In undergraduate life sciences education, open educational resources (OERs) increase accessibility and retention for students, reduce costs, and save instructors time and effort. Despite increasing awareness and utilization of these resources, OERs are not centrally located, and many undergraduate instructors describe challenges in locating…

Citizen science is on the rise, and Extension is poised to support this movement by offering technical assistance to citizen science programs, communities, federal partners, and researchers. The expansion of citizen science provides an opportunity for fostering innovative access to Extension resources and increasing engagement with new audiences.…

Opportunity for an equal education is one of the cornerstones of the United States educational system, and it means access for all to all that is available. Today, the vast majority of Latino multilingual learners are not on a trajectory to participate in 21st century science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. The Latino share of…

"Inequitable Opportunity to Learn: Access to Advanced Mathematics and Science Courses" is the second in a series of Learning Policy Institute reports analyzing data primarily from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). This report uses the most recent CRDC data from 2017-18. The CRDC includes data on a…

Scientific thinking and understanding are essential for all people navigating the world, not just for scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Knowledge of science and the practice of scientific thinking are essential components of a fully functioning democracy. Science is also crucial for the…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

Whether playing outdoors or working on the farm, rural children acquire science and engineering skills throughout their daily lives. Although 11.4 million children in the United States grow up in rural areas, compared to 14.6 million in urban areas, relatively little attention is given to rural science education. This article demonstrates that…

California's middle schools have a critical role to play in furthering their students' pursuit of science learning, in high school and beyond. The rapidly changing economy, advances in technology, and the press of global challenges only increase the importance of this responsibility. The potential is there for California's middle schools to…

This article focuses on the potential of free tools, particularly inquiry tools for influencing participation in twenty-first-century learning in science, as well as influencing the development of communities around tools. Two examples are presented: one on the development of an open source tool for structured inquiry learning that can bridge the…

Turkey is expected to be a full member of the European Union (EU) by 2013. In the course of its integration into the EU, Turkey has been simultaneously facing access, quality, and equity issues in education. Over the past decade, substantial progress has been made on increasing the access. However, improving the country's low level of education…

The development of science and technology in any country will be a key factor in determining its status and power in an open economy, and developing countries such as India and Uganda cannot afford to be left behind. The observed fall in the number of youngsters seeking careers in science during the past few years has become a matter of concern to…

In 2001, the Australian Government released a report, commissioned by the then Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, entitled "The Status and Quality of Teaching and Learning of Science in Australian Schools" (Goodrum, Hackling, & Rennie, 2001). Its recommendations included actions to address raising community…

The purpose of this document is to provide background to the text and recommended actions of the Australian School Science Education National Action Plan, 2007-2012. The first part presents a synthesis of the national and international research used to identify gaps and overlaps amongst activities related to school science education in …

Distance learning in Connecticut has begun to develop in the wake of telecommunications (TELCO) infrastructure modernization. Progress in this area is reviewed and discussed. The state has not yet adopted a standardized statewide policy governing the delivery of educational telecommunications programing, and various private producers currently…

A portion of an Indonesian educational development project, designed to enhance university science lecturers' access to materials and assessed from three perspectives. The program involves the development of a Self-Access Resource Center (SARC) at the English Language Training Center, Cenderawasih University, Manokwari. The project aims to provide…