The monitoring of quality has been part of the educational landscape for many decades. Originally the need to monitor arose as part of an economic process whereby policy makers wanted to discern the return on investment in education. This bottom line thinking, while still prominent, has receded into the background in light of global changes and the emergence of a global economy. Now in addition to the question “what is the return on investment?”, the more important question is “are the students in schools ready to participate in the economy of a 21st century society?”. This is underpinned by the inquiry into what knowledge and competencies are required for students to participate meaningfully in nation-building. This inquiry can only be undertaken by means of monitoring, evaluating where the students are and what is required so that students reach their potential. In an ever-changing technologically-oriented world the manner in which competencies and knowledge are identified and how these need to be measured and identified is important. In this book, the theory and practice of underpinning the monitoring of the quality of education is described. This is followed by a number of practical examples, in the form of country case studies, on how theory plays out in practice. The book further provides common themes across developed and developing emerging economies underscoring the need for approaches which are locally relevant but internationally transferable.

Monitoring the Quality of Education in Schools

Education & Teaching

Vanessa Scherman,Roel J. Bosker,Sarah J. Howie

Schools & Teaching

BrillSense

Dotted with lively dialogues that illustrate concrete issues, From Exclusion to Excellence: Building Restorative Relationships to Create Inclusive Schools is a practical guide to creating inclusive schools. The authors draw on their 30 years of action-research activities helping educators provide a meaningful education to at-risk/excluded students. They explain how teacher well-being is a precondition for building the sorts of relationships that enable excluded students to learn. They present in detail four concrete skills (non-abandonment, reframing, connecting conversation, and emphatic limit-setting) for reaching children and at the same time strengthening educators’ emotional resilience and professional pride. They address how schools can rethink and reshape the way they relate to parents of excluded children, so as to allow both sides to trust and empower each other. If you are a teacher, this book will help you make sense of the difficulties you face daily and provide you with reliable methods for working more effectively. If you are a principal or policymaker, it will show how the road to excellence begins with inclusion, and with providing teachers the kind of support that enables them to succeed. I am not an education expert, but you don’t have to be to want to implement the conclusions that Michal Razer and Victor J. Friedman make about schools to societies as a whole. To produce a successful school serving the needs of all of its students, you need to focus—before passing out any curriculum or teaching any classes—on building that elusive thing called “trust”, or what the authors call “inclusion”. When there is trust in the classroom, when every student believes that they and their aspirations matter to a teacher, everything is possible and everything is easier—the most difficult students become more educable and inspired and take more ownership over their success—and the best students soar even higher. This book should be read by teachers, parents and politicians alike, because its incisive recommendations for building more successful schools apply just as much to families and parliaments. – Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times columnist

From Exclusion to Excellence (Ibe on Curriculum, Learning, and Assessment, 1)

Michal Razer,Victor J. Friedman

This book comprises a wide range of scholarly essays introducing readers to key topics and issues in science education. Science education has become a well established field in its own right, with a vast literature, and many active areas of scholarship. Science Education: An International Course Companion offers an entry point for students seeking a sound but introductory understanding of the key perspectives and areas of thinking in science education. Each account is self-contained and offers a scholarly and research-informed introduction to a particular topic, theme, or perspective, with both citations to key literature and recommendations for more advanced reading. Science Education: An International Course Companion allows readers (such as those preparing for school science teaching, or seeking more advanced specialist qualifications) to obtain a broad familiarity with key issues across the field as well as guiding wider reading about particular topics of interest. The book therefore acts as a reader to support learning across courses in science education internationally. The broad coverage of topics is such that that the book will support students following a diverse range of courses and qualifications. The comprehensive nature of the book will allow course leaders and departments to nominate the book as the key reader to support students – their core ‘course companion’ in science education.

Science Education (New Directions in Mathematics and Science Education, 31)

Keith S. Taber,Ben Akpan

This book comprises a wide range of scholarly essays introducing readers to key topics and issues in science education. Science education has become a well established field in its own right, with a vast literature, and many active areas of scholarship. Science Education: An International Course Companion offers an entry point for students seeking a sound but introductory understanding of the key perspectives and areas of thinking in science education. Each account is self-contained and offers a scholarly and research-informed introduction to a particular topic, theme, or perspective, with both citations to key literature and recommendations for more advanced reading. Science Education: An International Course Companion allows readers (such as those preparing for school science teaching, or seeking more advanced specialist qualifications) to obtain a broad familiarity with key issues across the field as well as guiding wider reading about particular topics of interest. The book therefore acts as a reader to support learning across courses in science education internationally. The broad coverage of topics is such that that the book will support students following a diverse range of courses and qualifications. The comprehensive nature of the book will allow course leaders and departments to nominate the book as the key reader to support students - their core 'course companion' in science education.

