ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Schooling Options for Muslim Children Living in Muslim-Minority Countries--A Thematic Literature Review
Author: Musharraf, Muhammad Nabeel
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Islam,Religious Education,Muslims,Curriculum,Tuition,School Choice,Parent Attitudes,Minority Groups,Educational Development,Classification,Decision Making,Educational Policy,Educational Legislation,Criticism,Foreign Countries

Islamic education of children is a common problem faced by Muslims living in western, European and other developed countries as minority. It can be due to a number of factors such as unavailability of Islamic schools at a particular location, lack of enough number of students to warrant opening a full-fledged Islamic school, curriculum legislated by governments which does not focus on Islamic education or does that in an inadequate manner (non-confessional or based on another faith), lack of integration between religious education and secular subjects, inability of parents to fund their child's education in Islamic school due to high tuition fees, perception that state or secular public schools would provide better education than Islamic schools etc. Purpose of this paper is to examine the schooling choices available to Muslim parents living in Muslim-minority countries and factors that govern parents' selection. This examination not only covers full-time schools but also the supplementary options (Sunday, Evening or Weekend schools). Sunday school concept is a centuries old concept which initiated to provide religious and literary education to children in England and gradually expanded to other parts of world. Muslim communities are also gradually embracing this concept but its development in most places is in infancy. In our analysis, we have reviewed a large body of knowledge and research on Islamic school and presented our synthesized findings with regards to functioning, applicability, sustainability, curriculum and other relevant aspects at Islamic schools in Muslim-minority countries.
Availability and Use of Instructional Materials in the Teaching of Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Primary Schools in Nandi North District, Kenya
Author: Tuimur, Hilda Ng'etich
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,Conflict Resolution,Elementary Schools,Conflict,Social Studies,Surveys,Elementary School Teachers,Questionnaires,Documentation,Content Analysis,Observation,Check Lists,Statistical Analysis,Inservice Teacher Education,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Instructional Materials,Teacher Attitudes

This paper examines the availability and use of instructional resources necessary for teaching Conflict and Conflict Resolution as a topic in Social Studies subject in primary schools in Nandi North District in Kenya. The study was carried out through descriptive survey. The study population included Social Studies teachers in Kosirai Division of Nandi North District. From this population, a sample of 45 standard seven Social Studies teachers was drawn using purposive sampling. The instruments used for data collection were: a questionnaire, document analysis and classroom observation checklist. Descriptive statistics namely: frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study showed that many of the primary school Social Studies teachers had not attended any in-service courses to induct them on how to teach emerging issues like Conflict and Conflict Resolution in the current primary curriculum. The teachers also lacked sufficient instructional materials for effective teaching of the topic. The conclusion drawn from the study was that the current preparation of teachers to teach Conflict and Conflict Resolution is inadequate with regards to their ability to design relevant teaching and learning resources and effectively use them in the teaching and learning process. In addition the available instructional materials in the sampled schools were insufficient. The study recommended the need for Social Studies teachers to be retrained and sensitized on the appropriate instructional materials for teaching Conflict and Conflict Resolution.
Exploring Indiana's Private Education Sector. School Survey Series
Author: Catt, Andrew D.
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Private Schools,Private Education,Private Sector,School Choice,Eligibility,Educational Vouchers,Student Participation,Educational Policy,Decision Making,Surveys,Professional Associations,Federal Government,Profiles,Demography,Enrollment,Statistical Data,Teacher Student Ratio,Class Size

Indiana is at the national forefront on private school choice. With the broadest eligibility guidelines among the country's 22 other school voucher programs, Indiana's Choice Scholarship Program has seen enrollment more than double each year since being enacted in 2011. Today, when compared with voucher programs in 12 other states, Indiana has the highest participation level: 29,146 students enrolled in 2014 15. Although Indiana's Department of Education (IDOE) has compiled a comprehensive report on Choice students, little is known on the supply of private schools or open seats available for Choice students. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), the Indiana Non-Public Education Association (INPEA), and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice have conducted their own surveys of Indiana's private schools, allowing for better-informed policies and decision-making. This report synthesizes information collected in two unique surveys of Indiana's private schools, one by the USDOE and another by INPEA and the Friedman Foundation. It starts with a short overview of the data sources followed by the key findings from the two surveys. Each survey offers key profile and demographic characteristics of Indiana's private school sector and should provide a healthy foundation for future policy decisions and any debated changes to Indiana's robust private school choice environment. Appended are the following tables: (1) Number of Open Seats and Accompanying Choice Funds (based on 2012-13 average amount) by County; and (2) Number of Open Seats and Accompanying Choice Funds (based on 2012-13 average amount) by City. The Appendix also provides the Proportion of Amish Schools among Indiana Private Schools (1989-90 to 2011-12).
Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade. Working Paper 121
Author: Muschkin, Clara G.
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Special Education,Student Placement,Disability Identification,Grade 3,Elementary School Students,Early Childhood Education,State Programs,Program Effectiveness,Correlation,Disabilities,Preschool Education,Educational Finance,Financial Support,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Equal Education

