ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Effective Early Childhood Education Programs: A Systematic Review
Author: Chambers, Bette
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Academic Achievement,Phonological Awareness,Young Children,Evidence,Control Groups,Educational Technology,Teaching Methods,Synthesis,Best Practices,Literature Reviews,Meta Analysis,Achievement Gains,Outcomes of Education,Matched Groups,Program Effectiveness,Educational Practices,Instructional Effectiveness,Time on Task,Evaluation Criteria,Language Acquisition,Literacy,Cognitive Development,Cognitive Measurement,Preschool Curriculum,Preschool Evaluation,Kindergarten,Group Instruction,Comprehensive Guidance

This report systematically reviews research on the outcomes of programs that teach young children in a group setting before they begin kindergarten. Study inclusion criteria included the use of randomized or matched control groups, evidence of initial equality, and study duration of at least 12 weeks. Studies included valid measures of language, literacy, phonological awareness, mathematical, and/or cognitive outcomes that were independent of the experimental treatments. A total of 38 studies evaluating 27 different programs met these criteria for outcomes assessed at the end of preschool and/or kindergarten. The review concludes that on academic outcomes at the end of preschool and/or kindergarten, six early childhood programs showed strong evidence of effectiveness and five had moderate evidence of effectiveness. A few longitudinal studies have followed their subjects into secondary school, and even adulthood. These studies show that comprehensive programs focused broadly on cognitive development rather than solely academic skills had better long-term effects on social adjustment outcomes such as reductions in delinquency, welfare dependency, and teenage pregnancy, and increases in educational and employment levels. (Contains 3 tables.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the CfBT Education Trust.]
Ethnic Diversity, National Unity and Multicultural Education in China
Author: Hinton, Samuel
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Graduate Students,Multicultural Education,Equal Education,Hidden Curriculum,Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,Ethnic Diversity,Nationalism,Cultural Maintenance,Educational Development,Cultural Pluralism,Classroom Environment,Educational Objectives,Parent Participation,Attitude Change,Curriculum Development

The purpose of this paper is to review ethnic diversity, national unity and multicultural education in China with graduate students in a multicultural education course and pose some questions for discussion. China is a rapidly developing multiethnic country facing several challenges, including pollution, growing income inequality and low political participation of ordinary citizens. These can threaten social stability. In addition, China must address ethnic conflict, particularly in urban, autonomous and border regions. The Chinese government is advocating national unity education in the school and college curriculum to help address these some of these issues. Multicultural education could provide a framework for addressing social, economic, political and educational inequalities in China. Excerpts from different sources provide information on relevant issues. The instructor could distribute this material to students to read before the lesson, and/or, use his/her own material. Teachers in China and other countries should: (1) avoid teaching a hidden curriculum; (2) understand the characteristics of a culturally assaultive classroom; (3) learn how to prepare a multicultural curriculum; (4) set objectives while using a multicultural education model; (5) involve parents in the education of children; and (6) work on changing their attitudes. Some ideas for teaching multi-culturally are listed in seven Tables. (Contains 7 tables.)
Perception of Learners on Electronic Examination in Open and Distance Learning Institutions: A Case Study of National Open University of Nigeria
Author: Adewale, Olubiyi Adeniyi
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Developing Nations,Case Studies,Pretests Posttests,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,College Students,Computer Assisted Testing,Distance Education,Open Universities,Tests,Urban Schools,Electronic Learning,Educational Policy

In mid-2009, the NOUN (National Open University of Nigeria) reached the decision to shift from conventional (that is, pen-and-paper) examination to electronic examination in the conduct of the end of semester examinations. One of the major factors prompting this decision is the inability of the university to release the results of past examinations promptly and error-free and a fact that gives the university a bad reputation. With the use of descriptive research design, the study investigated the perception of learners about electronic examination before and after their participation on e-examination. Three questions were raised which were turned to hypotheses. The findings revealed a difference in the perception of learners on e-examination prior and after their participations on e-examination with favor for e-examination. (Contains 3 tables.)
Students' Evaluation of Teaching Quality
Author: Vevere, Nina
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Personality Traits,Teacher Effectiveness,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Evaluation Methods,Questionnaires,Teacher Characteristics,College Faculty,Student Surveys,Faculty Evaluation,Test Construction,International Education

