Education Policy Commons^™

El Rol Y El Simbolismo De Las Tomas Dentro Del Movimiento Estudiantil De 2011, Shara Guarnaccia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio de campo investiga las tomas del movimiento estudiantil de 2011 en Chile en profundidad. Es un momento importante en la historia chilena, tal como un ejemplo ilustrativo de la relación entre la educación y el cambio social. La investigación se realiza a través de observación participativa en siete tomas en Santiago, Chile que siguen en toma después de seis meses movilizados. También, utiliza entrevistas con estudiantes en las tomas para averiguar sus opiniones acerca del movimiento y su participación en la toma. Los resultados muestran que los alumnos secundarios movilizados son un grupo extraordinario que tiene una conciencia …

Raising The Kindergarten Entry Age, Misty Newcomb, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

In recent years, the standards in Arkansas for entry into kindergarten underwent changes that can be difficult to understand. Across the nation, states have increased the minimum age of entry into public schools, and Arkansas is no exception. Recently, a policymaker in our state asked the OEP to look into the research surrounding the question of raising the kindergarten entry age. This policy brief discusses the new requirements as well as the impact of these requirements on families and children in the short and long term by looking at recent changes in Arkansas law and studies concerning the effect of …

Growing Singapore's Funny Bone: Laughing In The Face Of Dangers, Pitfalls And Politicians, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

There was once a time in Singapore when the mocking of authority figures would be regarded as a no-go zone. Leaders and politicians were rarely subjects of comedy for such jokes would be considered too distasteful and disrespectful for mass consumption. Acceptable local comedy, as such, was limited to the physical and sometimes lowbrow variety.

Data Note: Setting Higher Employment Expectations For Youth With Intellectual Disabilities, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Integrated employment is a critical goal because it leads to greater economic self-sufficiency, social inclusion, and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, high schools do not always include integrated employment as a primary goal in the transition plans of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Moreover, in some cases sheltered employment is listed as the primary goal.

Supporting School Wellness Policices Through Game On! Implementation In 13 High-Need Connecticut Schools, Sarah M. Bourque

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

When Districts Are Taken Over By The State, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Two types of state takeovers have been in the news this summer. The news extensively covered the state takeover of Helena-West Helena School District and Pulaski County Special School District due to fiscal issues. At their August meeting, State Board of Education members discussed amending the Academic Distress Rules in a manner that would more easily enable state takeovers on the basis of academic distress. This policy brief discusses the various classifications that might lead to a state takeover and the subsequent implications of such classifications. According to Arkansas law, namely The Omnibus Quality of Education Act of 2003, schools …

Are Big Schools Bad Schools?: Measuring The Effects Of The Number And Size Of Schools On District Costs And Student Achievement, Jamie Steiner

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

As state governments shrink their budgets, more school districts are debating consolidation. In considering school consolidation, governments must evaluate costs per pupil and student achievement. Factors associated with costs per pupil include schools per district, district enrollment, income per individual, percent of pupils eligible for free lunch, pupil-teacher ratio, and average teacher salary. Factors associated with achievement include school enrollment, percent of pupils eligible for free lunch, suspension/expulsion rates, pupil-teacher ratio, and average teacher salary. This paper presents a regression model that analyzes the effects of school enrollment and schools per district on costs per pupil and standardized test passing …

2011 Arkansas Benchmark Test Results: District By District Scores, Nathan C. Jensen, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

One day after the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) released the results from the spring 2011 Arkansas Benchmark exams, the OEP received a call from a local constituent asking how districts in Northwest Arkansas compared to the rest of the state. Surprisingly, this type of question - often asked by educators, policymakers, researchers, parents, and concerned citizens - is not that easy to answer by simply glancing at the ADE-provided data. 1 Therefore, we put together a little policy brief to make the data more clearly understood.

Student Demand Projections: Supporting Analysis: Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, Daniel Edwards, Paul R. Weldon

Higher education research

There is considerable interest in the provision of, and access to, tertiary education within Victoria by the State Government. In 2010, a Tertiary Education Plan was released by the Government, detailing various targets and policy objectives in this sector. Despite a change of Government, the broad objectives in the plan continue to be pursued. As such, a number of more specific plans, based on geographic locations within Victoria, are being constructed. One such plan is being constructed for Gippsland. An Expert Panel has been formed to create the plan for Gippsland, chaired by Professor Kwong Lee Dow. This document provides …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

The Impact Of The Higher Education Regulatory Environment On For-Profit Higher Education Institutions, Rhonda L. Myers

