This report provides a snapshot of the academic performance, as assessed by literacy and numeracy test scores, of children on guardianship or custody orders in 2003. The educational performance of these children are compared with all children sitting these tests, and differences in academic performance between particular subgroups of children on…

Noting that distance learning environments often pose serious obstacles to second language instruction, Yuping Wang and Nian-Shing Chen propose that synchronous learning management systems (SLMS) can address the urgent need for real-time communication to support the student acquisition of language skills. To illustrate the pedagogical value of…

This study addresses several common shortcomings of current university campus sustainability initiatives, including a lack of attention to integrative issues such as land use, housing, and transportation, and a generally reactive rather than proactive approach to sustainability. To engage these concerns, we develop a model for assessing the…

This paper reports on an ongoing work in designing and developing a personalised search tool for teachers' online searching using Google search engine (repository) for the implementation and testing of the first research prototype.

This report covers the second year of a 3-year process evaluation of the Prime Time Initiative of Palm Beach County, Florida, a system-building effort to strengthen the availability and quality of after-school programs in the county. During the past two decades, the after-school field has expanded enormously. This growth has occurred partly in…

This research sets out key findings from an evaluation of Phases 1 and 2 of the pilot Teacher Learning Academy (TLA). The pilot TLA was established by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) to provide professional and public recognition for teacher learning and development work. The Academy offers the opportunity for the learning that…

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) carried out an evaluation of a pilot/programme that was introduced in 2004 to help raise the achievement of bilingual learners in primary schools. Within participating authorities, pilot consultants were appointed and were managed by the Primary National Strategy managers and the Ethnic…

The Key to Key Skills Project made portable to other universities an intranet system, developed at Leeds Metropolitan University, to support students' Key Skills. The system was piloted and evaluated in three partner institutions (Sheffield Hallam University, Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of Plymouth). The evaluation revealed…

It is generally accepted that the ability to visualize is an important tool for engineers and technologists especially in engineering graphics. Enhancing the spatial visualization abilities of engineering students has long been a focus of engineering graphics educators. Over the years a variety of test and procedures have been developed to…

This article focuses upon the need for character education through examining and promoting the values demonstrated by historical storytelling and encouraging the adoption of values for citizenship development. It is noted that historical figures should not be chosen by political correctness but should be examined instead for their transcending…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine an effective approach to developing university vocational lifelong learning (VLL) professionals as researchers. Design/methodology/approach: Two quite different approaches to developing VLL professionals as researchers were piloted, one involving face-to-face training and the other distance…

Little is known about Hispanic teens' sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors and their relationship to media influences. Information about this relationship could contribute to an understanding of the early onset of sexual behavior and early teen pregnancy. This paper reports preliminary findings from a pilot project conducted to determine…

Curriculum-based measurement is a system for monitoring students' progress and formatively evaluating instruction backed by 25 years of validation research. Most of this research has been conducted in elementary schools. In middle and high school classrooms, where there is an emphasis on mastering content knowledge, elementary-level measurements…

Prejudice and discrimination are ugly cousins, haunting humankind like the evil fairy who appears unbidden to curse the young princess. Is education the good fairy, bestowing tools to overcome this curse? A course the author taught in winter 2006 at the University of California, Irvine--one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the United…

This article charts the progress of a project to introduce an apprenticeship scheme providing school and company-based training for the first time in Syria. It traces the successes and failures of the project. Syria is new territory for this kind of initiative. The article outlines some of the difficulties of working in a highly centralised…