Professional development (PD) for the improvement of educational practice has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Although experts acknowledge the importance of PD, many PD programmes have little effect on educational practice. This article identifies influences on the effective implementation of Invitational Education (IE) within the framework of professional development that were identified during a qualitative study in schools in two states. Specific categories affecting the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Practices, Professional Development, Educational Change, Research...
In the book, "1-to-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work," author Pamela Livingston begins with an important point for those who are considering a laptop program for the first time: Newcomers are fortunate to be able to learn from the educators who have started down the 1-to-1 road before them. This proved to be true for two neighboring school districts in Oregon (Eugene School District 4J and Springfield School District) that took the time to survey what other schools had been doing....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Uses in Education, Technology Integration, School Districts, Program...
Many career and technical education (CTE) programs rely heavily on support from the business community to serve their students. However, there is very little information available on building solid business-education partnerships. Most people in the business world will say that they care about education, but how can educators find the people willing to pay education more than lip service by committing their time and resources to support schools? What do those people want to accomplish? What can...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Business, Partnerships in Education, Technical Education, Career Education, Program...
This article describes the implementation of an extensive reading (ER) program with 43 first language (L1) and second language (L2) adult literacy students. Among them, 16% were nonnative speakers of English. The main principles considered in the design of the program were (a) purpose of reading, (b) reading tactics, (c) material used, and (d) teacher role. The program included sustained silent reading, book talk, and reading aloud. Because a well-equipped library is essential for a successful...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Sustained Silent Reading, Silent Reading, Reading Programs, Teacher Role, Adult...
Teacher beliefs are mediated and lived in the dialectic of teacher education and teacher practice. We reframe this dialectic of "teacher" preparation as "faculty" preparation, as many faculty are not prepared for the rigors of teaching, and most are not trained in the ethics of their profession. We propose a critical model of faculty development that primes teacher educators to cultivate authentic teacher beliefs and professional integrity. The model embraces five components...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Diversity (Faculty), Faculty Development, Moral Development, Organizational...
The authors argue that leadership networks when comprised of regional stakeholders including university faculty, school system administrators, and teacher leaders can begin to work together towards common reform goals. (Contains 1 figure.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Science Education, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Teacher...
Across the country, states are concentrating efforts to meet the requirements and the spirit of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The implementation provisions and timelines are demanding and challenging for all districts. NCLB is particularly daunting, however, for rural and small districts. This paper outlines the characteristics of rural schools and districts that create special problems in implementing the legislation and summarizes the major challenges of the NCLB for these districts. (Contains...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Schools, Federal Legislation, Educational Legislation, Compliance (Legal),...
This study examines teacher conceptualization of multicultural education and describes their approaches to implementation. It examines why teachers experience difficulties implementing multicultural education. This case study of two kindergarten teachers in an urban public school in Northern California uses a collaborative approach to investigate the issues contributing to the multicultural theory-practice gap. Two kindergarten teachers, both of whom have a minimum teaching experience and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multicultural Education, Theory Practice Relationship, Kindergarten, Teaching...
The poor performance of the education sector in Nigeria has become very worrisome. What is the problem? Is the educational policy faulty or is it the implementation that is faulty? What are the implications for national development? These are the issues explored in this paper, based on a literature review approach. The findings blame the distortions in the educational system on the ineffective implementation engendered primarily by lack of political will, lack of continuity of programs, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Educational Policy, Program Implementation, Performance Factors,...
The Leventis Foundation (Nigeria) Agricultural Schools (LFNAS) are schools established to train youths to develop their state and their nation in the area of food production. This study sought to assess the trainability of enrollees in the three operating LFNAS. Five research questions were posed. The CIPP evaluation model was adopted. The population and sample for the study consisted of a total of 247 enrollees. Questionnaires, structured interviews and observational techniques were used to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Career Development, Economic Development, Developing Nations,...
