Performance agreements in higher education are seen as a promising steering tool in many countries, including Norway. The aims of the performance agreements in Norwegian higher education are to enhance quality and diversity through clearer institutional profiles and better division of labour between institutions. An expert group that carried out…

Purpose: This article investigates the establishment of commitment in pedagogical practices through what are known as 'behavioural contracts'. Such contracts are seen as a participatory element of democratic pedagogy and are linked to the aim of strengthening students' self-determination. The objective is to demonstrate that as a pedagogical…

This research examines the implementation of Ireland's higher education system performance framework (HESPF), through its first 3-year cycle 2014-2017, in a sample of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it examines the extent to which the HESPF aids or inhibits HEI planning towards the related national policy objectives. Integral…

Respecting individual differences among students and meeting their unique needs may be one of the greatest challenges faced by teachers. When having a heterogeneous group of students, teachers need to consider a variety of instructional methods. The literature details a large number of teaching strategies supported by research findings, and the…

Dusan M. Savicevic has been a towering figure working, researching and publishing in andragogy for more than a half-century. Dusan's prism of world-wide experience has been connected very vitally with helping establish it as a science, self-directed learning, work, and has inspired others to develop their own andragogical perspective, including,…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often exhibit disruptive behaviors in classroom, including out-of-seat behaviors, which have been found to negatively affect their overall academic achievement and social interactions and relationships with parents, typically developing peers and teachers, and increase the likelihood of being…

Restorative justice is an alternative disciplinary approach to the traditional, punitive approach to discipline. This case study focused on exploring the implementation of restorative justice discipline practices within a middle school. Participants included students, teachers, and an administrator. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) different…

This month's Safety Spotlight focuses on holding students accountable for their safety actions in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) labs and makerspaces. Most teachers should understand the importance of a proper safety program. In this article, the author describes his work permit system for safety. The work permit system…

The purpose of the study was for the researcher to explore adult education techniques and tools that could be used to explore eating habits within research study groups. The participants enrolled in the research study groups brought their own way of thinking on eating habit discussions based on their unique experience in life. The researcher…

This paper reports findings of a recent conceptual literature review of teacher performance management systems as implemented by the Teacher Service Commission in Kenya. It was undertaken by reviewing several TSC circulars, documents used in teacher management, HR literature and the TSC Act. It reflects the perspectives of the authors and TSC…

The goal of our study was to compare the working conditions, salary size, and professional outcomes of teachers at schools that switched to the competitive performance-based (so-called 'effective') contract in comparison with teachers at schools that did not switch to this employment framework. The study focused on teachers at 83 vocational…

Children with autism are more likely to be socially excluded than their neurotypical peers. Since the majority of children with autism attend mainstream schools, interventions are needed to improve the attitudes and behaviours of their peers. Many studies highlight the influence of contact on positive attitudes and reduced discrimination. Group…

This is the third paper on the topic of outcomes-based funding written by Dennis Jones for Complete College America. The first paper, "Performance Funding: From Idea to Action" (ED535356), proposed a set of design and implementation principles to help states develop and implement their own outcomes-based funding models. The second paper,…

What liability is associated with assuming the role of the "sponsor" in a clinical trial? This article discusses the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations governing sponsorship, and how courts have interpreted those regulations in cases with a claim of injury. There is a natural concern with the responsibility implied by…

Performance funding has become an increasingly prevalent state policy to incentivize student retention and degree completion at public colleges. Using a Cox proportional hazards model on state-level data from years 2000 to 2013, this study analyzes the latest wave of policies that embed base appropriations into the state budget to fund student…