Several concurrent trends are increasing the likelihood that short courses, microcredentials, and flexible learning pathways will become a regular and even dominant feature of education and training globally. This policy paper reflects on these trends with special reference to the post-secondary education sector, and explores ways to organize…

In this article, Philip DiSalvio, dean of the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, interviews Stephen Trachtenberg, president emeritus and University Professor of Public Service at George Washington University. Trachtenberg shares his views on the traditional four-year undergraduate degree, the…

Full-day kindergarten programs did not survive the recession in some states, where districts reduced them to half-day programs in light of severe funding cuts. Now, with rising tax revenues and falling unemployment rates, the restoration of full-day kindergarten is back on the agenda. However, now that funds are available, is restoring full-day…

Several decades of research have suggested a meaningful relationship between time and learning, where the amount of time students spend engaged in learning is strongly associated with their level of achievement. Among schools that have expanded the day and/or year, researchers have found that such a strategy can be quite effective, especially with…

Under enormous pressure to prepare students for a successful future--and fearful that standard school hours do not offer enough time to do so--educators, policymakers, and community activists are adding more learning time to children's lives. Twenty-five years ago, the still-resonant report "A Nation at Risk" urged schools to add more time--an…

The results of a study on the way federal government guidelines influenced the administration of 132 Teacher Corps projects at the local level are reported. Research was oriented primarily toward determining those guideline provisions that seemed to have the most powerful impact on local actions during the early years of a project. Major findings…

A discussion of recent changes in Norwegian graduate study and the role and attitudes of students within the system finds problems similar to other countries' in: program length and student financing, industry-academic salary differences, estimating demand for graduate degrees, the objectives of the training, and increasing women's participation.…