When the author was a little girl, her father told her the story of how he once saw the great Harry Houdini escape from a straight jacket. In the early 1900s, Houdini fascinated thousands of people by performing feats of life-threatening daring and agility. Houdini was a professional in the traditional sense: he acted alone, kept his trade secrets to himself, and instilled respect in his audience. As a teacher educator, the author now looks upon Harry Houdini's magic act as a metaphor for her...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Development Schools, Field Tests, Teacher Educators, Inquiry, Standards,...
In September 1998, the California State Legislature passed SB 2042, legislation that authorized the reform of teacher recruitment, certification, and licensing in the state. Its provisions are unique in that they represent the first time in California's history that almost all of the standards dealing with teacher preparation and induction were revised at the same time; every currently approved program that prepares teachers was requested to rewrite and submit program documents in a short time...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Credentials, Performance Based Assessment, Program Effectiveness, Educational Change,...
In October 2002, the multiple and single subject credential programs at a large urban Los Angeles Basin California State University campus, were approved as Early Adopters of the SB 2042 Professional Teacher Preparation Program. These programs resulted from a complex and multi-faceted process of change supported and influenced by reform initiatives at the regional, state and national levels over approximately a 15 year period. An analysis of the process that occurred at this urban, diverse,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Schools, Educational Change, Urban Education, Program Implementation, Case...
Effective substance abuse prevention programs help students develop knowledge as well as psychosocial competencies that can help them resist or delay the initiation of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use. This paper describes the integration process used in a five-year project, Adoption of Drug Abuse Prevention Training (ADAPT), to study the effectiveness of two methods of drug prevention programming, based on Botvin's Life Skills Training (LST) program. Botvin's standard LST program was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Junior High Schools, Prevention, Drinking, Interdisciplinary Approach, Drug Abuse,...
Service-learning (SL) integrates academic learning with relevant community service in an educational setting. Many fields of study, including kinesiology, have incorporated SL into their course curriculums. Research indicates that SL has many benefits to students, including exposure to a different learning approach, opportunities to apply classroom knowledge in a practical setting, career exploration, and a deeper understanding of the curriculum. The purpose of this article is to provide...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Service Learning, Adapted Physical Education, Undergraduate Study, Guidelines,...
Children who do not develop a foundation of basic motor skills are less likely to participate in regular physical activity. An excellent way of teaching basic motor skills, as well as health-related fitness, is through gymnastics. Many young teachers, however, think that teaching gymnastics is too challenging and do not know how to incorporate it into their program. A preservice gymnastics program can give preservice students experience in teaching gymnastics, while benefiting children in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Activities, Physical Fitness, Teaching Skills, Athletics, Preservice Teacher...
"Strategies for Effective Elementary Classroom Teaching" is an introductory course offered at the authors' university that impart instructional techniques and management strategies for the elementary classroom. Due to the course's limitations, the authors revised it in two ways: (1) Establish more strongly the connection between theory and practice, and (2) Integrate technology into teaching and learning. In this paper, the authors describe their experiences with the program...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Introductory Courses, Education Courses, Theory Practice Relationship, Program...
Multiple sources of influence impact the decisions about what and how teacher educators are expected to operate, including the innovations that are adopted. Some of those sources of influence (such as teacher certification boards) can demand that certain curricula be adopted, specific instructional procedures be utilized, and delineate the conditions under which candidates will be selected for entry into teacher education programs. Other sources of influence include how other professionals are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Education Programs, Teacher Education Curriculum, Educational Innovation,...
This article documents implementation and critically reflects upon the results of a partnership between a predominately white rural college and a multicultural urban school district. The partnership was intended both to recruit high school students of color from an urban school to teacher education and to encourage teacher candidates from a rural college to seek employment in urban areas. Establishing a school-university partnership is a challenging task, and the literature suggests that few...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Schools, College School Cooperation, Rural Areas, Minority Groups, Models,...
This article provides an opportunity to look at issues related to capacity building--how the concept has evolved and how it is currently being applied--and a review of the components of effective capacity building in working with individuals and organizations. This is followed by a description of capacity-building projects undertaken by ECDVU students that illustrate the application of these principles at all levels of society--from working with parents as they support their children's...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Development, Skill Development, Competence, Program Implementation,...