Students' evaluations of teaching quality are one of the crucial components of the teaching quality evaluation (along with external evaluation, opinions of colleagues, etc.). According to our research and professional experience, the teaching quality has to be examined in correlation with personality traits of a lecturer. Students' surveys (aiming at evaluating the teaching quality) have to consider the most valuable factors of the teaching quality and qualities of lecturers, which comprise knowledge transfer, knowledge evaluation, accessibility of a lecturer and his/her personality traits. In order to obtain quality results and compare them among various universities, a unified questionnaire should be applied when exploring the students' evaluations of teaching quality. (Contains 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)
An Insider Perspective on Implementing the Harvard Case Study Method in Business Teaching
Author: Rebeiz, Karim S.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Business Administration Education,Case Method (Teaching Technique),Student Role,Teacher Role,Student Evaluation,Graduate Students,Student Surveys,Curriculum Implementation,Discussion (Teaching Technique),Educational Planning

This paper provides practical guidance on the implementation of the CSM (case study method) using the HBS (Harvard Business School) model. The analysis is based on the first-hand experience of the author as a user and implementer of this mode of instruction. The results are further validated with surveys given to MBA (Master of Business Administration) students and interviews given to HBS faculty members. The idea behind the CSM is to simulate a real case business scenario with the surrounding facts and constraints. As it is the case in the real world, the students operate in an environment in which they assume the role of managers who maneuver under pressure and make decisions with the understanding that their decisions could result in irreversible consequences. Ultimately, the HBS method intends to condition the students to become future managers through the acquisition of a combination of functional skills (e.g., strategic management skills), conceptual skills (e.g., decision-making skills), interpersonal skills (e.g., teamwork skills) and leadership skills (e.g., communication skills). (Contains 3 tables.)
Beyond the Usual Approach of Chemistry Teaching in High Schools
Author: Ochonogor, Chukunoye Enunuwe
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Control Groups,Intervention,Learning Strategies,Cooperative Learning,Chemistry,Active Learning,Teaching Methods,Science Instruction,Experimental Groups,High School Students,Instructional Improvement,Animation,Educational Technology,Instructional Innovation,Comparative Analysis,Conventional Instruction,Pretests Posttests,High Stakes Tests,Interviews,Surveys,Quasiexperimental Design

There is a huge challenge of high failure rate in physical science across the world and South Africa, in particular at the high school level in recent times. This is in spite of the fact that both the educators and learners go to schools almost on daily basis perhaps doing the same thing in the same way and manner and achieving the same level or less quality results annually. The main objective of this research was to investigate beyond the usual approaches of teaching chemistry by the educators in order to determine ways and practices that can positively influence the educators' teaching efforts and foster increased pass rate and quality of passes in Physical Sciences. Twenty-seven and 33 learners in their non-randomized intact classes were involved in the control and intervention classes respectively in two different high schools believed to have always underperformed at matriculation examinations in a suburb of Pretoria. The research made use of active learning model and a special form of cooperative learning strategy nick-named &quot;goat and sheep method&quot; with extra activities including animation to teach the experimental class and compared learners' performances with those of the control group that were taught the usual way. It was found out that upward of 87% of learners in the intervention class showed remarkably improved pass rate in quantity and quality in the post-test. Also, the topics taught became more learner-friendly and the educator achieved higher confidence and proficiency in dealing with the subject. Proper application of the teaching method described in this study enhances chemistry educators' and learners' performances anywhere. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)
E-Learning as a Strategy to Teach English in Thailand: A Professional Development Model to Support Teacher Growth
Author: Quigley, Donna
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Electronic Learning,Information Technology,Educational Technology,Technology Integration,Web Sites,Computer Attitudes,Internet,Models,Scoring Rubrics,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Policy,English (Second Language),Inservice Teacher Education,Second Language Instruction,Elementary School Teachers,Elementary School Students,Private Schools,Change Strategies,Motivation Techniques,Generational Differences,Second Language Learning,Resistance to Change

