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This report focuses on social protections of teachers in Europe, synthesizes responses to a questionnaire by 18 European members of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP), and provides an overview of a variety of situations in European countries. The report includes a list of organizations/countries which replied to the questionnaire and information provided by each country. Eight topics are examined as follows: (1) health insurance contributions, reimbursement, sick leave, and legislation; (2) maternity insurance, leave, adoption, paternity, and work conditions; (3) family allowances and what assistance is for; (4) handicapped in the profession; (5) pensions; (6) unemployment protection; (7) death rights and benefits to beneficiaries; and (8) the position of trade union policy in relation to existing social systems, and persons in charge of social protection. Also included are: a draft recommendation on the social protection of teachers; reports on "The Social Protection Role and Economy" in Denmark, France, and Hungary; "Social Protection from a State Perspective" (Norway); "The Right of Teachers" (Poland); and reports on "The Social Protection of Teachers" in Russia, Sweden, and Turkey. (LL)

Twenty-five papers presented at the conference include papers on the role of the site coordinator in a distributed education network in Ontario; student support systems in the Open University of Israel; the dilemmas of designing a computer mediated communication support system; interactive libraries; tutoring in technical science in the Open University of the Netherlands; research supervision at a distance; the role of tutoring and group support in distance education; the relationship between interaction and independence; distance education in India; applications of telecommunications for interactive tutoring; and cost effectiveness analysis of projects that increase student interaction in distance education. Most of the papers include references. The individual papers are briefly reviewed in the introduction, and continuity from papers presented at two earlier conferences is discussed. (GL)

Eleven working papers are provided from a meeting to enable national training research and development organizations to present their current and future research and development priorities and exchange information and experience on projects of mutual concern. They cover a wide range of subjects in 11 of the 12 European Community Member States, but all the programs include work on changing qualification profiles needed to work effectively with new technologies. The papers include: "Summary of Major Research and Development Projects--AnCo (the Industrial Training Authority)--Ireland"; "Training Research Projects--The Centre for Studies and Research on Qualifications--France"; "Government Sponsored Research and Development on Vocational Training and New Technology--United Kingdom";"Work Results of the Federal Institute for Vocational Training--Federal Republic of Germany"; "Development of Research in the Field of Vocational Training--French- and German-Speaking Community, Onem, Belgium"; "Vocational Training by the National Manpower Service--Flemish Community, RVA, Belgium"; "Outline for Action in 1986--Institute for the Promotion of Workers' Vocational Training (ISFOL)--Italy"; "Summary Progress Report on the Training Research Programmes in Greece"; "Research Methods for the Investigation of Problems in the Linkage with the Labour Market in the Netherlands--University of Utrecht and PCBB"; "Vocational Training in Spain"; and "Development of Vocational Training in Small and Medium Craft Enterprises in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg." (YLB)

Game-based learning is gaining popularity in language education. For the present study, three games were developed with a central focus on intercultural interaction to be played internationally in dyads or small groups using Video-Communication (VC) tools or a Virtual World (VW). The interactions were carried out in Spanish as a Lingua Franca (LF) between 32 university students over a period of three weeks. Different sources of data were gathered in order to study how games, played in an intercultural setting in VWs and VC, influence or not key affective variables in language learning. Initial results of the final questionnaires show that the interaction games did boost students' engagement in virtual exchanges, but results were more promising for the VC than the VW condition. [For the complete volume, "CALL and Professionalisation: Short Papers from EUROCALL 2021 (29th, Online, August 26-27, 2021)," see ED616972.]

The present paper describes a case study on the effects of telecollaborative games on learners' motivation. 12 learners from a Dutch and a British secondary school participated in the study. Different games, which included gamification elements, were developed on OpenSim. The overall educational goals of the games were to enhance cultural awareness and intercultural communication of German as a foreign language. Three different cross-cultural groups played the telecollaborative games in two different sessions. Data from pre- and post-surveys were gathered for measuring the impact of telecollaborative games on learners' motivation. At the end of the game sessions, focus group discussions were organised for evaluating the experience. The results indicate that telecollaborative games have a positive impact on learners' motivation. [For the complete volume of short papers, see ED572005.]

