An ambitious effort to refocus K-12 science education across the nation entered a new phase last week with the release of the first public draft of voluntary, "next generation" science standards. Organizers say the standards aim not simply to provide a foundation of essential knowledge, but also to ensure that students apply that learning through…

A new generation of education advocacy groups has emerged to play a formidable political role in states and communities across the country. Those groups are shaping policy through aggressive lobbying and campaign activity--an evolution in advocacy that is primed to continue in the 2012 elections and beyond. Though the record of their electoral…

As a new breed of national education advocacy organizations gains clout, they're entering into often-uneasy relationships with teachers' unions--and running into a debate about whether they can play a grassroots "ground game" comparable to that of labor. For many unions, the policy changes the newer groups typically support--staffing based on…

Campaigns for state school board are typically quiet affairs, eliciting only modest interest from the public and even less from political donors. But the race last fall for the District 2 seat on Louisiana's board of elementary and secondary education was a remarkable exception. The contest attracted the attention of education activists and…

Educators often look for ways to bring quiet children out of their shells, but emerging research suggests schools can improve academic outcomes for introverted students by reducing the pressure to be outgoing and giving all students a little more time to reflect. A 2011 study found teachers from across K-12 rated hypothetical quiet children as…

One of the chief architects of the Common Core State Standards was named the next president of the College Board and said one of his top priorities is to reshape the organization's influential college-admissions test, the SAT, to better reflect the new standards. David Coleman will assume his new duties on Oct. 15, replacing Gaston Caperton, who…

One of the most fundamental questions about charter schools--who should have the power to approve them--has re-emerged in force in a number of states. Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey have been the scene of debates this year over whether state or local authorities should have the final say on allowing charter schools within a particular district's…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Basic Student Entrepreneurial Programme (BSEP) among local university graduates who have undergone the training programme in entrepreneurship development. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 410 respondents who had participated in BSEP were interviewed with a structural…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider the statistical evidence on the effects that ill health has on labour market participation and opportunities for younger and older workers in the East Midlands (UK). Design/methodology/approach: A statistical analysis of Labour Force Survey data was undertaken to demonstrate that health issues…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the key themes in the area of the impact of demographic change on young workers and older workers in relation to education, skills and employment, as discussed in the papers included in this section. The authors have also drawn upon data from their project "From Young Workers to Older Workers" as…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the choices learners have in steering their way through the educational system in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on data from two studies, one conducted in a state secondary school and the other in a Further Education College, both based in the north-west of England. Both used…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues around a multiple generational workforce and more specifically, the challenges and benefits for education providers and employers. Design/methodology/approach: Reviewing research papers, analysing academic texts, interrogating market intelligence and contextualising case studies, the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent of "over-qualification" (i.e. holding a qualification which is above that required to gain entry to the job being done) and "skills under-utilisation" (i.e. being in a job which does not make use of the knowledge and skills possessed) in the United Kingdom and to examine whether these…

This research focuses on a group of religious students who integrated into a nonreligious school in order to understand the characteristics of their intercultural identity. I suggest a new perspective in which intercultural identity is analyzed by itself rather than analyzing acculturation strategies taken by the individual. Using an in-depth…

A qualitative study conducted in western Japan examined the perceptions of Korean students in Japanese junior high school to identify factors contributing to a consistently low high school advancement rate compared to mainstream Japanese students. Fourteen people were interviewed about their Korean students' experiences in Japan. The findings of…