This article first presents findings from a report from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and the National Staff Development Council titled "Professional Development in the United States: Trends and Challenges." The report raised the issue of the "intensity" of professional development--that is, the number…

Despite a long history of post-independence aid to education, Kenya's relationships with overseas donors have, until recently, been markedly fractious. Donors' concerns about transparency and corruption, in the context of a political regime which became increasingly authoritarian, led to sharp reductions in aid to Kenyan education during the…

The Irish direct provision system for asylum seekers is acknowledged as providing a very challenging and exclusionary living environment for adults and children. To date, there has been little research focused specifically on the ways in which the direct provision environment impacts on the parenting role. This qualitative study explores the…

March 11, 2011, began the most difficult natural disaster ever experienced in Japan. Earthquakes, a massive tsunami, and multiple breaches at nuclear power plants have changed the lives of many Japanese people including children, teachers, and parents. Throughout this difficult time, Japanese school psychologists and teachers have been supported…

The study's aim was to develop a multidimensional model for the assessment of child maltreatment prevention readiness in low- and middle-income countries. The model was developed based on a conceptual review of relevant existing models and approaches, an international expert consultation, and focus groups in six countries. The final model…

This article presents an interview between the author and two teachers, Ruth Birtles and Michelle Proctor, who are involved in "Smart Kids", an AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust (AZSTT) funded project for 2009-10 coordinated by the Centre for Science Education, Sheffield Hallam University. In this interview, Proctor and Birtles discuss…

This article attempts to critique the current process of extension through an investigation that seeks to demonstrate and analyze the perceptions held by farmers and rural agents about some aspects of tobacco cultivation in the municipality of Arvorezinha (Little Tree) in southern Brazil. The research has been taking place during the last four…

This is an impact evaluation of the Technical Support to Failing Schools Program, a Chilean compensatory program that provided 4-year in-school technical assistance to low-performing schools to improve students' academic achievement. The author implemented a quasi-experimental design by using difference-in-differences estimation combined with…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of online learning in distance educational delivery at Yellow Fields University (pseudonymous) in Sri Lanka. The implementation of online distance education at the University included the use of blended learning. The policy initiative to introduce online for distance education in Sri Lanka…

The "Results for Learning Report" reveals that there has been significant progress in education in developing-country partners of the Global Partnership for Education (Global Partnership or GPE) since 2000: (1) More children are going to school and completing primary education in these countries; (2) Children have a better chance of…

On January 3, 1909, Emily Hamilton and Louis Overstreet wrote to President Theodore Roosevelt begging his "leave to work under your Committee for the relief of the sufferers of Italy." The two were engaged and were willing to rush their marriage plans if the president needed them. Their letter was prompted by the powerful earthquake that…

The purpose of this study is to examine the pre-service teachers' attitudes toward computers use. The impact of five variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, facilitating conditions, and technological complexity) on attitude towards computer was assessed. Data were collected from 230 preservice teachers through…

The article examines the problems faced by beginning teachers in Cyprus and the extent to which headteachers are considered to provide adequate guidance and support to them. Data were collected through interviews with 25 school teachers in Cyprus, who had recently entered teaching (within 1-5 years) in public primary schools. According to the…

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have spread worldwide as a new form of social assistance for the poor. Previous evaluations of CCT programs focus mainly on rural settings, and little is known about their effects in urban areas. This paper studies the short-term (1- and 2-year) effects of the Mexican "Oportunidades" CCT program…

In West Africa, advisory services for family farms have been promoted to better address producers' needs. The paper aims to show that these services can be understood as a system whose functioning is strongly determined by the financing mechanisms, the governance mechanisms put in place, the quality of human resources delivering advice, and the…