Education Commons^™

Examining Inequities In Teacher Pension Benefits, James V. Shuls

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

From funding to teacher quality, inequities exist between school districts. This paper adds to the literature on inequities by examining the impact of pension plan formulas on pension benefits. Using data from the salary schedules of 464 Missouri school districts, this paper analyzes how various final average salary calculations would impact the benefits of teachers in different districts. All of the schools in this analysis belong to Missouri’s Public Employee Retirement System, which is a defined-benefit pension plan. A teacher’s benefit in this plan is based on her years of experience and her final average salary. The system uses a …

The Role Of The Cyber School Principal: A Mixed Methods Study, Jacob P. Jefferis

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The educational landscape of the United States is changing. Educational opportunities for students and families are increasing with increased technological capabilities. At every level in the educational process, information is being delivered to students in new and faster ways. Cyber education is one of those new modes of information delivery for students. Just like traditional schools, cyber schools require sound leadership to assist stakeholders in the educational process.

Knowing that the principal is a vital position in a successful educational system, the purpose of this study is to define the role of the cyber school principal. This research is focused …

A Reflection On My Challenged Assumptions, Darvesh Karim

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Erin Jablonski Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Erin Jablonski about her candidacy for Lewisburg Area School Board

Falling Below The Line: Minimum Subgroup Size And Special Education Enrollment, Sivan Tuchman

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought high-stakes accountability testing into every American public school with the goal of 100 percent proficiency for all students. Making annual yearly progress (AYP) toward this proficiency goal for the total student population as well as at-risk subgroups was required in order for schools to avoid possible sanctions, such as school restructuring. In implementing NCLB, states had flexibility to determine the minimum size of these subgroups as to provide statistical reliability and accountability for as many schools as possible. If a school did not meet the state’s minimum subgroup size, the …

The Intergenerational Transmission Of Noncognitive Skills And Their Effect On Education And Employment Outcomes, Ildefonso Mendez, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We use information on second-generation migrants to study the existence of a cultural component on the formation process of noncognitive skills and its effect on education and employment outcomes. Our measures of noncognitive skills include: personality traits that children are encouraged to learn and civic capital. Individuals whose cultural heritage places a lower value on child qualities positively associated to the conscientiousness personality factor report lower education, worse occupational status and lower wages on average. Individuals with a higher inherited civic capital declare a higher educational level, but we find no effect of civic capital on adult labor market outcomes.

Evaluation Of Gifted Education Using A-F School Grading Accountability Systems, Daniel R. Arndt

Honors Scholar Theses

A recent trend in accountability systems in the United States has been grading schools on an A-F scale. Some of the evaluation components included in these systems are standardized test proficiency rates and student growth measures. Traditionally, these systems have not emphasized accountability for gifted education programming or services. The accountability systems of the sixteen states in the U.S. under these A-F systems were analyzed for indicators that involve gifted education, which does not yet have a federal mandate or centralized decision-making. The frequency of evaluation components were compared at the high school and elementary school levels. The only gifted …

Modernizing Nevada's Education Structures: Opportunities For The 78th Session Of The Nevada Legislature, Magdalena Martinez, David F. Damore

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

Nevada's educational outcomes – both K-12 and higher education – are woeful. The consequences of this for the state's present and future are myriad and alarming. Poor educational outcomes mean that the state receives little return on investment from current educational spending. High dropout rates and sub-par academic achievement fail to instill the foundational skills necessary to put Nevada students on a path for future success. The dearth of Nevadans holding advanced degrees or certificates hinders economic development. In this brief, Modernizing Nevada's Education Structures: Opportunities for the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature, Drs. Martinez and Damore review research …

Role Of Civil Society Institutions In Promoting Diversity And Pluralism In Chitral District Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Mir Afzal Tajik

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Pakistan is a country with a fast growing population of nearly 190 million people divided into a large number of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, political and religious groups. The basic ideology behind the creation of Pakistan was Islam and it was considered to be the unique force which could bind together the religiously, ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse society.

An overwhelming majority of Pakistan’s population is Muslim with Sunni and Shia as the two major schools of thoughts but there are many other smaller sects within Muslim and non-Muslim population. Ethnically, Pakistani society is divided into major groups such as Punjabis, …

One-To-One Laptop Initiative: Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators, Damon Mcdonald

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to explore the perceptions of teachers and administrators about the one to one laptop initiative in Nebraska schools. Parallel studies from the five largest and five smallest school districts were identified by the Nebraska Department of Education School Finance Formula and Organization Services. High schools in each district were chosen that have had one-to-one laptop initiatives for four or more years. The study examined teachers and administrator perceptions regarding: (a) the one-to-one implementation, (b) student engagement, (c) student grades, (d) benefits of one-to-one technology, and (e) the continued success of one-to-one …

Teacher Education Pedagogies Related To Preparing Preservice Teachers As Leaders In Pakistan, Meher Rizvi

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

An analysis of traditional authoritarian preservice teacher development approaches in Pakistan demonstrates that they develop teachers as technicians who carbon copy the same authoritarian training model in their classrooms. The more contemporary approaches to teacher education with leadership development focus are mostly limited to in-service teacher education programs. The key dilemma with in-service education is that once the teachers have received higher qualification they tend to move out of the classrooms to assume management positions. What Pakistan requires is classroom teacher leaders who have the capacity to initiate and sustain school improvement. I propose the pedagogy of transformation, which is …

