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School-external expectations regarding implementation of reforms and innovations often do not lead to successful school improvement processes in schools. To better understand these processes in schools, this paper aims to investigate school improvement processes on a deep level by focusing on cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational regulation strategies used by school teams and by exploring what school-external and school-internal factors are related to this strategy use. Principals, teachers, and specialist teachers (N = 1328) at 59 primary schools responded to an online questionnaire indicating their school's use of regulation strategies on school improvement. Results from descriptive, variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that school teams use all forms of school-based regulation strategies but that schools differ significantly in their strategy use. These differences were mainly explained more by school-internal deeper structures (e.g., task cohesion) and less by school-internal surface structures (e.g., school size) and not at all by school-external factors (e.g., governance systems). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of learning ecologies emerged in a context of educational change. While the "learning ecologies" construct has offered a broad semantic space for characterizing innovative ways of learning, it is also true that its potential to promote innovative educational interventions may have been hindered by this same broadness. Based on this assumption, in this paper the authors carried out a systematic review of the literature on learning ecologies with the aim of analysing: (1) the varying definitions given to the concept, including the ontological perspective underlying the phenomena studied; (2) the methodological approaches adopted in studying the phenomenon; and (3) the applications of the research on this topic. Throughout this analysis, the authors attempt to describe the criticalities of the existing research, as well as the potential areas of development that align well with the theoretical/ontological issues, methodological approaches and educational applications. The authors selected and analysed 85 articles, which they then classified in a set of 20 categories defined by them on a theoretical basis. Moreover, in order to triangulate the manual coding, a bibliometric map was created showing the co‐citation activity of the 85 papers. The emerging picture showed significant variability in the ontological definitions and methodological approaches. In spite of this richness, few educational applications currently exist, particularly with regard to technology‐enhanced learning developments. Most research is observational, devoted to describing hybrid (digital and on‐site) learning activities that bridge the gap between the school and social spaces. Furthermore, many of the studies relate to the field of secondary education, with fewer studies exploring adult learning and higher education. The studies dealing with professional development relate mostly to teachers' continuing education. The authors conclude that the concept of learning ecologies could be used to address further experimental and design‐based research leading to research applications if there is proper alignment between the ontological, methodological and applicative dimensions. The main potential of this strategy lies in the possibility of supporting learners by raising their awareness of their own learning ecologies, thereby empowering them and encouraging them to engage in agentic practices. This empowerment could help maintain and build new and better learning opportunities, which every learning ecology can incorporate, amidst the chaotic abundance that characterizes the digital society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the World Bank's Education Sector Policy Paper, which highlights issues and trends in the development of education. It examines the relationship between education and development. The significance of education can be shown in the following ways: education as a basic need; education as an instrument to support programs designed to meet other basic needs and education as an activity that sustains overall development. Meanwhile, a set of problems that affects educational development include equality in educational opportunities; internal efficiency of educational systems; management of educational systems and source of funds for education.

Copyright of Facta Universitatis: Series Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology & History is the property of University of Nis, Serbia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As we all know, the random forest algorithm has the advantages of high classification intensity and wide application range. Nevertheless, it still has a lot of room for improvement. This paper introduces the basic idea and working principle of classification algorithm and random forest algorithm, so this paper proposes some improved algorithms on the basis of all current research studies. College students, as the most innovative and adaptable group, have gradually become a development direction of China's education reform to cultivate their innovative employment ability and develop innovative employment education. By constructing a model of the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship education and college students' employability, this paper examines the impact of innovation and entrepreneurship education mode on college students' employment and entrepreneurship. At the same time, the model is tested by improving the random forest algorithm. The process of talent quality evaluation is to select talents with the best comprehensive quality based on various indicators of students' performance in school, which can be regarded as a classification problem of unbalanced data sets. The improved random forest algorithm proposed in this paper has little difference in precision and recall rate when it is used for talent training evaluation but has a certain degree of improvement in accuracy rate, which meets the design requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of the information age, computer technology is also widely used in various fields. In the field of education, physical