Partnerships, especially the Professional Development School (PDS) model, between institutions of higher education (IHE) and public schools (PS), have become, if not commonplace, a successful model for teacher education. PDS teacher education projects in which preservice teachers and higher education faculty participate in school-based instruction have been established as both desirable and effective. However, implementing a PDS model in some settings often fails due to certain insurmountable...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teachers, Schools of Education, Professional...
ECD policies are influenced by the contexts in which they develop. Those contexts include historical, cultural, social, economic and diverse conceptual dimensions operating at international, regional, country and local levels. These forces impact on policy development as well as on policy implementation. This article briefly situates ECD policy directions in global and regional contexts before exploring dynamics that are operational at African country levels as seen through the eyes and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Early Childhood Education, Foreign Countries, Child Care, Policy Formation, Program...
Family literacy programs reflect a recent trend in educational reform that has proven to be a successful educational model for all members of the family unit. Based on the literature that links family involvement to student achievement, these initiatives focus on empowering parents of school children. These programs have been particularly beneficial for linguistically and culturally diverse families, since they provide opportunities for adult family members to acquire English language/literacy...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Personnel Selection, Family Involvement, Academic Achievement, Educational Change,...
The general purpose of this study is to present post-funding Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) data to address the more lasting features of CSR programs, their relation to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and support of its requirements, and the impact of CSR on student achievement. For the schools included in this study, many of the components of CSR are continuing to be implemented, and the majority of the schools continued to implement the specific CSR model, suggesting that CSR was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Federal Legislation, Academic Achievement, Educational Change, Program...
The findings in this article will be presented in relation to developing and implementing processes of school, family, and community partnership programs in two primary and two secondary schools in Quebec from 2001 to 2005. The action research project was based on Epstein's (2001) comprehensive framework of six types of involvement: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with community. In keeping with Epstein's recommendations, an Action...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Action Research, Partnerships in Education, Cooperation, Foreign Countries, School...
For educators interested in engaging in critical literacy work with families and schools, the efforts can be both exhilarating and exasperating. Reflecting on a two-year family literacy project, we consider the possibilities and pitfalls of the projects' design and implementation. The work described in this article takes a stance that is both critical and grounded in the notion of "funds of knowledge." We propose a framework to assist in the creation and evaluation of family literacy...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Family Literacy, Formative Evaluation, Community Education, Critical Path Method,...
In order to prepare outstanding teachers, it is essential to provide opportunities for teacher candidates to use the theory learned in the college classroom in a "real physical education class." It is difficult to accomplish this when the university has so many physical education teacher education (PETE) majors that they overwhelm a small school system. This article describes the organization of a practicum experience that satisfied the needs of the PETE students and provided a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, After School Programs, Preservice Teacher Education, Physical Education, Majors...
The Saudi health sector has witnessed a significant progress in recent decades with some Saudi hospitals receiving international recognition. However, this progress has not been accompanied by the same advancement in the health informatics field whose applications have become a necessity for hospitals in order to achieve important objectives such as enhancing the quality of healthcare and reducing the time and cost for healthcare delivery. In this paper we introduce a new masters program in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Hospitals, Masters Programs, Information Science, Foreign Countries, Public Health,...
The resident population of Bamberg County, SC, has been exposed to multiples of public health information and education interventions since October 1982 with the intent to reduce the occurrence of unintended pregnancies among unmarried adolescents. Data analyses were conducted to compare 20 years of pregnancy rates among girls aged 14-17 years for Bamberg County, the original three comparison counties, and the rates for the state of South Carolina from 1981 to 2000. Bamberg County had 3...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Education, Public Health, Community Programs, Pregnancy, Counties, Data...
In 2001, a program of distance learning was started within Kigali Institute of Education in collaboration with the Rwanda's Ministry of Education. It is an in-service training program that aims to upgrade in-service secondary school teachers and alleviate the shortage of teachers both in terms of quality and number. This program runs parallel to a pre-service program, also conducted within the Kigali Institute. Academic staff members working in the pre-service program are involved in this...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Distance Education, Focus Groups, Foreign Countries, Secondary School Teachers,...
