Effects Of Educational Reform Research Articles

Multigenerational Effects of Education Reform: Mother’s Education and Children’s Human Capital in Nepal

Abstract The impact of national efforts to increase supply of education, such as Nepal’s National Education System Plan, may vary across social groups due to differences in social factors that determine access to and demand for education. This paper studies the heterogeneous impact of this reform across gender and caste groups—two important social dimensions in Nepal’s context—over two generations. It uses data from the Nepal National Population and Housing Census 2011 and implements a difference-in-differences framework that utilizes across district variation in intensity of the reform measured by placement of trained teachers per 100 children and across cohort variation in exposure determined by birth year. The study finds that the reform improved females’ education attainment, but such positive effects are not present among women belonging to lower-caste subgroups. In addition, it finds that the reform had positive effects on schooling of the next generation; the multigenerational effects are also concentrated among girls from higher-caste households. The study validates its main findings by conducting a placebo exercise on a sample of individuals who had surpassed their school-going age by the time of the reform.

Effects of educational reforms in the 2nd decade (2009–2018) on teacher motivation and student achievement among schools in Southern Thailand

This paper studied the effectiveness of four school reforms (instruction reform, teacher reform, learning sources reform, and administration reform) on improving school outcomes. Based on systems theory, this paper explored relationships among the four school reforms and their effects on teacher motivation and student achievement. The quantitative study was a secondary analysis using year 2014 datasets from a sample of 431 public basic schools in 3 southern provinces, Thailand. The researcher used structural equation modeling to explore the models and to verify cause–effect relationships among the variables. The research findings fairly confirmed the theoretical frameworks, and reflected some effectiveness of the 2nd decade school reforms in terms of whole organizational improvement and teacher motivation, although not student achievement. The key findings were discussed with a critical theory lens to depict Thailand as a case study of developing countries borrowing and struggling with global school reforms, and then proposed policy implications to improve the current education reforms as global issues, particularly for Thailand.

Exploring school choice and the consequences for student racial segregation within Pennsylvania’s charter school transfers

Using individual-level student data from Pennsylvania, this study explores the extent to which charter school racial composition may be an important factor in students’ self-segregative school choices. Findings indicate that, holding distance and enrollment constant, Black and Latino students are strongly averse to moving to charter schools with higher percentages of White students. Conversely, White students are more likely to enroll in such charter schools. As the percentage and number of students transferring into charter schools increases, self-segregative school choices raise critical questions regarding educational equity, and the effects of educational reform and school choice policies on the fostering of racially diverse educational environments.

Social Policy and Regime Legitimacy: The Effects of Education Reform in China

Elites often use social policies to garner political support and ensure regime survival, but social policies are not a silver bullet. Using two waves of Chinese national surveys, I find that a recent policy of abolishing school fees has significantly increased citizens’ demand for greater government responsibility in financing compulsory education. I argue that policy awareness, rather than policy benefits, drives citizens’ demand. Finally, I show that policy awareness has enhanced citizens’ trust in China's central government, but not in local governments. This asymmetry in regime support has two sources—the decentralization of education provision and biased media reporting—which induce citizens to credit the central government for good policy outcomes. Given that citizens’ responses are primarily influenced by policy awareness that is promoted by the state media, this study casts doubt on the use of social policies to sustain long-term political support.

‘Headmasters Become Noblemen’: Mainland Chinese Teachers’ Perspectives on Changes in Education in the Post-Mao Era

In this article I report findings of research into the lives and work of Mainland Chinese teachers of English in a broader context characterized by market economic reform. I draw on transcriptions of group interviews to describe and discuss teachers’ lives and work, and forward a critical analysis that posits a connection between teachers’ accounts and the re-structuring of social relations in post-Mao China. The article details one of several themes treated in the study, specifically the broad category of ‘effects of educational reform.’ I suggest that the compliance and resistance apparent in these accounts reveals Chinese teachers to be neither cultural dopes nor harbingers of some newly emerging democratic society.

The French republican school under pressure: Falling basic standards and rising social inequalities

In the historical development of the relationship between education and society, primary education in France has played a central role. The French educational system is one of the most stable public institutions, given its constitutional significance and relevance for the embodiment of the republican virtues. Its organisational structure has remained almost unchanged since the Loi Goblet, enacted on 30 October 1886. The principles of universalism, uniformity and equality of opportunity have marked over time that policy developments in France aimed at fighting inherited disadvantage and lifting children above the poverty line through state-based education. The scholarly focus on the institutional and administrative dimension of the French system of education has helped illuminate some of the difficulties associated with the implementation of change, including the disappointing experience with the introduction of positive discrimination in the 1980s. However, to date, the empirical evidence of the effects of educational reforms that were implemented remains unfortunately secondary to the conventional wisdom of the ‘politics of non-reform’ and institutional inertia. Governmental initiatives have concentrated on tackling educational under-achievements in basic literacy and numeracy in primary schools. The empirical findings in this article point not only to the general deterioration of educational achievements, but also to a persisting gap between pupils from different social background. The article will document how educational inequalities driven by different social economic groups have increased, despite government efforts and new policy initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s.