MLEARN, a European Union (EU)-funded project, is exploring and promoting teacher development of mobile learning practices in four member states--the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) (England), Greece and Italy. This paper details the ways research findings have both fed into and been elicited from this pilot, supporting development and implementation of a teacher education programme for in-service teachers, focusing on mobile learning through appropriate pedagogic uses of mobile or handheld technologies. The research has focused on three dimensions to date: how contextual backgrounds for the programme can be considered and provided; a training needs analysis of trainers and teachers involved in the pilot; and gathering initial outcomes from teachers and learners after involvement in teacher education events and some one to two months of pilot uses in classrooms. The paper considers implementation outcomes to date, and what the next steps will be. [For the full proceedings, see ED562096.]

The celebration of EUROCALL's twentieth anniversary also provides a proper occasion to reflect on the future of language teaching and the role of CALL in these developments. In this paper we present the views of five authorities on language teaching and learning from different EU countries. Most of them are also CALL experts and well respected EUROCALL members, including the late Graham Davies. Our presentation is based on a summary of the Skype interviews in which they contributed to a symposium entitled "And now for another century of modern language teaching…" organised by the Dutch national Association of Language Teachers on the occasion of its first centennial in 2011. To provide a more global (or at least European) perspective the interviewees were asked to cover the same topics that were central to the live panel discussion by six Dutch participants representing a variety of perspectives: secondary and university teachers, students, curriculum experts and teacher educators. By way of preparation all involved had been given a number of challenging statements related to some aspects of the discussion theme: the characteristics of the future learning environment, teacher, learner, pedagogy and technology. In this audio-supported document we will focus on interesting points of view particularly related to pedagogy and technology expressed in the interviews. A video report summary of the live discussion (in Dutch) is available on the limited edition CD with recordings of the centennial festivities. [A version of this paper has also been published in "The EUROCALL Review" v22 n1 p59-68 Mar 2014 (see EJ1055213). For full proceedings, see ED565044.]

The Erasmus+ TeCoLa project (2016-2019) aims to develop and test innovative gamified telecollaboration approaches for secondary schools that address issues of learning diversity in intercultural and Content Integrated Language Learning (CLIL) and teaching. Authentic task-based transnational interactions among peers from different socio-cultural, educational and language backgrounds are at the very heart of the learning process, using telecollaboration as a way to communicate and collaborate. In this paper we will shortly describe the project's foci and will elaborate on the teacher training programme that has been designed on the basis of the teachers' needs and on a sound conceptualisation of telecollaboration tasks that are useful, enjoyable, and meaningful. [For the complete volume, see ED578177.]

Motivational factors play an important role in (language) learning processes and research indicates that this is also true for telecollaboration exchanges (Jauregi, de Graaff, van den Bergh, & Kriz, 2012; Melchor-Couto, 2017; in press). This short paper will introduce a study into how motivational factors play a role in telecollaboration exchanges by teenagers depending on the interaction constellation, the tools being used, and the telecollaborative experience. A total of 202 foreign language learners from different European countries took part in telecollaboration activities. All participants carried out an average of four telecollaborative sessions either by written chat or by video communication. Data from a survey measuring motivational factors, including self-efficacy beliefs, motivation, and anxiety, was gathered after every session. A small number of pupils were also interviewed on aspects related to motivation and anxiety. The results show: (1) a significant decrease in anxiety across conditions as sessions progress, especially for those communicating in Lingua Franca (LF) constellations using chat; (2) that pupils interacting with Native Speakers (NSs) seem to be the most confident concerning their perception of competence; and (3) that those communicating with NSs were significantly more positive about the learning potential of communicating with NSs. [For the complete volume, see ED578177.]

Government regulations require businesses to improve their processes and products/services in a green and sustainable manner. For being environmentally friendly, businesses should invest more on eco-innovation practices. Firms eco-innovate to promote eco-efficiency and sustainability. This paper evaluates the eco-innovation performance of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with data envelopment analysis (DEA). Data were gathered from the world bank database and global innovation index report. Findings show that for most OECD countries, energy use and ecological sustainability are more important than other inputs and outputs for enhancing eco-innovation. [For full proceedings, see ED571459.]