This article discusses a solution-oriented and incremental approach to solving major social problems. If we are to solve important social problems such as child abuse, delinquency, and illiteracy, researchers need to generate effective programs that can be replicated and social service providers need to implement those programs with fidelity. The Teaching-Family Model, based on over 30 years of research, evaluation, and program experience, has been replicated across North America. We present an...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Social Problems, Child Abuse, Illiteracy, Program Implementation, Social Services,...
This study analyzes the implementation of a tuition decentralization policy in North Carolina. Concepts of organizational culture served as a guiding framework for an interpretive analysis. Qualitative case study data for the research was collected from interviews with key policy makers within the University of North Carolina as well as an extensive collection of documents. The findings demonstrate the importance of shared norms and beliefs in achieving successful policy implementation through...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Policy Formation, Organizational Culture, Administrative Organization, Tuition,...
This study describes the design and implementation of an adversary hearing used to evaluate professional development initiatives in a military environment. The adversary hearing model used in the evaluation was developed to meet the requirements of an environment that differs from other environments in which adversary hearings have been used. The evaluation was conducted to determine whether a professional development program of the U. S. Army, Europe, actually enhanced soldier development and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Professional Development, Military Personnel, Military Training,...
The slow uptake by teachers in post-compulsory education of new technological tools and technology-enhanced teaching methods may be symptomatic of a general split in the e-learning community between development of tools, services and standards, and research into how teachers can use these most effectively (i.e. between the teaching practitioner and technical developer communities). This paper reflects on the experience of transferring knowledge and understanding between these two communities...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Postsecondary Education, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Foreign Countries,...
This article presents a case study of the impact on student learning of introducing an electronic voting system (EVS) into large-group lectures for first-year undergraduate students undertaking degrees in marketing and business systems. We discuss the potential for using EVS-style interactive lectures in marketing and business programmes. We then describe how we planned the session and selected and implemented the EVS system. We go on to present an evaluative research project, which was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Constructivism (Learning), Undergraduate Students, Student Attitudes, Voting, Focus...
In response to the need to train teachers to effectively integrate technology into elementary and secondary education, a teacher professional development program funded by a federal grant provided a selection of instructional technology integration courses to K-12 teachers. This study investigated the impact of these courses on the course participants' self-efficacy in learning about and implementing instructional technology. The study also explored the differential effects of these courses on...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Federal Aid, Elementary Secondary Education, Self Efficacy, Technology Integration,...
Proving that technology works is not as simple as proving that a new vendor for art supplies is more cost effective. Technology effectiveness requires both the right software and the right implementation. Just having the software is not enough. Proper planning, training, leadership, support, pedagogy, and software use--along with many other factors--will determine whether the technology works. When so many factors can affect the outcome, almost every administrator, principal, and teacher will...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Scientific Methodology, Outcomes of Education, Cost Effectiveness, Program...
This paper draws attention to literature surrounding the subject of computer-assisted assessment (CAA). A brief overview of traditional methods of assessment is presented, highlighting areas of concern in existing techniques. CAA is then defined, and instances of its introduction in various educational spheres are identified, with the main focus of the paper concerning the implementation of CAA. Through referenced articles, evidence is offered to inform practitioners, and direct further...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Evaluation, Computer Assisted Testing, Educational Assessment, Program...
This year sees the 40th anniversary of the first policy paper regarding the use of computers in higher education in the United Kingdom. The publication of this paper represented the beginning of the field of learning technology research and practice in higher education. In the past 40 years, policy has at various points drawn from different communities and provided the roots for a diverse field of learning technology researchers and practitioners. This paper presents a review of learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Foreign Countries, Educational History, Educational Policy, Policy...
Video streaming has the potential to offer tutors a more flexible and accessible means of incorporating moving images into learning resources for their students than conventional video. Consideration is given to this assertion by drawing upon the experiences of staff and evidence from students at the University of Southampton in the use of a video, "Back Care for Health Professionals", before and after it was streamed. The resulting case study highlights various issues and concerns,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Health Personnel, Internet, Video Technology, Educational Technology, Foreign...
