The paper presents the conceptual basis of the theories: Behaviorism, Gestalt, Cognitive Psychology, and the Historic-Cultural Psychology. The essential categories of these theories were validated in a population of 2704 courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT (USA). The research seeks the relationship of theories with course…

As nations have sought to keep pace with rapid technological innovation, governments have renewed their focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with emphasis on developing both technical and non-technical skills in STEM students. This article examines which engineering-relevant skills may be developed by…

This article presents the validity bias review feedback and outcomes of new performance-based assessments to evaluate candidates seeking principal licensure. Until now, there has been little empirical work on performance assessment for principal licensure. One state recently developed a multi-task performance assessment for leaders and has…

The purpose of this study was to provide further validation a new measure of mental toughness in sport. The Inventory of Mental Toughness Factors in Sport (IMTF-S) was originally developed and validated using principal component analysis. For the present study, the psychometric properties of the IMTF-S were again evaluated, but by way of the Rasch…

Concerns about academic standards, whether created by states from scratch or adopted by states under the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) banner, have drawn widespread media attention and are at the top of many state policymakers' priority lists. Recently, a number of legislatures have required additional steps, such as waiting periods for…

Implementing new college and career readiness standards, along with readying teachers and students for new assessments, is a monumental undertaking by multiple national, state, and local education leaders and organizations. One critical policy area for states to consider is supports for educator preparation programs to ensure that new teachers…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Massachusetts' accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Massachusetts will implement to address those challenges. Massachusetts continued to make great progress implementing its 2012-2015 Early Learning Plan,…

Funding from the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant has allowed Massachusetts an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate early childhood education so that the states' children have access to high quality early education that will put them on an early path to school success and productive citizenship. The Massachusetts…

Describes a diversified approach to delivering home care to vulnerable older people. This pilot program, funded by the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs, attempted to reduce the demand for scarce homemaker services. Results suggest homecare diversification did not alter consumer satisfaction but increased manager time. (Author/JAC)

This report, the second of three prepared for the Massachusetts Department of Education, focuses on a formative evaluation which identifies descrepancies between innovative Title IV-C educational programs as planned and as the programs operated. Contents are organized in five main chapters each of which represents a different perspective but all…

Examines recent legal and programmatic changes in the education of the handicapped in Massachusetts. Highlights State standards in the areas of program delivery, identification and placement, and the use of individual educational plans. Raises issues of validation and possible inequity. (FMW)