This paper was prompted by the call for submissions to the Rudd government's 2020 Summit in April 2008. It analyses the impacts of VET reform on the VET workforce in order to identify strategies that might inform an agenda to build the workforce capacity to support economic and innovation. The paper argues that VET reforms since the 1990s created…

This article presents the unique approach to university-community partnerships developed and practiced at Michigan State University (MSU). We have established a model of campus-community partnerships that builds a wide-reaching system of networks connecting the university to communities. Our approach is "developmental",…

The use of ICT in the classroom is very important for providing opportunities for students to learn to operate in an information age. Studying the obstacles to the use of ICT in education may assist educators to overcome these barriers and become successful technology adopters in the future. This paper provides a meta-analysis of the relevant…

The college years occur during the stage of life when many people develop permanent smoking habits, and approximately one-third go on to become addicted smokers. The 18-24 year demographic that makes up the majority of undergraduate attendees represents the earliest years that the tobacco industry now can legally attempt to lure new customers into…

About 25 percent of child injuries occur in schools, most of them during physical education activities. Physical education safety guidelines are one strategy to reduce the number of student injuries. However, based on the findings of a recent evaluation of provincial safety guidelines, only two-thirds of physical education teachers use the safety…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) initiated sweeping changes to the U.S. educational system. However, many have argued that NCLB is not accomplishing its stated purposes of improving education for disadvantaged students and closing the achievement gap. This policy analysis sheds light on the social and emotional risk factors that prevent…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the value and constraints of varied online communication tools from web 2.0 to e-mail in a higher education (HE) teaching and learning context, where these tools are used to support or be the main focus of learning. Design/methodology/approach: A structured reflection is produced with the aid of…

Women face unique challenges as superintendents. This study determined barriers women face as superintendents and elicited reasons why these women would consider leaving the superintendent's position. Thirty-nine PreK-12 women superintendents in Illinois participated in a web-based survey in January 2008. Survey items included information…

This study documents students' views about the nature of mathematics, the mathematics learning process and factors within the classroom that are perceived to impact upon the learning of mathematics. The participants were senior secondary school students. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to understand the students' views about their…

"Learning in Regular Classrooms" (LRC) has been the main strategy to universalize compulsory education for children with special educational needs in China after 1980s. Methods such as whole-class teaching combined with individual tutoring, differentiated teaching, and cooperative learning have been widely practiced in general classrooms…

The implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a professional model of practice for social work has been suggested as one approach to support informed clinical decision making. However, different barriers and processes have been identified that impact the use of EBP at individual, organizational, and systemic levels. This article describes…

Distance learning in developing countries has emerged as a way of widening access to education for tertiary applicants who qualify but could not otherwise gain admission due to the limited space in the existing tertiary institutions. The delivery of the program in Ghana, a developing country in Africa, is predominantly print-based and is supported…

This article describes key elements for faculty development programs to prepare mathematics teachers for technology-rich environments. We offer practical examples from our experiences in teaching mathematics with technology and in teaching others to incorporate technology-based pedagogies. We address challenges faced by faculty using technology,…

With the sharp rise in students who are English language learners (ELL), research on identifying and serving the needs of gifted and talented (GT) ELL students offers fertile ground for best practice guidelines. The current study describes GT/ELL identification practices based on an in-depth case study of one diverse school district in the…

This paper describes the implementation and results of a cross-cultural pairing between college students in the United States and Romania who worked together over the period of one month to create a multimedia presentation that shared their learning about topics of multimedia and culture. Students could use any web-based collaboration tools of…