This article first presents the conceptual framework of the "improved" school finance. This approach clarifies that effective school resources include compound resources, complex resources, and abstract resources in addition to the simple resources usually included in production functions. The implications of this approach are then explored with…

The topic of how students become self-regulated as learners has attracted researchers for decades. Initial attempts to measure self-regulated learning (SRL) using questionnaires and interviews were successful in demonstrating significant predictions of students' academic outcomes. The present article describes the second wave of research, which…

In this article, the authors examine two distinct but closely related fields, research on teaching and research on teacher education. Despite its roots in research on teaching, research in teacher education has developed in isolation both from mainstream research on teaching and from research on higher education and professional education. A…

The middle grades are a crucial time for girls in making decisions about how or if they want to follow science trajectories. In this article, the authors report on how urban middle school girls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the…

In 2000, Cook, Murphy, and Hunt published a multilevel study of Chicago inner-city schools in order to evaluate James Comer's School Development Program (SDP). One main finding was that SDP reduced the rate of change and final posttest mean when delinquency was assessed annually between Grades 5 and 8 using a self-report measure of acting out. The…

Understanding the impact of "instructional regimes" on student learning is central to advancing educational policy. Research on instructional regimes has parallels with clinical trials in medicine yet poses unique challenges because of the social nature of instruction: A child's potential outcome under a given regime depends on peers and teachers,…

This article draws on data from a single element of a larger project which focused on the issue of "touching" between education and child care professionals and children in a number of settings. This case study looks at a school once internationally renowned as the exemplar of "free" schooling. The authors consider how the school works as a…

Over the past thirty years, numerous studies confirmed that new teachers do not have the requisite knowledge to understand the complex interrelationships among management, behavior, and academic tasks. An important missing piece in the literature is how the concerns of experienced teachers differ from those cited by beginning teachers. Based on…

The population of Nigeria is 140 million according to the last 2006 census. Only 75 Universities are available to cater to this population with one University for 1,866,000 people. The inability of the available Universities in Nigeria to cope with the high demand for University education has put much pressure on University admissions. In order to…

The aim of this study is to determine the student teachers' concerns about the teaching process including the teaching profession, teaching methods, planning, instruction, evaluation and classroom management. A total of 156 student teachers from five departments in the Gazi faculty of education participated in the study. A questionnaire including…

In 2003, a study of two Canadian adult literacy programs included 37 learners who revealed a variety of reasons for having dropped out of school as teenagers and younger adults. Chief among these were the influences of parents, siblings, and peers both in and out of school. This article considers these research findings, in light of the…

The process of examination marking is complex, requiring examiners to engage in a variety of cognitive operations. While consideration has been given to marking practices in a few specific contexts, those of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examiners have yet to receive serious attention. This study's aims, therefore, were: first,…

A common concern among policy makers in Europe is the low level of qualifications of some school leavers and the possible consequences of this for their life chances and for countries' economic prosperity. This article considers the impact of young people's low levels of educational attainment on their later life chances, especially on labour…

Social capital theory, recent developments in the theory of identity and a small econometric literature all suggest positive attainment effects from faith schooling. To test this hypothesis, the authors use a unique data set on Flemish secondary school students from the 1999 repeat of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study to…

Continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly becoming recognised as important for all professionals in order to maintain and develop their competence. Many professions, especially in the health field, require evidence of CPD in order for professionals to be granted continuing registration as practitioners. Given its accreditation as…