The current preoccupation in the United States with test-based accountability is founded on a set of faulty assumptions--about education practices elsewhere in the world, about international test score comparisons, and about the extent to which test scores are valid indicators of the quality of education or the state of the economy. For example,…

As a result of increasing mobility of students and knowledge, cross border education, especially in higher education, is receiving general attention in the Asia and Pacific region. The toolkit serves as a reference tool to assist local policymakers in the formulation of a regulatory framework for cross-border education that is growing rapidly in…

This paper summarizes educational reforms of the Cultural Revolution in China and their results, and describes the recent policy moves away from these reforms. It speculates about the impact of these two sets of policies and suggests how these effects led particular groups to support or choose certain policies. (Author/KC)

"Globalized E-Learning Cultural Challenges" explores the issues educators, administrators, and instructional designers face when transferring knowledge and skills to other cultures through e-learning. Most e-learning courses have been designed in Western cultures, but the largest and fastest-growing consumer groups live in Eastern…

Describes the growth of vocational and technical education in China. Expresses concern that newer vocational and technical schools may not meet desired standards. Suggests that low quality may be due to inadequate budgets, facilities, faculty, and sources of students. Calls for increased attention to poorer quality schools and reduced educational…

This article expresses focuses on the challenge of producing a higher education teaching cohort that can keep pace with the demands of economic, scientific, and technological development. Particular attention is given to the shortage of elite high-quality teachers and how to attract and maintain them, including superior programs run in a…

China's education system has grown increasingly complex, creating the need for an annual critical review of the education system by China's top scholars. The "Blue Book of Education," as it is known in Chinese, has gained a reputation for offering the most penetrating perspective in China on educational reform and development. In this…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

More than 20 years ago, A Nation At Risk warned that "a rising tide of mediocrity" threatened the U.S. education system and that the United States would be unable to effectively compete with other economies because of a scarcity of graduates in science and technology. In 2001, No Child Left Behind reiterated that message, pushing through…

Studies have berated American students for poor academic performance on standardized tests compared to their Asian and European counterparts. But education philosophy, pedagogical methodology, and learning objectives in the U.S. are simply different from those of these other countries. Rather than emphasizing rote memorization, American schools…

Presents the views of scholar, Qian Jiaju, who argues China's central government must change its priorities and give more financial support to basic education if mandatory education is to succeed. Observes China's educational system needs revamping. Contends attention to educational concerns will ultimately benefit China's production and…

The PTTC (Peking Teachers' Training College) was set up in 1954 to train secondary school teachers. The authors investigate the recruiting and training of future teachers both before and after the GPCR (Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution) to determine whether the GPCR brought about any significant change in Chinese education. (KC)

Evidence is accumulating around the world that greatly increased access to higher education over the past two decades has come at a tremendous price--a severe decline in academic quality. Brief reports on the quality-quantity question and other major issues facing higher education in the world are presented. (MLW)

An important function of public policies is to distribute public resources rationally. But for a long time, our public policies have been so "city-oriented" that public resources are allocated unfairly and majority of high-quality education resources are concentrated in cities. This has already led to a serious unbalanced development in…

Effective education is achieved through the efforts of a team of high-quality teachers. Teacher quality is determined by the quality of their teacher educators. Teachers' colleges have the responsibility to construct a high-quality teaching team to train prospective teachers who are creative, adaptable, and able to help shape the future.…