Thai school age students as young as eight years old are increasingly being immersed in the Internet world, and as a result, they are accelerating their learning and communication skills in English even without noticing. For educators, the ICT (information communication technology) revolution that has occurred in the last few decades needs to be both understood and taken seriously. The potential for e-learning to engage Thai learners and raise the levels for student performance standards clearly necessitates changes in the curriculum, the resources that teachers use and more importantly what teachers understand to be their role in an increasingly wireless world. This paper outlines a professional development model that was developed to support teachers who are reluctant or less able to implement e-learning with opportunities to explore the potential of education related Internet sites based upon their personal levels of awareness, ICT skills and confidence. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Student Teachers' Engagement with Re-Contextualized Materials: A Case of Numerical Approximation
Author: Brijlall, Deonarain
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Undergraduate Students,Mathematics Instruction,Instructional Materials,Numbers,Mathematics,Secondary School Mathematics,Foreign Countries

This paper reports on an exploration of students' learning derived from the implementation of learning materials developed in a previous collaborative project. The purpose of the study was to examine the development of third-year students' understanding of the Reimann Sum. These concepts were taught to undergraduate teacher trainees wishing to specialize in the teaching of mathematics in the FET (further education and training) school curriculum. The learning materials were developed by mathematics teacher educationists from the University of Witwatersrand, the UKZN (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. A group of 31 students participated in the project. The study adopted the APOS (action-process-object-schema) approach within constructivism, as a theoretical framework. Data were generated from students' responses to the collaborative tasks. A genetic decomposition of the Reimann Sum is offered and used as a basis for the analysis. This paper, specifically, reports on the investigation of students' responses based on a learning theory within the context of advanced mathematical thinking and makes a contribution to an understanding of how these students constructed the concepts in a collaborative way. Appended is &quot;The Worksheet with Instructional Tasks.&quot; (Contains 5 tables.)
History Teaching in Kenyan Secondary School, for Peace, Reconciliation and National Integration
Author: Chang'ach, John Koskey
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Ethnicity,Integrity,Foreign Countries,History Instruction,Peace,Secondary Schools,Educational Objectives,Nationalism,Teaching Methods,Self Concept,Political Influences

The main objectives of teaching history and government are: First, to demonstrate an understanding of how people and events of the past has influenced the ways in which people live and behave; Second, to appreciate the need for an importance of mutual responsibility; and Third, to develop a sense of patriotism and national pride. The paper seeks to demonstrate that history is the most important subject for producing a strong feeling of nationalism and integrity of Kenya. Proper teaching of history inspires the students with a sense of patriotism to their motherland. However, currently history and government is compulsory up to form two. Taking Uasin Gishu County as a case in point and basing on the 2009 KCSE (Kenya certificate of secondary education) results of history and government, a large proportion of students drop History and Government in form two. Therefore, this paper argues that the objectives set by the Ministry of Education have not been achieved. It is the contention of this paper that proper teaching of history is one of the best ways of creating a sense of being Kenyan in the students. If history is given a new outlook and orientation, the future will become more fascinating and hopeful. The Kenyan history should give us a panoramic view of the period through which Kenyans have maintained the essentials of their culture. If history is given proper attention, it will promote positive ethnicity and discourage negative ethnicity during this period of post-election peace-building. (Contains 2 tables.)
A Framework for the Development of Mathematical Thinking with Teacher Trainees: The Case of Continuity of Functions
Author: Brijlall, Deonarain
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Mathematics,Concept Formation,Cognitive Structures,Mathematical Concepts,Secondary School Mathematics,Foreign Countries,Epistemology,Visualization,Worksheets,Group Activities,Models

Continuity of functions appears throughout the grades in South African high school (FET (further education and training)) topics as prescribed by the final draft of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. This article reports on the use of a combined framework of APOS (action-process-object-schema) and DCT (dual coding theories) to analyze data captured in a study which investigated second-year teacher trainees' understanding of the concept of continuity. The study is qualitative in that it reports on these teacher trainees' mental constructions of the concept of continuity of single-valued functions, obtained from analysis of their responses to structured activity sheets. The 12 students in this study specialize in the teaching of mathematics for the FET high school curriculum at a South African education faculty. A two-tiered concurrent approach was attempted, one through student-collaborations and the other through an instructional design worksheet, to develop mathematical understandings of the concept of continuity. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)
Challenges Facing Managers in Managing Conflict in Schools in the South and South Central Regions of Botswana
Author: Morake, Nnior Machomi
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Conflict,Administrator Role,Foreign Countries,School Administration,Conflict Resolution,Barriers,Performance Factors,Interviews,Administrator Attitudes,Governance,Change Strategies,Skill Analysis,Personnel Management,School Based Management

