesh to reach a conclusion whether the mass perceives this very language as it should be or there are any other economic and cultural aspects. The findings were presented graphically and the study showed that English fails to meet the expectations of the stakeholders and policy makers of Bangladesh. The paper concludes with some recommendations that could help resolve the situation and present English to the people in a better light.
Facebook Posts as Complementary Teaching Material for a French University Course in Taiwan
Author: Montoneri, Bernard
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Media,Supplementary Reading Materials,Instructional Materials,Second Language Instruction,French,Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Novices,Multimedia Materials,Computer Mediated Communication,Learning Processes,Learning Motivation,Reading Skills,Writing Skills,Reading Improvement,Writing Improvement,Case Studies,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Asynchronous Communication,Questionnaires

A growing number of instructors use information and communications technology (ICT) inside and outside the classroom to teach all kinds of programs, including language courses. In this study, the instructor used a traditional way of teaching (lecturing, text-book, conversation, no technology in the classroom, no social network) during the first semester of academic year 2013-2014 (September-January) in a French course for beginners in a Taiwan public university. During the second semester (February-June 2014), the teacher added the use of multimedia and Facebook to teach the same students. They joined a Facebook learning group, which they could access anytime during the second semester; they could post, view posts, like, and comment in French and sometimes English. They could not use their mother-tongue, Chinese. This study analyzes data from the first and second semester to measure students' learning progress and how the Facebook group might influence their motivation and change their behavior. Students were expected not only to improve their reading and writing skills, but to increase their knowledge of French culture.
Measuring Diversity in Higher Education Institutions: A Review of Literature and Empirical Approaches
Author: Widiputera, Ferdi
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Diversity (Institutional),Higher Education,Cultural Pluralism,Measurement Techniques,Bachelors Degrees,Masters Programs,Comparative Analysis,Foreign Countries,Statistical Analysis

This paper reviews studies on diversity in higher education institutions and suggests empirical approaches to measure diversity. &quot;Diversity&quot; in this paper refers to the internal and external differences among academic programs and institutions. As the empirical literature is relatively salient about how to measure diversity in higher education, the study suggests and compares the use of the Herfindhal index, Gini coefficient, Theil entropy index and the Birnbaum (1983) measure. Applying the indices to data on Dutch higher education, the results indicate limited diversity between institutions, disciplines, and bachelor's programs. The diversity at the master's program and first year bachelor's program levels increased between 2008 and 2013.
A Meta-Analysis of Educator Training to Improve Implementation of Interventions for Students with Disabilities
Author: Brock, Matthew E.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Meta Analysis,Disabilities,Intervention,Paraprofessional School Personnel,Fidelity,Special Education,Special Education Teachers,Program Implementation,Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Feedback (Response),Coaching (Performance),Special Needs Students,Preschool Children,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,High School Students

Teachers and paraprofessionals need effective training to improve their implementation of interventions for students with disabilities. Reviews of the single-case design literature have identified some features associated with effective training for these educators, but the group-design literature has received little attention. This meta-analysis systematically reviews group-design studies testing the efficacy of training to improve implementation of interventions for students with disabilities. The mean effect size of educator training on implementation fidelity was g = 1.08, and results from meta-regression analysis suggest training that involves a combination of two specific training strategies (i.e., modeling and performance feedback) was associated with improved implementation fidelity. Increased duration of training was not associated with larger effects. Considered alongside findings from the single-case design literature, these results suggest that &quot;how&quot; educators are trained is a more important consideration than the number of hours they spend in training.
Influence of Opportunity to Learn Indices and Education Status on Students&apos; Mathematics Achievement Growth
Author: Elliott, Stephen N.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Achievement,Summative Evaluation,Special Education,Multiple Regression Analysis,Achievement Gap,Regular and Special Education Relationship,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Inclusion,Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Learning Disabilities,Emotional Problems,Speech Impairments,Language Impairments,Achievement Tests,Mathematics Tests,Educational Opportunities

We examined instructional processes in classrooms where students with and without disabilities received mathematics instruction to understand the relationship among key instructional process variables and achievement as measured by interim and end-of-year summative assessments. Teachers (N = 78) completed instructional logs daily and administered easyCBM probes quarterly to 162 students with disabilities and 165 students without disabilities. Examination of instructional data indicated both groups of students had nearly equal opportunities to learn (OTLs) the same mathematics content, yet there were significant differences in these students' mathematics achievement on interim and summative tests. Special education status and instructional practices were found to be significant predictors of achievement growth. Furthermore, grade level and special education status, along with OTL scores, accounted for significant variance in end-of-year mathematics scores. Discussion of results focuses on instructional practice implications and the role these practices play in achievement gaps.
Young Children with ASD: Parent Strategies for Interaction during Adapted Book Reading Activity
Author: Tipton, Leigh Ann
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Young Children,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Autism,Parent Child Relationship,Interaction,Emergent Literacy,Reading Strategies,Story Reading,Mothers,Regression (Statistics),Literacy,Diagnostic Tests,Observation,Cognitive Development,Intelligence Tests,Check Lists,Child Behavior,Factor Analysis,Interpersonal Competence,Books