education teaching strategy has always been the focus of many educators. In order to optimize physical education teaching strategies and improve teaching quality, this paper proposes a new intelligent computing technology. This technology has excellent innovation in the engineering design field of physical education teaching strategy reform and innovation and combines Intelligent Computing with physical education teaching strategy to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of physical education teaching strategy reform and innovation. On the basis of intelligent computing algorithm, this paper analyzes the visualization strategy scheme brought by intelligent computing classroom to physical education teaching. This paper analyzes the feasibility of students' feedback after the reform of the physical education teaching strategy. Finally, the big data discrete dynamic modeling technology is used to dynamically model and analyze the students' learning behavior and effect after the reform and innovation of physical education teaching strategy. Combined with the analysis data and students' behavior feedback, this paper analyzes the feasibility of the physical education teaching strategy after the reform and innovation. The results show that the visualization scheme of physical education teaching strategy based on intelligent computing can help students understand theoretical knowledge and realize the transformation from static classroom to dynamic classroom. It enhances students' practical activities and perceptual knowledge and is of great help to students' physical education learning effect. In the discrete dynamic modeling analysis, the feasibility of physical education teaching strategy reform is very important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the main body of colleges and universities, the effect of college teaching psychology management is an important standard to test the quality of college teaching psychology management and its effects on the development of college teaching psychology management. However, the psychology management system used by traditional colleges and universities is challenging to meet the needs of the innovation of the new talent training model of higher vocational education. The construction of the new micro-level teaching organization inevitably requires the psychology management practice, structure, process, and technology at the medium and macro-levels to adapt to it. However, there are many mismatches in Higher Vocational Colleges' internal and external administrative systems in China, such as low administrative efficiency, generalization of administrative power, low degree of specialization in administrative psychology management, and unreasonable administrative and organizational structure. This paper innovates the psychology management of colleges and universities reforms in combination with the characteristics of the digital age. Based on the collaborative innovation theory of colleges and universities, this paper puts forward the collaborative psychology management innovation network model of colleges and universities. The model combines the psychology management theory with the practical research of collaborative innovation in colleges and universities, expands the application and research field of innovation network theory, constructs the evaluation index system of students' satisfaction in teaching psychology management in colleges and universities, and discusses it through reading and consulting materials and communication with teachers and students. A questionnaire of college teaching psychology management based on student satisfaction is formed. The experiment shows that teaching satisfaction is improved by nearly 31% compared with before innovation and reform. It can initially get the effect of innovation and reform, meet students' needs, and promote the improvement of teaching psychology management quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education Research (1680-6360) is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With some of the propositions from the literature on 'policy enactments' as a backdrop, this paper addresses the circulation of a research policy innovation and its effects on the knowledge territory of an unlikely profession. Specifically, I show how the Research Excellence Frameworks' impact policy in the UK was an object first managed by policymakers but later released as an object of concern for professional academics, including philosophers. I follow 'impact' through texts, events and testimonies about its doings with a special interest in its creation, its polemical encounter with philosophers, its management and issues about its definition and the assessment criteria used and experienced by philosophers. I conclude with some remarks on the effects that the circulation and writing of impact case studies had on producing a social valorisation and attachment to impact, even amongst philosophers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our current information societies, opportunities for innovative language teaching methodologies are plenty, yet we continue to teach languages as we did centuries ago. In this paper, I conduct a critical review of the history of language learning, the institutionalization of language education, and the information revolution in order to unveil the structural and material factors that limit methodological innovation and hinder the development of learner autonomy, critical thinking, and life-long learning. Based on this review I further argue that scarcity and the system's rational functionality are the root problem as well as the foundation of traditional language teaching. The conclusions of this paper offer a critical assessment of the possibilities as well as necessary conditions for the development of truly innovative methodologies and education reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This response to the two papers (by Rodriguez and Carlone et al.) on science education reform acknowledges first the coherence of the arguments presented around four reform narratives; that of the process of becoming science-enthusiastic, the nature of beliefs of science reform teachers, the barriers to reform, and the institutional expressions of these barriers. In the commentary I first discuss the