This paper uses the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment student-level achievement database for Mexico to estimate state education production functions, controlling for student characteristics, family background, home inputs, resources, and institutions. The authors take advantage of the state-level variation and representative sample to analyze the impact of institutional factors such as state accountability systems and the role of teachers' unions in student achievement. They argue that accountability, through increased use of state assessments, will improve learning outcomes. The authors also cast light on the role of teachers' unions, namely their strength through appointments to the school and relations with state governments. The analysis shows the importance of good relations between states and unions. Furthermore, it demonstrates that accountability systems are cost-effective measures for improving outcomes.
The field of education has experienced extraordinary technological, societal, and institutional change in recent years, making it one of the most fascinating yet complex fields of study in social science. Unequalled in its combination of authoritative scholarship and comprehensive coverage, International Encyclopedia of Education, Third Edition succeeds two highly successful previous editions (1985, 1994) in aiming to encapsulate research in this vibrant field for the twenty-first century reader. Under development for five years, this work encompasses over 1,000 articles across 24 individual areas of coverage, and is expected to become the dominant resource in the field. Education is a multidisciplinary and international field drawing on a wide range of social sciences and humanities disciplines, and this new edition comprehensively matches this diversity. The diverse background and multidisciplinary subject coverage of the Editorial Board ensure a balanced and objective academic framework, with 1,500 contributors representing over 100 countries, capturing a complete portrait of this evolving field. A totally new work, revamped with a wholly new editorial board, structure and brand-new list of meta-sections and articles Developed by an international panel of editors and authors drawn from senior academia Web-enhanced with supplementary multimedia audio and video files, hotlinked to relevant references and sources for further study Incorporates ca. 1,350 articles, with timely coverage of such topics as technology and learning, demography and social change, globalization, and adult learning, to name a few Offers two content delivery options - print and online - the latter of which provides anytime, anywhere access for multiple users and superior search functionality via ScienceDirect, as well as multimedia content, including audio and video files
From Compliance to Learning: A System for Harnessing the Power of Data in the State of Maryland builds on a 2015 World Bank report that assessed Education Management Information Systems (EMISs) in the state of Maryland. That report uncovered a successful system, and this one expands on lessons learned and ways to apply them in practice. The goal of this study is to distill Maryland’s good practices in education data systems and share them in a way that is useful to education stakeholders interested in harnessing the power of data to strengthen learning outcomes. This study also examines the history of education data collection and use in the United States with a focus on Maryland, including a review of federal and state legislation that has helped to shape Maryland’s education data policies and systems. In the digital age, information is power. When information is effectively harnessed and aligned with student learning, it carries the potential to radically transform the delivery of education, as well as the sector as a whole. Increasingly, education systems are moving away from using education data narrowly for compliance purposes; instead, they are embracing data as a tool to drive systemwide innovation, professionalization, and, most importantly, learning. Whether to prioritize and optimize data and information systems around student learning is no longer an option; it is imperative for education systems that aim to excel and achieve strong learning outcomes. Over the past several decades, fundamental shifts have occurred in the way that education data are collected, managed, and used. Today real-time learning data inform classroom instruction; predictive analytics identify at-risk youth before they drop out of school; and data from preschool to workforce are linked to help guide education reforms. These represent just a few of the innovative ways that schools and other stakeholders across the United States are harnessing data to improve education. The state’s success in establishing an enabling environment for education data systems and data utilization has built a strong foundation. Maryland effectively aligned a complex, statewide data system to deliver value. Prioritization of integration and alignment was key. The state then launched a longitudinal data system center that would drive an adaptive education system with insights that track students from pre-kindergarten to entry in the workforce. Data across the state are high quality and follow strict rules to preserve privacy and enhance security. Maryland’s utilization of data also offers valuable lessons. The statewide data system supports policy makers and decision makers in planning and management, as well as teachers, students, and families in instruction and learning. Consistent across Maryland’s structuring and use of data systems were a strong vision and a road map to execute that vision. Maryland’s journey offers many lessons, not only for countries with advanced data systems but also for those in less developed stages. While the technology and information exist to achieve data for learning, harnessing data within the right information system and ensuring utilization are challenging endeavors. An array of factors must align—leadership, policies, processes, and resources, to name a few—to effectively harness data to support and drive strong learning outcomes.