This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two programs to identify their effects on third-grade outcomes. We find that both programs significantly reduce the likelihood of special education placement in the third grade, resulting in considerable cost savings to the state. The effects of the two programs differ across categories of disability, but do not vary significantly across subgroups of children identified by race, ethnicity, and maternal education levels. The following are appended: (1) Tables and Figures; (2) Exceptionality Classifications by Type of Disability (1997-2010); (3) Variable Description; and (4) Any Exceptionality Models with Additional Covariates.
Screen Twice, Cut Once: Assessing the Predictive Validity of Teacher Selection Tools. Working Paper 120
Author: Goldhaber, Dan
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Selection,Predictive Validity,Selection Tools,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Job Applicants,Academic Achievement,Teacher Attendance,Faculty Mobility,Value Added Models,Elementary Secondary Education

Evidence suggests that teacher hiring in public schools is ad hoc and often fails to result in good selection among applicants. Some districts use structured selection instruments in the hiring process, but we know little about the efficacy of such tools. In this paper, we evaluate the ability of applicant selection tools used by the Spokane Public Schools to predict three outcomes: measures of teachers' value-added contributions to student learning, teacher absence behavior, and attrition rates. We observe all applicants to the district and are therefore able to estimate sample selection-corrected models, using random tally errors in selection instruments and differences in the quality of competition across job postings. These two factors influence the probability of being hired by Spokane Public Schools but are unrelated to measures of teacher performance. We find that the screening instruments predict teacher value added in student achievement and teacher attrition but not teacher absences. A one-standard-deviation increase in screening scores is associated with an increase of between 0.03 and 0.07 standard deviations in student achievement and a decrease in teacher attrition of 2.5 percentage points. The following are appended: (1) Tables and Figures; (2) Screening Rubrics and Generation of Applicant Data; and (3) Supplemental Descriptive and Regression Tables.
Guitar as the Preferred Musical Instrument
Author: Pelayo, Jose Maria G., III
Date: 2015-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Musical Instruments,Questionnaires,College Students,Interviews,Coding,Student Attitudes,Musicians,Musical Composition,Foreign Countries,Music Education

The Guitar is a very popular instrument that is commonly used by many musicians. This study focused on the factors that made the guitar more appealing to the youth in comparison to other instruments. A semi structured, open ended questionnaire was used to collect the data essential for this study. 50 male and 50 female college students were interviewed in this study. The data was thematically coded to acquire the results and conclusions. Purposive sampling was used in this research study and the average age of both male and female respondents is 19 years old. The results suggested that the guitar was more appealing to their generation, affordable to purchase and had a distinct image as a musician and songwriter. The study focused on acoustic guitar players and composers.
A Program Based on English Digital Stories to Develop the Writing Performance and Reflective Thinking of Preparatory School Pupils
Author: Hassan Seifeddin, Ahmed
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Secondary School Students,Writing Instruction,Reflection,Writing Achievement,Writing Tests,Pretests Posttests,Cognitive Tests,Females,Single Sex Schools,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Statistical Analysis,Writing Assignments,Video Technology,Computer Uses in Education,Story Telling,Quasiexperimental Design,Instructional Effectiveness