Efforts to improve mathematics teaching and learning globally have led to the ever-increasing interest in searching for alternative and effective instructional approaches from others. Students from East Asia, such as China and Japan, have consistently outperformed their counterparts in the West. Yet, Bianshi Teaching (teaching with variation) practice, which has been commonly used in practice in China, has been hardly shared in the mathematics education community internationally. This book is devoted to theorizing the Chinese mathematical teaching practice, Bianshi teaching, that has demonstrated its effectiveness over half a century; examining its systematic use in classroom instruction, textbooks, and teacher professional development in China; and showcasing of the adaptation of the variation pedagogy in selected education systems including Israel, Japan, Sweden and the US. This book has made significant contributions to not only developing the theories on teaching and learning mathematics through variation, but also providing pathways to putting the variation theory into action in an international context. “This book paints a richly detailed and elaborated picture of both teaching mathematics and learning to teach mathematics with variation. Teaching with variation and variation as a theory of learning are brought together to be theorized and exemplified through analysis of teaching in a wide variety of classrooms and targeting both the content and processes of mathematical thinking. Highly recommended.” – Kaye Stacey, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Melbourne, Australia “Many teachers in England are excited by the concept of teaching with variation and devising variation exercises to support their pupils’ mastery of mathematics. However, fully understanding and becoming proficient in its use takes time. This book provides a valuable resource to deepen understanding through the experiences of other teachers shared within the book and the insightful reflections of those who have researched this important area. – Debbie Morgan, Director for Primary Mathematics, National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, United Kingdom

Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Variation (Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 2)

Rongjin Huang,Yeping Li

Efforts to improve mathematics teaching and learning globally have led to the ever-increasing interest in searching for alternative and effective instructional approaches from others. Students from East Asia, such as China and Japan, have consistently outperformed their counterparts in the West. Yet, Bianshi Teaching (teaching with variation) practice, which has been commonly used in practice in China, has been hardly shared in the mathematics education community internationally. This book is devoted to theorizing the Chinese mathematical teaching practice, Bianshi teaching, that has demonstrated its effectiveness over half a century; examining its systematic use in classroom instruction, textbooks, and teacher professional development in China; and showcasing of the adaptation of the variation pedagogy in selected education systems including Israel, Japan, Sweden and the US. This book has made significant contributions to not only developing the theories on teaching and learning mathematics through variation, but also providing pathways to putting the variation theory into action in an international context. “This book paints a richly detailed and elaborated picture of both teaching mathematics and learning to teach mathematics with variation. Teaching with variation and variation as a theory of learning are brought together to be theorized and exemplified through analysis of teaching in a wide variety of classrooms and targeting both the content and processes of mathematical thinking. Highly recommended.” – Kaye Stacey, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Melbourne, Australia  “Many teachers in England are excited by the concept of teaching with variation and devising variation exercises to support their pupils’ mastery of mathematics. However, fully understanding and becoming proficient in its use takes time. This book provides a valuable resource to deepen understanding through the experiences of other teachers shared within the book and the insightful reflections of those who have researched this important area. – Debbie Morgan, Director for Primary Mathematics, National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, United Kingdom

STEPS (Science Tasks Enhance Process Skills) to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is an inquiry-based science curriculum supplement focused on developing upper elementary and middle students’ process skills and problem-solving abilities characteristic of how scientists think and act. Students learn key concepts in seven “big ideas” in science: Electricity &amp; Magnetism; Air &amp; Flight; Water &amp; Weather; Plants &amp; Animals; Earth &amp; Space; Matter &amp; Motion; and Light &amp; Sound. Using simple, readily available materials, teachers facilitate learning experiences using the following structure: <ul>
<li>STEP 1: Investigate – Hypothesis – Test</li> <li>STEP 2: Observe – Record – Predict</li> <li>STEP 3: Gather – Make – Try</li> </ul>
Once students complete a set of STEP activities aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), they are ready to collaborate using a STEM Center. STEM Centers provide students with the opportunity for extended investigations focused on a single problem or “team challenge.” Students utilize science and engineering practices while collaboratively conducting research to gather information. Once a plan is made, the team attempts to solve the problem or complete the open-ended task. In addition, a Science Notebook or Sci-Book serves as an essential companion to STEPS to STEM; students maintain a written record of their completed activities which can serve as a form of authentic assessment. STEPS to STEM aims to help students find enjoyment in science and in the process of problem-solving – there are things to do, discoveries to be made, and problems to solve. Ideally, these experiences will lead to more explorations and questions about the world around them.

STEPS to STEM

Aaron D. Isabelle,Gilbert A. Zinn

Transformative Learning Meets Bildung (International Issues in Adult Education, 21)

This edited volume sets the groundwork for a dialogue between transformative learning and continental theories of Bildung in adulthood. Both theoretical frameworks bring meaning to the complex learning process of individuals as they develop a more critical worldview. In this volume, a variety of authors from different countries and theoretical backgrounds offer new understandings about Bildung and transformative learning through discussion of theoretical analyses, educational practices, and empirical research. As a result, readers gain greater insight into these theories and related implications for teaching for change. From the various chapters an exciting relationship between both theories begins to emerge and provides impetus for greater discussion and further research about two important theories of change in the field of adult education.

Anna Laros,Thomas Fuhr,Edward W. Taylor

Higher & Continuing Education

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the BrillSense publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BrillSense

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the BrillSense publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Monitoring the Quality of Education in Schools

Monitoring the Quality of Education in Schools

From Exclusion to Excellence (Ibe on Curriculum, Learning, and Assessment, 1)

From Exclusion to Excellence (Ibe on Curriculum, Learning, and Assessment, 1)

Science Education (New Directions in Mathematics and Science Education, 31)

Science Education (New Directions in Mathematics and Science Education, 31)

Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Variation (Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 2)

Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Variation (Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 2)

STEPS to STEM

Transformative Learning Meets Bildung (International Issues in Adult Education, 21)