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The growing presence and transient nature of for-profit higher education institutions in the US pose governance and regulatory challenges for bureaucratic structures, legislatures and non-profit postsecondary institutions. One such challenge is the perceived lack of governance and regulation of for-profit higher education institutions. This paper examines the impact of the higher education regulatory environment in the US on the presence of for-profit higher education institutions. Ordinal logistic regression is employed to determine whether state higher education governance structure, regulatory characteristics, and/or regional accreditation agency jurisdiction influence the prevalence of for-profit colleges and universities. State higher education governance structure and two …

Student Profile: Supporting Analysis: Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, Daniel Edwards, Catherine Underwood

Higher education research

There is considerable interest in the provision and access to tertiary education within the Victoria by the State Government. In 2010, a Tertiary Education Plan was released by the Government, detailing various targets and policy objectives in this sector. Despite a change of Government, the broad objectives in the plan continue to be pursued. As such, a number of more specific plans, based on geographic locations within Victoria are being constructed. One such plan is being constructed for Gippsland. An Expert Panel has been formed to create the plan for Gippsland, chaired by Professor Kwong Lee Dow. This document provides …

Industry, Employment, And Population Profile: Supporting Analysis: Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, Daniel Edwards, Paul R. Weldon, Tim Friedman

Higher education research

There is considerable interest in the provision and access to tertiary education within the Victoria by the State Government. In 2010, a Tertiary Education Plan was released by the Government, detailing various targets and policy objectives in this sector. Despite a change of Government, the broad objectives in the plan continue to be pursued. As such, a number of more specific plans, based on geographic locations within Victoria are being constructed. One such plan is being constructed for Gippsland. An Expert Panel has been formed to create the plan for Gippsland, chaired by Professor Kwong Lee Dow. This document provides …

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

Building A World-Class System In Ireland’S Financial Crisis, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

Irish higher education faces particular difficulties given the severity of its economic crisis. Like other countries, it is engaged in significant system restructuring coupled with managed policy direction. Where Ireland does differ is in its emphasis on a 'whole of country strategy' and commitment that teaching and research go hand-in-hand. This paper looks at the fortunes and mis-fortunes of Irish higher education.

Generic Wish-Lists For State-Centric Policies, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central America depicted in the article under review resembles a region visited by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—colonial Conquest, civil War, Famine and other natural disasters, and poverty, disease and Death. Added to this list of woes are the recent drug-fueled conflict, democratic instability, weak state capacity, and the socio-economic fallout of the economic recession in the United States. While the first half of the article records these problems, the author shifts gears in the second half and provides an array of responses to these challenges, with a forceful recommendation that states in the region focus their efforts …

Developing A Model Wellness Policy, Kimberly Ann Anderson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Childhood obesity has become a worldwide epidemic with health and economic implications. In response to the epidemic, Congress passed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. The act is an unfunded mandate requiring school districts and schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program to develop and implement a Local School Wellness Policy. The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity or NANA developed a model wellness policy as a guide for schools in the development of a Local Wellness Policy. Research has shown that NANA's Model Policy and school policies lack comprehensiveness of required content and are …

2011 Report Card On Arkansas Public Schools, Gary Ritter

Education Report Card

The OEP is pleased to bring you its 2011 Report Card for Arkansas’ public schools highlighting Arkansas’ education performance and characteristics through the 2010-2011 academic year. We hope this report is accessible and informative for educators and policymakers in the state. The charts and figures here are a reflection of the progress we have made as a state in the last decade. They also serve as a reminder that we still need improvement and reform to continue that progress.

Parks And Obesity In Rural And Urban Nebraska, Michaela S. Wolf

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In order to better understand the role community design plays in obesity rates, this project studies a potential relationship between distance of parks from homes and obesity rates in four Nebraska counties. Park use may contribute to important health benefits, such as reducing risk of obesity by increasing physical activity levels. There are limitations to park use, such as crime rates and facility upkeep that are important to understand so that they might be managed and communities can reap greater benefits from their parks, including better fitness. This study examines park distance from homes as a potential limiting factor to …

High School Students’ Knowledge Of Careers And Non-College Post-Secondary Options, Mariel Stein

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This Capstone Project discusses high school students’ knowledge of careers and non-college post-secondary options. The problem this project addresses is the fact that many high school students lack adequate knowledge of careers and non-college post-secondary options, and therefore they often make poor decisions regarding their post-secondary plans.

The methodology used was research, observations, and personal communication. I conducted inductive research because I felt that my information of high school vocational education was too narrow and I wanted to broaden my knowledge to see what the trend is across the country, what the causes of the aforementioned problem are, and what …