International and Comparative Education Commons^™

Impact Of Student Leader Role On A Study Abroad Trip, Anna Jones

Honors Projects

This research looks specifically at a college-level course associated with the EDTL 4900: Ireland! Crossing Borders and Building Bridges study abroad program. The ideals of expeditionary learning guided the development of the course assignments and curriculum, the choice of field experiences, and the teaching styles that were utilized while abroad. The paper is an analysis based upon the experiences the student leader had while abroad taking into the duel role the student leader had while experiencing the expeditions and culture of a new country and leading a group of students through their first venture abroad. Due to the need for …

Class 3 Proficiency In Afghanistan 2015-16 : Outcomes Of A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical And Reading Literacy, Danielle Anzai, Pam Munro-Smith, Sally Robertson, Maurice Walker, Alexander Daraganov

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

This report presents the results of an assessment of mathematical and reading literacy of Class 3 students in 15 provinces in Afghanistan. The data were collected between late 2015 and mid-2016. The report also describes the growth in mathematical and reading literacy between Class 3 and Class 6. The Class 6 data were collected from the 2013 assessment in 13 provinces in Afghanistan.

Spirituality And Sense Of Coherence In Muslim Students : A Mixed Methods Study, Mohamed A. Ali, Franco Zengaro, Sally A. Zengaro

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this mixed methods research was to measure sense of coherence of convenient sample of college Muslim students in Tennessee and to investigate from their perspective, meaning attached to faith as a source of strength, motivation and courage. This research was framed in salutogenic model (sense of coherence). Two questions guided the research,1) to what degree do Muslim students indicate, through their education, age groups, place of birth, gender and marital status a sense of coherence? 2) Why and how is their faith important to them-when dealing with stressors- as sources of strength, meaning and courage to cope …

Making Interactions Between Domestic And International Students Meaningful, Yukari Takimoto Amos, Nicole Rehorst

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

The purpose of this practitioner narrative is to identify ways in which meaningful interaction can take place between English learners (ELs) and domestic students in a university setting. In order to learn English effectively, ELs require situations in which they can participate equally in an interaction with a domestic student capable of modifying their English so that it is comprehensible. We created a series of joint classes between teacher candidates and Japanese exchange students in an ESL class. In the class, the first author instructs the teacher candidates on strategies for teaching content to ELs. Second, the teacher candidates teach …

Pisa Australia In Focus Number 2: Educational Expectations, Kylie Hillman

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

PISA has established a profile of what 15-year-old students can do and what they are like as learners. Gaining an understanding about other aspects, including what they want to do in the future is another important goal of PISA. This report seeks to explore how students’ expectations for further education are measured in PISA 2015. It addresses educational expectations across countries and across Australian jurisdictions, as well as educational expectations for different demographic groups in Australia. It also considers changes in educational expectations for Australian students over time, and for different demographic groups in Australia.

Latest From Acer International Offices

International Developments

This article reports on the current programs and activities of ACER's international offices in Indonesia, India, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Improving Girls’ Education In Malawi, Sally Robertson

International Developments

A holistic and collaborative evidence-based approach is needed to address educational gender disparities in Malawi, as Sally Robertson explains.

What Impact? Professional Learning In Timor Leste, Adeola Capel

International Developments

ACER’s work in Timor Leste is seeking to identify the impact of professional learning and mentoring on student learning outcomes over time, as Adeola Capel explains.

Driving Early Childhood Education Quality In Indonesia, Dan Cloney

International Developments

ACER has developed a ‘road map’ for quality pre-primary education and support for parental education programs throughout Indonesia. Dan Cloney reports.

From Access To Quality: Improving Learning Outcomes In South Asia, Amit Kaushik

International Developments

ACER India is working with partners across South Asia to ensure inclusive and quality education for all. Amit Kaushik reports on progress.

Improving Literacy And Numeracy In The Pacific, Elizabeth Cassity

International Developments

ACER is collaborating with member nations of the Pacific Community to address the common education challenges they face. Elizabeth Cassity reports.

Evaluating The Impact Of Teaching Assistants, Mirkka Jokelainen

International Developments

ACER assessments support research into evidence-based teaching and learning in England, as Mirkka Jokelainen explains.

Super Synthesis: Evidence Of What Works In Education For Development, Jeaniene Spink

International Developments

A synthesis of research evidence identifies the impact of interventions that offer high value in meeting education’s greatest challenges in development contexts, as Jeaniene Spink explains.

