Download or read book High School Biology Today and Tomorrow written by National Research Council and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1989-02-01 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biology is where many of science's most exciting and relevant advances are taking place. Yet, many students leave school without having learned basic biology principles, and few are excited enough to continue in the sciences. Why is biology education failing? How can reform be accomplished? This book presents information and expert views from curriculum developers, teachers, and others, offering suggestions about major issues in biology education: what should we teach in biology and how should it be taught? How can we measure results? How should teachers be educated and certified? What obstacles are blocking reform?
Download or read book Education Reform in New York City written by Jennifer A. O'Day and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in an accessible style, the papers in this volume document and analyse particular components of the Children First reforms, including governance, community engagement, finance, accountability, and instruction. Aimed at instituting evidence-based practices to produce higher and more equitable outcomes for all students, the policies that comprise the Children First initiative represent an attempt at organisational improvement and systemic learning.
Download or read book U S Education Reform and National Security written by Joel I. Klein and published by Council on Foreign Relations. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States' failure to educate its students leaves them unprepared to compete and threatens the country's ability to thrive in a global economy and maintain its leadership role. This report notes that while the United States invests more in K-12 public education than many other developed countries, its students are ill prepared to compete with their global peers. According to the results of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international assessment that measures the performance of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics, and science every three years, U.S. students rank fourteenth in reading, twenty-fifth in math, and seventeenth in science compared to students in other industrialized countries. The lack of preparedness poses threats on five national security fronts: economic growth and competitiveness, physical safety, intellectual property, U.S. global awareness, and U.S. unity and cohesion, says the report. Too many young people are not employable in an increasingly high-skilled and global economy, and too many are not qualified to join the military because they are physically unfit, have criminal records, or have an inadequate level of education. The report proposes three overarching policy recommendations: implement educational expectations and assessments in subjects vital to protecting national security; make structural changes to provide students with good choices; and, launch a "national security readiness audit" to hold schools and policymakers accountable for results and to raise public awareness.
Download or read book Excellence Through Equity written by Alan M. Blankstein and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2016-02-26 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excellence Through Equity is an inspiring look at how real-world educators are creating schools where all students are able to thrive. In these schools, educators understand that equity is not about treating all children the same. They are deeply committed to ensuring that each student receives what he or she individually needs to develop their full potential and succeed. To help educators with what can at times be a difficult and challenging journey, Blankstein and Noguera frame the book with five guiding principles of Courageous Leadership: Getting to your core Making organizational meaning Ensuring constancy and consistency of purpose Facing the facts and your fears Building sustainable relationships. They further emphasize that the practices are grounded in three important areas of research that are too often disregarded: (1) child development, (2) neuroscience, and (3) environmental influences on child development and learning. You'll hear from Carol Corbett Burris, Michael Fullan, Marcus J. Newsome, Paul Reville, Susan Szachowicz, and other bold practitioners and visionary thinkers who share compelling and actionable ideas, strategies, and experiences for closing the achievement gap in your classrooms and school. Ensuring that all students receive an education that cultivates their talents and potential is in all our common interest. As Andy Hargreaves writes in the coda: "The opportunity for all Americans is to articulate and believe in an inspiring vision of educational change that is about what the next generation of America and Americans should become, not about a target or ranking that the nation should attain." From the Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "Letting go of a system of winners and losers in favor of what is proposed in this book is a courageous leap forward that we all must take together. Let this bold, practical book be a guide; and may you travel into this new exciting vista, in which every child can succeed."
Download or read book Charter School City written by Douglas N. Harris and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2020-07-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.
Download or read book Education Reform and the Limits of Policy written by Michael Addonizio and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2012 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While there is no doubt that an abundance of newly enacted education policies abounds across the state and across the nation, more fundamental questions remain. What is the nature of these reforms? What do they hope to accomplish? How successful have they been? In this book, we attempt to provide some answers to these questions by examining a major set of education policy reforms undertaken in Michigan and across the country over the past 20 or more years. These innovations include finance reform, state assessment of student performance, a series of school accountability measures, charter schools, schools of choice, and, for Detroit, a bevy of oft-conflicting policies and reform efforts that have belabored but seldom helped its public schools. In the pages that follow, we examine the decidedly mixed outcomes and effects of this large array of reform policies and programs. Each chapter addresses a specific policy area, outlining reform activity across the nation with an emphasis on Michigan's efforts as well as on one or two states that led these changes.
