ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Financing Early Educator Teacher Quality: A Closer Look at Assumptions That Drive Variations in Estimating the Cost of Services
Author: Austin, Lea J. E.
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Preschool Teachers,Costs,Teacher Salaries,Wages,Teaching Conditions,Planning,Financial Support,Early Childhood Education,Educational Needs,Child Care,Teacher Student Ratio,Student Needs,Teacher Role,Teacher Qualifications,Child Caregivers,Employment Qualifications,Salaries,Fringe Benefits,School Personnel,Administrators,Preschool Education,Kindergarten,Educational Finance

Most early educators are paid less than $15 per hour, and many of them report high levels of economic insecurity evidenced by their worry about meeting monthly family expenses or paying for bare necessities such as food and housing. Coupled with low wages, few early educators can expect to work in settings that provide basic professional supports including paid planning time, which is essential to effective teaching practices (Whitebook, McLean, Austin, &amp; Edwards, 2018). Inadequate levels of public financing and a heavy reliance on families to pay the costs of early care and education (ECE) services has allowed these conditions to persist for decades with only limited improvement, despite the growing understanding of the impact that early educators have on the children in their charge (NASEM, 2018). In this report, the authors demonstrate how assumptions about what teachers need produce per child costs that vary by thousands of dollars. Recognizing that estimates are important points of information -- as they are often used to inform short- and long-term term decisions about early care and education services -- they examined a set of cost models with regard to assumptions about resources for teachers and their working environments. These assumptions drive the per child and total systems estimates produced for budgetary purposes and ultimately frame the daily realities of early educators.
Environment-Based Supplementary Reading Materials for Junior High School Students
Author: Azizah, Dinar Martia
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Junior High School Students,Supplementary Reading Materials,Environmental Education,Conservation (Environment),Curriculum Development,Grade 8,Student Needs,Vocabulary Development,Cartoons,Ecology,Foreign Countries,Reading Comprehension,Relevance (Education)

One effort toward instilling environmental care in students is the development of environment-based supplementary reading materials. The objectives of this article are to investigate the need of junior high school students for environment-based supplementary reading materials, and to develop environment-based supplementary reading materials suitable for these students. The subjects of this research and development were eighth grade students of a junior high school. The resulting reading material has been developed into three units, each unit consisting of a list of new vocabulary, a comic, a main text, and exercises. The exercises at the end of each unit have the purpose of confirmation. The texts aim to convey an ideal relationship between humans and environment.
Stretched Too Thin? The Relationship between Insufficient Resource Allocation and Physical Education Instructional Time and Assessment Practices
Author: Turner, Lindsey
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Resource Allocation,Physical Education,Physical Education Teachers,Elementary School Teachers,Teacher Student Ratio,Budgets,Equipment,Educational Quality,Teaching Load,Continuing Education,Financial Support,Time on Task,Student Evaluation

With provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act, attention to physical education (PE) programs in school will be crucial for developing well-rounded students. We assessed the availability of resources that have the potential to impact PE (staffing, continuing education, annual PE equipment budgets) in a nationally-representative sample of 640 U.S. public elementary schools. Higher student-to-PE teacher ratios were associated with students not receiving adequate instruction. Equipment budgets were minimal (median = $500) and 30% of schools had no budget at all. Additional financial support from federal and state education agencies would help schools to better meet recommendations for PE. [This paper was published in &quot;Teaching and Teacher Education&quot; Nov 2017.]
Perceived Instrumenality of Eduational Sciences Courses by Prospective Teachers
Author: Arslan, Ali
Date: 2016-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Education Courses,Preservice Teachers,Student Attitudes,Differences,Gender Differences,Academic Achievement

