The Ministry of education in Colombia set a policy for higher education in which graduates should achieve an intermediate proficiency level (B1) in another language; and by 2025 it expects that they leave college with an upper intermediate level (B2). This report deals with a private college that attempts to participate in the policy, yet the…

This article reports on the findings of a study consisting of two phases. Both phases aimed at investigating how professional development, physical resources and instructional support influenced teachers' responses to curriculum change. Despite more than 90% of Grade R teachers being under-qualified, they have had to implement two radically…

The national government in Malawi implemented an outcomes-based curriculum reform in 2007. To facilitate implementation, new textbooks were developed for the primary school curriculum. This study intended to explore teachers' use and perception of the new Expressive Arts textbooks. The participants consisted of 192 Expressive Arts teachers, grades…

English has gained a significant role in technological, business, economic or political areas and has been a part of educational policies in different countries. However, many learners of English have difficulties in learning and using the language effectively due to a number of reasons. Accordingly, a descriptive study was conducted in order to…

This qualitative, exploratory case study was designed to elicit faculty members' perceptions of the factors that facilitate technology integration into their instruction. The study was conducted at a midsized higher education institution in Qatar. Davis's (1986) technology acceptance model (TAM) is the conceptual framework that guided this study…

This First Look report presents data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for fiscal year (FY) 2013. Specifically, this report includes findings from the following types of school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals by state and the 100…

In the United States, public policy and expenditure intended to improve the prospects of children from low-income families have focused on better preparing children for school through Head Start and universal pre-K. This school readiness approach differs from the dominant model of public support for early care and learning in Northern Europe,…

English has gained a significant role in technological, business, economic or political areas and has been a part of educational policies in different countries. However, many learners of English have difficulties in learning and using the language effectively due to a number of reasons. Accordingly, a descriptive study was conducted in order to…

This year, as every year, was a period of change, innovation and great progress for the Smithsonian. Among many accomplishments, the Smithsonian marked an extraordinary milestone: the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. This breathtaking museum gives proper place, now and forever, to a vital part of America's…

Because digital devices and the Internet have become so essential, digital inequality can exacerbate educational and economic inequality as well. Therefore, it is critical to understand how low- and moderate-income families in the U.S. are engaging digital technologies and how they perceive the opportunities--and potential risks-- that these…

The data in this survey offer a unique perspective from low- and moderate-income families with school-age children in the United States. They reveal many of the nuances and complexities of digital life among lower income families today. Because lower-income parents are not usually the focus of studies on technology and learning, this report offers…

Minnesotans value education. Education is the largest financial investment in the state budget, and those investments place Minnesota students among the top performers in the nation. Still, substantial gaps in opportunity and performance persist. The three purposes of the needs assessment were to: (1) Describe infrastructure, capacity, and costs…

In January 2012, a system-wide task force came together for a nearly year-long process of revising the community and technical college system's performance-based funding (PBF) system, the Student Achievement Initiative. This review was consistent with national experts' recommendations for continuous evaluation of PBF systems to ensure overall…

The Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) employs six technical assistance (TA) practices that support an initial transformation process while simultaneously building system capacity to sustain and scale up equity-based inclusion in additional schools and districts over time. This paper explains these individual practices and…

This research focuses on the design of resources for both reappraising the knowledge of a native language for those who speak or have notions of Nahuatl, and getting familiar with terms for those who do not speak this language. An audio-lexicon Spanish-Nahuatl, ALEN, was developed taking advantage of new technologies, especially mobile devices and…