Five years after implementation, the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAA40104, and hereafter also referred to as the Certificate IV) remains a pivotal qualification in the national vocational education and training (VET) system. Under the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) it is the qualification required by both workplace…

The Guam Department of Education (DOE) is a single unified school district consisting of grades Kindergarten through 12. Its 27 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 5 high schools, and an alternative school serve over 30,700 students. DOE is managed by the Guam Education Policy Board. Its policies are established by a combination of elected and…

Effective principals are those who boost academic achievement for all students, increase the effectiveness of their teaching staffs, and consistently take leadership actions shown to improve outcomes for students. Therefore principal evaluation systems should place 70% of their weight on the ability of principals to increase student achievement…

New Jersey is considering a tax reform called "Cap 2.5," under which a municipality's tax levy on existing property could not grow more than 2.5 percent in any year, unless its voters pass a referendum allowing a greater increase. This reform is similar to Massachusetts's Proposition 2.5, which that state adopted in 1980. New Jersey…

Do students know the level of education required to achieve their career objectives? Is this information related to their education pathways? To address these questions, I compare high school students' perceptions of the level of education they will require for the job they intend to hold at age 30, with the level required according to…

Current literature on libraries is abundant with articles about the uses and the potential of new interactive communication technology, including Web 2.0 tools. Recently, the advent and use of virtual worlds have received top billing in these works. Many library institutions are exploring these virtual environments; this exploration and the…

This special issue on "The Role of Spirituality, Religion and the African American Church on Educational Outcomes" is extremely timely. Moreover, the fact that this conversation is taking place in "The Journal of Negro Education" ("JNE") demonstrates once again that the "JNE" has its finger firmly on the pulse of significant educational and…

Alexander, Van Wyk, Bereng and November (2009) are of the opinion that the purpose of education is the development of human capital towards meeting and achieving the individual and psycho-social needs of learners and communities which should be brought about through a process of transformation. In essence, this would imply that any discourse with…

This paper explores, with a qualitative framework, critical social theory and thematic analysis, the narratives of many Aboriginal elders of Mornington Island (Kunhanhaa) about their history and their potential to form productive kin-based relationships with visiting teachers in order to influence the curriculum and pedagogy delivered at the local…

Online education has a presence in most Australian universities, and its uptake has been broadly understood as being driven by external imperatives associated with intensive competition within the global knowledge economy. However, the implementation of online education does not take place uniformly, and tensions can arise as a consequence of the…

This paper investigates regional Australian students' aspirations and expectations for their future and, more specifically, the manner in which these are formulated around a view to move outward--that is, away from regional, remote and rural communities--and onward--that is, to make something of their lives. Drawing upon interview data, the paper…

During the past decade, there has been more than an adequate amount of research addressing issues regarding social studies methods courses. However, the apparent void is that there is no clear understanding of what pedagogical content knowledge or understanding of pedagogical approaches teacher candidates bring with them to social studies methods…

An economically healthy continuing education institution thrives or declines on its ability to offer courses that sufficient numbers of students want to enroll in and do in timely fashion. A key metric associated with this is the percentage of courses offered in any given quarter that are cancelled. Low cancellation rates contribute to…

High-stakes testing plays a critical role in education today in the United States. Every state uses a high-stakes test to comply with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate. While many believe high-stakes testing is an acceptable and accurate way to measure students' learning, one has to ask whether high stakes testing is an effective measurement…

Background: The effect of note-taking has been well-recognized by EFL educators. However, little empirical research has been done to investigate combined effects of note-taking instruction and note-taking language (whether in L1 or L2) in an acquisition-poor environment, where English is used as an instructional language yet the audience is…