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges facing managers in managing conflict in schools of South and South Central Regions of Botswana. In this study, the schedule of interview was used to collect empirical data. A random sample of 50 school managers and deputy school managers was selected for interviews. Major findings of the study revealed that school managers do not perceive conflict as an inevitable phenomenon that is real in any organization. They lack skills and strategies of handling conflict positively to produce good results. The study recommended that school managers should be trained on the importance and benefits of conflict. This training in conflict management will give them a skill that can enable them to turn conflict erupting in their schools into a positive force that can bring a positive change.
Primary School Teacher's Need for Education
Author: Krajncic, Antonija Milivojevic
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Restructuring,Professional Training,Educational Change,Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods,Educational Needs,Elementary School Teachers,Change Strategies,Educational Policy,Educational Practices,Educational Development,Educational Methods,Lifelong Learning,Teacher Education,Performance Factors,Questionnaires,Administrator Attitudes

Globalisation and social changes in Slovenia, especially the formation of an independent country, adoption of the new constitution and implementation of a multi-party political system have caused changes in the education system as well (&quot;Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazevanju v Republiki Sloveniji,&quot; 1996, p. 5). Razdevsek Pucek (1997) indicated that a teacher's need for education and constant professional training has unquestionably risen in the period of curricular reform that is with the implementation of the nine-year primary education programme and after it. In the theoretical part of this paper, we will show some basic changes in primary education system that came with the curricular reform and the fact that every school reform is undoubtedly connected with teacher education and goes side by side with changes in contents and methods of teacher training. We are going to pay a special attention to the demands that have influenced the need for teacher education since the basic aim of the research was to determine the extent to which (if any at all) teachers of the first, the second and the third cycle felt the need for further education that is the additional professional training and to specify the possible differences. While comparing the methods of education of teachers in the first, the second and the third cycle, we have also considered their age and level of education. Additionally, we were interested in what the most common obstacles teachers face are when they are deciding for education (limited time, costs, conditions imposed by the institution and age) and what the motives that influence their decisions for education are (promotion at workplace, desire for personal growth, level of education and need for knowledge). The research includes a non-random pattern of teachers in two primary schools in the municipality of Maribor. We used a descriptive and non-experimental causal method of empirical pedagogical research. (Contains 8 tables and 6 footnotes.)
Realities of Curriculum and Teaching: Revelations from Singapore Teachers' Meta-Reflections
Author: Teo, Tang Wee
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Science Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Gender Issues,Teaching Methods,Reflection,Educational Practices,Beliefs,Teaching Experience,Science Curriculum,Educational Research,Curriculum Development,Performance Factors,Personal Narratives,Change Strategies,Educational Strategies,Teacher Background,Racial Factors

This study examines four Singapore teachers' reflections on issues and problems in their teaching practices. As an insider-outsider or educator-researcher seeking to understand the complexities of teaching, we interrogated the teachers' beliefs, dilemmas, biasness and prejudices embedded in their reflective narratives on experiences in curriculum work within an education system which is dominantly centralized and highly routinized. The teachers reexamined taken-for-granted practice and beliefs, and revised their written reflections. The recursive process of reflection and meta-reflection reveals more critical insights into the curriculum work and teaching. This shows that superficial forms of reflections are easily constructed, but critical reflections, especially on race and gender issues in teaching, tend to be ignored. Analysis of the reflective narratives written by the teachers showed divergence in their experiences as science teachers despite of teaching in a seemingly centralized and homogenous system. The findings suggested that interrogation of teachers' reflections could provoke more critical and in-depth reflections on normative teaching practice and offer teachers a platform for their voices to be heard. (Contains 1 table.)