reform 'problem' in terms of two interacting issues-the purposes of school science and the value placed on it in an elementary school curriculum. The insights produced in these papers are then used to reflect on a range of experiences and current policy debates in Australia. Finally, in this commentary, I point out: (a) the relationship of the papers to the reform issue of opposition to Standards Based Science (SBS) from proponents' traditional conceptions of science education, discussing how this more specific reform question relates to the two papers; and (b) the singular nature of the I-meanings characterised in the Carlone et al. paper, describing (using Australian examples) how the notions of tempered radicals and I-meanings might also be used to characterise complexities in the processes of school science reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inner-city school systems serving marginalized populations around the world are hindered by undemocratic and anti-public, political forces given global neoliberalism. This paper highlights a three-year case study of community organizers' efforts to resist such forces and increase school access, equity, and local control in Detroit, MI (USA). Authors emphasize how the leadership of African American mother organizers was particularly instrumental to positive change. Literature on educational activism, leadership, and community organizing help frame the organizational and political value of the organizers' efforts. In-depth interview, observation, and artifact data further reveal how the activist-mother-organizers, motivated by their spiritual beliefs and liberatory aims, guided effective educational reform campaigns to oppose school closure and cultivated critical hope among their fellow organizers through a process the authors name as "spiriting urban educational justice." Spiriting urban educational justice involves enacting border crossing and boundary spanning activities to navigate placed-based politics and seek educational equity with spiritual clarity and drive. Authors discuss how school and district leaders can learn from this process and collaborate with activist-organizers who serve as spiriters of justice to improve urban schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past several decades large philanthropies have adopted aggressive approaches to education reform that scholars have labeled venture philanthropy. These efforts focused on broad changes to schooling and education policy, borrowing techniques from the venture capital world. But many foundations have recently become convinced that market forces and macro-level policymaking alone cannot drive educational improvement, particularly in areas related to classroom teaching and learning. In response, foundations have begun to design their own instructional innovations and identify providers to implement them. This paper interprets these recent efforts as early evidence of a distinct adaptation in the evolving role of philanthropies, which we dub design philanthropy. Although this approach represents an attempt by foundations to simultaneously increase democratic engagement, directly influence the instructional core, and spur educational innovation, it poses new risks for coherence, scalability, and sustainability in education policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of a pedagogical strategy called innovation pedagogy and examine how it has been and will be developed. The paper is an overview of the latest development of the innovation pedagogy approach. It provides a discussion of the changes in innovation pedagogy and, more generally, in higher education, including the changes in educational aims and involving a sustainable future as the priority in all education. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology is based on action research, participatory observation and on the experiences of the authors of the development process, which has taken place in one Finnish university of applied sciences during the past decade. Findings: The implementation of innovation pedagogy requires time, participation of the whole educational community and management commitment. The study describes the results of the development work and states that the educational goals require consideration of values, processes and structures. Research limitations/implications: Because of the case study setting and a specific cultural context, there are limitations to the generalizability of the findings. Originality/value: Focusing on the development of the concept of innovation pedagogy helps to understand how education development takes place gradually and how it can simultaneously aim to respond to the demands of a sustainable future. This study extends approaches on research in education and innovation pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the exponential increase in the volume of data available in the 21st century, data literacy skills have become vitally important in work places and everyday life. This paper provides a systematic review of available data literacy assessments targeted at different audiences and educational levels. The results can help researchers and practitioners better understand the current state of data literacy assessments in terms of issues related to 1) educational levels and audiences; 2) data literacy definitions and competencies; 3) assessment types and item formats; and 4) reliability and validity evidence. The results from the present review led us to conclude that teaching and assessing data literacy is still an emerging field in education. Therefore, high-quality assessment tools are greatly needed to provide valuable insights for students and instructors to monitor progress as well as facilitate and support teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a site ontological approach to practice seeks to understand how educational development can be accomplished through the practices of 'middle leaders' - educators who exercise their leading 'between' the principal and the teaching staff. Analysis of two vignettes of leading in extraordinary circumstances untangles the web of interrelationships, conditions and practices that comprise middle leading in schools. The discussion focuses on how middle leaders' practices are enabled and constrained by practice