Teacher training is regarded as a fundamental mechanism for developing pedagogical content knowledge of teachers' and emerging training applications to reach high standards. The purpose of this study is to investigate views of faculty of education students' and pedagogical formation training certificate program students' about perceived instrumentality of educational sciences courses. The cross-sectional study was used to investigate the research questions. Data were collected from 415 teacher candidates using the Perceived Instrumentality of Educational Sciences Courses Survey. Results revealed that faculty of education students' opinions towards the functionality of educational sciences courses were more positive than pedagogical formation training certificate program students' opinions.
The Legacy of More &amp; Better Learning Time: Grantee and Stakeholder Reflections
Author: Frizzell, Matthew
Date: 2017-01-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Outcomes of Education,Case Studies,Grants,Educational Policy,Educational Planning,Equal Education,Instructional Leadership,Stakeholders,Program Descriptions,Program Evaluation,Academic Achievement,Educational Indicators,Barriers,Program Implementation,School Districts,Administrative Organization,School Community Relationship,Teacher Attitudes,Parent Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Community Organizations,Access to Education,Disadvantaged,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Practices,Surveys,Philanthropic Foundations

This report serves as a legacy document for the Ford Foundation's More and Better Learning Time (MBLT) initiative. It summarizes the approaches to and outcomes and challenges of successful MBLT strategies around the country. The report includes data from a survey for Ford Foundation MBLT grantees across the country and from case studies in Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and Rochester, New York. The report is divided into seven sections that represent the major themes of both the survey and case studies and a concluding section on lessons learned: (1) Policies and programs; (2) Planning; (3) Leadership; (4) Stakeholder support; (5) Equity; (6) Outcomes; (7) Challenges; and (8) Lessons learned. Not all of the questions in the survey or all of the information collected in the case studies are represented in these themes. The appendix contains the complete survey responses for all of the questions, including the open-ended responses, and can be found at www.cep-dc.org.
The Role of Instruction in the Perception of English High Back Vowels
Author: Sousa Filho, Raimundo Nonato
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,Second Language Learning,English (Second Language),Pronunciation Instruction,Vowels,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Outcomes of Education,Phonemes,College Students,Articulation (Speech)

This article aims to analyze whether formal instruction influences Brazilian speakers' perception of the English high back vowels contrast. There have been a few L2 pieces of research that focused on the instruction of specific vowel contrasts. Previous studies indicate that a single L1 category seems to be a source of difficulty to L2 vowel discrimination. However, some of these investigations did not focus on the role of instruction to such discrimination. The participants of the present study were 17 Brazilian speakers of Portuguese as L1, beginning learners of English, divided into experimental and control groups. The study included a perception pretest, a pronunciation instruction class, taught only to the experimental group, and a perception posttest. Results showed that experimental and control groups obtained similar results. Based on that, some factors were pointed to possibly explain this outcome, such as the duration of the pronunciation instruction, the possibility of participants learning with the pretest itself, the duration of the data collection, the participants' possible assimilation of the target contrast into a single category, and the interference of the mid central vowel /?/ used as a distractor in the data collection. On the other hand, a qualitative analysis revealed that all participants in the experimental group found the pronunciation instruction helpful. Such findings seem to agree entirely or in part with other similar studies' results.
State Leader Interviews: How States Are Responding to ESSA&apos;s Evidence Requirements for School Improvement
Author: Rentner, Diane Stark
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Program Implementation,State Government,Evidence Based Practice,Government Role,Educational Improvement,State Departments of Education,Educational Strategies,Alignment (Education),Intervention,School Districts,Educational Policy

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states more power than they had under previous federal law to determine which schools are low-performing and gives school districts greater latitude to decide on strategies to improve these schools. This report describes findings from the first phase of a project by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) designed to learn more about state and local implementation of ESSA's evidence requirements and the roles of education leaders and researchers in advancing evidence use in school improvement. The findings reported are from interviews conducted by CEP staff with state officials who oversee school improvement in seven states. The interviews focused on state experiences with initial implementation of the ESSA evidence requirements, including state efforts to identify evidence-based interventions and assist districts with their school improvement efforts.
Placing Equity Concerns at the Center of Knowledge Development
Author: Farrow, Frank
Date: 2019-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Equal Education,Achievement Gap,Systems Approach,Intervention,Evidence Based Practice,Social Justice,Educational Assessment

