Starting a new course can be intimidating, especially if the person is the first to teach it in his or her school district. A teacher must take many things into consideration when constructing the content for a new course. The primary focus should be on the development of student technological literacy. The International Technology Education…

Objective: The Evaluation Self-Efficacy Scale (ESE) is being developed as an outcomes assessment instrument for social work courses focusing on evaluation. Method: This scale, based on social cognitive theory, was pretested, revised, and then used with a final sample of 85 master's-level students in the original study. Using a single-group,…

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the master planning process. The process is one of the most salient strategies that the Maryland State Department of Education utilizes for improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap. Until recently, many local school systems (LSSs) treated planning as a local endeavor that merely…

Over the last decade the daily experience of adolescents has been transformed by developments in electronic media, including the computer, the Internet, and cell phones. Relative rarities only a generation ago, they are the daily tools of communication, information, and amusement for a majority of adolescents. Beyond access, content and…

The economic benefits of a college education are well documented; however, data from studies of young people transitioning out of foster care indicate that the college graduation rate for this population is very low. The child welfare system has traditionally done a poor job of encouraging foster youth to pursue postsecondary education. Although…

This paper presents findings from a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, on the outcomes of the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program (I-BEST), developed by the community and technical colleges in Washington State to increase the rate at which adult basic skills…

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

The Higher Education Performance Funding to be introduced in 2011 is a key development in the policy and financing framework for Australian Higher Education. The performance funding framework, along with mission-based compacts, the new equity initiatives, the relaxing of caps on Commonwealth supported places and the establishment of the Tertiary…

There has been growing enthusiasm for English learning in China in recent years. This development, along with the introduction of a new English curriculum in 2001, has brought a breakthrough in English language teaching (ELT) in China. In the new curriculum, the traditional emphasis on grammar and vocabulary is replaced by a focus on the…

As in other educational programs, scholarship programs offer mentoring to the recipients. In order to cultivate the maximum benefit, each recipient needs to be guided and appropriately advised, first to achieve the goals of the program and secondly, to benefit themselves from the scholarship. The purpose of the article is to investigate this…

Evidence suggests that dual language (DL) programs have the potential to foster both significant academic achievement and increased cultural awareness in the students they serve. As such, DL programs offer both language majority and language minority learners the opportunity to reach advanced levels of academic achievement. Nonetheless, the…

The philosophy of schooling and the pedagogy of schooling over the past two to three centuries has been in a state of constant flux. As we enter the 21st century, the age old debate between religious education pundits and those who advocate humanistic education rages on. The debate, then, centers around those who will or should have the right to…

Despite the large amount of attention that has been paid recently to understanding the determinants of educational outcomes, knowledge of the causal effect of the most fundamental input in the education production function--students' study time and effort--has remained virtually non-existent. In this paper, we examine the causal effect of studying…

The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) require the teacher preparation programs to assess the dispositions of their teacher candidates. The dispositions are indeed difficult to define and measure. This paper aims to define teacher dispositions…

At the 2007 Thought Leaders Symposium, representatives from student affairs, academic affairs, and administration joined facilities leaders to consider three major challenges confronting higher education as a whole: evolving technology, changing stakeholder expectations, and the impact of competition on both those drivers of change. This report…