Career pathways models are an increasingly popular approach to engaging high school students and equipping them with the academic, technical, and "soft" skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and careers. When linked with local labor market needs, career pathways models can also create a talent pipeline for local…

This article presents an analysis of the mergers in the Danish Higher Education (HE)-sector with a particular emphasis on the 2007 mergers involving universities and Government Research Institutes (GRIs). Furthermore, it follows the post-merger processes up to 2014/2015 at two Danish universities and examines the consequences of the changes seen…

STEM learning is a process that unfolds through dynamic interactions over time and across settings. Formal education in schools is not the only--or necessarily the most significant--context for STEM learning. This paper outlines principles for building a diverse and connected ecosystem and the features of a STEM learning infrastructure to promote…

This report was commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) at the request of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The report was produced by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Evaluation at Lancaster University. The views expressed in the report are those of the authors. The report evaluates HEFCE-funded…

In this paper, we focus on participatory evaluation in the context of international development and specifically on the emerging empirical knowledge base. In a prior review and critique of research on participatory evaluation (Cousins and Chouinard 2012), we examined 121 studies, with only 21 (17%) situated in development contexts. However, the…

Evaluation theories can be tested in various ways. One approach, the experimental analogue study, is described and illustrated in this article. The approach is presented as a method worthy to use in the pursuit of what Alkin and others have called descriptive evaluation theory. Drawing on analogue studies conducted by the first author, we…

There is growing recognition that the traditional research paradigm fails to address the needs of school practitioners. As such, more collaborative and participatory approaches are being encouraged. Yet few articles examine the structures, processes, and dynamics of research-practice partnerships. To address this gap, this essay analyzes a…

In this essay, we explore the importance of state financial aid programs for both states and the students they serve. Effective state financial aid policy benefits from rigorous research that engages partners from a variety of roles, such as state agencies, legislative staff, and intermediary organizations. It also benefits from the engagement of…

Effective, coordinated state-level systems to support the most vulnerable children and youth have never been more important, as responsibilities increasingly devolve from the federal government to the states. This report is a snapshot of the national landscape of child and youth policy coordinating bodies. It is a source of inspiration to continue…

Teacher performance pay programs have proliferated across the country over the past 20 years. To aid in understanding their many variations, the seven major components of these programs are described. Three examples of teacher performance pay programs are provided for illustration: Denver ProComp, TAP, and Houston ASPIRE. Evidence is mixed on the…

The paper analyses employability as a floating signifier--a construct that accommodates different and often contending meanings. A preliminary analysis of scholarly literature identifies two opposed interpretations of employability--an individual responsibility versus a comprehensive context-aware construct. These are subsequently applied to the…

The Learning Outcomes in Communication (LOC) grant project isolated and refined what communication majors should "know" and be able to "do." The LOC project was an opportunity to begin a conversation in the discipline about the breadth of personal and professional competencies taught in programs. The resulting LOCs are…

The retail industry is a huge and growing sector of the U.S. economy, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation's jobs in 2013 and projected to increase by 7 percent between 2012 and 2022. The sheer size of the industry and the number of employment opportunities it affords low-skilled workers led MDRC to explore the potential of the retail…

Higher education quality assurance systems develop within a complex political environment where national level goals and priorities interact with European and global developments. Furthermore, quality assurance is influenced by broader processes in the public sector that set expectations with respect to accountability, legitimacy and regulatory…

The OECD's Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) project is an important contribution to discussions of how to define and measure the quality of global higher education. There is a genuine need for quality measures that can help to ensure students have equitable access to high-quality higher education wherever they study but do…