Managing Conflict By School Leadership : A Case Study Of A School From Gilgit-Biltistan, Darvesh Karim

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

Managing conflict at school has been an age-old challenge for educators. Conflicts are a natural part of life and therefore a natural part of school life. Learning to deal constructively with conflict is a life-skill need for educational leaders. This paper reports a case study of a private English medium school of Gilgit-Baltistan about exploration of the conflict management which advocates two approaches to manage conflicts at school level i.e. to follow strict rules and regulations and penalizing on violation and secondly, empowering the stakeholders to resolve their own problems by their-selves.These approaches have proved that competence in conflict resolution …

Introduction To The Case Studies 2015 : A Compendium Of Cases & Voices From The Field, Mola Dad Shafa, Khadija Khan

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Transforming Pedagogies: Emerging Contexts And Texts Of Teaching Learning, Dilshad Ashraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This brief offers recommendations for policy and practice around ensuring continuity of education in emergency situations. It also aims at engaging important stakeholders to assert the need for education in emergencies in countries like Pakistan, which frequently confront natural and human-led disasters. This brief also discusses the need for ‘education in emergencies’ in a ‘low HDI’ developing nation such as Pakistan, where being exposed to natural and human-led disasters seems to be a way of life. It provides an initial platform for those who are interested in understanding the scope of this theme, as well as designing and delivering educational …

Exploring The Contribution Of Teaching And Learning Processes : Constructing Students’ Gender Identity In An Early Years Classroom Of A Government Girls Primary School In Pakistan, Amina Bibi Baig

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The construction of gender identity is a complex process which begins at a very early formative age. In these formative years, children begin making sense of how men and women are positioned in society. Schools as important institutions play a significant role in this process particularly with reference to students’ understanding of the gender relationships around them. This article reports on a study which explored how gender identity construction takes place in a single sex (girls) classroom for early years. The study investigated the teacher-student interactions and student-student interactions in the real environment of the classroom. Qualitative research guided the …

Successful Alternative Education: Still Reproducing Inequalities? The Case Of The Community School Program In Egypt, Lucy El-Sherif, Sarfaroz Niyozov

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Community schools are an alternative form of education that center on partnerships between the community and/or the state, aid organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The Community School Program (CSP) in Egypt sparked a social movement in education in that country, with disparate actors all coalescing around the CSP as an alternative, empowering model of education. This study examined the relationship between the CSP and the dynamics that formed, shaped and co-opted it through in-depth interviews and observations. Our analysis examined the program’s processes and legacies on its former students. The study found that critical factors in the program’s success were its …

Chronicles Of Change : Strengthening Teacher Education In Pakistan, Nida Dossa

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

A step towards improving education in Pakistan; being able to sit in a classroom, feel safe, learn about how the world works: being able to read a book, make up stories and discover new ideas - these are the basic rights of every child. however, millions of children in Pakistan have never seen a classroom or attended a lesson. Here, educational challenges are innumerable and oftentimes seem insurmountable. STEP - Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan works to improve the quality and delivery of elementary education services appropriate to the poor in the country, particularly women and children in Pakistan.

Creating An Enabling Environment For Community Engagement In School-Based Governance: A Glimmer Of Hope", Dilshad Ashraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

In 1960, the global enrolment of primary school aged children was less than half. By the 1990s, in spite of rapid population growth in much of the world, the proportion of primary enrolled school children was more than 75 percent. The credit to this spread in educational access does not only go the western of often called the formal form of school operations but to indigenous educational provision and management models as well. It has been observed in many developing countries around the world that indigenous development of a targeted geographical area.

Global Perspectives On Recognising Non-Formal And Informal Learning:Why Recognition Matters, Unesco Institute Of Lifelong Learning, 58 Felbrunnenstr., 20148 Hamburg, Germany

IACE Hall of Fame Repository

This book deals with the relevance of recognition, validation and accreditation (RVA) of non-formal and informal learning in education and training, the workplace and society. It examines RVA’s strategic policy objectives and best practice features as well as the challenges faced and ways forward as reported by Member States. Special attention is paid to the analysis of institutional and political requirements that give genuine value to the recognition of non-formal and informal learning; the role played by RVA in education, working life, voluntary work and social inclusion; and the interests and motivations of all stakeholders, as well as the importance …

Effectiveness Of A Leadership Development Program That Incorporates Social And Emotional Intelligence For Aspiring School Leaders, Maria Trinidad Sanchez-Nunez, Janet Patti, Allison Holzer

Publications and Research

Focus on social and emotional intelligence competencies to improve effective leadership has become commonplace in the corporate arena and is now considered by many a prerequisite to successful job performance and outcomes (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009; Grant, Curtayne, & Burton, 2009; Spence & Grant, 2007; Kampa-Kokesch & Anderson, 2001; McGovern, Lindemann, Vergara, Murphy, Barker, & Warrenfeltz, 2001). Only recently has a similar trend become recognized and more accepted in the field of education (Patti, Senge, Madrazo, & Stern, 2015; Patti, Holzer, Brackett, & Stern, 2014). Few studies exist that study the role that educational leaders’ social and emotional competencies …