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a program based on English digital stories on second-year preparatory pupils' writing performance and reflective thinking. Two writing performance tests (pretest and posttest) as well as a reflective thinking test were prepared by the researchers. Two 2nd-year intact classes from El Sadat Prep School for Girls constituted participants of the study: one as a control group (N = 32) and the other as an experimental group (N = 30). All participants were pretested on writing performance and reflective thinking and no significant differences were found between the control group and the experimental group. This ensured that the two groups were fairly equivalent on writing performance and reflective thinking before the treatment. The experiment lasted for three months. During this period, pupils of the experimental group created their digital stories individually, presented them in front of their peers, and reflected on their experience while creating and presenting their own digital stories. On the completion of the experiment, all participants were posttested. An independent samples t-test confirmed that a statistically significant difference existed between the mean score of the control group and that of the experimental group (t = 7.738, p &lt;0.05) in writing performance posttest while no significant difference existed between the mean score of the control group and that of the experimental group (t = 1.920, p &gt;0.05) in reflective thinking posttest. It was concluded that digital stories had a significant effect on the writing performance, but not on the reflective thinking, of 2nd-year prep school pupils.
Review on &quot;BBS Are Our Kids Tough Enough: Chinese Schools&quot; Based on History, Literature and Personal Experience
Author: Zhao, Yiran
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Documentaries,Cultural Differences,Educational Practices,Teaching Styles,Asian Culture,Values,Social Structure

The aim behind this article is to clear up some misunderstandings about British and Chinese education approaches in the popular BBC documentary &quot;Are our kids tough enough: Chinese Schools&quot;. The article evaluates the differences in academic performance, class disciplines and education values of two education practices that have caused conflicts in the documentary, with a particular focus on Chinese education system. Supporting evidences are drawn from Chinese history, literature, news and author's personal experience. Overall, this article generally introduces the structure of Chinese schools, evaluates the underlying differences in terms of cultures, values and social structures, analyses the main points that have caused disputations in media. Since &quot;BBC: Are our kids tough enough: Chinese Schools&quot; has already raised the attention and stimulated the interest of both Chinese and British media, education scholars and policy makers, the author highly suggests cooperation between two Education Departments in the interest of the student's development in both countries.
Ghanaian Teacher Trainees' Conceptual Understanding of Stoichiometry
Author: Hanson, Ruby
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Trainees,Science Process Skills,Chemistry,Scientific Concepts,Science Education,Word Problems (Mathematics),Equations (Mathematics),Computation,Undergraduate Students,Science Tests,Data Analysis,Comprehension,Difficulty Level

Chemical stoichiometry is a conceptual framework that encompasses other concepts such as the mole, writing of chemical equations in word and representative form, balancing of equations and the equilibrium concept. The underlying concepts enable students to understand relationships among entities of matter and required amounts for use when necessary. Success in this area of chemistry depends mainly on a student's understanding of the concepts of the mole. An interpretive study on trainees' conceptual understanding of chemical stoichiometry was carried out among 78 teacher trainees in their second year of study. The study comprised a combination of quantitative and qualitative interpretation of responses provided by trainees to stoichiometric questions. The interpretation indicated that their learning of stoichiometry was basically through the use of picket fence (factor label), undefined strategies and algorithm. The trainees were found to have more persistent problems with conceptual interpretation as they were not able to fully translate word problems into mathematical equations regardless their algorithmic underpinnings. Neither did they understand fully, the law of conservation of matter. Qualitative findings were found to be consistent with quantitative outputs. Questions and student responses are appended.
Accountability Pressure and Non-Achievement Student Behaviors. Working Paper 122
Author: Holbein, John B.
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Accountability,Student Behavior,Educational Indicators,Federal Programs,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Academic Failure,Behavior Problems,Attendance,Time Management,Incentives,Suspension,Aggression,Crime,Law Enforcement,Minority Group Students,Low Achievement,Public Schools,Regression (Statistics),School Effectiveness

In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also has the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors such as suspensions, fights, and offenses reportable to law enforcement. Further, this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students, who are the most likely to be left behind. The following are appended: (1) Descriptive Statistics; (2) Offense Measures Used; (3) Supplemental Analyses; and (4) Alternate Model Specifications.
Understanding the STEM Pipeline. Working Paper 125
Author: Sass, Tim R.
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: STEM Education,Females,Minority Group Students,Graduation,College Attendance,Cohort Analysis,Mathematics Achievement,Probability,Racial Differences,College Freshmen,High School Students,Gender Differences,Academic Degrees,Teacher Influence,Educational Attainment

