Learning to Improve
Learning to Improve

Author: Anthony S. Bryk

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2015-03-01

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 161250793X

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As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

Pluralism and American Public Education
Pluralism and American Public Education

Author: Ashley Rogers Berner

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-11

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 113750224X

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This book argues that the structure of public education is a key factor in the failure of America's public education system to fulfill the intellectual, civic, and moral aims for which it was created. The book challenges the philosophical basis for the traditional common school model and defends the educational pluralism that most liberal democracies enjoy. Berner provides a unique theoretical pathway that is neither libertarian nor state-focused and a pragmatic pathway that avoids the winner-takes-all approach of many contemporary debates about education. For the first time in nearly one hundred fifty years, changing the underlying structure of America’s public education system is both plausible and possible, and this book attempts to set out why and how.

The Education Mayor
The Education Mayor

Author: Kenneth K. Wong

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1589011791

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In 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act rocked America's schools with new initiatives for results-based accountability. But years before NCLB was signed, a new movement was already under way by mayors to take control of city schools from school boards and integrate the management of public education with the overall governing of the city. The Education Mayor is a critical look at mayoral control of urban school districts, beginning with Boston's schools in 1992 and examining more than 100 school districts in 40 states. The authors seek to answer four central questions: * What does school governance look like under mayoral leadership? * How does mayoral control affect school and student performance? * What are the key factors for success or failure of integrated governance? * How does mayoral control effect practical changes in schools and classrooms? The results of their examination indicate that, although mayoral control of schools may not be appropriate for every district, it can successfully emphasize accountability across the education system, providing more leverage for each school district to strengthen its educational infrastructure and improve student performance. Based on extensive quantitative data as well as case studies, this analytical study provides a balanced look at America's education reform. As the first multidistrict empirical examination and most comprehensive overall evaluation of mayoral school reform, The Education Mayor is a must-read for academics, policymakers, educational administrators, and civic and political leaders concerned about public education.

Improving Education in the US
Improving Education in the US

Author: Rafael Yanushevsky

Publisher: Algora Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0875868347

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US education is in crisis. This history and analysis of the education system is an essential primer for parents, teachers, and school administrators, as well as parent teacher organizations, education majors, education administration majors, the media, politicians, and everyone who wants to see American schools do a better job. The author considers the genesis of public schools in the United States, various aspects of public education systems from elementary school through university, trends in education and reform, and issues that still need to be addressed. The book contains information about public and private organizations, think tanks, institutions, and governmental bodies involved in public education reform. The book shows the deficiency of the existing education system and compares it to more efficient systems. The author shows that most of the existing approaches to improve education are based on the same foolish idea that as long as government spending on education is great enough, the improvement will follow. The bond between education and politics hinders progress in education. The problems facing schools as well as the recommended solutions are considered. The author cites multiple research attempts to improve the functioning of the existing education system that have still failed to bring any tangible results. He uses his specialized knowledge to explain what should be done for educational progress to become reality.

The Transformation of Title IX
The Transformation of Title IX

Author: R. Shep Melnick

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2018-03-06

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0815732406

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One civil rights-era law has reshaped American society—and contributed to the country's ongoing culture wars Few laws have had such far-reaching impact as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Intended to give girls and women greater access to sports programs and other courses of study in schools and colleges, the law has since been used by judges and agencies to expand a wide range of antidiscrimination policies—most recently the Obama administration’s 2016 mandates on sexual harassment and transgender rights. In this comprehensive review of how Title IX has been implemented, Boston College political science professor R. Shep Melnick analyzes how interpretations of "equal educational opportunity" have changed over the years. In terms accessible to non-lawyers, Melnick examines how Title IX has become a central part of legal and political campaigns to correct gender stereotypes, not only in academic settings but in society at large. Title IX thus has become a major factor in America's culture wars—and almost certainly will remain so for years to come.

Improving Quality in American Higher Education
Improving Quality in American Higher Education