Foreign Language Instruction in U.S. Schools: Results of a National Survey of Elementary and Secondary Schools

Abstract: How well are our schools preparing students to become global citizens who can communicate in languages other than English? To answer this question, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 5,000 U.S. public and private elementary and secondary schools. Results identify current patterns and shifts over time in five key areas of K–12 foreign language education: amount of language instruction; languages and program types offered; curriculum and instruction; teacher certification, professional development, and teacher shortages; and the effects of education reform. Results reveal that despite some positive developments, overall foreign language instruction has decreased over the past decade and the achievement gap has widened. The article concludes with recommendations on how to progress toward achieving foreign language proficiency for all students.

Patient-based not problem-based learning

There have been significant changes in the past decade in both the curriculum and its delivery, in undergraduate medical education. Many of these changes have been made simultaneously, preventing clear assessment of outcome measures. The move away from a pre-clinical science grounding, to an integrated 'problem-based learning (PBL) approach' has been widespread in many countries across the world. One effect of these changes has been the way in which clinical skills, in particular history and examination are taught. By integrating clinical scenarios earlier in the undergraduate course, clinical skills are increasingly taught in tutorials. This approach, when used in the pre-clinical setting may have shortcomings in the development of the ability to construct a differential diagnosis. There has been little evidence that PBL improves problem-solving ability and this is critical to the differential diagnostic process. The concurrent decline in anatomical teaching and understanding contributes to this difficulty. The authors outline a model which clinicians can re-emphasize to students and juniors based on the fundamentals of clinical practice. The apprenticeship is more important than ever in the days of small group learning. The relinquishing of the traditional model of undergraduate medicine is of concern. The effects of educational reform should be examined by further research into the competencies of graduates entering higher professional training, before it is accepted that this change has been for the better.

How Large an Effect Can We Expect from School Reforms?

Background/ContextDetermining the effectiveness of reform strategies is a major part of the current and future educational research agenda. Effects of education reforms will be evaluated largely quantitatively, and an important aspect of this work will be judging how well reform strategies work. The rhetoric of contemporary school reform suggests two somewhat different solutions to the problem of the interpretive frame. One solution is derived from the idea that the goal of school reform is to reduce the achievement gaps between minority groups such as Blacks or Hispanics and Whites, rich and poor, and males and females. The second solution is derived from a similar idea that school reforms are intended to reduce the achievement gap between lower and higher achieving schools.PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore these two alternative frameworks for interpreting the effects of school reforms and to gain insight about the implications of each of the frameworks for interpreting these effects.Research DesignWe use NAEP trend data and examine empirical evidence about the implications of these two frameworks for judging the effects of school reforms. Our study is correlational and uses observational data from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.FindingsWe find that these two frameworks lead to different judgments about whether the effects of reforms are large enough to be important. We argue that the normative distribution of school effects framework is more appropriate than the other framework for interpreting the likely magnitude of school reform effects. In addition, we show that interpreting the magnitude of the effects of school reforms in terms of individual variation and the achievement gaps between important student groups may not only be disappointing, but also misleading.Conclusions/RecommendationsThe results of this study can be used to provide a way to obtain plausible reform effects for designing studies of school reform. The results of this study can also provide a context in which to evaluate the results of studies of the effectiveness of school reform in terms of national data. Our study also illustrates one way in which survey data can contribute to evidence-based policy formation. The distribution of the observed school effects provides a basis for estimating plausible effect magnitudes for planning intervention studies. The analyses of school effects can also provide a context for interpreting treatment effects within the context of the observed variation. It permits the policy researcher to explain the implications of reform effects within the backdrop of observed variation within which any intervention will operate.

教育改革と環境教育の関係に対する教師の意識についての研究―三重県の小中高等学校を事例として―

This survey by questionnaire was carried out about teachers' attitudes toward the effect of education reform on environmental education. The following subjects are considered:. 1) Usefulness of environmental education for the improvement of scholastic ability 2) Efficacy of environmental education in school discipline 3) Influences of reduction in hours spent in Period for Integrated Study on environmental education 4) Influences of the evaluation of schools and teachers in accordance with scholastic ability of students on environmental education 5) Influences of school choice system on environmental education 6) Strategies which ensure compatibility between improvement of scholastic ability and that of environmental educationFinally, I make some suggestions pertaining to environmental education in Japan.

Towards a Theory and View of Teaching Compressed and Abbreviated Research Methodology and Statistics Courses

One of the highly questionable effects of educational reform and other curriculum reshaping factors at both the high school, post-secondary and graduate levels has been the shift to teaching compressed, pared-down or abbreviated courses in still needed or required subject-matter that became de-emphasized in the current educational reformation. Research methodology, particularly the highly quantitative and experimental kind and statistics, are two still needed to some degree subject matters that has been especially affected by this demotion and compression movement at the pre-service, in-service, professional development, undergraduate, continuing education and graduate levels, even though the professional areas of education, science, business, politics and most other areas (including history) have become far more quantitative and objective research oriented than in the past. Until there are more enlightened policy shifts, effective means of teaching such compressed courses need to be devised and tested, if only to lessen the negative outcomes of such critical courses. This article, therefore, analyzes compressed courses from the point of view of cognitive learning and then describes 5 methods and approaches that were tested to improve the effectiveness of research methodology and statistics courses taught in these formats. Each of the formats helped to reduce student stress and anxiety about the content and its compressed presentation and improved understanding and achievement. The theory and view developed in this article is also applicable to similar compressed courses for scientific and/or technical content which are currently prevalent in allied health and biotechnology areas.

