This report focuses on the progress made and challenges faced by the nine states in achieving the first three objectives for which they were held accountable for use of their Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge (RTTELC) funds. It discusses discrete findings related to these objectives in relevant chapters of the report: Tiered Quality Rating…

Teaching academic writing skills in a way that engages students in deep learning is difficult and there is a risk of encouraging surface learning approaches. Moreover, linking the experience of the research process to understanding the provenance of research studies is difficult for students as they tend to experience research, referencing,…

In this paper we share our reflections, as evaluators, on an evaluation where we encountered Excessive Evaluation Anxiety (XEA). The signs of XEA which we discerned were particularly evident amongst the program head and staff who were part of a new training program. We present our insights on the evaluation process and its difficulties, as well as…

In the context of low-income countries, the role of donors in public policymaking is of great importance. Donors use a combination of lending and non-lending instruments as pathways of influence to shape policy directions in aid-recipient countries. This paper reports some findings from a doctoral study on the role of the World Bank in the recent…

Service Learning (SL) is a pedagogy aimed at combining academic studies and volunteer community action. The advantages of SL are numerous and are discussed elsewhere. The article points to some of the less studied aspects of service learning programs: the price that students pay for their volunteer service in the community. The discussion will be…

As research today is often required to validate innovative aspects of education, David Sobel's analysis of the SEER report makes quantitative sense of nature education and its ability to improve learning. Test scores increase, attendance surges, language arts assessments show richer self-expression, speaking skills gain a community cause, math…

Education Scotland's publication, "External Quality Arrangements for Scotland's Colleges, Updated August 2013", specifies that HM Inspectors (HMI) will produce a number of subject aspect reports over the four-year period 2012-16. Colleges should act on the recommendations contained in these reports. College inspectors will monitor action…

This is the forty-third report prepared in Washington providing tuition and fee data for flagship institutions, comprehensive institutions, and community colleges. Tuition and fee rates for academic year 2013-14 were collected by staff from the Connecticut Office of Higher Education, who developed an online tool to collect these data from the 50…

Since 2008, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) has annually surveyed the nation's authorizers. Survey findings provide an annual measuring stick for those in the field of authorizing, and they help education decision makers, foundations, legislators, and researchers inform their understanding of the field of charter…

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is dedicated to helping everyone with a stake in education, including parents, teachers, education leaders, and policymakers, effectively and appropriately understand and use education data. DQC helps parents and educators understand the value of data--why data matter and how they can help students be successful in…

This paper examines the debates about academic scholars' ability to produce quality research outputs both consistently and frequently. It examines whether it is possible for academic scholars to produce quality research outputs in their respective domains given obstacles that impede scholars to do so. The rationale for this examination stems from…

The study examines whether English and Indonesian research articles written by their respective native speaker scholars are significantly different from each other in terms of the number of hedges used. Hedges are rhetorical features (e.g. "may", "perhaps", "suggest") used to withhold complete commitment to the…

Excessive exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes sunburn and has been consistently associated with increased susceptibility to melanoma and skin ageing. Acknowledging the need to promote healthy sun exposure habits, numerous educational initiatives have been developed to raise public awareness towards this issue. However, studies…

This annual report explores the state of international education in Canada, taking an in-depth look at international students, study abroad by Canadian students, Canadian education overseas, as well as the overall internationalization agenda in Canada. The report features results of an international student survey and case studies from member…

The School Site Visits study is part of the fifth series of annual reports produced by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP). It describes some of the major challenges experienced and common practices demonstrated by thirteen (13) K-12 schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). During the 2010-11 school year,…