The purpose of this study was to identify how parents' use of language and literacy strategies during an adapted shared book reading activity relate to social, behavioral, and cognitive skills for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 111 young children (ages 4-7 years) with ASD and their mothers. A factor analysis of the items used in the coding system, yielded a four-factor model of parent-led behaviors during the shared book reading activity: clarification, feedback, teaching, and evocative techniques. In regression analyses, the frequency of parents' use of clarification, feedback, and evocative strategies used during the shared reading task were related to certain demographic and child factors. Results have implications for the types of structure and support that parents might provide their young children with ASD during informal reading sessions.
Orchestrating French Music Conservatories: European Political Interventions and Local Governance
Author: Raevskikh, Elena
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Music Activities,Foreign Countries,Music Education,Student Mobility,Competition,Comparative Analysis,Computer Software,Databases,Statistical Analysis,Geographic Regions,School Districts,Departments,Cultural Education,Educational Cooperation,Educational Policy,International Cooperation,Maps

Supported by the omnipresent State in the past, French music education leans increasingly towards a more liberal and competitive model. In the current context of a decentralized economy and European integration, music conservatories are called upon to contribute to regional and municipal development and enhance European student mobility. How do conservatories react to the restructuring of the competitive field? How do they affect European territorial cohesion? Are they managing adaptive or hybrid strategies with new conceptions of music education? Alternatively, do they gradually move away from the marketplace and become an obsolete and difficult heritage to maintain? To answer these questions, it is necessary to analyze the current balance of power among the different elements of the French multi-level system of conservatories, including communal, inter-communal, departmental, regional, national and European institutions. By combining different sources of spatial and statistical data, this paper contributes to constructing a comparative institutional geography of French multi-level territorial divisions. Extraction and treatment of the &quot;small data&quot; with SPSS statistical software allowed us to build a number of small-scale datasets that were merged to broader geographical databases from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The geographical units that structure the INSEE databases (the zip and district codes, codes of regions, departments, GPS coordinates) made possible the location of each conservatory within municipal, departmental, regional and national spaces. A cartographic approach to studying music conservatories allows the identification of problems that deserve further detailed qualitative and statistical study in the future.
Respond to Diversity: Graduate Minority Students' Perceptions on Their Learning Experiences in an American University
Author: Yuan, Huanshu
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Graduate Students,Student Diversity,Qualitative Research,Cultural Context,Learning Experience,Semi Structured Interviews,Education Majors,Educational Philosophy,Student Needs,Teaching Methods,Higher Education,Student Attitudes,Cultural Pluralism,Teacher Student Relationship,College Faculty,Correlation,Outcomes of Education,Teacher Education,Culturally Relevant Education,Cultural Differences,Foreign Students,Social Isolation,English (Second Language),Student Adjustment,Cognitive Style,Intercultural Communication

The increasing population of minority students in higher education in the United States makes it relevant to focus on the issue of how to improve current educational philosophies, instruction and curriculum design, investment, and organization to meet the needs of minority students. A &quot;teaching gap&quot; between minority students' learning needs and pedagogical responses to these needs exists in American postsecondary education. This qualitative research study addressed this knowledge gap by using five semi-structured interviews with five graduate education major minority students to examine their learning and the teaching practice of faculty in a specific university in the United States. The results of this study indicated that situating teaching and learning in a cultural context and improved faculty multicultural awareness were important to improve minority students' learning experiences and academic outcomes.
Using a Brief Preschool Early Numeracy Skills Screener to Identify Young Children with Mathematics Difficulties
Author: Purpura, David J.
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Skills,Mathematics Instruction,Preschool Education,Screening Tests,At Risk Students,Preschool Children,Numeracy,Mathematics Achievement,Statistical Analysis

A critical component in enhancing academic success is identifying children at risk of later academic difficulties. Although significant efforts have been devoted to design effective assessment processes in elementary school, fewer efforts (particularly for mathematics) have been made for preschool. The focus of this study was to design and evaluate a brief early numeracy skills screening tool. Measure development and validation occurred in a two-stage process with diverse and distinct samples. In the first stage, 393 preschool children were assessed on a battery of early numeracy tasks. By use of an item response theory framework, 24 items that spanned the ability continuum were selected for inclusion in the brief measure. In the second stage, 129 preschool children were assessed on the brief measure, the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-Third Edition, and two literacy measures. The data resulted in acceptable psychometric properties and strong diagnostic accuracy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
SMART Teaching in New and Old Classrooms
Author: Saunders, Gunter
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Change,Classroom Environment,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Higher Education,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Interviews,Focus Groups,Classroom Design,Furniture

