Debates about decentralisation, involving questions such as who should make decisions about public schooling and who should pay for it [Caillods, F., 1999. Preface. In: McGinn, N., Welsh, T. (Eds.), Decentralization of Education: Why, When, What and How? UNESCO, Paris] have permeated and affected educational planning in the last 20 or so years.…

As online courses and programs expand in business schools, it becomes increasingly important to understand the link between students' experiences in these courses and learning outcomes. The study reported here investigates the relationship between students' experiences of flow, a psychological state generally associated with improved task…

The prevalence of Internet applications nowadays has led many medical schools and centers to incorporate computerized Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methods into their training curricula. However, many of these PBL systems do not truly reflect the situations which practitioners may actually encounter in a real medical environment, and hence their…

This chapter examines the characteristics and performance of adult immigrants and adult English language learners on the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. These factors are related to key social outcomes such as involvement in the labor force, income, and welfare participation, and the data reported can be used in making decisions about…

This article examines major trends in testing and accountability reform in the United States over the past decade. The review covers the apex and decline of the national experimentation with a range of alternative assessments and the rise of test-based accountability as a central policy initiative. These trends signify that testing has become a…

The University of Montana (UM)-Missoula has implemented a problem-based program in which students perform scientific research focused on indoor air pollution. The Air Toxics Under the Big Sky program (Jones et al. 2007; Adams et al. 2008; Ward et al. 2008) provides a community-based framework for understanding the complex relationship between poor…

Following a state takeover of the Philadelphia public schools in 2002, 45 schools were turned over to private managers, making Philadelphia the site of the nation's largest experiment in the private management of public schools. This study examines achievement effects in the privately managed schools, as well as in schools with district-led…

In this policy brief, former P/PV President Gary Walker asks, "Is mentoring now a durable part of American social policy? If so, is this unalloyed good news?" Adapted from an article that first appeared in "The Handbook of Youth Mentoring" (DuBois and Karcher, ed. 2005), the brief reflects on the impact and appeal of mentoring, addresses various…

At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, we have undertaken a program to integrate the study of bioinformatics across the undergraduate life science curricula. Our efforts have included incorporating bioinformatics exercises into courses in the biology, microbiology, and chemistry departments, as well as coordinating the efforts of faculty within…

College and university programs that prepare the nation's education researchers suffer from mission muddle, a lack of common and rigorous standards, and inadequate resources, asserts a hard-hitting report set for release. The report is all the more damning because it comes from one of the field's own, Arthur E. Levine, who stepped down in 2005…

When Western Wisconsin Technical College created the Health Benefits Improvement Team, they had no experience with the complexity and ever-changing demands of health care and its associated costs. See how they've embraced their mission and are changing the way business is done in their community.

This paper examines the educational ambitions of adults from a disadvantaged area in Australia who returned to study at a further education institution as a means to access higher education. The study examines the significance and influence of romance, gender and social class on their formal learning, and the delaying influence of these factors in…

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program helps students, particularly those in the academic middle, prepare for the rigorous courses that can help them get into college. AVID students take an elective class in which they learn organizational and study skills, receive tutoring, and support one another. Teachers in AVID schools…

Although postsecondary employment outcomes for transition-age youth with disabilities have improved over the past decade, minority youth with disabilities continue to lag behind their peers in achieving a job. This study of predominantly minority youth participating in the Marriott Foundation's Bridges From School to Work Program from 2000 to 2005…

There have been many competent evaluations of youth civic engagement projects. Our work differs from those in assumptions, purposes, goals, methods, activities, and findings for use in evaluation capacity building and program improvement, theoretical and conceptual clarity, and decision-making. Typically, evaluations have focused on predetermined…