Increasing the share of vocational secondary schooling has been a mainstay of development policy for decades, perhaps nowhere more so than in formerly socialist countries. The transition, however, led to significant restructuring of school systems, including a declining share of vocational students. Exposing more students to a general curriculum…

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) has undertaken three scientifically based research studies in an effort to determine whether the integration of career and technical education (CTE) courses with academic content can increase student achievement. These include the Math-in-CTE study, completed in 2005 (also…

This paper focuses on science anxiety in undergraduate education and then reviews current theories on how to reduce science anxiety. The exploration of the phenomenon of science anxiety points out that this response results not from a lack of self-confidence, but from a lack of a framework of prior knowledge to help order new knowledge; it also…

A control group of 40 eighth graders completed a unit on elements and compounds. An experimental group of 42 completed concept maps on the same topic. Results of a one-tailed T test demonstrated the usefulness of concept maps as advance organizers. (KR)

Compared the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary dropout prevention science course with a traditional dropout prevention course. Analyses of process and recall skills from the district's science achievement tests revealed significant differences in academic performance for curriculum type, gender, and race/ethnicity, with no significant…

Concept maps provided a measure of subjects' cognitive structures before and after completion of an environmental education course. Concept maps were constructed from expressions taken from the issue "global climate." Expressions were assigned to one of three domains: science, technology or society. Maps were analyzed by constituent…

Literature reviews and a study conducted in Malawi suggest that poor performance in science among students in developing African countries is caused by the absence of vocational incentives rather than by evidence of a conflict between traditional beliefs and science. Explains that science-performance improvement for students in developing…

Discusses students' awareness of science/technology/society (STS) issues, the importance students assign to STS issues, and students' achievement in a genetics unit after infusing STS vignettes into class discussions. Recommendations are made on the use of STS vignettes by science teachers. (KR)

The purpose of this report is to examine how well students in Massachusetts are meeting the Goals of Education, as measured by the Massachusetts Education Assessment Program (MEAP). The first section of this report defines various levels of proficiency and then compares different groups within the student population in terms of the percentages…

Describes a study of Australian independent schools that assessed the use of laptop computers in science classrooms in grades eight and nine. Highlights include students' perceptions of teachers' interpersonal behavior; associations between teacher-student interpersonal behavior and students' attitudes to science and their enquiry skill…

The relationships and possible effects of various personal home and school variables on the acquisition of functional biological, chemical, and physical scientific knowledge by tenth grade Israeli students (n=544) was investigated. Biology was the only subject in which functional knowledge was significantly related to nonformal science activities.…

This report provides policymakers in both the public and private sectors with a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science and engineering (S&E) research and education and U.S. technology in a global context. Chapter 1, "Elementary and Secondary Science and Mathematics Education," discusses the student's achievement,…

This report is designed to provide public and private policymakers with a broad base of quantitative information about United States science and engineering research and education and about United States technology in a global context. This document begins with a synopsis of United States science and technology. Chapter 1, "Precollege Science…

Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education. The 2008 edition of "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries' performance. It provides a rich,…