A study conducted to compare Generation X allied health students' perceptions about instructional evaluations and assessment with those of their counterparts in mechanical engineering studied earlier found them to be similar. A survey containing 60 questions concerning their learning styles and preferred instructor characteristics and course…

Providing technical support to a large, geographically diverse population is a daunting task. Information technology (IT) organizations must contribute to the teaching and learning mission, while supporting complex and visible administrative operations. All universities and colleges face unprecedented challenges in providing effective computing…

"The ERIC Review" announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This issue focuses on early intervention and its role in making higher education accessible to all students, especially those who are traditionally underrepresented or at risk. An introductory section contains one article,…

This book explores what makes a school excellent. Schools are considered excellent, "good enough," or bad, depending upon multiple factors; "good enough" implies that a school could be doing better. The use and misuse of testing and educational assessment are discussed. Academic assessment based on multiple measures is recommended over high-stakes…

It is said that "there is no problem in American education that is not already solved in some American school. The pressing need is to discover these success stories and learn from them." This document presents data from educational indicators used by the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) to provide insight into what works in schools…

This study examined the factors to which parents attribute their children's academic failure. Participating in the research were 13 parents, all living in Malta. About half of the parents' 41 children (ranging in age from 6 to 17 years) had experienced failure in school examinations. Almost all the parents were from a low socioeconomic background.…

A significant cultural divide between home and school has particular implications for the development of literacy for children whose home practices are not ratified in school. There is increasing evidence, however, that positive partnerships between schools and parents are correlated with enhanced academic outcomes for learners. This paper…

This report presents the compilation of information gathered from hearings and oversight activities held in 1999 and 2000. Its primary focus is on the underlying policies behind success in education at all levels of government: policies that put student performance first. It offers the troubling news that for the first time since the National…

One of the core aims for the implementation of teacher professional development programs is to improve student outcomes. Since 1996 the Broken Bay Catholic Diocese in New South Wales (Australia) has been utilizing the language and literacy program known as Frameworks as the staff development component for their 3-year literacy initiative. The…

Philosophy for Children, a program incorporating teaching methods of inquiry among groups of students and designed to introduce students to philosophy through texts designed to generate discussion, has grown enormously since its inception in the late 1960s. Experimental research on the program's impact has demonstrated significant gains in…

Commonwealth College was the longest lived and most notorious of the resident labor colleges operating during the 1920s-30s. Founded in 1923 at NewLlano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana, the school was modeled on the self-maintenance characteristics of an abortive pre-war experiment in social education: Ruskin College. Disputes over priorities with…

This report examines five dimensions of various initiatives intended to empower students. It is based on two case studies of schools belonging to the Coalition of Essential Schools, a school-reform project aimed at improving teaching and learning in American schools. The report focuses on the level of power that administrators and teachers…

As revealed by the mean scores of the countries participating in the Performance Improvement through Strategy Analysis (PISA) assessment of reading literacy, Finland shows the highest reading literacy performance in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) Finland's performance is significantly higher than that of any other…

As states and communities across the United States work to raise expectations for student learning, many are challenged by concerns and questions from increasingly vocal parents and teachers. This report summarizes the best advice for business coalitions and standards advocates on how to address the testing backlash. It also features an analysis…

Technikon Natal is a higher education contact institution in Durban, South Africa. In the last 6 years, the Online Learning Center has evolved bottom-up, driven by the contagious creative spirit of champion lecturers. Activities have grown to such an extent that it has become necessary for the institution's management to develop an institutional…