This paper explores the role of coaching in enhancing teachers' key competences for integrating Telecollaboration (TC) in their language course. A total of 23 secondary school teachers participated in this case study as part of the EU-funded project TILA. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via two surveys, the first one measuring coaching satisfaction and a second one tackling teacher competences. The results show that teachers highly value coaching to integrate complex pedagogical innovations in their teaching. Participants reported that coaching contributed to an improvement of key competences necessary to implement TC exchanges successfully. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]

Telecollaboration for Intercultural Language Acquisition (TILA), is an EU-funded project within the Lifelong Learning Programme that will run between January 2013 and June 2015. TILA's overall objectives are: (1) to innovate, enrich and make foreign language teaching programmes more attractive and effective by encouraging the implementation of telecollaboration activities in secondary schools across Europe; (2) to assist teachers and teacher training programmes in developing information and communications technology (ICT) literacy skills as well as organisational, pedagogical and intercultural competences to guarantee adequate integration of telecollaboration practices; and (3) to study the added value that telecollaboration may bring to language learning in terms of intercultural understanding and motivation amongst younger learners. Our aim in this (albeit short) paper is to introduce the project, its background and outline the specific teaching needs of our participants with regards to languages and technology. [For full proceedings, see ED565044.]

This paper explores the PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment] achievement of twenty countries in light of some of their demographic differences. SES [student socioeconomic status], nuclear family, gender, home language, and native status were predictive of achievement for every country. Demographics accounted for as little as 8 percent to as much as 22 percent of individual score variance depending on the country and subject. Being male was almost a universal advantage in math, but was a far greater disadvantage in reading for every country. The relative performance of some countries changed when scores were adjusted for demographic differences; however, the Asian countries and Finland remained on top. Instructional strategies related to countries performing above expectations were explored.

This document contains the agenda and papers presented at the Agora IX meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece in June 2000 on alternative education and training processes. The papers are "Integration of Migrant Pupils in the Danish Education System" (Bang); "Support Services for Inclusive Education" (De Vroey); "Single Sex Schooling or Coeducation?" (Schrodt); "Serving the Needs of Gifted Individuals: The Optimal Match Model" (Monks); "The Common Culture Needed for the Democratic Transformation of Schools" (Rochex); "Danish Production Schools" (Ljung); "A Review of the Training Workshops and Craft Centres in Extremadura" (Lucas); "Combating Social and Economic Exclusion" (Brodigan); "The Irish Leaving Certificate Applied: Trojan Horse or Contrived Equilibrium?" (Gleeson); "Contribution of Mr. Manfred Schneider from the BBJ-Unternehmensgruppe" (Manfred Schneider); "Strategies to Combat Failure at School: A Comparison of Italian and European Experiences" (Montedoro); "Nightriders Tailoring Training to Young People's Lifestyles" (Lavelle); "Comprehensive Education or Removal of Pupils: The Dilemma Facing Education Systems in Responding to School Failure" (Casal); "The New Skills Approach The Roles of those Involved' (Rue); "The Relationship Between Centralised and Decentralised Learning in Vocational Training" (Vogel); "Company Role and Responsibility in Education and Training" (Suomalainen); and "The Role of Local Authorities in the Integration of Disadvantaged Young People in Germany" (Schlegel). The document contains a list of event participants. (SLR/CL)

Internet-based learning is increasingly applied in medical education, but its effect in the field of public health training is still unclear. This meta-analysis was undertaken to explore the impact of Internet-based learning on students'/professionals' knowledge of public health compared with no intervention and with traditional face-to-face (FTF) formats. Two reviewers independently searched Medline, Web of Science, ProQuest, Google scholar, ERIC and Elsevier databases for relevant studies between 1st January, 1990 and 30th December, 2016. Studies in English language providing information on educational outcomes after Internet-based training in public health courses compared with no-intervention or a pre-intervention assessment, or with FTF control group were retrieved, reviewed, and assessed according to the established inclusion/exclusion criteria in the current study. There were 16 eligible studies with 1183 participants in total. Heterogeneity in results was detected across studies. A random effects model was used to pool effect sizes for knowledge outcomes. The pooled effect size (standardized mean difference, SMD) in comparison to no intervention was 1.92 (95% CI: 1.05 to 2.78; P<0.0001), favoring Internet-based interventions. Compared with FTF formats, the pooled effect size was 0.39 (95% CI: -0.06 to 0.83; P = 0.09). The study suggested that Internet-based learning was superior to no-intervention in improving students'/professionals' public health knowledge. Compared with traditional FTF formats, Internet-based learning showed a similar effect. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579335.]