Implementing Large-Scale Education Assessments, Geoff N. Masters

International Developments

ACER is helping education researchers, policymakers and practitioners understand the issues related to the inception, design, implementation and reporting of large-scale education assessments, as Geoff Masters explains.

International Developments (No.8) 2018

International Developments

In this issue of International Developments we investigate a synthesis of research evidence that identifies the impact of interventions that offer high value in meeting education’s greatest challenges in development contexts. We explore how ACER’s school assessments are playing a part in supporting improvements in teaching and learning, and we examine the benefits of a program to collect evidence of education quality for governments, schools, communities and students in the Pacific region. This issue of International Developments also looks at ACER’s work with partners across South Asia to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, the development of a ‘road …

Smuggling In Creativity: My Process Of Creating Spaces In The Hierarchical School System Of The Republic Of Korea To Stash The Seeds Of Creative Thinking, Ray Symonds

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

I began the CCT program several years into a teaching career in South Korea. My goal at the time was to better understand creativity so as to better support my own students’ creative development. This synthesis discusses some of the challenges I faced in bring CCT into my own classroom and some of the ways I tried to implement what I learned through the program in my own classes. My role as a Guest English Teacher is explored in how it enabled me to use my classroom as a testing ground for CCT concepts. The application of these CCT concepts …

Critical Reflections In International Contexts: Polyethnographic Accounts Of An International Doctoral Research Seminar, Lisa Fedoruk, Jon Woodend, Janet Groen, Avis Beek, Sylvie Roy, Xueqin Wu, Xiang Li

The Qualitative Report

As the world becomes more globally interconnected, international partnerships, including those within higher education, have increased. In an exemplar of these international partnerships from an academic standpoint, selected doctoral students and faculty from Australian, Chinese, and Canadian universities participated in an International Doctoral Research Seminar held in China in December 2015. The objective of this seminar was to have academic debate regarding educational reform. A critical by-product of this seminar was the meaning made by the participants from this experience. This paper reviews the critical polyethnographic reflections of the Canadian participants for three salient and influential topics including the role …

Pisa Australia In Focus Number 1: Sense Of Belonging At School, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

PISA has established a profile of what 15-year-old students can do and what they are like as learners. Gaining an understanding about the non-cognitive aspects, including students’ motivation, engagement and beliefs, for achieving success in school and in the future is another important goal of PISA. This report seeks to explore an aspect of students’ more general attitudes towards school, specifically their sense of belonging at school.

Exploring Parental Involvement In Public Secondary Schools In Imo State, Nigeria: The Role Of Socioeconomic Status, Longinus Nwakire Ugwuegbulem

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Recent academic achievement gaps of public secondary students in Imo State, in WAEC, NECO, and JAMB examinations posed a threat to students’ aspiration to college education. The poor academic achievement level was denting previously achieved high academic record in Imo State. This trend was disturbing to parents and educators. However, this trend could be remedied if appropriate educational policy was enacted and implemented in secondary schools. One educational policy initiative that seemed to have worked in some countries is parents’ participation in their children’s education, otherwise, called “parental involvement.” Studies have shown that parental involvement in the education of their …

The Stress Management Handbook: The High-Stakes Test Takers Of International Students, Shiying Sun

Master's Projects and Capstones

This article provides a brief overview of the current situation that high-stakes test takers are facing. A common problem the high-stakes test taker is experiencing is that they have to deal with tremendous pressure by themselves which could be caused by the test, the preparation process, the teachers and the parents. In results, their test performance could be affected, the decline of their mental health condition associated with the increasing stress level, and those issues could eventually escalate into suicide and physical violence. To shed light on those issues, the author developed a stress management handbook by choosing one of …

Crosslinguistic Influence Of Chinese Efl Learners On English Acquisition, Weijia Tang

Master's Theses

This thesis introduces both positive and negative crosslinguistic influence of Chinese EFL learners on English Acquisition. Most Chinese EFL learners have difficulties in English acquisition due to the negative crosslinguistic influence caused by the differences between mother tongue and the target language. In order to help Chinese EFL learners to tackle this problem, comparative analysis is done between English and Mandarin Chinese in terms of phonetics and phonology, morphology, part syntax, and pragmatics.