Better educated, but not equal: women between general education, VET, the labour market and the family in Germany

The article uses a multi‐layered approach to analyse the situation of women in vocational and education training, embedding it systematically in the development of general education, the labour market and the family in Germany. It reconstructs the development in these four sectors of society with a special emphasis on the past 30 years. The analysis highlights the contradictions for women resulting from the uneven developments in these parts of society. The article then analyses the ways in which women try to realise the new opportunities gained through better education, against the limits of social structures and existing norms. In this context, both the intended and unintended effects of education reforms are discussed, as well as the ambiguous results of the deregulation of the labour market. Here the intersectionality of discrimination along the three axes of gender, race and class are seen.

Decentralisation in education, institutional culture and teacher autonomy in Ghana

Ghana has seen several recent attempts to devolve control over the curriculum to the local level. The present study focuses on a single reform, the Local Content Curriculum (LCC). Analysis of local responses to this reform provides insights into the state’s influence on the actions and attitudes of Ghanaian teachers not previously detailed in research on educational decentralisation. These insights into the implementation of the LCC expand the understanding of the tangible effects of educational reform on actual learning institutions and pupils as well as inform about the central government’s real ability to effect change in schools. The study also shows how the lethargy of local actors is bound to deeply engrained views about the role of Ghanaian teachers in school and in society.

The Changing Face of Teaching in England and Portugal: A study of work experiences of secondary school teachers

SUMMARY This paper reports research into the perceived effects of educational reform among secondary school teachers in England and Wales and Portugal. While the two countries have different education histories, as in most countries across the world teachers' lives and work are being affected by increased centralised interventions in the name of raising standards of achievement. In the case of England, interventions since the late 1980s have touched every facet of school government, curriculum and assessment, whereas in Portugal, this process did not begin until the late 1990s. The paper focuses upon teachers' experiences in these two communities, which are in different transition phases. By doing so it is possible, even within the different cultures, to identify common problems experienced by teachers within the reforms and their management which challenge existing identities, values and commitments and which are creating new forms of compliant professionalism.

The effects of educational reform on the content and status of the social subjects in England and wales and the USA: A case study

Over the past decade educational reform has been taking place in the USA and in England and Wales. This paper traces the political pressures to change the social subjects curriculum on both sides of the Atlantic. In England and Wales the new National Curriculum aims to raise educational standards and to increase accountability through a national assessment system. In the USA the Federal Government has set to work on establishing national goals. There is evidence in both countries that the new curricula are emerging from a political process which imposes content and structures upon teachers with little consultation. The paper concentrates on how the social studies curriculum has been affected in this process. It explores the politics of curricular reform by comparing events in the USA and England and Wales and outlines the ways, particularly in the British context, in which the teaching profession has explored the limits of its power and has fought back against central control to make its voice heard.

Effects of Educational Reform on Teachers’ Decisions to Retire

Effects of Educational Reform on Teachers’ Decisions to Retire

Study Time: Temporal Orientations of Freshmen Students and Computing

This article presents an ethnographic examination of the student domains of “study” and “time,” and how these domains relate to a technological innovation in a freshman residence hall. We argue that technological innovations in education warrant attention as part of the more general movement toward reform in higher education. We believe that a closer examination of student life is necessary before discussing effects of educational reform. In this article we point out some of the ways in which students' conceptions and configurations of time differ from those of others, including university administrators and professors, and the implication of their differing perspectives on the way they use personal computing facilities in a residence hall.

The Effect of Education Reform on Student Achievement

Educational reforms have been "neither a disaster nor a boon" for educationally disadvantaged high school students.

From father to son and from father to daughter: educational mobility in Hungary and the Netherlands for the birth cohorts from 1925 to 1955

In this article we are concerned with the comparison of educational mobility in Hungary and the Netherlands. The analysis is based on representative samples of 1981/2 and applies for both father-son and father-daughter educational mobility specified for four age cohorts. Two different theoretical perspectives are adopted—the industrialisation thesis and the reproduction thesis—from which the expectations for the analysis are derived. These expectations are confronted with the empirical data: firstly by means of overall mobility table measures, secondly by means' of the Hope-type log-linear analysis. The analysis shows that—contrary to the expectations from the reproduction thesis—no significant differences in circulation mobility can be detected between the two countries. Most of the differing mobility patterns are to be found in the structural component of mobility. This component can be uniform [linear] or non-uniform: the direction of the very significant differences supports the industrialisation thesis in this respect. The article ends with a discussion of the visualised effects of educational reforms that were introduced in both countries and with some suggestions for the next research steps.