The TILA project originated from the need to explore whether and how telecollaboration affects language learning processes for communication, intercultural understanding and motivation of youngsters learning foreign languages at secondary schools and to empower teachers to pioneer meaningful pedagogical innovation in the curriculum of foreign languages at secondary schools. In the 2,5 year project, 837 pupils, 300 student teachers and 48 teachers participated in telecollaboration exchanges. The results show that task-based telecollaboration can be successfully integrated in the foreign language curriculum by blending different pedagogical activities. These exchanges can contribute to enhance pupils' communicative competence, intercultural awareness and motivation. [For full proceedings, see ED564162.]

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) lays strong emphasis on task-based language teaching (TBLT). However, this approach constitutes a challenge for many foreign language teachers, not so much because they are not familiar with the approach or its benefits, but because of the requirements and practical conditions to be met. Most national curricula are clear about the importance of TBLT. The reality of the classroom does not mirror it. The consortium, coordinated by the University of Algarve, is constituted by Higher Education Institutions and secondary schools working in tandem from ten countries (Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, and the UK). The consortium proposes to build on the outcomes of previous Comenius projects, extending previously acquired knowledge to other partners and constructing a transnational strategy for information and communications technology (ICT)-based task design management. This entails setting up regional networks to promote the languages of the partners involved in the project. [For full proceedings, see ED565087.]

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a fast pace and affecting academia and professional practice in many ways. Paradigms such as just-in-time learning, constructivism, student-centered learning and collaborative approaches have emerged and are being supported by technological advancements such as simulations, virtual reality and multi-agents systems. These developments have created both opportunities and areas of serious concerns. This conference aimed to cover both technological as well as pedagogical issues related to these developments. The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference received 98 submissions from more than 24 countries. Out of the papers submitted, 29 were accepted as full papers. In addition to the presentation of full papers, short papers and reflection papers, the conference also includes a keynote presentation from internationally distinguished researchers. Individual papers contain figures, tables, and references.

Three major models of vocational education and training provision for the 16- to 19-year-old age group have been identified: schooling model, which emphasizes full-time schooling until age 18; dual model, which involves mainly work-based apprenticeship training with some school-based general education; and mixed model. Germany is an exemplar of the dual model; the Netherlands and France provide the schooling model; provision in the United Kingdom (UK) is the mixed model. Although the dual system will continue to dominate the secondary vocational-technical education and training in Germany, German full-time vocational schools may be gradually incorporated into general education. More and more university students in Germany seek two-fold qualification--university studies and practical vocational training--to enhance their job prospects. In the Netherlands, some measures, such as encouraging more employers' organizations, trade unions, and industry involvement, have been taken to reform the senior secondary vocational school system. No significant recent reform efforts are found in France. The former polytechnics in the UK recently changed their name to universities to expand their capacities for student recruitment and program offerings. The implication for secondary and postsecondary vocational-technical education in Taiwan is that it is too school-based to adapt to the labor market and that there is a need for stronger links with the labor market. (Contains 15 references.) (YLB)