This paper examines the recent development of a computer-assisted learning program--in Practice--at the School of Health Science, in the University of Wales Swansea. The project, which began in 2001, was developed in close collaboration with The Meningitis Trust, the aim being to produce a software package to increase nursing students' knowledge of meningitis-related illnesses, and to enhance their decision-making and problem-solving skills by using lifelike scenarios. It incorporates two...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Problem Solving, Foreign Countries, Student Attitudes, Program Implementation,...
Pressure for better measurement of stated learning outcomes has resulted in a demand for more frequent assessment. The resources available are seen to be static or dwindling, but Information and Communications Technology is seen to increase productivity by automating assessment tasks. This paper reviews computer-assisted assessment (CAA) and suggests future developments. A search was conducted of CAA-related literature from the past decade to trace the development of CAA from the beginnings of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Influences, Risk, Technology Integration, Computer Assisted Testing,...
This article examines a Victorian high school's implementation of a new Year 9 program which was intended to interrupt a traditional academic curriculum and to create an imagined oasis of care and personal development for students. It explores ways in which (1) the existing culture and context of the school continues to frame the subjectivities of teachers, students and parents in relation to the new program, (2) the attempt to preserve a competitive academic traditional orientation alongside...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Change, Teacher Student Relationship, Educational Policy, Program...
The Community Development Master's Program is an inter-institutional, trans-disciplinary degree program that began in 2005 online at five participating universities in the North Central region. This article discusses outcomes of interviews with current and past students in the program to determine if a multi-institutional program, versus a program run by one university, makes for more or different struggles and/or opportunities for the online learner. Sloan-C's five pillars for online learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Development, Distance Education, Online Courses, Masters Programs,...
For minority serving institutions, policies that support learners call for decisions about equity, quality, cost, impact on national economic performance and international global relationships.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Minority Groups, Equal Education, Higher Education, Access to Education, Educational...
An increasing number of students in the United States are involved in online education, according to research by the Sloan Foundation. By fall 2004, approximately 2.6 million students were estimated to be enrolled in at least one online course, an average growth rate of 24.8% from 2003-04; this figure represents a 5% increase over the 2002-03 growth rate. The consequence of this continuing expansion of the e-learning population is that policies with respect to student learning/academic programs...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Distance Education, Educational Policy, Educational Trends, Program...
Although much is known about the features that contribute to the effectiveness of professional learning activities these are often not incorporated into the design of professional learning initiatives. This paper describes a mathematics professional learning process that was carefully designed to incorporate such principles, and illustrates its implementation by describing the case of one primary school teacher who participated in it. The potential wider applicability of the process and broader...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction, Foreign Countries, Elementary School...
Reforms in education have repeatedly been confronted with the challenge of policy implementation. Recent initiatives in mathematics are no exception. Pressing for fundamental and complex changes to pedagogy, the initiatives demand much from teachers. In this article, we propose a conceptual frame for understanding how teachers and schools work to transform instructional practice. In integrating two aspects usually considered independently in research, we explore the way in which teachers make...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Principals, Teaching Methods, Educational...
This study explores attitudes towards and affecting online learning implementation (OLI). In recent years there has been greater acceptance of online learning (OL) by institutional decision-makers, as evidenced by higher levels of institutional involvement; nevertheless, the increase in faculty acceptance lags behind. This gap affects the widespread adoption of OL. This paper proposes that faculty acceptance of OL is influenced by attitudes related to four variables that affect practice change:...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adoption (Ideas), Resistance to Change, Educational Innovation, College Environment,...
This article presents one strand of findings from a two-fold descriptive exploratory case study designed to: (1) investigate teacher educators' decisions regarding the use of technology in his or her teacher education courses; and (2) determine what the phrase "integrating technology into our teacher education program" means to teacher educators. This article will specifically address the second research purpose of exploring the meaning of the phrase "integrating technology into...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Instructional Development, Education Courses, Teacher Education Programs, Teacher...