This paper examines the successes and challenges of a Supplemental Instruction/Peer Assisted Learning (SI/PAL) scheme at an Irish Higher Education Institute that was the outcome of a co-working approach between academic staff and the Students' Union. It considers how novel approaches can enhance student experience, support student learning and…

This article explores the efficacy and cost effectiveness of New Labour's skills-based policies to help low paid workers adjust to the pressures generated by globalisation, of which the leading example was Train to Gain (T2G). It also analyses the more general issue of how, why and under what circumstances education, training and skills can help…

Historians and educationalists have often assumed that working-class adult education emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century with the introduction of state-funded technical colleges. This was not the case. In 1823, the Glasgow Mechanics' Institute was opened and within a few years similar institutions were being established across the…

The study examined in this paper focuses on whether monetary bonuses for teachers improved schoolwide academic achievement in New York City public schools. Study authors analyzed data from 389 high-need elementary, middle, and high schools in New York City in the first year of the bonus program (2007-08) and from 371 of those same schools in the…

Performance related pay is not common in Australian universities. A number of Australian universities have begun to show interest in implementing more individualised pay arrangements. Swinburne University of Technology, in Melbourne, has chosen, contrary to the wishes of many of its staff, to be a path-breaker and has introduced a performance…

The authors examine how the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiated between teachers' unions and districts is associated with schools' and districts' performance under accountability pressures in California. They find that CBA restrictiveness is associated with the increased likelihood that districts will be in Program Improvement (PI)…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project evaluated strategies to promote employment stability among low-income workers. This practitioner brief examines the work, education, and training patterns of single parents in the ERA project. Three years after entering the study, only one in four single parents had advanced. Most of the…

Some researchers suggest that grievance procedures and the arbitration process are effective tools that encourage careful decision making by school districts and administrative staff in the handling of personnel decisions (Shipley, 1974). Others contend that grievance procedures, which typically include arbitration as the final stage of the…

In "Toward a More Comprehensive Model of Teacher Pay"--a paper presented at the February 2008 National Center on Performance Incentives research to policy conference--Julia Koppich examines recent policy initiatives implementing new approaches to teacher pay. Her discussion focuses on four current initiatives: ProComp in Denver, Toledo…

Scott Jaschik's article, "New Look at the Impact of Diversity," invites the reader to explore the dynamics of racial diversity on the college environment, discussing the findings of a longitudinal study conducted at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) that provides empirical evidence that documents student's racial attitudes. In…

A community school is a place and a set of partnerships connecting a school, the families of students, and the surrounding community. A community school is distinguished by an integrated focus on academics, youth development, family support, health and social services, and community development. The community school strategy is central to efforts…

Sectoral levelling funds are an arrangement aimed at alleviating a well-known theoretical problem of underinvestment in worker training because of free-rider behaviour of firms. In the Netherlands, collective agreements require firms to participate in such funds in a number of sectors. Using a comprehensive dataset of Dutch firms, we attempt to…

Schools, districts, and states across the nation are changing the way educators are paid. Through the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) and other publicly and independently funded programs, educators at every level are designing and implementing modified pay and reward structures for teachers and principals. Sometimes these initiatives are called…

Merit pay is now in the midst of a renaissance. Hundreds of school districts are experimenting with some type of performance-based pay system. At least six states have statewide or pilot programs, and the federal government has spent close to $100 million on the Teacher Incentive Fund. Whether such programs will last, encourage the start of…

In 2005 the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the central organisation of unions in New Zealand, initiated a Learning Representatives Project based on the British model. The Government approved an eight-month programme to be funded through its Tertiary Education Commission to "scope the project". Work began not just on scoping, but on…