The University of Westminster is undertaking a major classroom refurbishment program that is linked to a new approach to staff development in mobile learning. Feedback obtained from academic staff and students previously highlighted how classrooms should be changed so as to promote more active forms of curriculum delivery. Both technology and classroom furniture were considered significant enablers for effective in-class delivery, with the simplicity of the former and flexibility of the latter identified as key. To date nearly 70 classrooms have been re-designed and the impact of the changes on both staff and students has been assessed. Generally, the feedback has been positive with high praise for the easy to use technology solutions provided and the adaptability of the furniture. In addition, the significance of 'getting right' basic features in new classrooms (lighting, acoustics for example) was frequently cited by staff and students. This paper will highlight the features of new classrooms that students and staff have indicated they feel are most significant for their learning and teaching experiences. The paper will also assess the extent to which the new classrooms have been successful through analyzing the impact of both new technology and furniture arrangements on approaches to curriculum delivery. In addition, staff views on the utility of the new staff development approach will be discussed.
Screening for Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems at Kindergarten Entry: Utility and Incremental Validity of Parent Report
Author: Owens, Julie Sarno
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Behavior Problems,Kindergarten,Social Problems,Emotional Problems,Questionnaires,Child Behavior,Screening Tests,Rating Scales,At Risk Students,Academic Achievement,Predictive Validity,Parents,Regression (Statistics)

The current study examined the utility and incremental validity of parent ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Disruptive Behavior Disorders rating scale completed at kindergarten registration in identifying risk status as defined by important criterion variables (teacher ratings, daily behavioral performance, and quarterly grades). The participants were 252 kindergarten students from one school district. Receiver operating characteristic analyses and area-under-the-curve values indicated that most subscales had low to moderate utility in identifying children showing at-risk academic performance and social, emotional, and behavioral problems. However, forward linear regression analyses indicated that parent ratings provided incremental validity relative to the academic screening tool used by the school district, accounting for an additional 3.69% to 22.37% of the variance in kindergarten outcomes. Implications for the use of parent ratings in universal screening for social, emotional, and behavioral problems at kindergarten entry are discussed.
Towards Building Science Teachers' Understandings of Contemporary Science Practices
Author: Lancaster, Greg
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Teachers,Science Process Skills,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Foreign Countries,Preservice Teacher Education,Inservice Teacher Education,Scientific Principles,Job Shadowing,Scientists,Online Surveys,Self Efficacy,Masters Programs,Interviews

Faculties of Education and Science at Monash University have designed a Masters unit to assist pre-service and in-service science teachers in exploring the practices of contemporary science and examine how varied understandings can influence science communication. Teachers are encouraged to explore their current understandings of the Nature of Science (NoS) and to contrast their views with those known to be widely held by society (Cobern &amp; Loving, 1998). Teachers are challenged to provide insights into their thinking relating to the NoS. In order to build understandings of contemporary science practice each teacher shadows a research scientist and engages them in conversations intended to explore the scientists' views of NoS and practice. Findings suggest that teachers were initially uncomfortable with the challenge to express ideas relating to their NoS and were also surprised how diverse the views of NoS can be among teachers, scientists and their peers, and that these views can directly impact ways of communicating contemporary science practice.
Rehabilitating Ex-Offenders through Non-Formal Education in Lesotho
Author: Ngozwana, Nomazulu
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Criminals,Correctional Rehabilitation,Attitude Change,Informal Education,Transformative Learning,Correctional Institutions,Holistic Approach,Learning Processes,Foreign Countries,Literacy Education,Daily Living Skills,Self Concept,Adult Learning,Qualitative Research,Interviews

This paper reports on the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through non-formal education. It examines how non-formal education has addressed the ex-offenders' adaptive and transformative needs. Using an interpretive paradigm and qualitative approach, individual interviews were conducted with five ex-offenders who were chosen through purposive and snowball sampling. Qualitative data analysis was used to generate the themes from the data. The findings revealed that ex-offenders were taught basic literacy and life skills through nonformal education. Moreover, non-formal education facilitated the ex-offenders' transformed attitudes, including recognizing their identity as a result of transformative non-formal education. Some ex-offenders in Lesotho demonstrated how by tailoring programs and utilizing their own personal knowledge, they were able to share skills in spite of the prison bureaucracy and have consequently established an organization that serves as a link between prison and society. However, there should be a holistic approach to learning, which can target the immediate application of skills once offenders are released from prison. Similarly, offenders need access to educational resources once they leave prison that can build on what they already know/have learned so that they can turn their lives around.
High School Math and Science Preparation and Postsecondary STEM Participation for Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
Author: Wei, Xin
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Students,Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Prior Learning,High School Students,Secondary School Mathematics,Secondary School Science,STEM Education,Majors (Students),Influences,Predictor Variables,Standardized Tests,Scores,Disabilities,Longitudinal Studies,Special Education,Transitional Programs,Advanced Courses,Educational Policy,Regression (Statistics)

Previous studies suggest that individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely than other disability groups and the general population to gravitate toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, the field knows little about which factors influence the STEM pipeline between high school and postsecondary STEM major. This study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study--2, a nationally representative sample of students with an ASD in special education in the United States. Findings suggest that students with an ASD who took more classes in advanced math in a general education setting were more likely to declare a STEM major after controlling for background characteristics and previous achievement level. Educational policy implications are discussed.