Data are a crucial ingredient in any successful education system, but building and sustaining a data system are challenging tasks. Many countries around the world have spent significant resources but still struggle to accomplish a functioning Education Management Information System (EMIS). On the other hand, countries that have created successful systems are harnessing the power of data to improve education outcomes. Increasingly, EMISs are moving away from using data narrowly for counting students and schools. Instead, they use data to drive system-wide innovations, accountability, professionalization, and, most important, quality and learning. This broader use of data also benefits classroom instruction and support at schools. An effective data system ensures that education cycles, from preschool to tertiary, are aligned and that the education system is monitored so it can achieve its ultimate goal—producing graduates able to successfully transition into the labor market and contribute to the overall national economy. Data for Learning: Building a Smart Education Data System and its forthcoming companion volume shed light on challenges in building a data system and provide actionable direction on how to navigate the complex issues associated with education data for better learning outcomes and beyond. Data for Learning details the key ingredients of successful data systems, including tangible examples, common pitfalls, and good practices. It is a resource for policy makers working to craft the vision and strategic road map of an EMIS, as well as a handbook to assist teams and decision makers in avoiding common mistakes. It is designed to provide the “how-to†? and to guide countries at various stages of EMIS deployment. A forthcoming companion volume will focus on digging deeper into the practical applications of education data systems by various user groups in different settings.
The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life." These forces and systems include economic policies, development agendas, cultural and social norms, social policies, and political systems. In an era of pronounced human migration, changing demographics, and growing financial gaps between rich and poor, a fundamental understanding of how the conditions and circumstances in which individuals and populations exist affect mental and physical health is imperative. Educating health professionals about the social determinants of health generates awareness among those professionals about the potential root causes of ill health and the importance of addressing them in and with communities, contributing to more effective strategies for improving health and health care for underserved individuals, communities, and populations. Recently, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to develop a high-level framework for such health professional education. A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health also puts forth a conceptual model for the framework's use with the goal of helping stakeholder groups envision ways in which organizations, education, and communities can come together to address health inequalities.
Corruption... How can policymakers and practitioners better comprehend the many forms and shapes that this socialpandemic takes? From the delivery of essential drugs, the reduction in teacher absenteeism, the containment of illegal logging, the construction of roads, the provision of water andelectricity, the international trade in oil and gas, the conduct of public budgeting and procurement, and the management of public revenues, corruption shows its many faces. 'The Many Faces of Corruption' attempts to bring greater clarity to the often murky manifestations of this virulent and debilitating social disease. It explores the use of prototype road maps to identify corruption vulnerabilities, suggests corresponding 'warning signals,' and proposes operationally useful remedial measures in each of several selected sectors and for a selected sampleof cross cutting public sector functions that are particularlyprone to corruption and that are critical to sector performance.Numerous technical experts have come together in this effort to develop an operationally useful approach to diagnosing and tackling corruption. 'The Many Faces of Corruption' is an invaluable reference for policymakers, practitioners, andresearchers engaged in the business of development.
Abstract: Studies have shown that learning outcomes are related to the amount of time students engage in learning tasks. However, visits to schools have revealed that students are often taught for only a fraction of the intended time, particularly in lower-income countries. Losses are due to informal school closures, teacher absenteeism, delays, early departures, and sub-optimal use of time in the classroom. A study was undertaken to develop an efficient methodology for measuring instructional time loss. Thus, instructional time use was measured in sampled schools in Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, and the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. The percentage of time that students were engaged in learning vis-à-vis government expectations was approximately 39 percent in Ghana, 63 percent in Pernambuco, 71 percent in Morocco, and 78 percent in Tunisia. Instructional time use is a mediator variable that is challenging to measure, so it often escapes scrutiny. Research suggests that merely financing the ingredients of instruction is not enough to produce learning outcomes; students must also get sufficient time to process the information. The quantity-quality tradeoff that often accompanies large-scale enrollments may be partly due to instructional time restrictions. Time wastage also distorts budgetary outlays and teacher salary rates. To achieve the Millennium Development Goals students must get more of the time that governments, donors, and parents pay for.
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
