This report presents the results of the Parental Involvement in Pre-School Telephone Interview study completed by Mathematica Policy Research for the First 5 Contra Costa Children and Families Commission. Parent involvement in children's preschool programs and learning experiences is proven to be positively associated with cognitive, academic,…

Low levels of education generally among people with a disability is one of the factors contributing to their lower rate of labour market participation. What role vocational education and training (VET) plays in ameliorating this is the focus of this report. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia surveys, the report…

A recent report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, "America's Private Public Schools," has received considerable attention and includes some controversial recommendations. The report's authors suggest the existence of what they term "private public schools," and they argue that the existence of these "exclusive" public schools justifies the…

This recent brief from the National Council on Teacher Quality is concerned with the question of what factors should be considered when school districts must decide which teachers to lay off during periods of tight budgets. Most districts, according to the brief, base these decisions primarily on long-standing "Last Hired, First Fired" teacher…

This annual report updates the tuition and fee prices published by all of the public higher education institutions in the WICHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) member states. It is the product of an annual survey administered to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) offices in each state, with a couple of…

Synthetic biology is the application of engineering and mathematical principles to develop novel biological devices and circuits. What separates synthetic biology from traditional molecular biology is the development of standardized interchangeable DNA "parts," just as advances in engineering in the nineteenth century brought about standardized…

Our research in statistical cognition uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. A mixed method approach makes our research more comprehensive, and provides us with new directions, unexpected insights, and alternative explanations for previously established concepts. In this paper, we review four statistical cognition studies that used mixed…

Research Findings: Hong Kong launched the new mechanism of the Quality Assurance Inspection (QAI) in 2000 to enforce accountability and school improvement in the sector of early childhood education. The QAI comprises 3 stages: school self-evaluation, external inspection, and release of the QAI report to the public. To understand the roles of…

There has recently been discussion of whether independent contract evaluation is possible. This article acknowledges the inherent tension in contract evaluation and in response suggests a range of constructive approaches to improving the independence of contract evaluation. In particular, a clear separation between the official evaluation report…

In August 2008, the OECD published "Improving School Leadership Volume 1: Policy and Practice" and "Improving School Leadership Volume 2: Case Studies on System Leadership". The main objectives of these reports were to compare school leadership policy between participating countries and to identify innovative practices and…

Synchronous e-learning has received much less research attention, as compared with asynchronous e-learning. Practitioners that consider using and designing synchronous e-learning are in urgent need of guidance. In order to address this need, we propose design exemplars for synchronous e-learning. They are directed towards a primary constituent…

The study of policy in comparative education has been approached using methods associated with the principal social science disciplines that have informed the field since its inception. In particular, the disciplines of history, political science, sociology, and anthropology have had a significant influence on determining the acceptable methods…

This document covers the data terms used in the "Outcomes from the Productivity Places Program 2009" report and its associated data tables. The primary purpose of this document is to assist users of the report to understand the specific data terms used within it. Terms that appear in the report are listed in alphabetical order with the…

Whereas grading systems based on tacit knowledge may be the norm in practice, the recent trend toward educational accountability--from granting organizations, accreditation boards, journals on the teaching of psychology, and even tenure/promotion committees--suggests a real need for reliable, validated assessment measures that can be used to…

In 2005, the Library at UNSW began a comprehensive restructuring process that fundamentally changed the provision of services to its academic community. A primary aim of this process was to increase flexibility of service development and delivery and so to improve research support. The motivation for reformed services arose from considerations…