The academic calendar contains national data on how the academic year is structured (beginning of the academic year, term times, holidays and examination periods). Differences between university and non-university study programmes are also highlighted. The information is available for 37 countries. [For the 2020/21 report, see ED610818.]

This brief summarizes key findings from five papers that examine child marriage and interventions to address it. While the findings from each of the papers are briefly noted, the brief focuses on the importance of context in understanding the drivers and impact on child marriage. Based on key findings, the brief offers cross-cutting…

Employment-based training (EBT) is training for paid employees which is integrated within a work setting, related to their role, and provided or supported by employers. It can be nationally recognised or non-nationally recognised. It can be structured, or unstructured. For many employers, the crucial aspect of EBT is whether the training helps…

We explore the role of defaults and choice architecture on student loan decision-making, experimentally testing the impact pre-populating either decline or accept decisions compared to an active choice, no pre-population, decision. We demonstrate that the default choice presented does influence student loan borrowing decisions. Specifically,…

With the emergence of MOOCs, it becomes crucial to automate the process of a course design to accommodate the diverse learning demands of students. Modeling the relationships among educational topics is a fundamental first step for automating curriculum planning and course design. In this paper, we introduce "Topic Transition Map" (TTM),…

How much has been lost in pursuit of convenience with the "learning anytime, anywhere" model? This aphorism stresses delivery and access as central goals of its broad application. Distance or technology-enhanced learning is an important step forward for education in general, but the learning effectiveness is low. Much of the challenge…

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule approved in 2016 outlined major policy changes in four areas: (1) health and safety; (2) consumer education; (3) equal access to high-quality care for children in families with low-incomes; and (4) quality improvement and…

The transition to formal schooling is a large contextual change, which for many children in U.S. begins with the year of kindergarten. To better understand the challenges of this transition, the present study examines the extent to which children experience transition difficulties in five salient areas: making friends, following schedules, meeting…

Though emerging research supports the effectiveness of school-based coaching models utilizing motivational interviewing (MI), an examination of the specific drivers behind these effects is notably lacking in the prevention field. This study leveraged sequential analysis to examine how teachers' verbalization of change talk (i.e., language in…

This chapter describes possible effects of the 2017 "Endrew F." Supreme Court decision that raised the "de minimus" standard established in 1982 in "Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley." In Rowley, the court held school districts provided an appropriate education to students with…

Starting this Parliament, the United Kingdom (UK) Government is providing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations) for a new National Skills Fund (NSF). This is a significant investment which has the potential to deliver new opportunities to generations of adults who may have been previously left…

We cannot continue to ask students -- and their families -- to make one of the largest and most important investments of their lives without clearer information about what their time and money will yield. In partnership with RTI International (RTI), operating in an independent capacity, IHEP is gathering expert insights needed to support making…

Free and reduced-price meal eligibility (FRM) is commonly used in education research and policy applications as an indicator of student poverty. However, using multiple data sources external to the school system, we show that FRM status is a poor proxy for poverty, with eligibility rates far exceeding what would be expected based on stated income…

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded pilot grants to 10 States--California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington--to test innovative strategies for providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T). As part of the pilots, all grantees…

Nearly all borrowers with federal student loans are currently eligible for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that allows them to cap monthly payments at 10 percent of their discretionary income. IDR plans also include a loan forgiveness benefit whereby remaining balances are canceled after a set period of making payments in IDR, typically 20…