This volume contains 14 papers from international sources that outline fundamental concepts and research interests connected to the measurement of quality in postsecondary education. Some of the papers consist of concept papers and others are more extensive reports of research underway or findings from recently concluded studies. The papers are as follows: "Quality in Higher Education and the National Education Goals" (Sal Corrallo); "The Role of American Higher Education in Making America First in the World in Science and Mathematics by the Year 2000 (Goal #4)" (Michael Nettles); "Comparative Aspects of Quality Assurance in Higher Education" (Edgar Frackmann); "Questions of Quality in UK (United Kingdom) Higher Education" (John Brennan); "Conceptualization of College Quality" (Jeffery Gilmore); "Taxonomy and Comparison of Approaches to Quality Assurance in Higher Education" (David Woodhouse); "Using Student Persistence Research to Strengthen the Quality of Teaching and Institutional Processes" (Robert Froh); "An International Perspective on Assessing Baccalaureate Program Outcomes" (Trudy W. Banta, Homer S. Fisher); "Institutional Research and Planning to Support Decentralization and Privatization: Building Self-Correction and Accreditation Systems" (Robert Froh); "Developing the Tools for Using National and International Data Bases: The Relationship to Issues of Content, Assessment, and Attainment" (E. Stephen Hunt); "New Approaches to Evaluation in Austrian Higher Education" (Hans Pechar); "Assessing the Quality of Higher Education: A Mexican Perspective" (Felipe M. Rizo); "The Research-oriented Dynamism of Education" (Jose Strubbe); "Explaining Differences in Dropout between Faculties in Dutch University Education" (Riekele Bijleveld). Appendixes list participants and offer information on the National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment. (JB)

These proceedings are comprised of 23 presentations on research in European vocational education and human resource development. Papers include "Developing Information and Communication Technology Capability in Higher Education in the United Kingdom (UK)" (Nick Boreham); "Methodological Issues in the Study of Organizational Learning, with Reference to the Framework V Project ORGLEARN--Organizational Learning in the Chemical Industry and Its Implications for Vocational Education and Training (VET)" (Nick Boreham); "Forms and Implications of Work Related Identity Transformation: Preliminary Findings of "FAME" Project Investigation in the French Case" (M'hamed Dif); "Promoting Social Capital in a 'Risk Society': A New Approach to Emancipatory Learning or a New Moral Authoritarianism?" (Kathryn Ecclestone, John Field); "The Value of a Three-Year Upper Secondary Vocational Education in the Labor Market" (Erika Ekstrom, Asa Murray); "Taking Control of Their Lives? Agency in Young Adult Transitions in England and the New Germany" (Karen Evans); "Tacit Skills and Work Inequalities: A UK Perspective on Tacit Forms of Key Competences and Issues for Future Research" (Karen Evans); "Does Training Have Any History? The Enduring Influence of Behaviorism in Britain, 1940-1966" (John Field); "Training Policies Valuation in European Enterprises by Studying the Valuation Practices/Comprendre les Politiques de Formation d'Entreprises Europeennes par l'Etude de Leurs Pratiques d'Evaluation" (Gerard Figari et al.); "Work Process Knowledge in the Context of Socio-Technical Innovation" (Martin Fischer); "'I Couldn't Wait for the Day': Young Workers' Reflections on Education During the Transition to Work in the 1960s" (John Goodwin, Henrietta O'Connor); "Typology of Work Experience: Analysis of the Workplace Training Process in Quebec" (Marcelle Hardy, Louise Menard); "Apprenticeship in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland: Comparisons and Trends" (Jannes Hartkamp); "Gender and Qualification: Are Gender Differences Ignored?" (Anke Kampmeier); "From Normatively Constructed Identity to New Identities in the Contexts of 'Double' Transition Processes. The Case of Estonia" (Krista Loogma et al.); "The Consideration of Relevant Features for the Processes of Identity Formation in Current VET Policies" (Fernando Marhuenda); "The Hidden Labor Market of the Academic" (Anne Rouhelo); "Developing a Model of Factors Influencing Work-Related Learning: Findings from Two Research Projects" (Sally Sambrook); "Transition from Higher Vocational Education to Working Life: Different Pathways to Working Life" (Marja-Leena Stenstrom); "WEPP--The Work Environment Pedagogy Project: Individuals' Discovering, Interpreting, and Changed Perception of Work and Learning Environments" (Arvid Treekrem); "Continuing Vocational Training in Belgium: An Overview" (Els Vanhoven, Dirk Buyens); "Training Incidence and Job Mobility in Switzerland" (Stefan Wolter); and "The Role of Human Resource Development in Creating Opportunities for Lifelong Learning: An Empirical Study in Belgian Organizations" (Karen Wouters et al.). (YLB)