ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Reflections on Policy in Adult Education and Community Learning (ACE), with Special Reference to &quot;Koia! Koia! Towards a Learning Society&quot;
Author: Tobias, Robert
Date: 2002-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Adult Education,Adult Learning,Goal Orientation,Educational Policy,Politics of Education,Lifelong Learning,Holistic Approach,Political Attitudes

This paper undertakes a review of the report of the Adult Education and Community Learning Working Party released by the New Zealand Government in September 2001. It discusses a number of themes arising out of this report. However, the report is not seen in isolation, and the paper locates it in a wider context. It identifies some of the difficulties faced by those involved in adult education and community learning (ACE) and by the Working Party itself in trying to move forward after a decade or more of neglect by government. It also identifies some influences of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission. Themes discussed include the need to adopt a broadly based statement of purpose, to develop stronger links with other &quot;sectors&quot;, to make a stronger claim for increased funding for ACE, to undertake further clarification of the contributions and requirements of different organisations and institutions, and to undertake further research. The paper concludes with key recommendations. (Contains 1 footnote.) [This paper was published in the &quot;New Zealand Journal of Adult Learning,&quot; v30, n1, p7-22, May 2002.]
Revisions in Florida's High School Accountability System. Research Note. Volume 0801
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2008-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: College Entrance Examinations,Grades (Scholastic),Accountability,Graduation Rate,Change Strategies,Benchmarking,Student Participation,Achievement Rating,Admission Criteria,High School Students,Graduation Requirements,Educational Policy,Educational Change

Senate Bill 1908 includes additional criteria for designating school grades for senior high schools with grades 9 through 12 or 10 through 12. Beginning in 2009-10, 50% of the school's grade will be based on the existing FCAT-related factors and the remaining 50% will be based on other factors including graduation rates, participation in accelerated coursework, and postsecondary readiness as measured by participation in college admission tests. Reactions to the proposal for the Postsecondary Readiness component acknowledge that not all students take the SAT, ACT, or CPT. The participation rates in Miami-Dade high schools varies considerably across schools that have received different school grades. It would seem unfair to double-penalize low-performing schools by imposing overall participation standards on tests that are voluntary, cost-connected, and do not conform to the practical academic aspirations of many of their students. It has been proposed that if the law requires consideration of college admission test participation, perhaps it should be based only on those students who have shown academic proficiency by scoring at levels 3 or higher on both the FCAT Reading and Mathematics tests. It can be seen that, for the subset of &quot;academically proficient&quot; students, the participation rates are far more equitable across school grades. Although being held accountable for college admission test participation would still be challenging for lower performing schools, encouraging greater participation among these high-performing students would be in keeping with the overall spirit of the school accountability system.
Art-Based Program for Social and Emotional Development of Children
Author: Mynarikova, Lenka
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Art Therapy,Emotional Development,Classroom Environment,Cognitive Development,Grade 5,Social Development,Elementary School Students,Cooperation,Self Concept,Student Attitudes,Peer Relationship,Art Activities,Art Education,Foreign Countries

For eight weeks, we ran an art-based program for social and emotional development in Grade 5 of primary school for children aged 11-12. We met once a week for 45 minutes and worked with 25 children on improving their skills in communication, cooperation, manifestation, and recognition of emotions and identity enforcement. Each skill was covered by two lessons, with the first and last lessons including a class climate evaluation using the CES (classroom environment scale) (Moos &amp; Tricket, 1987) and B-3 (Braun, 2006) methods. Our goal was to improve the class climate by drawing attention to the feelings of children towards their class and classmates, to their ability to cooperate in the class setting and to communicate with each other without fear, shame, or aggression. The use of art-based methods appeared as the most useful way because of the general inability of the children to express their thoughts and feelings in words because of the fear of being laughed at and misunderstood. Particular activities were based on art-therapy in the broader sense and on art education, helping children to express themselves and communicate with others by using drawings, music, or movement. The final evaluation revealed that after the whole program, children were more confident in expressing their identity, more content with the class climate and they thought of their class as more safe, intimate, and cooperative environment. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Meta-Review: Systematic Assessment of Program Review
Author: Harlan, Brian
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Liberal Arts,Program Effectiveness,Meta Analysis,Change Strategies,Organizational Change,Program Evaluation,Program Administration,Organizational Effectiveness,Case Studies,Student Experience,Educational Planning,Focus Groups,Interviews,Program Attitudes,Position Papers,Content Analysis,Teacher Surveys,Benchmarking

