There has been a dearth of studies on teacher educators using action research to improve their own practice. This book is the first systematic study of a group of teachers examining and enhancing their own practice through the inquiry process of action research. This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to…

While research on program effectiveness offers ample evidence that afterschool programs can benefit young people in a variety of ways, this same body of research demonstrates that not all programs are equally effective (Granger, 2008). Some programs show positive results in many or all major outcome categories. Other programs are associated with…

There have been many competent evaluations of youth civic engagement projects. Our work differs from those in assumptions, purposes, goals, methods, activities, and findings for use in evaluation capacity building and program improvement, theoretical and conceptual clarity, and decision-making. Typically, evaluations have focused on predetermined…

Cost studies are program evaluations that judge program worth by relating program costs to program benefits. There are three sets of strategies: cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, although the last appears infrequently. The authors searched relevant databases to identify 103 cost studies in education and then reduced the…

Sex offender registries (SORs) are a societal response to serious and presumably dangerous criminal offenders. Existing research on registries has focused on demographic overviews of registrants, assessments of registrants' recidivism, accuracy and completeness of listed information, and collateral consequences for registrants. The present…

Campus children's centers across the City University of New York system have changed substantially since the first one opened at Brooklyn College in 1950. The CUNY system now boasts eighteen such centers, each tailored to fit the needs of its particular campus. Twenty years ago the National Coalition of Campus Child Care Centers (NCCCC) conducted…

This paper is an endeavor to develop a customised and computerized matrix of Quality Function Deployment paradigm (QFD) that has been applied in industry, with the aim of probing quality assurance and enhancement in Universities. Results of testing the new matrix proved that, it is efficient and time-saving while compared with a detailed field…

The study explored Western Cape primary and secondary school learners' experiences regarding the provision and utilization of support services for improving learning. A qualitative interpretive approach was adopted and data gathered through focus group interviews involving 90 learners. Results revealed that learners received and utilized various…

Independent schools--and their teachers and administrators--are, as the name suggests, fiercely independent. So when the Common Core State Standards hit the national stage in March 2010 and became the center of the national conversation on education, it was no surprise that the majority of independent schools dismissed the standards as another…

New York is poised to take an important step to improve student achievement by expanding learning time for students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools. Recent district- and state-level investments in expanded learning time--a promising strategy to close achievement and opportunity gaps--will give students more time to learn core…

The use of evaluation to examine and improve the quality of teaching and courses is now a component of most universities. However, despite the various methods and opportunities for evaluation, a lack of understanding of the processes, measures and value are some of the major impediments to effective evaluation. Evaluation requires an understanding…

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. Among the policy options being considered is the possibility of expanding public funding for preschool education as part of a broader agenda of education reform. To provide a foundation for…

Education authorities continue to experience difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers in rural and remote schools. In Western Australia (WA), a state noted for its vastness and number of schools located in rural and remote settings, a scheme developed by the Western Australian Department of Education and Training (DET) and the WA Chamber of…

Student attainment of educational outcomes is a core purpose of any institution of higher education and assessment provides a vehicle through which a program of study is able to ascertain how well it is achieving its stated learning outcomes and how program improvement might be achieved. Assessment of student learning begins with the clear…

This article discusses the implications of a framework to improve matching supply and demand in VET by a policy to improve quality by using anticipation and foresight approaches. Analysis of the Austrian anticipation system identified some basic aspects such as policy. The analysis focused on two issues: the observation and measurement of…