The United State is at a pivotal time in efforts to improve the health, education, and well-being of children, youth, and families. There is increasing recognition that population-level results cannot be achieved without closing persistent equity gaps--gaps defined by race, class, income, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, and urban/rural geography. The encouraging news is that leaders in philanthropy, in government, and within many communities are implementing strategies to address health disparities, reduce poverty and boost incomes, create effective schools, and transform tough neighborhoods--all to achieve better, more equitable outcomes. These complex initiatives usually involve transforming public systems or revitalizing communities or both. To promote an equitable approach to generating and using knowledge, the authors believe three essential elements must be included in the knowledge development enterprise: (1) Valuing and using the perspectives and knowledge of people most affected by the root causes of inequity and by the proposed solutions; (2) Understanding and articulating the structural, systemic, cultural, and historical factors that are root causes of inequities; and (3) Focusing on the variations in impact of interventions--not just &quot;what works&quot; on average, for some individuals, somewhere--to discern what adaptations are needed to reduce disparities. In this paper, the authors turn their attention to considering these elements in light of what it means to &quot;place equity concerns at the center&quot; of improving outcomes for those who are the most marginalized. The premise is that how evidence is generated and applied--i.e., the assumptions made and methods chosen for this task--can affect how rapidly people learn and how effectively they'll make progress in achieving more equitable outcomes.
Promise of Community Changes Education Technology Paradigms
Author: Gilfus, Stephen
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Communities of Practice,Educational Technology,Internet,Inquiry,Community Education,Cooperative Learning,Knowledge Management,Integrated Learning Systems,Social Networks,Web 2.0 Technologies,Nonformal Education,Learning Theories,Learner Engagement,Academic Achievement,Educational Change,Universities,Business

The Gilfus Education Group predicts that over the next few years, educators will make great progress in combining existing technology capabilities with the practices and theories of learning communities to develop a vigorous community learning platform which enables a richer set of educational experiences and facilitates the positive effects characterized by researchers. We are excited to share how a new paradigm of community, context and content can fulfill the greater promise of community increasing student engagement and academic achievement. The robust capabilities made possible by a Community Platform for Education could supersede and altogether displace the very notion of an LMS [Learning Management Systems].
Are Public School Teachers Adequately Compensated?
Author: Rentner, Diane Stark
Date: 2019-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Compensation (Remuneration),Teacher Salaries,Public School Teachers,Elementary Secondary Education,Public Schools,Economic Climate,Economic Factors,Public Education,Teacher Strikes,Financial Exigency,Budgeting,Retrenchment

The spring 2018 teacher strikes or walkouts in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and North Carolina brought heightened attention to teacher compensation. Similar walk-outs, sick-outs, or strikes occurred early 2019 in Denver, Los Angeles, and Oakland, as well as West Virginia and Kentucky. In all of these actions, teachers were quoted in the media saying that education was being underfunded. Teachers not only pressed for salary increases, but also for more state support for K-12 education. It is difficult to definitively answer the question of whether public school teachers are adequately compensated. In a capitalist economy, so the theory goes, individuals who are &quot;better&quot; at their vocations and possess higher human capital stock are rewarded by the labor market more than others (Becker, 1993). However, public sector workers' salaries are limited by available resources and other restrictions. For example, teacher salaries are often subject to salary schedules that increase pay with more years of service, and those salaries are further limited by available public funds. To provide context for understanding the research on the adequacy of teacher compensation, this policy brief first describes how the public K-12 education system is funded and discusses the impact of the Great Recession. The brief then highlights policy research that examines whether teachers are adequately compensated. The author has focused this issue brief on more recent analyses of teacher compensation since the Great Recession had a large impact on state and local tax revenues, which in turn impacted teacher compensation. Readers should keep in mind that the studies presented here discuss average teacher salaries in each of the 50 states. Within states, the amount of compensation varies greatly from district to district, school to school, and even within schools. [This report was written with assistance from Matthew Braun.]
The Effectiveness of Engaging Parents and Family Members to Expand the Social Inclusion of Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities Living with Families
Author: Amado, Angela
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Intellectual Disability,Developmental Disabilities,Family Involvement,Inclusion,Adults,Community Attitudes,Social Life,Friendship,Interpersonal Relationship,Intervention,Training,Program Effectiveness