Over 20 years ago, Robert J. Barak and Barbara E. Breier suggested incorporating a regular assessment of the entire program review system into the review schedule in order to ensure that the system itself is as efficient and effective as the programs under review. Barak and Breier's seminal book on the goals and processes of program review has widely influenced the standards for reviews; however, their proposed "meta-review" has not yet become a regular element in most higher education institutions. Results from a meta-review undertaken at a small and private liberal arts college demonstrate the utility of such an institutional-level assessment. The results reveal that the quality--and even the purpose--of program review can shift over time, and that review policies and guidelines need to be revised regularly to remain current with emerging external expectations and changing financial environments. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures, and 3 footnotes.)
Positive Classroom Environments = Positive Academic Results
Author: Wilson-Fleming, LaTerra
Date: 2012-10-22
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Behavior Problems,Classroom Environment,Student Behavior,Parent Participation,Parent School Relationship,Classroom Techniques,Educational Strategies,Teacher Expectations of Students,Parent Teacher Cooperation

This article discusses the effects of a positive classroom environment and its impact on student behavior and achievement. It also provides strategies for developing expectations for student achievement and the importance of parental involvement. A positive classroom environment is essential in keeping behavior problems to a minimum. There are a number of ways in which teachers can create positive classroom environments. Some of them will be discuss within this paper. It is essential for teachers to start the school year with high expectations in order to guarantee a positive climate. To ensure an atmosphere of success, teachers must explain why expectations are important. By allowing and encouraging parents to be involved within the classroom; students and parents feel that what is occurring in the classroom is important. Parental involvement in the classroom and in their child's education are two factors that play a crucial role in having a successful school year as well as having a positive classroom environment.
Updated Procedures for Determining Gifted Eligibility for Underrepresented Students. Research Note. RN1201
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2012-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Intelligence Tests,State Standards,Eligibility,Mathematics Tests,Boards of Education,Academically Gifted,Reading Tests,Student Characteristics,Creativity,Check Lists,Cutting Scores,Test Results

There are a number of detailed requirements for gifted screening, referral and eligibility specified under State Board Rules and School Board Rules. In all of these areas, explicit mention is made of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores as being integral components. The FCAT scores used for these purposes prior to 2008 were percentiles as reported in the Norm Referenced Test (NRT) result reports. The Florida DOE discontinued administration of the NRT starting in 2008. With NRT scores no longer available, screening, referral, and eligibility specifications were modified and provisions made for using FCAT Sunshine State Standards (SSS) data as a substitute measurement of academic achievement. With the advent of FCAT 2.0 specifications, the scoring scales have changed and the references to cutoff scores need to be adjusted. In anticipation of these needs, members of the Division of Advanced Academic Programs and Assessment, Research and Data Analysis collaborated on the suggestion proposed in this Research Note. This investigation focuses on the Gifted Eligibility Determination Form for Use with Underrepresented Students in Kindergarten through Twelfth Grades (Plan B Matrix) currently being utilized by the Division of Advanced Academic Programs. In this Matrix, students are awarded from 0 to 4 points in specified categories in each of the following areas: Gifted Characteristic Checklist, Achievement Percentile Score, Intelligence Test Quotient, and Creativity Measure Score. The Achievement Percentile Score applied to the matrix are cutoff points for the FCAT SSS for either the Reading or the Mathematics Test. The cutoff scores were determined in an effort to provide an equi-percentile distribution of the points which had been awarded using the earlier FCAT NRT system. With the transition to FCAT 2.0 standards, different score scales are used and the score cutoffs for determining achievement points need to be recalculated. The FCAT 2.0 uses a vertically-aligned scale that has a different range and distribution for each grade level.
Learning Curve: How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace. Project Information Literacy Research Report
Author: Head, Allison J.
Date: 2012-10-16
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Graduates,Information Literacy,Information Seeking,Influence of Technology,Quality of Life,Education Work Relationship,Adjustment (to Environment),Focus Groups,Employer Employee Relationship,Expectation,Age Differences,Problem Solving,Researchers,Career Development,Social Capital,Online Searching,Interpersonal Communication,Social Networks