I investigate the determinants of high school completion and college attendance, the likelihood of taking science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) courses in the first year of college and the probability of earning a degree in a STEM field. The focus is on women and minorities, who tend to be underrepresented in STEM fields. Tracking four cohorts of students throughout Florida, I find that large differences in math achievement across racial lines exist as early as elementary school and persist through high school. These achievement differences lead to higher drop-out rates in high school and a reduced probability of attending college for black students. However, conditional on immediately attending a four-year college after high school, black and Hispanic students are more likely than whites to take STEM courses during their first year in college. Increased exposure to Hispanic math and science teachers in middle and high school tends to increase the likelihood that Hispanic students take STEM courses during their first year in college, though pairing black students and black math/science teachers does not have the same positive effect. For all students, having high school math and science teachers with a degree in biology, chemistry or math (as opposed to education) is associated with a higher likelihood of taking STEM courses as college freshmen. When pre-college differences in income and math achievement are taken into account, black and Hispanic students are at least as likely as white students to successfully complete a STEM major. Racial/ethnic pairing of students and college instructors in first-year STEM courses does not increase the likelihood of majoring in a STEM field. In contrast to underrepresented minorities, women perform nearly as well as men on math achievement tests through high school and are more likely to finish high school and attend college than males. Among college students, however, women are less likely than men to take courses in the physical sciences in their first year and are less likely to earn a degree in physics or engineering, even after adjusting for pre-college test scores. Gender matching of students and math/science teachers in middle and high school tends to increase the likelihood that female college freshman will take at least one STEM course, However, conditional on first-year coursework, neither gender matching at the secondary or college levels appears to have any effect on the likelihood of completing a major in a STEM field. Tables are appended.
Pension Enhancements and the Retention of Public Employees: Evidence from Teaching. Working Paper 123
Author: Koedel, Cory
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Government Employees,Public School Teachers,Public Sector,Retirement Benefits,Teacher Persistence,Evidence,Incentives,Eligibility,Probability,Models,Computation,Teacher Retirement,Funding Formulas,Experienced Teachers,Beginning Teachers,Educational Policy

We use data from workers in the largest public-sector occupation in the United States -- teaching -- to examine the effect of pension enhancements on employee retention. Specifically, we study a 1999 enhancement to the benefit formula for public school teachers in St. Louis that resulted in an immediate and dramatic increase in their incentives to remain in covered employment. To identify the effect of the enhancement on teacher retention, we leverage the fact that the strength of the incentive increase varied across the workforce depending on how far teachers were from retirement eligibility when it was enacted. Although we document substantial differences across teachers in how their retention incentives were affected by the enhancement, our results indicate that these differences did not translate into meaningful changes in behavior. The following are appended: (1) Pension-Wealth Calculation Details; (2) Supplementary Tables; and (3) Using a Cost-Benefit Framework to Gain Insight about Novice Teachers.
Marketing Strategies and Students' Enrolment in Private Secondary Schools in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria
Author: Uchendu, Chika C.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Private Schools,Secondary Schools,Enrollment,Administrators,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Statistical Distributions,Correlation,Student Recruitment,Secondary School Students,Reliability,Likert Scales,Administrator Surveys

The study investigated marketing strategies and students' enrolment in private secondary schools in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State. One research question was raised and two null hypotheses formulated to guide the study. Thirty two (32) school administrators in 32 private secondary schools in the study area constitute the study population and were used intact as the study subjects. Data were collected using a 30-item research questionnaire titled &quot;Marketing Strategies and Students' Enrolment Questionnaire (MSSEQ). The obtained data were analyzed using Mean, Population T-Test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The results revealed some marketing strategies that can be used in private secondary schools to boost students' enrolment in their order of perceived effectiveness. It also indicated that the extent private secondary school administrators adopt marketing strategies in enhancing students enrolment is significantly low in most of the studied school. The results further showed that there is significant relationship between marketing strategies adoption and student enrolment. Based on the findings, it was concluded that adopting effective marketing strategies in private secondary schools can enhance increase enrolment which will expand school income opportunity for sustainability and quality service delivery of the organization. It is therefore recommended that marketing strategies such as school website/social media, quality school programmes, infrastructural development, media adverts should be used to boost enrolment since it is a modern means of awareness creation and communicating values of the institution to the prospects. This will serve to increase enrolment rate, thereby increasing literate populace in the country for social and economic well-being.