Whether or not a school is dysfunctional depends largely on how dysfunctionality in schools is defined and measured. Dysfunctionality, as any construct, is subject to definition and interpretation, and it is thus always marked by perspectivism. But regardless of the definition games occasionally played by academics, some form of reality takes…

In this article, the contexts, forms and consequences of teacher resistance against school reforms based on quality assurance policies are discussed. The problems are demonstrated by recurring on research devoted to the acceptance and/or resistance of (German) teachers against standards-based accountability policies. These results demonstrate that…

Contemporary education has moved towards the requirement of express articulation of assessment criteria and standards in an attempt to provide legitimacy in the measurement of student performance/achievement. Exemplars are provided examples of best or worst practice in the educational environment, which are designed to assist students to increase…

Nowadays, adult education and lifelong learning constitutes one of the most significant factors influencing economic growth and social development. Definitions such as "knowledge society" and "knowledge-based economy" exist in a great number of the Polish and European Union papers and documents and they are not only the…

The paper aims at providing a survey of the latest trends that exist nowadays in higher education systems, with direct reference to Romania's experience. It seeks to study the results obtain in terms of higher education and the impact that these results have in respect to Romania's development, in the general framework of global crisis. In order…

The Center on Innovations in Learning (CIL) is a national content center established to work with regional comprehensive centers and state education agencies (SEA) to build SEAs' capacity to stimulate, select, implement, and scale up innovation in learning. This report is a collection of evidence ratings and practice briefs. The categories for…

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development periodically surveys teaching and learning issues (the TALIS surveys) in the most developed countries. In their 2009 report, they commented that although teacher quality is the fundamental component in high performing systems, the education sector has been slow to develop systemic…

Over the past two decades, changes in legislation and mathematics standards, along with the increased placement of students with disabilities in general education settings, have resulted in higher expectations for what students with disabilities will be able to know and do related to mathematics. To adequately prepare for the demands of teaching…

This is the third of a series of reports discussing the Doing-Based Learning study. The first report (Round 1) introduced the study, defined "doing" in the context of this study, described why students "doing" in the classroom is important, why there is a need for this study, and also provided some selected findings from the…

Through extensive research, the Foundation has identified the most critical levers for success in the classroom -- high standards, high-quality feedback, and effective tools -- and worked with teachers to develop, test, and strengthen them. This report describes what we know about these factors, why they are important, and what we need to learn,…

Given prior research indicating that teachers can learn through their social network interactions with colleagues, it is important to understand more about the choices teachers make about whom to go to for advice. In this study, we investigated the degree to which middle school mathematics teachers change from whom they seek advice when…

We investigated the alignment between a teacher survey self-report measure and classroom observation measure of ambitious mathematics instructional practice among teachers in two urban school districts using two different standards-based mathematics curricula. Survey reports suggested mild differences in teachers' instructional practices between…

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) addresses the most significant education challenges faced by developing countries through supporting governments to improve equity and learning by strengthening their education systems. GPE is a global fund and a partnership focused entirely on education in developing countries. The partnership has a…

A longstanding tradition criticizes education schools for their presumed vapid curriculum, out-of-touch faculty, irrelevance, and suffocating ideology. What is different at present is the enthusiasm for alternatives to university-based teacher preparation, as well as the increasing interest in holding teacher preparation programs accountable. I…

Crystal Bonds is Principal at The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College, New York, NY. During her three years as a new principal at one of New York City's eight specialized high schools, she found herself constantly wrestling with two challenges: (1) Maintaining the school's high academic standards; and (2) protecting the…