The focus of this thesis is to investigate both the positive and negative crosslinguistic influence phenomena in the process of English acquisition conducted by Chinese EFL learners …

Teaching English In China’S Shadow Education Settings Where Communicative Competence Is Left Out, Bei Ye

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT

English shadow education, whose curriculum in the shadow mimics the curriculum inside the school (Zhang, 2014) has become increasingly prevalent in China. The fact that English shadow education simply serves for dealing with examinations without developing learner autonomy and communicative competence is a problem that needs to be solved. However, the huge demand for shadow education is derived from deep-rooted traditional values and the current education system. Also, many contextual realities such as high student-teacher ratio, overloaded curriculum, and teachers’ limited English language proficiency (Nunan, 2003; Yu, 2001; Zhang & Watkins, 2007) stop teachers applying the Communicative Approach and …

Incentives And Teacher Effort: Evidence From Lagos, Nigeria, Simileoluwa Adebajo

Master's Theses

According to recent research (Hattie, 2003), teachers contribute to around 30% of the overall variation in student achievement and success – more than any other influencing factor. This study seeks to understand how different types of incentives (monetary, near monetary and non-monetary incentives) influence the “effort” of public school teachers as perceived by the students in Lagos, Nigeria using a novel measurement tool – the teaching effectiveness survey – to measure the teachers’ outcomes. Using a randomized field experiment where students evaluate the changes in their teachers’ effort with a standard teaching effectiveness survey and differences in differences estimation, we …

University Internationalization As A Method Of Human Capital Development, Kari Costello

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

University internationalization involves a complex set of initiatives that provide students and faculty with opportunities to gain global perspectives and intercultural skills which can enhance human capital. Typically, these activities are evaluated in terms of participation numbers or financial costs. But little attention is paid to understanding the intangible benefits of internationalization activities. This study aims to understand the benefits of international educational experiences and determine whether they can be considered investments from a human capital perspective. This mixed methods study involved qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey of over 400 students and faculty at a university. The results demonstrated …

Understanding Hidden Diversity: The Third Culture Student Experience At Usd, Bianca Chau

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The intention of this research was to expand the common notion of who international students are. This research uncovered the unique experiences of third culture students at the University of San Diego with the hopes of raising awareness of the existence of this group of students. The term third culture [student] was defined as an individual “who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parent’s culture” (Pollock, Van Reken, & Pollock, 2017, p.23). Third culture students have experienced a highly mobile life; a kind of lifestyle that is unique and unfamiliar to many USD …

Going Full Circle: Connecting Re-Entry And Preparation For The Harlaxton Study Abroad Program, Kaylynn Carver

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper is a program proposal for a Harlaxton Ambassador program, to be situated in the Harlaxton College office at the University of Evansville (UE). As the program is in a place of growth and development, this ambassador program is all about going full circle with the study abroad experience at Harlaxton College. In order to address problems of non-UE Harlaxton student retention and preparation and of Harlaxton alumni connections and re-entry, this program connects those students to allow them to support and help each other and create better experiences. Based in theories of student development and learning, informed …

Study Abroad And Track Ii Diplomacy, Makena Rafferty-Lewis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Track II diplomacy, or person-to-person diplomacy is one of the most basic, but also most important types of international relations. Track II diplomacy requires not just effective legislature to be in place, but also requires individuals to have cross-cultural competency. One question that arises is how is this type of connectivity between cultures is formed. One of the most direct links can be found in students. As the political environment changes, young minds and rising experts will be the people who need to handle future international problems, that are possibly different from what we have seen in the past. How …

Pirls 2016 Australian Year 4 Data [Spss], Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Marina Schmid, Sima Rodrigues, Jessica Fullarton

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This dataset (SPSS zipped) is a data source for the report PIRLS 2016: Reporting Australia's results. Refer to the readme.txt file for details.

Pirls 2016 Reporting Australia's Results Data Tables [Excel File], Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Marina Schmid, Sima Rodrigues, Jessica Fullarton

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This Excel file contains data pertaining to the report PIRLS 2016: Reporting Australia's results (2017). This report provides the Australian results from PIRLS 2016.

Pirls 2016 Australian Year 4 Data [Sas], Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Marina Schmid, Sima Rodrigues, Jessica Fullarton

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This dataset (SAS zipped) is a data source for the report PIRLS 2016: Reporting Australia's results. Refer to the readme.txt file for details.