"The Low Achievement Trap: Comparing schools in Botswana and South Africa is an empirical study of student mathematics learning in Grade 6 classrooms that is unique in its focus on two school systems shaped by different political histories on either side of the Botswana-South Africa border. The study provides a detailed examination of the capacity of teachers – how they teach, how much they teach, and what they teach. Because of this wealth of detail, The Low Achievement Trap gives us much greater insight than previous research into why students seem to be making larger gains in the classrooms of South Eastern Botswana than in those of North West Province, South Africa. Rather than identifying a single major factor to explain this difference, the study finds that a composite of inter-related variables revolving around teachers’ mathematics knowledge and their capacity to teach mathematics are crucial to improving education in both regions. The message is a hopeful one: good teachers can make a difference in student learning"--Publisher's website.
Over the past decade, increasing competition has created immense opportunities for businesses globally. As such, it important to research new methods and systems for creating optimal business cultures. Cases on Quality Initiatives for Organizational Longevity is a scholarly publication that examines cases on practices in organizations and how they have facilitated transformation over the years. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as customer loyalty, benchmarking, and employee training, this book is geared toward business owners, managers, entrepreneurs, professionals, researchers, and students seeking current and relevant research on contemporary cases in the field of business quality management.
In a changing world that demands new skills, a vital concern of public education is the gap in academic performance between low- and high-achieving students. There is no excuse for the achievement gaps that persist among poor and minority students in schools today. All students can succeed at high levels, regardless of race, ethnicity and economic background. Several countries have successfully confronted inequities in achievement, demonstrating that any school can close achievement gaps regardless of the community they serve, and that all students can achieve at high levels when they are provided with the right opportunities. This book is about understanding what factors selected countries have applied to promote progress and what factors contribute to progress in the closing of achievement gaps. It is about creating opportunities for all students. Closing the Achievement Gap from an International Perspective: Transforming STEM for Effective Education is written in response to rising concern for the improvement of quality education – especially in mathematics and science – provided to all students. The contributors take a systematic view of the subject, beginning with a cross-national analysis of teacher qualifications and the achievement gap that spans 50 countries. The content of the book is organized in sections describing education around the globe: North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Individual chapters offer close-up analysis of efforts to close achievement gaps in the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, England, Turkey, China, South Africa and Australia among many others. The contributors provide information on the achievement gap in mathematics and science, review current research, and present strategies for fostering improvement and raising performance with a focus on school-related variables that adversely affect educational outcomes among poor and minority students. The authors of the various chapters looked at how students’ data correlated with classroom practices, teacher instruction and academic programming, as part of their efforts to measure student growth. Qualitative and quantitative data are provided to provide evidence not only of the problem, but also for the solution. The book concludes with a chapter on promoting equality and equity to shrink the achievement gap worldwide.
One of the performance requirements of great importance in relation to plumbing is hydraulic adequacy or hydraulic performance, which is related primarily to the general attribute of health and safety.The scope of the presentation is limited to certain aspects of the hydraulic performance of sanitary drain-waste-vent (DWV) systems. Considerable savings in material and labor costs have been reported to be possible through the use of a single-stack drainage system in place of a conventional system.The development of the experimental work reported herein came about as the result of a request to make technical recommendations concerning the suitability of such a system in a particular installation.Described is a test program developed looking toward the evaluation of the system against the essential criteria.
The delivery of quality education to students relies heavily on the actions of an institution’s administrative staff. Effective leadership strategies allow for the continued progress of modern educational initiatives. It is crucial to investigate how effective administrators lead their organizations in challenging and difficult times and promote the accomplishments of their organization. Research Anthology on Preparing School Administrators to Lead Quality Education Programs is a vital reference source that offers theoretical and pedagogical research concerning the management of educational systems on both the national and international scale. It also explores academic administration as well as administrative effectiveness in achieving organizational goals. Highlighting a range of topics such as strategic planning, human resources, and school culture, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, administrators, principals, superintendents, board members, researchers, academicians, policymakers, and students.