Download or read book Education Equity and the States written by Sara E. Dahill-Brown and published by Educational Innovations. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education, Equity, and the States examines how variations in state governance determine how federal initiatives are implemented and makes recommendations for approaching reform from this perspective. The book defines the key ways in which state policy environments differ from one another, illustrates how those differences matter, and encourages reformers to account for these disparities to achieve more sustained and equitable improvement. Drawing on original research, Sara E. Dahill-Brown highlights three major factors that differ from state to state: the number of districts (fragmentation); the degree to which education governance is separated from other political issues (exceptionalism); and how much state legislation tends to impinge on local autonomy (local control). She examines the historical and political trends that have shaped differences among the states and how they affect the impact of education reforms. By identifying typical patterns in state governance, Dahill-Brown suggests ways to work with varying governance structures to lead to more successful and equitable outcomes. Dahill-Brown argues that reformers at every level must routinely assess the appropriateness of their consensus-building and collaboration strategies. With the increasing importance of states in education, her work makes a notable contribution to our understanding of the landscape of education reform.
Download or read book A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia s Public Schools written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-07-25 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The District of Columbia (DC) has struggled for decades to improve its public education system. In 2007 the DC government made a bold change in the way it governs public education with the goal of shaking up the system and bringing new energy to efforts to improve outcomes for students. The Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) shifted control of the city's public schools from an elected school board to the mayor, developed a new state department of education, created the position of chancellor, and made other significant management changes. A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools offers a framework for evaluating the effects of PERAA on DC's public schools. The book recommends an evaluation program that includes a systematic yearly public reporting of key data as well as in-depth studies of high-priority issues including: quality of teachers, principals, and other personnel; quality of classroom teaching and learning; capacity to serve vulnerable children and youth; promotion of family and community engagement; and quality and equity of operations, management, and facilities. As part of the evaluation program, the Mayor's Office should produce an annual report to the city on the status of the public schools, including an analysis of trends and all the underlying data. A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools suggests that D.C. engage local universities, philanthropic organizations, and other institutions to develop and sustain an infrastructure for ongoing research and evaluation of its public schools. Any effective evaluation program must be independent of school and city leaders and responsive to the needs of all stakeholders. Additionally, its research should meet the highest standards for technical quality.
Download or read book School Society and State written by Tracy L. Steffes and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the connections between public school reform in the early twentieth century and American political development from 1890 to 1940.
Download or read book Myanmar s Education Reforms written by Marie Lall and published by UCL Press. This book was released on 2020-11-02 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews the state of education in Myanmar over the past decade and a half as the country is undergoing profound albeit incomplete transformation. Set within the context of Myanmar’s peace process and the wider reforms since 2012, Marie Lall’s analysis of education policy and practice serves as a case study on how the reform programme has evolved. Drawing on over 15 years of field research carried out across Myanmar, the book offers a cohesive inquiry into government and non-government education sectors, the reform process, and how the transition has played out across schools, universities and wider society. It casts scrutiny on changes in basic education, the alternative monastic education, higher education and teacher education, and engages with issues of ethnic education and the debate on the role of language and the local curriculum as part of the peace process. In so doing, it gives voice to those most affected by the changing landscape of Myanmar’s education and wider reform process: the students and parents of all ethnic backgrounds, teachers, teacher trainees and university staff that are rarely heard.
Download or read book After the Education Wars written by Andrea Gabor and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering a fresh take on the endless battles over school reform, in Beyond the Education Wars journalist, bestselling author, and business professor Andrea Gabor argues that despite being championed by the likes of Bill Gates and Eli Broad, the market-based changes and carrot-and-stick incentives informing today's school reforms are out of sync with the nurturing culture that good schools foster - and at odds with the best practices of thriving twenty-first-century companies as well. A welcome exception to the doom-and-gloom canon of education reform, Beyond the Education Wars makes clear that what's needed is not more grand ideas, but practical ways to grow the great ones schools already have.
Download or read book Class and Schools written by Richard Rothstein and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary public policy assumes that the achievement gap between black and white students could be closed if only schools would do a better job. According to Richard Rothstein, "Closing the gaps between lower-class and middle-class children requires social and economic reform as well as school improvement. Unfortunately, the trend is to shift most of the burden to schools, as if they alone can eradicate poverty and inequality." In this book, Rothstein points the way toward social and economic reforms that would give all children a more equal chance to succeed in school. This book features: a summary of numerous studies linking school achievement to health care quality, nutrition, childrearing styles, housing stability, parental economic security, and more ; aA look at erroneous and misleading data that underlie commonplace claims that some schools "beat the demographic odds and therefore any school can close the achievement gap if only it adopted proper practices." ; and an analysis of how the over-emphasis of standardized tests in federal law obscures the true achievement gap and makes narrowing it more difficult.
