This article discusses how teaching excellence is prescribed by policy-makers and perceived by higher education institutions in the national competition for teaching excellence ("Wettbewerb Exzellente Lehre") in Germany. Teaching excellence has become an important topic around the world. Its importance can be seen in the increase in…

The United Nations established eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, with the target for achievement set at 2015. On the UN website a special section is devoted to the MDGs. In this article the website as it was presented in late 2013 is examined. Although the website was easy to negotiate, it was difficult to ascertain any…

In its analysis of data it collected in 2006, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) used a variety of statistical methods to arrive at the 'key findings' that school autonomy, school competition and the public posting of student achievement data were…

This article seeks to compare the characteristics of the academic profession as described historically by Perkin in 1969 against the definitions of a profession derived from the published views of sociologists and others. It then measures the position of the academic community today against these definitions: a common range of professional tasks…

Though viewed as second-class until fairly recently, Canada's system for providing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) now provides relevant post-secondary education that meets the needs of highly skilled professionals in all job categories. As the system evolved, it changed the public view of skills education. This article…

The flipped Classroom is one in which lectures are presented as homework outside of class in online videos so that class time is reserved for engaging directly with the materials. This technique offers more personalized guidance and interaction with students, instead of lecturing. In this article, Judy Gaughan details her journey through choosing…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe patterns of behavior that a student-athlete not only exhibits during athletic competition, but also transfers from the soccer field to the college classroom and to the teaching profession. Using journals, lesson plans, teaching commentaries, videos, and interviews, a qualitative case study…

The structure of the English school system has been the subject of almost continuous change since the late-1980s. The most recent was commenced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government, which was elected in May 2010. This policy set in train, very quickly, processes through which all schools have been encouraged, and in some cases…

As the gulfs between low-income and more affluent youth widen, researchers and practitioners continue to search for effective means of closing gaps in academic achievement, digital participation, and civic engagement. This article examines how youth organizing offers a bridge across these divides. We consider how one youth organizing group, The…

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2014 as the premier international human rights treaty focused on childhood rights and protections. In this article, we briefly review the 41 substantive principles embodied in the 54 Articles of the Convention and stress the need for educators, and…

There is emerging evidence to suggest community-based interventions can change community-wide behaviors and attitudes toward cardiovascular health. This article describes a partnership between an academic institution and a community nonprofit organization to develop and implement a cardiovascular health promotion program targeting at risk high…

Neurocognitive processes such as executive functioning (EF) may influence the development of speech-language skills in deaf children after cochlear implantation in ways that differ from normal-hearing, typically developing children. Conversely, spoken language abilities and experiences may also exert reciprocal effects on the development of EF.…

Previous research supports the idea that the success of hybrid or online delivery modes is more a function of course design than delivery media. This article describes a case study of a hybrid Principles of Marketing course that implemented a comprehensive redesign based on design principles espoused by the Quality Matters Program, a center for…

This article analyzes the content and format of the Overseas University Leadership Program organized by the National Academy of Education Administration in Beijing, China. Universities provide the country with scientific and technological expertise, pave the path to individual advancement, and are major economic engines. China's new mission is to…

In situations of extreme linguistic diversity, language promotion can be a very challenging undertaking. Decades of educational colonisation and foreign language dominance have produced inferiority complexes so that local or indigenous languages (Cameroonian mother tongues), because of their unofficial status, are perceived as liabilities rather…