Since most individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities live at home, engaging families in social inclusion efforts is important to build more inclusive communities. This project was exploratory, mixed methods research about supporting families in how to expand social inclusion for their adult children who were living at home. There was interest from 111 families, with representatives from 81 families attending an information session, 49 families beginning the project, and 17 families with 18 children continuing to project end after 30 months. There were several successful outcomes as well as some challenges. Successful outcomes included the finding that strategies that had previously been used by human services agency staff to expand social inclusion for group home residents can also be successfully used by families, whether the adult child had a mild or more severe degree of disability. Families discovered the openness and willingness of community members to include and befriend their children. The project also affected family members seeing the gifts their children have, and what types of relationships with members of the larger community might be possible now and in the future. Besides the challenges of connecting individuals with disabilities with other community members, the three principal project challenges were in measuring and tracking social relationships, family recruitment, and type of project structure. Similarities and differences found between training families and agency staff may also be useful for those engaged in training families in future endeavors. There was a significant need expressed by many families for different types of social inclusion projects and efforts to impact this very important area of life.
Educators&apos; Thoughts on Making Decisions about Accessibility for All Students
Author: Goldstone, Linda
Date: 2018-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Attitudes,Accessibility (for Disabled),Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Academic Accommodations (Disabilities),Student Evaluation,Testing Accommodations,Faculty Development,Teamwork,Participative Decision Making,Teacher Collaboration,Access to Computers,Special Education Teachers,Language Teachers,English Language Learners,Individualized Education Programs,General Education,Knowledge Level

The purpose of this study was to gather in-depth information about teachers' experiences with accessibility features and accommodations in the classroom and on assessments. Expanded options for accessibility, beyond accommodations, has accompanied the increased implementation of technology-based assessments. Asynchronous online focus groups were conducted with general education teachers, English learner teachers and special education teachers from DIAMOND (Data Informed Accessibility--Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions) project states. A qualitative cross-case analysis was conducted of the responses from the three groups of teachers. The results from the focus groups contribute to the project's development of guidelines for making informed decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. The focus group results suggest that all teachers would benefit from user-friendly explicit guidance and professional development. The focus should be on: (1) Precise and clear definitions of accessibility features and accommodations; (2) A team-based process that includes all relevant individuals and collaboration to make decisions on which accessibility features and accommodations are appropriate for individual students; (3) Ways to identify types of useful data to collect and how to document and disseminate the information; (4) Ways to implement accessibility features and accommodations in all forms of assessments and classroom activities; (5) Ways to provide enough computers and additional staff to support students with accessibility features and accommodations; and (6) Ways to provide sufficient opportunities for practice tests for teachers and students to become familiar with accessibility features and accommodations.
Student Demonstrations of Their Use of Accessibility Features and Accommodations
Author: Larson, Erik D.
Date: 2019-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Accessibility (for Disabled),Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Academic Accommodations (Disabilities),Students with Disabilities,Student Evaluation,Testing Accommodations,Teamwork,Faculty Development,Participative Decision Making,Teacher Collaboration,Access to Computers,Special Education Teachers,Language Teachers,English Language Learners,Individualized Education Programs,General Education,Knowledge Level,Barriers

In 2015, the United States Department of Education awarded an Enhanced Assessment Initiative grant to the Data Informed Accessibility--Making Optimal Needs-based Decisions (DIAMOND) project to create professional development resources for educators who have to make decisions about accessibility features and accommodations. This study presents information about the classroom use of accessibility features and accommodations gathered through in-person interviews with teachers and in-person demonstrations with students. It catalogs the accessibility features and accommodations used in class that were helpful to students, identifies reasons that certain accessibility features and accommodations were and were not used, and explores barriers to the effective use of accessibility features and accommodations. The 12 English learner (EL), special education, and general education teachers who participated in the in-person interviews shared information about the accessibility features and accommodations used by a particular student or students. Sixteen students then completed demonstrations in which they answered questions, and showed how they used one of their accessibility features or accommodations. The results of the interviews and demonstrations were written up using a qualitative descriptive analysis approach. Five broad themes were identified: (1) Students; (2) Accessibility Features and Accommodations Demonstrations; (3) Other Accessibility Features and Accommodations; and (4) Barriers. In order for students to receive the full benefits of accessibility features and accommodations, education systems must achieve the following goals: (1) Allocate funds for technology-based supports; (2) Implement professional development for teachers and staff; (3) Build teachers' willingness to implement supports; (4) Build teachers' willingness to seek alternative or additional supports for students; (5) Encourage teachers and specialists to collaborate to select and implement supports; and (6) Seek out external specialists' recommendations and resources.