architectures, and how their leading is ecologically arranged with other educational practices present. It is argued that notions of 'best practice' are an idealised but erroneous myth that often provokes educational development to be practised in homogenised or pre-packaged ways that do not necessarily serve the needs and interests of schools. We conclude by suggesting that best practice might be better conceptualised as site based practices, uniquely realised in response to local issues and concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teoría de la Educación. Revista Interuniversitaria is the property of Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Innovation processes in the Spanish and international educational models have evolved, especially over the last 40 years. Technological expansion and development have been integrated, albeit belatedly, into the field of education. There have been changes to the educational model: school practices have been modified so that, while not entailing a completely generalized impact, significant advances have been introduced. This has led to a change in the spaces, times and ways in which these practices are implemented, thus paving the way for a complete shift in the model. Yet this has not led to a systematic and organised reflection on the processes of change, nor on how to approach evaluation and research in education. This paper aims to provide some ideas about the correct targets of these transformations, and it does so by presenting several examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on educational technology. Educational technology research and study of change; Systemic change within a rural school system; Changes in the way people teach and learn.

Copyright of Experimental Technology & Management is the property of Experimental Technology & Management Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper considers the implications of the current landscape of education policy reform in Australian schooling. We argue that the decontextualisation of education policy enactments and the eschewing of concerns relevant at the local level of the school over the past two decades have prompted various reform agendas to fail. We contend that recognition of the deep contextualisation of schools is paramount in any attempt at renewal. Therefore, it is at the local school-level that reform agendas can and should be directed by the pedagogical and innovative work of educators. We focus on 'relational pedagogy' because it offers opportunities to enact school-wide reform and enhance the professional capacities of educators as pedagogical innovators. Contemporary education reform agendas are best situated and registered within school sites and relational pedagogy stands as a deeply contextualised provocation for enacting school renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the author's commentary on the special issue of Journal of Educational Administration entitled "Systemwide reform: examining districts under pressure". Design/methodology/approach – The author gives her personal opinions, draws upon her recent experiences in the national study of US district leadership for school improvement, recent engagement with one specific US district's improvement efforts and work with colleagues in Europe on how a nation's culture mediates global policy trends. Findings – One striking feature is the degree to which the language of "New Public Management" (is suffused within all of the papers). Originality/value – The author notes that each paper peels a layer of the opaque onion of systemic school reform initiatives in the USA and was struck by the papers' insight into current policy and administrative dilemmas facing districts in the USA – and also by their uniquely American perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the purposes of higher education in South Africa through to lens the 1997 Education White Paper. It is argued that, while the principles of the White Paper have shaped the development of the higher education system over the following decade the primary objectives of transformation have yet to be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review historical developments in higher education in Sri Lanka, and review issues faced and strategies adopted to improve higher education in state universities in the country. The paper also reviews national and international forces that influenced to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews available published documents from the last two decades to present and discuss key national and international forces transforming the higher education of the country and strategies adopted to modernise and improve higher education in state universities in the country.Findings Historical development in general and higher education together with key characteristics of the Sri Lankan education system are discussed. The governing bodies of the state university education, donor agencies and strategies adopted for the development of higher education in the country during the recent history have been reviewed. Conclusions and challenges for the future are also presented.Originality/value The higher education of the country underwent rapid transformations over the past seven decades with the aim of strengthening the wider relationship between university, industry and society. A review on higher education in Sri Lanka could provide lessons valuable for academics and practitioners alike worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses aspects of alternative proposals taking place in the public educational system, based on an anthropological, ethnographic, comparative study of alternative schools and educational projects in Catalonia. More specifically, it first explores educational change in Catalonia through time and on the present, with a special focus on the public sector, stressing its historical dimension and the process of its current depoliticization. Then, based on a specific ethnographic case and on daily dynamics of exclusion, school choice and parental involvement, attention is drawn to aspects of the privatization of educational innovation and the reproduction of inequalities. It is argued that, apart from a firstlevel educational segregation due to economic resources, a second level appears that divides families