An all-in-one toolkit that empowers new teachers to meet the needs of diverse learners In this book, renowned experts give novice teachers the self-confidence and empathy they need to address what may be their greatest challenge: guiding disadvantaged students to success in the classroom. Yes, You Can! includes: Powerful vignettes about real teachers and students help promote teacher empathy and understanding Original research conducted by the authors on the confidence levels of new and experienced educators Targeted strategies for many student profiles: African American, Latino, Asian American, White, high-achiever, low-achiever, and more
The history of information and communications technologies (ICT) has been paved by both evolutive paths and challenging alternatives, so-called emerging devices and architectures. Their introduction poses the issues of state variable definition, information processing, and process integration in 2D, above IC, and in 3D. This book reviews the capabilities of integrated nanosystems to match low power and high performance either by hybrid and heterogeneous CMOS in 2D/3D or by emerging devices for alternative sensing, actuating, data storage, and processing. The choice of future ICTs will need to take into account not only their energy efficiency but also their sustainability in the global ecosystem.
Explores both the benefits and limitations of new UHPLC technology High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been widely used in analytical chemistry and biochemistry to separate, identify, and quantify compounds for decades. The science of liquid chromatography, however, was revolutionized a few years ago with the advent of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), which made it possible for researchers to analyze sample compounds with greater speed, resolution, and sensitivity. Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Its Applications enables readers to maximize the performance of UHPLC as well as develop UHPLC methods tailored to their particular research needs. Readers familiar with HPLC methods will learn how to transfer these methods to a UHPLC platform and vice versa. In addition, the book explores a variety of UHPLC applications designed to support research in such fields as pharmaceuticals, food safety, clinical medicine, and environmental science. The book begins with discussions of UHPLC method development and method transfer between HPLC and UHPLC platforms. It then examines practical aspects of UHPLC. Next, the book covers: Coupling UHPLC with mass spectrometry Potential of shell particles in fast liquid chromatography Determination of abused drugs in human biological matrices Analyses of isoflavones and flavonoids Therapeutic protein characterization Analysis of illicit drugs The final chapter of the book explores the use of UHPLC in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics studies for traditional Chinese medicine. With its frank discussions of UHPLC's benefits and limitations, Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Its Applications equips analytical scientists with the skills and knowledge needed to take full advantage of this new separation technology.
The research reported in Caught in the Act draws together the insights gained from a continuous professional development initiative for high school mathematics teachers, teaching in low socio-economic status and socially challenged environments in South Africa. The chapters show the possibilities for enhancing achievement in school mathematics if a strength-based approach is adopted to develop teaching with teachers and when their concerns are taken seriously. The book demonstrates that the ecological relevance – fitness for the context in which teachers are teaching – of the “goods” developed and distributed by initiatives should be a major consideration to offer hope for sustainable implementation to improve school mathematics education. The book is of interest to mathematics teachers, school leaders, mathematics curriculum advisors, policy makers and researchers.
One of the more perplexing problems of economic development is helping subsistence farmers break away from production simply for home consumption to become commercial farmers, producing more and more for sale in the marketplace. Although subsistence farms occupy 40 percent of the worlds cultivated land and support half of mankind, facts about them and programs to increase their output are scattered. Subsistence Agriculture and Economic Development provides a unique overview of these difficulties and their significance to economic development. It is the first book to subject subsistence agriculture to rigorous multi-disciplinary examination and to bring to light new theory and empirical evidence directed toward solving the problem.This volume contains original chapters by forty leading social scientists and agricultural specialists who summarize contemporary theory, fact, and policy on the problems of developing agriculture from subsistence to a commercial basis. Each contributor speaks from one or more of the relevant standpoints of economics, sociology, agronomy, political science, anthropology, and social psychology. There emerges a clear, meaningful picture of the subsistence farmer and the problems involved in changing his attitudes, methods of production, and economic and social environment.Broad in scope, documented with pertinent case studies, and far-reaching in its guidelines for future research and policy, this work should be read by all concerned with increasing food production and with economic development. This is an area of special concern in the uses of food products as the basis for new energy resources - an issue of increasing importance in the advancing use of ethanol as a fuel drawn from corn products.
