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Eric.ed.gov – Commentary on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment 2012

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Every three years the focus of the international education community shifts to the release of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). No other international study of education commands as much attention as PISA. In an age of intense global competition among information-based economies where education is increasingly viewed as an important (if not the most important) national “competitive advantage”, in less than two decades, PISA has become the widely used if inadequate proxy for the performance of education systems around the world. The OECD’s interest in education in the service of human capital development and economic growth is of course not surprising given the organization’s focus. The expansion of PISA to include the assessment of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening Partnerships: How Communication and Collaboration Contribute to School Improvement

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: For most of the past decade, this author has studied union-management efforts to improve public education, and has witnessed extraordinary examples of teachers, union leaders, and administrators working together to improve teaching and learning. In this article, seven case studies on collaborative partnerships between teachers’ unions and administrators from districts located across the country and a mix of urban, rural, large and small schools are analyzed. He identifies themes and patterns common to all these districts: (1) Motivation for initiating collaboration; (2) Strategic priorities for improvement; (3) Supportive system infrastructures; and (4) Sustaining characteristics. Rubenstein then reports on the partnership attitude and climate survey data from the California Academic Performance Index (API), and social network analysis. The API includes standardized test results in math, English, social studies,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Promoting Gender Diversity in the Faculty: What Higher Education Unions Can Do

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In spring 2011, public higher education is under attack as never before. Public institutions have been targeted for drastic cuts in the past, but now the attacks are aimed at the very core of the educational enterprise and at the basic rights of college faculty and staff. This, in turn, has the potential of placing at risk the practices and policies that have arisen on campuses around the country to diversify the racial, ethnic and gender composition of the faculty corps. Diversity-related efforts do cost money, of course, and periodic budget crises can create situations in which institutions may sacrifice faculty diversity efforts on the altar of financial exigency. By undertaking a series of publications on diversity issues, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is saying that… Continue Reading