Download or read book Despite the Odds written by Merilee S. Grindle and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2004-07-26 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Despite the Odds' examines five examples of education reform in South America, focusing on the political battle to secure reform in the face of powerfully entrenched opposition. It shows how strategic choices by reformers can reshape power equations & undermine institutional biases.
Download or read book Educating One and All written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-06-27 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the movement toward standards-based education, an important question stands out: How will this reform affect the 10% of school-aged children who have disabilities and thus qualify for special education? In Educating One and All, an expert committee addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with individualized education for "one"â€"the unique student. The book makes recommendations to states and communities that have adopted standards-based reform and that seek policies and practices to make reform consistent with the requirements of special education. The committee explores the ideas, implementation issues, and legislative initiatives behind the tradition of special education for people with disabilities. It investigates the policy and practice implications of the current reform movement toward high educational standards for all students. Educating One and All examines the curricula and expected outcomes of standards-based education and the educational experience of students with disabilitiesâ€"and identifies points of alignment between the two areas. The volume documents the diverse population of students with disabilities and their school experiences. Because approaches to assessment and accountability are key to standards-based reforms, the committee analyzes how assessment systems currently address students with disabilities, including testing accommodations. The book addresses legal and resource implications, as well as parental participation in children's education.
Download or read book Public Education Reform and Network Governance written by Philip Wing Keung Chan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is located in the field of education governance and sits amidst debates on public school reform in China. It examines how a top-down policy approach has been implemented from central government right down to the district level within the public education system in China. It shows the way networks support negotiation and bargaining at the district level which, in turn, influences the broader education policy of the central government. Using statistical data from education yearbooks, government documents analysis and interviews with main stakeholders in this policy arena, the book incorporates case studies from railway State-Owned Enterprise schools. Analysis of these indicates that the processes of formulating and implementing Chinese education policy can be characterised as a form of network governance, which coordinates actors, decision-making processes and stakeholders’ motivation to comply with collective decisions in Chinese education. Network governance acts as an effective and legitimate way of problem solving that assists policy implementation and education reform in China. By comparing two traditional modes of governance (governance through bureaucracy and the governance through markets), this book shows the network mode of governance in Chinese education is more powerful and significant, especially since the negotiated results among actors in the policy community are favourable.
Download or read book High Stakes Reform written by Kathryn A. McDermott and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2011-07-13 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Performance accountability has been the dominant trend in education policy reform since the 1970s. State and federal policies set standards for what students should learn; require students to take “high-stakes” tests to measure what they have learned; and then hold students, schools, and school districts accountable for their performance. The goal of these policies is to push public school districts to ensure that all students reach a common threshold of knowledge and skills. High-Stakes Reform analyzes the political processes and historical context that led to the enactment of state-level education accountability policies across the country. It also situates the education accountability movement in the broader context of public administration research, emphasizing the relationships among equity, accountability, and intergovernmental relations. The book then focuses on three in-depth case studies of policy development in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Kathryn McDermott zeroes in on the most controversial and politically charged forms of state performance accountability sanctions, including graduation tests, direct state intervention in or closing of schools, and state takeovers of school districts. Public debate casts performance accountability as either a cure for the problems of US public education or a destructive mistake. Kathryn McDermott expertly navigates both sides of the debate detailing why particular policies became popular, how the assumptions behind the policies influenced the forms they took, and what practitioners and scholars can learn from the successes and failures of education accountability policies.
Download or read book The Element written by Ken Robinson and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2009-02-05 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The groundbreaking international bestseller that will help you fulfil your true potential. The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. In this hugely influential book, world-renowned creativity expert Ken Robinson considers the child bored in class, the disillusioned employee and those of us who feel frustrated but can't quite explain why - and shows how we all need to reach our Element. Through the stories of people like Vidal Sassoon, Arianna Huffington and Matt Groening, who have recognized their unique talents and made a successful living doing what they love, Robinson explains how every one of us can find ourselves in our Element, and achieve everything we're capable of. With a wry sense of humour, Ken Robinson shows the urgent need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about ourselves. Above all, he inspires us to reconnect with our true self - it could just change everything. 'The Element offers life-altering insights about the discovery of your true best self' Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 'A book that lightens and lifts the minds and hearts of all who read it' Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