Qualitative findings about the information-seeking behavior of today's college graduates as they transition from the campus to the workplace. Included are findings from interviews with 23 US employers and focus groups with 33 recent graduates from four US colleges and universities, conducted as an exploratory study for Project Information Literacy's (PIL's) Passage Studies. Most graduates in our focus groups said they found it difficult to solve information problems in the workplace, where unlike college, a sense of urgency pervaded and where personal contacts often reaped more useful results than online searches. Graduates said they leveraged essential information competencies from college for extracting content and also developed adaptive information-seeking strategies for reaching out to trusted colleagues in order to compensate for what they lacked. At the same time, employers said they recruited graduates, in part, for their online searching skills but still expected and needed more traditional research competencies, such as thumbing through bound reports, picking up the telephone, and interpreting research results with team members. They found that their college hires rarely demonstrated these competencies. Overall, our findings suggest there is a distinct difference between today's graduates who demonstrated how quickly they found answers online and seasoned employers who needed college hires to use a combination of online and traditional methods to conduct comprehensive research. Methods are appended. (Contains 11 figures and 42 footnotes.) [Research conducted in collaboration with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard.]
Changes in Determining Gifted Eligibility for Underrepresented Students. Research Note. Volume 0802
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Referral,Academically Gifted,State Standards,Eligibility,Recognition (Achievement),Scoring,Boards of Education,Data Analysis,Community Colleges,Disproportionate Representation,Screening Tests,Norms,Academic Achievement

There are a number of detailed requirements for gifted screening, referral and eligibility specified under State Board Rules and School Board Rules. In all of these areas, explicit mention is made of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Norm Referenced Test (NRT) scores as being integral components. Due to budget considerations, the Florida DOE is discontinuing administration of the NRT starting in 2008. With NRT scores no longer available, screening, referral, and eligibility specifications will have to be modified and provisions will need to be made for some kind of substitute measurement of academic achievement. In anticipation of these needs, members of the Division of Advanced Academic Programs and Assessment, Research and Data Analysis collaborated on the suggestion proposed in this Research Note. With the discontinuation of the NRT, a substitute for judging the student's academic achievement is needed. The natural choice and the focus of this investigation is the use of the FCAT Sunshine State Standards (SSS) Test scores. Although it was not possible using the SSS to construct categories of the same sets of students that would have resulted from using the NRT, it was possible to match the percent of students in each of the point-award groupings. The percent of students receiving each point-level award under NRT results and under SSS results using the newly proposed score ranges are compared. It can be seen that the percentages across all grade levels match very closely using the SSS test as a substitute for the NRT. To make application easier, the same ranges in SSS scores were used across all grade levels. Using the SSS in the Matrix Scoring System in this manner should ultimately result in the same percentage of students being deemed Gifted Eligible through the M-DCPS Plan B Matrix.
Graduation and Dropout Rates by Ethnicity and Gender. Research Note. Volume 1001
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Achievement Gap,African American Students,Males,Graduation,Public Education,Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Academic Achievement,Race,Ethnicity,Trend Analysis,Educational Trends,Gender Differences

The Shott Foundation for Public Education recently published &quot;Yes We Can: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males.&quot; This report focused on the exceedingly low graduation rate for Black males enrolled in schools around the nation. According to the report, the graduation rate for Black males in Miami-Dade County (M-DCPS) was 27 percent. This reflected a 29 percent achievement gap with the reported graduation rate for white males in the district. This analysis includes breakdowns by gender for each of the major Race/Ethnic categories. The study found a four-year graduation rate of 52 percent for Black male students with a 20 percent achievement gap with white males. It should go without saying that graduating only 52 percent of Black males is unacceptable and indicative of the work that needs to be done in M-DCPS. However, the more accurate graduation rates presented in the attached report should help put the discussion on a more realistic footing.
Teacher Career Lattice Program. Research Note. Volume 0901
Author: Romanik, Dale
Date: 2009-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Collaboration,Educational Improvement,Improvement Programs,Teacher Improvement,Merit Pay,Merit Rating,Instructional Leadership,Teacher Recruitment,Teacher Persistence