according to cultural criteria. In the end, the potential for social transformation such educational proposals hold is highlighted, along with a few factors that would facilitate its unfolding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given growing systemic investment in the designing of new learning spaces, researching the relationships between physical space and learning and teaching processes is imperative. Researching innovative learning spaces is challenging, therefore the aim of this paper is to demonstrate a pedagogical characterization based on a three‐dimensional theoretical framework. The study presented here includes three schools in the process of implementing a constructivist pedagogical change involving gradual development of educational intiatives including the redesigning of learning spaces. We characterized learning environments by space, pedagogical practices and curricular potential and explored the relationships between space, active learning and the development of high‐order thinking skills (HOT). Characterization of teaching and learning processes was based on interviews with 12 teachers, 478 class observations and analysis of 307 learning tasks. The findings indicate a higher expression of active learning in the innovative learning spaces compared with the traditional spaces. Nevertheless, results demonstrated difficulties in designing constructivist learning tasks and developing HOT skills, with relatively low encouragement for problem solving skills and critical thinking. Learning tasks were characterized by low cognitive complexity. This study provides a new methodology for investigating teaching and learning processes in innovative learning spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the Educational Sector Policy paper of the World Bank. The paper explores the educational problems in developing countries. The author compares it with the 1974 paper of the Bank, claiming that the present paper is more clear in terms of recognizing the complexity of the social and political forces at work on the educational scene in developing countries. However, he criticizes the paper's view of the purposes of education. He suggests that it lacks diachronic perspective on the processes of growth and adjustment in the past.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of societal and cultural factors on the practices and perceptions of school principals in Kazakhstan.Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on empirical data collected in Kazakhstan over two years in the course of an international, collaborative, multi-stranded project.Findings The findings support the claim that educational policies and practice are deeply embedded in the national culture, which is an evolving mixture of traditional Kazakh, Russian and diverse ethnic, Soviet and paternalistic cultures. These various societal characteristics exemplify various aspects of the tensions between traditional forms of social organisation, the Soviet legacy, and the sort of educational development promoted by Western educational and international organisations, which now plays an important role in Kazakhstan.Research limitations/implications The analysis, though limited in scope, has nevertheless yielded insights into important differences and similarities amongst rural and urban schools and explored the effects of societal cultural factors that shape the practices of school leaders on the periphery of the system.Originality/value The paper provides an empirically grounded illustration of the way in which societal culture and cultural norms shape the role of school principals, and how schools cope with a top-down policy in Kazakhstan. By contrasting the norms that shape both existing practice and the reform agenda, the paper offers some explanations for how cultural norms represent both strengths and weaknesses when applied to the process of change in a post-Soviet context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education Research (1680-6360) is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The free-market is commonly presented by its supporters as the best environment for introducing innovations. This paper challenges the universality of this contention by arguing that free-market dynamics cannot provide the appropriate conditions for significant educational changes. By adopting the perspective of systems research, I claim that the degeneracy characterizing free-markets lodad educational systems with extreme resilience to changes. Based on Barabasi's network theory, I argue further that introducing change is extremely difficult due to the need to invest extensive effort in identifying specific sources of power (i.e., hubs) and removing them. Thus, this paper suggests that despite the prevalent image of public institutions as highly conservative and stagnant, it might be interesting to investigate their potential as sources of innovations that are no less radical than the alternatives proposed by free-market ideologues. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I will consider the lessons that can be learnt about literacy policy and its role in large-scale education reform programmes, with particular reference to policy-making in England since the election of New Labour in 1997. New Labour's promise to the electorate in 1997 was that state-funded education could be fixed and turned into a high-quality delivery system from which all would benefit. It could be fixed by direct intervention from politicians committed to overhauling the public sector and applying new principles which would see standards rise. The National Literacy Strategy (NLS) was the main vehicle for change, whilst the target for achievement in literacy became one of the most public and obvious measures of the government's success in reforming education. Over the decade that followed New Labour's election, early optimism about what government could achieve has been tempered by the twists and turn of events, which saw the education performance data plateau just short of the government's targets, and the NLS morph into the Primary National Strategy as it gradually moved from the centre of political action to a more peripheral position. Within government itself the NLS's progress has acted as an important catalyst for reflection on what works in public sector reform more generally and the challenges those running such programmes face. This paper takes as its central points of analysis the evolution of literacy policy within the policy cycle. The paper reflects on the array of actors within government and beyond who have been involved in trying to make that policy work, or who may have acted as (dis)interested bystanders commenting from the sidelines. What are the lessons that can be learnt which might contribute to the development of literacy policy elsewhere? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last twenty years in the United States, education researchers have documented a slow, but steady, shift of autonomy and agency away from teachers' classrooms to a more centralized authority, often located outside of schools, communities, and even states. Although teachers are unduly impacted by high-stakes policy mandates, such as The No Child Left Behind Act (2001), their voices are rarely heard beyond the halls of their schools. No Child Left Behind, with its emphasis on accountability through standardized testing, represents a tangible threat to teachers' sense of autonomy and agency. Teachers are not included in local and national conversations about education reform, which renders them voiceless and agentless. The teachers in this study draw a distinction between the knowledge-on-paper entailed by the ‘highly qualified’ designation and the visceral or bodily knowledge teachers privilege. This paper draws on discourse analysis (Gee, 2005), theories of embodiment (Gibbs, Lima, & Francozo, 2004; Gibbs & Wilson, 2002) and metaphor (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) to explore teachers' perceptions of themselves as teachers in the era of No Child Left Behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets the debates of the other papers in the context of a benchmark in time that is after four decades of deliberations about the relationship between ICT and education. The environment for and deliberations about this relationship has been one of rapid change in perspectives, most characterised as a shift of focus from the technology to learning. While contemplating the future however, a number of enduring issues remain, including understanding how learning occurs, learning with or about the technology, and the role of the teacher and professional development. The papers address these issues, as well as exploring national policies and software learning environments; all reflect on the growing complexity of the situation and the conundrum of failure to achieve ‘lift-off.’ Key phrases for debates in the future include lifelong learning, the commonplace of ICT in society, the digital world of the young, and the digital ethical dilemmas. In addition I suggest that the key word of change could be paid more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to explore the design and implementation of early years educational policy in England in the period 1997-2004. First to be described are the innovations in policy (i.e. the promise), followed by the 'evidence base' for new policy (i.e. the research), the delivery of new services (i.e. the achievement), and finally the tensions and gaps which remain (i.e. the shortfall). The paper will focus on evidence concerning expansion of services and on the benefit of early years education on children's development. It is argued that early years education in England has been transformed through the following: integration of education and care at local and national level, the introduction of the Foundation Stage Curriculum 3-6 years and its birth-3 years supplement, and the firm focus on families as well as children in the delivery of services. There are, however, gaps and tensions to be resolved before the overall vision can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norway has a long tradition of using external examiners during examinations and grading. However, a recently passed higher education reform requires a different use for external examiners. The Quality Reform of Higher Education calls for more learning-oriented assessment methods, allowing more feedback for students during the course of their studies. Examples of such methods are modular examinations, projects, and portfolios. As part of the reform, external examiners are also expected to contribute to improving assessment systems. This article describes an assessment project carried out at the Department of Marine Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in the spring of 2002. In the study the external examiner did not have the adequate experience to evaluate assessment methods, or contribute actively in discussions about the subject's assignments, teaching schedule and methods. Cooperation between the subject teacher and the examiner on criteria for, and assessment of, specific papers was most useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tertiary educators may seek innovative ways to meet the needs of their learners. However, due to the conservative environment of most universities, innovative tertiary teachers often find themselves facing dilemmas: situations in which they must decide between apparently contradictory objectives. This paper reports findings from thematic analysis conducted as part of a study investigating the dilemmas faced by innovative tertiary educators. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 successful innovative tertiary teachers. Initial analysis had identified eleven dilemmas directly related to the process of innovation. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed four themes: empathy for students; the need for persistence and resilience; love and hate responses from students; and, passion and enthusiasm aid in selling and diffusing innovation. These themes suggest that innovative teachers face a dilemma between emotional engagement and emotional neutrality. The dilemma shapes decisions made throughout their innovation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Running schools by forming basic education groups is an important measure for the reform and innovation of education system in China. A basic education group is a collection of schools, and its internal governance is very important for the smooth operation and performance improvement of the group. Nowadays, the highly developed information technology has provided a powerful tool for optimizing the governance of basic education groups, however, the relevant research on the application of information technology in optimizing the governance of basic education groups is very insufficient. For this reason, this paper sorted out the problems existing in the governance of basic education groups; then, from the perspective of industrial organization, the paper analyzed the mechanisms to optimize the governance of basic education groups, and proposed a few ideas for applying information technology to optimize the governance of basic education groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the governance is one of the priorities of the reforms in the area of higher education in Russia. Radical reforms and massive democratisation of the sector in the last 25 years resulted in accumulation of many development issues: the quality of public services, the efficiency of public spending and the modes of interaction between state, society and institutions. Supervisory boards are the latest addition to the landscape of the university governance. The paper discusses the legal framework of the supervisory boards in Russia, analyses how it relates to the best world practices in the sector and how it reflects in the actual composition of the boards and affects the roles they accomplish at the universities. The paper concludes with the discussion of the areas of concern in the current boards’ practices and suggests how they can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of socio-philosophical analysis presented in this paper is to study the innovative potential of modern education in the implementation of the principle of multiculturalism in human development. There are innovations: «material and technical; organizational and managerial; information; social; economic; educational «. Innovation is not only a scientific activity related to the knowledge of the laws of nature, but also engineering, as a result of which new artificial objects are created. Analyzing the internal restructuring of the educational institution, innovation in science and education, we can conclude that the qualitative change of the educational system includes the following mechanisms, in particular, all reconstructions related to the transfer of innovation: creation of special research institutions to support researchers; knowledge in a particular area, not only the implementation of socio-moral norms (as before), the formation of control mechanisms for scientific and pedagogical activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to portray how vital are pedagogical innovations as tools in successful international teaching and learning and in successful communication between teachers and students. In addition, to portray how pertinent pedagogical innovations are in the communications between the students and professors as well. Furthermore, we will illustrate several practical examples of successful international pedagogical innovations. Methodology - we will provide examples of successful implementations of innovative teaching and learning with statistical data (student evaluations). What differences occurred after the implementation of a pedagogical innovation and especially how much improvement happened after the implementation of an idea? Furthermore, how do we measure success and improvement? Moreover, we will provide examples of successful international teaching and learning innovations and analyze cross - cultural comparisons between the American and Latvian educational systems. Originality of the research - pedagogical innovations are one of the main tasks in developing successful human relations, especially between the professor and the students. In addition, it is vital that the changes during the process of knowledge exchange relate and correspond to the social changes in society and relative within the system of comprehension of new knowledge in the current generation. We will show that the essence of international educational innovations is portrayed as the main trends of this process are discussed. Moreover, we will share our successful implementation of our innovative teaching and learning experiences; in particular, comparing the Latvian and the American educational systems (ISMA University in Latvia (School of Management & Information Systems) and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)) as examples of identifying and summarizing innovative initiatives. Especially examples of successful innovations with positive impacts and positive feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide a new approach for assessing the input-output efficiency of education and technology for national science and education department. We used the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to analyze the efficiency sharing activities in education and technology sector, and classify input variables and output variables accordingly. Using the panel data in the education and technology sector of 53 countries, we found that the countries with significant progress in educational efficiency and technological efficiency mainly concentrated in East Asia, especially in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and some other developing countries. We further evaluate the effect of educational and technological efficiencies on national competitiveness, balanced development of the country, national energy efficiency, export, and employment. We found that the efficiency of science and technology has an effect on the balanced development of the country, but that of education has played a counter-productive role; Educational efficiency has a large role and related the country's educational development. In addition, using the panel data analysis, we showed that educational and technological efficiency has different degrees of contributions to the development from 2000 to 2014. It mainly depends on the economic development progress and the push for the education and technological policy. The proposed approach in this paper provides the decision-making support for the education and technological policy formulation, specially the selection of the appropriate education and technological strategies for resource allocation and process evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]