Toward the goal of more rapid knowledge accumulation via better meta-analyses, this article explores statistical approaches intended to increase the precision and comparability of effect sizes from education research. The featured estimate of the proposed approach is a standardized mean difference effect size whose numerator is a mean difference…

Using geographic information systems (GIS), spatial data, and web mapping tools to enrich teaching and learning in geography courses is an effective way to integrate critical thinking and spatial analysis into the classroom (or virtual classroom). This lesson describes mapping song lyrics through ArcGIS Online. It explores how students analyze and…

In the literature on intercultural competence, such competence, or set of competencies, is desirable precisely because a globalized world needs world citizens who are at home everywhere and can deal effectively with alterity -- presumably in order to be agents of positive change. To remain relevant, we as teachers in German Studies need…

Employee empowerment yields positive outcomes for employees, managers, and organizations. Yet, too many employees feel disempowered at work, and managers, while wanting to empower employees, often do not know how. Contributing to this state of affairs is the lack of published, high-fidelity exercises explicitly designed to instruct students on how…

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of quality physical education from the lens of fictional high school students who are enrolled in physical education classes. Providing insights from one of our key stakeholders (even fiction students) may propel us to further examine how we might continually improve our instruction and student…

In this essay, Polly Graham addresses a current instantiation of what might be called self-loss within education in the United States. Graham observes that, in her experience, many students and educators, whether decidedly or without reflection, conform to superficial schooling practices that circumscribe the possibility of receiving affirmations…

In this paper, we aim to highlight the characteristics of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and suggest possible directions for future research and study. The majority of NLP studies argue for more rigorous empirical support and standardised regulatory governance, in order to overcome academic biases and general misunderstandings. However, its…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) uses the term "baseline equivalence" when determining if the intervention group (those that received the intervention of interest) and the comparison group (those that did not receive the intervention) had characteristics that were similar enough ("equivalent") at the start of the study (at…

Over the last several years, a growing number of cities have invested in early care and education for 3- and 4-year-old children, known as "preschool." This paper aims to aid cities in planning preschool programs by outlining a range of factors to consider. We largely do not make recommendations, but rather try to identify a range of…

The field of early childhood education (ECE) is currently unable to reach consensus on the extent to which ECE should be based on child development. One manifestation of this situation is the dilemma that early educators purportedly face between teaching the whole child and the curriculum, between developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and…

Abilities in scientific thinking and reasoning have been emphasized as core areas of initiatives, such as the Next Generation Science Standards or the College Board Standards for College Success in Science, which focus on the skills the future will demand of today's students. Although there is rich literature on studies of how these abilities…

All students deserve to attend programs and institutions that meet high quality standards. But different program goals, investments of time, and eligibility criteria make it difficult to set specific standards that will apply equally well to all types of programs and institutions. This report sets out principles for developing an accountability…

The purpose of this paper is to describe best practices in designing and implementing strong quasi-experimental designs (QED) when assessing the effectiveness of policies, programs or practices. The paper first discusses the issues researchers face when choosing to conduct a QED, as opposed to a more rigorous randomized controlled trial design.…

This article discusses the tension between quality assurance and quality enhancement in engineering education at a programme level. It acknowledges that accreditation has evolved for many years, but does not agilely support innovation or implement changes in educational programmes. Existing quality assurance systems, institutional collaboration…

Measuring Early Learning Quality & Outcomes (MELQO) was initiated to address needs for child development and quality of early childhood education (ECE) data, specifically for low- and middle-income countries. Drawing from existing tools, MELQO convened a consortium to create open-source tools to be adapted to national contexts, simultaneously…