Pay-for-performance plans have become popular as school districts search for ways to improve teacher quality and student academic achievement. There is a need to develop systems that are sensitive to the market and are performance based whereby higher performing teachers receive greater financial compensation and recognition. The sense of competition among districts also promotes a need to retain highly qualified teachers in the present climate of teacher shortages. Such programs have been developed with varying degrees of success in Florida (Star Plan), Denver (Pro-Comp), and Minnesota (Q-Comp). Development of the Career Lattice Program began with the realization that the public school district in Rockville Maryland needed a way to attract, develop, recognize, and retain high quality teachers throughout their professional careers. A 14-member Career Lattice Panel made up of an equal number of teachers and administrators was charged with the responsibility of developing the new program. The program makes an important distinction between the lattice program and the traditional career ladder system. The program is anticipated to benefit both students and teachers in the district. The development of skillful and collaborative teams of teachers will improve student learning and teachers will attain greater job satisfaction from the professional leadership and instructional skills acquired through their participation. It is also anticipated that individual schools will benefit from the increased leadership skills acquired by teachers and from the increased collaboration practiced by teaching staff.
Conflict Resolution, Can It Really Make a Difference in the Classroom: Conflict Resolution Strategies for Classroom Teachers
Author: Pollan, Savannah
Date: 2012-10-18
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Classroom Environment,Conflict,Teachers,Teaching Methods,Conflict Resolution,Classroom Techniques

This article discusses conflict and provides five resolutions for teachers on managing negative behaviors within the classroom. Acknowledging and implementing conflict resolution strategies in the classroom enables every student to fully participate in the learning process.
Model Disciplinary Policies. Research Note. Volume 0902
Author: Blazer, Christie
Date: 2009-09-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Civil Rights,Discipline Policy,School Districts,Educational Change,Suspension,Expulsion,Student Behavior,Behavior Modification,Positive Reinforcement,Law Enforcement,Disabilities,Parent School Relationship,Cultural Awareness

This Research Note is in response to a request from the Office of Alternative Education to review and report on "model disciplinary policies" as used in school districts around the nation. The primary source of information used to prepare this Research Note came from a professional group identified by Alternative Education. The Advancement Project, a civil rights law, policy, and communications think tank, believes school districts should reform discipline policies and practices that result in excessive suspensions, expulsions, and arrests of students. Based on a lack of credible evidence that harsh punitive measures are an effective way to change students' behavior, many school districts have revised their discipline policies to emphasize the development of positive behaviors. The Advancement Project issued a report that identified 10 elements of model discipline policies and provided examples of actual school district discipline policies.
Financial Aid in Theory and Practice: Why It Is Ineffective and What Can Be Done about It
Author: Gillen, Andrew
Date: 2009-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Higher Education,Student Financial Aid,Costs,Theory Practice Relationship,Program Effectiveness,Cost Effectiveness,Access to Education,Expenditure per Student,Finance Reform,Change Strategies,Barriers,Performance Factors,Best Practices,Evidence,Economic Impact,Educational Opportunities,Money Management,Financial Policy,Audits (Verification)

Financial aid programs are supposed to improve access and affordability in higher education. The effectiveness of these programs is increasingly being questioned as college attainment figures stagnate and the financial burden on students and families continues to climb year after year. This report identifies the main culprit for this unsatisfactory state of affairs as a misunderstanding of the effect of financial aid on schools. Currently, financial aid programs take costs per student as a given, and attempt to offset some of those costs. However, costs are not given. In fact, it is widely acknowledged that colleges and universities are engaged in an academic arms race. Thus, when financial aid programs make more money available to schools, this money is spent and results in higher costs per student. The end result is more costly higher education, generally accompanied by higher tuition, which has negative implications for access and affordability. Here, the author explains in more detail how financial aid is supposed to work in theory and why it doesn't work that way in practice. He concludes by offering a recommendation for reform that will achieve the goals of the financial aid system more effectively than is currently the case. (Contains 24 figures and 72 notes.)