Author: Richard Arum

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-05-31

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1119268508

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An ambitious, comprehensive reimagining of 21st century higher education Improving Quality in American Higher Education outlines the fundamental concepts and competencies society demands from today's college graduates, and provides a vision of the future for students, faculty, and administrators. Based on a national, multidisciplinary effort to define and measure learning outcomes—the Measuring College Learning project—this book identifies 'essential concepts and competencies' for six disciplines. These essential concepts and competencies represent efforts towards articulating a consensus among faculty in biology, business, communication, economics, history, and sociology—disciplines that account for nearly 40 percent of undergraduate majors in the United States. Contributions from thought leaders in higher education, including Ira Katznelson, George Kuh, and Carol Geary Schneider, offer expert perspectives and persuasive arguments for the need for greater clarity, intentionality, and quality in U.S. higher education. College faculty are our best resource for improving the quality of undergraduate education. This book offers a path forward based on faculty perspectives nationwide: Clarify program structure and aims Articulate high-quality learning goals Rigorously measure student progress Prioritize higher order competencies and disciplinarily grounded conceptual understandings A culmination of over two years of efforts by faculty and association leaders from six disciplines, this book distills the national conversation into a delineated set of fundamental ideas and practices, and advocates for the development and use of rigorous assessment tools that are valued by faculty, students, and society. Improving Quality in American Higher Education brings faculty voices to the fore of the conversation and offers an insightful look at the state of higher education, and a realistic strategy for better serving our students.

National Education Technology Plan
National Education Technology Plan

Author: Arthur P. Hershaft

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781613246368

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Education is the key to America's economic growth and prosperity and to our ability to compete in the global economy. It is the path to higher earning power for Americans and is necessary for our democracy to work. It fosters the cross-border, cross-cultural collaboration required to solve the most challenging problems of our time. The National Education Technology Plan 2010 calls for revolutionary transformation. Specifically, we must embrace innovation and technology which is at the core of virtually every aspect of our daily lives and work. This book explores the National Education Technology Plan which presents a model of learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure and productivity.

FinnishED Leadership
FinnishED Leadership

Author: Pasi Sahlberg

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2017-07-13

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13: 1506325440

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Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Exploring and analyzing how Finland consistently places at or near the top of international student assessments, especially PISA, has become popular in recent years. Pasi Sahlberg now explores this phenomenon from the perspective of the educational leader. With the culture of general and educational leadership in Finland as a backdrop, this resource is packed with strategies and tools that travel well. Rooted in four main ideas, this book covers topics such as: Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance

Educating for Human Greatness
Educating for Human Greatness

Author: Lynn Stoddard

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 9781936051830

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Educating for Human Greatness is the long overdue paradigm shift for the way we educate children in our public schools. This field-tested model, created by a group of master educators, broadens and deepens education so it all makes sense, yet it simplifies the process we call school. Educating for Human Greatness restores joy and enthusiasm to teaching and learning, enabling to produce superior outcomes with students. EfHG empowers everyone -students, parents, administration, legislators, and it will especially restore honor and respect to teachers- empowering them to develop as great contributors to the profession. In general, Educating for Human Greatness helps everyone fall in love with learning. The Educating for Human Greatness conception can be used by parents at home to help bring out the best in their children every day. It is also a valuable model for teachers in business, government, or church. The principles and priorities are now readily available to add zest to your life, too. -Anthony Dallmann-Jones, PhD, Editor Educating for Human Greatness educators should not be surprised when students find it difficult to leave the building in the afternoon and race to school the next morning! -Frank Kros, President of The Upside Down Organization

Improving a Country’s Education
Improving a Country’s Education

Author: Nuno Crato

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-23

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 3030590313

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This open access book compares and contrasts the results of international student assessments in ten countries. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) released the results of its 2018 assessment in December 2019. This book reflects the debates that typically follow the release of these results and focuses on the causes of differences between countries. Such causes include continuous decline in one country, improvement combined with increasing internal inequalities in another country, or rapid improvement in spite of an outdated curriculum in yet another. In addition, the book discusses a number of general questions: Is knowledge outdated? Are computers taking over and replacing teachers? Are schools killing creativity? Are we adequately preparing the next generation? Are schools failing to educate our kids? The book starts out with a summary of PISA’s evolution and PISA results, and an explanation of the major factors that play a role in changes in countries’ results. The next ten chapters are devoted to ten specific countries, offering a summary of data and an explanation of the major drives for changes in education results for each one. Each chapter includes a short description of the country’s educational system as well as the impact of PISA and other ILSA studies on the country’s educational policies. The chapters also include a timeline of policy measures and main hallmarks of the country’s educational evolution, discussing the impact of these measures on its PISA results. A final reference chapter explains what PISA is, what it measures and how. While highlighting the 2018 results, the book also takes into consideration previous results, as well as long-term initiatives. This book gathers the contribution of well-known and respected experts in the field. Specialists such as Eric Hanushek, for the US, Tim Oates, for England, Montse Gomendio, for Spain, Gunda Tire, for Estonia, and all other contributors draw on their vast experience and statistical analysis expertise to draw a set of rich country lessons and recommendations that are invaluable for all of those who care about improving a country’s education system.