Much of the evidential basis for recent policy decisions is grounded in effect size: the standardised mean difference in outcome scores between a study's intervention and comparison groups. This is interpreted as measuring educational influence, importance or effectiveness of the intervention. This article shows this is a category error at two…

Policymakers, experts and advocates have promoted many different types of education reform over the past few decades, but what is the evidence about the efficacy of these programs? EdChoice partnered with Hanover Research to find out what research has been conducted in nine major education reform areas focusing on outcomes related to student…

To complement the existing literature on expanding access to high-quality college education, we investigate the understudied topic of university outreach. Using a field experiment at West Point, we estimate the effectiveness of four university admissions outreach efforts (Admissions Office phone call, application encouragement from a role model,…

The Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities in Cyprus have been divided for the last five decades. This study investigated whether the recent introduction of Greek language studies in Turkish Cypriot secondary schools affects students' attitudes towards the language, its speakers and culture, and motivation to study the language. Findings…

Teachers' curriculum ownership is increasingly gaining attention in many countries. It is particularly important that under the conditions of centralized curriculum-making, teachers as final implementers of curricular ideas identify themselves with these ideas. This study investigates Estonian upper secondary school teachers' views on the impact…

Currently, there are many educational centres that demonstrate the need to promote initiatives to improve coexistence at school at the international level, especially in those located in contexts of social vulnerability. A socio-educational programme has been developed, applied and evaluated at a Singular Education Action Centre (Centro de Acción…

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) was created by Congress to provide tuition vouchers to low-income parents who want their child to attend a private school. The Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act of 2011 also mandated an evaluation of the OSP program. This report examines impacts one year after…

Significant numbers of people have very low levels of literacy in many OECD countries and, because of this, face significant labour market penalties. Despite this, it remains unclear what teaching strategies are most useful for actually rectifying literacy deficiencies. The subject remains hugely controversial amongst educationalists and has…

The change of government in 2010 provoked a large structural change in the English education landscape. Unexpectedly, the new government offered primary schools the chance to have "the freedom and the power to take control of their own destiny", with better performing schools given a green light to convert to become an academy school on…

The low quality of educational services in the "favelas" (slums) of Rio de Janeiro is well documented (e.g., Abramo, 2003; Alves, Franco & Ribeiro, 2008; Cano, 2012; Cavallieri e Coelho, 2003; Frigotto, 2004; Henriques, 2000; Henrique & Ramos, 2011; Machado, 2002 & 2008; Valladares, 2010). In 2010, the average twenty-five…

In this article, the authors use the High School Longitudinal Study 2009 (HSLS:09) national database to analyze the relationships between algebra failure, subsequent performance, motivation, and college readiness. Students who failed eighth-grade Algebra I did not differ significantly in mathematics proficiency from those who passed lower-level…

Kenya is investing in information and communication technology (ICT) to improve children's learning outcomes. However, the literature on ICT is pessimistic about the ability of ICT alone to improve outcomes, and few ICT programs have created the instructional change necessary to increase learning. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative…

We study the origins of what has become one of the most radical and encompassing programmes of school reform seen in the recent past amongst advanced countries--the introduction of academy schools to English secondary education. Academies are state schools that are allowed to run in an autonomous manner which is free from local authority control.…

Qatar is undergoing major educational reform that is shifting its educational policy toward an instructional orientation grounded in constructivism and student-centered instruction. Differences in cultural conceptions of knowledge acquisition and the purpose of education are examined to highlight challenges to Qatar's reform implementation…

Research Findings: Examining the effects of professional development of the early childhood workforce that fit within the constraints of government policy is crucial for identifying types and amounts of effective training and informing child care policy. The present study used a cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the effects of a professional…