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This study examines the way in which institutional arrangements for the delivery of IVET have changed in response to shifts in skills demand. Although these arrangements vary across countries, it is possible to identify common trends over time, such as institutional hybridisation, the blurring of boundaries between IVET and general education. Despite this development, IVET has been able to retain a distinct identity, which is attractive to learners and has the support of key labour market actors. This reflects IVET's adaptability and resilience in the face of change. Building on a Europe-wide survey of VET providers and in-depth national case studies, the study delivers a timely update of, and insight into, the continually changing IVET landscape. Results show increasing similarities in how countries configure their IVET systems. This is evident in the broadening of IVET curricula, the prominence given to the work-based learning pathway, as well as the growing importance attached to local and regional autonomy. [For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 1. The Changing Content and Profile of VET: Epistemological Challenges and Opportunities. Cedefop Research Paper. No. 83," see ED622472.]

This study examines changes in the way that knowledge, skills and competence are differentiated in curricula, and how learning is organised across different learning sites: in classrooms, workshops or laboratories, and at workplaces. The study collected information through Cedefop's ReferNet network, in-depth country case studies, and an online survey among almost 1 000 European VET providers. Results show that several countries have strengthened the general education component of their VET programmes either by increasing the extent of teaching general subjects or by better integrating them into the vocational curriculum. At the same time, the increased emphasis on general skills has not taken place at the expense of workplace learning; on the contrary, an expansion of workplace learning in IVET curricula has been ubiquitous. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to assess the exact extent of workplace learning, due to increased flexibility allowed at provider and individual level in the combination of different learning environments. [This research paper was produced by Cedefop's Department of VET and Qualifications.]

This report, intended primarily for civics reformers considering how best to defend and improve traditional American civics education, surveys a selection of different civics offerings, both the traditional and the radical. Surveyed providers include organizations such as the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, We the People, and Hillsdale College's 1776 Curriculum. The report assesses both how they approach civics education and their ideological content. The report will also judge each organization's effectiveness--although no one knows exactly what is being taught in each classroom in America, much less precisely what students take from their education. Finally, it will provide recommendations about how civics reformers should build upon this existing array of civics curriculum resources to work most effectively to reclaim America's civics education.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are often the center of discussion among faculty in higher education during discourse about curriculum conceptualization, design, planning development, and implementation. This commentary offers a functionally-centered framework that places faculty feasibility, fluidity, freedom, and flexibility around a core conceptualization of SLOs in the context of overall alignment within the college curriculum. The framework could be useful to readers failing to have shared governance over the curriculum, readers facing accreditation adherence, as well as readers confronting the sensitive topic of instructional quality, credibility, and integrity.

Although policymakers generally appreciate the value of crafting policies that are responsive to teacher and principal voice, doing so in a systematic way is challenging. Educator voices in the room when policies are made are often those of teachers and principals closest to policymakers. In 2019, to broaden the range of educator voices available to policymakers in Wisconsin, we asked more than 2,200 teachers and 700 principals in public schools in Wisconsin how "they" would change policy to improve the academic success of economically disadvantaged students. In total, 1,559 teachers and 601 principals offered suggestions for changing policy across four categories: school level--academic, student level, school level--non-academic, and community level. Though we saw variation in responses based on percent of student body eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch, grade levels served (elementary, middle, high school) and community type (city, suburb, town, rural), many responses appear with similar frequency among practitioners across contexts--indicating promise for making broader changes that impact all schools.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that the traditional system of college mathematics remediation that relies on high-stakes placement tests and prerequisite, multi-level course sequences is associated with lowered chances of students completing developmental requirements and increased rates of student attrition. This recognition has led to nationwide reform efforts that strive to alter the structure and curricula of remedial math courses. However, these broad-based reforms have been insufficient in eliminating inequities in developmental placement and completion between students of color and other underserved students and their more advantaged peers. Informed by relevant research literature, this paper argues that the majority of reforms to developmental math education seek to remedy general barriers to student progress but are not typically designed to address equity gaps and, perhaps unsurprisingly, do little to reduce them. We examine issues of concern present in traditional developmental math education and how existing reforms--including assessment and placement reforms, acceleration reforms, contextualization reforms, and curricular and pedagogic reforms--aim to address these issues, noting if they are associated with reductions in equity gaps. Lastly, we explore the potential for targeted reforms in developmental math to more effectively address the factors that contribute to inequities in student outcomes, factors such as stereotype threat, math anxiety, instructor bias, and tracking.

This paper discusses the developments in the renewable energy sector and their impact on jobs and training. It compiles and makes an analysis of how the available technologies in the market will further develop corresponding with global trends in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, and the corresponding capacities that are needed to make the transition from fossil fuel-based consumption into another supported by renewable energy. The role of Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in developing skills and qualified professionals for jobs in the renewable energy sector is a key vector of analysis. [ADENE - Agência para a Energia, Renewables Academy AG (RENAC), and Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (C2E2) were contributors to this report.]

With Massachusetts' school closure extending until the end of the 2019-20 academic year, Pioneer Institute urges that Massachusetts schools offer meaningful online and virtual learning programs, doing everything possible to eliminate problematic inconsistencies across Bay State school districts. Pioneer further urges Massachusetts to develop and distribute for timely public comment two plans, one that will remedy this semester's educational gaps during the 2020-21 school year, and another to address future extended school closures, if and when they might occur. Relatedly, after this crisis passes, Massachusetts should take steps toward generally improving its knowledge and capabilities with respect to online learning, which Pioneer, Bay State lawmakers, and nationally-recognized experts on digital learning have long identified as a significant area of weakness in Massachusetts' K-12 education system.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the current landscape in early childhood care and education and spark discussion and debate around potential areas for KIX investment. The paper is part of a series of discussion papers, drafted to support the engagement and consultation of developing country partners and technical experts in the initial design of the GPE Knowledge and Innovation Exchange. The ideas presented in the initial version of the paper served as a starting point for discussion and were modified significantly based on the consultation process, resulting in this updated version.

As a result of its direct link to the labour market, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) plays an important role in equipping the modern workforce with in-demand skills. This discussion paper aims to inspire the introduction of entrepreneurial learning in TVET towards a fully mainstreamed approach, whereby entrepreneurial learning is integrated into the role, function and delivery of TVET systems for the benefit of all learners. The paper provides insight into the different approaches to mainstreaming entrepreneurial learning and illustrates the contribution of the key pillars that make up the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem. This is supported by a series of practical examples from TVET systems around the world, illustrating how entrepreneurial learning is being transformed into reality by governments, TVET systems, communities, networks, institutions, teachers, trainers and TVET learners. This paper explores five elements of the entrepreneurial learning ecosystem: (1) Developing policy for entrepreneurial learning; (2) Curricula and pedagogies; (3) Supporting teachers and trainers; (4) Learning modes other than formal curricula; and (5) Career paths and start-ups.

This paper provides information about noncredit instruction in the California Community Colleges and updates the 2009 paper "Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge" to incorporate subsequent changes from the last decade. Since the passage of SB 361 (Scott, 2006), noncredit instruction has seen significant changes, including the equalization of funding for some areas of noncredit instruction, the passage of the Adult Education Block Grant that created adult education consortia including K-12 and community college adult education providers, and the passage of AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) that specifically encouraged colleges to use noncredit courses to support the needs of credit students. Despite noncredit's long history in the community colleges, a limited number of robust noncredit programs currently exist, and many colleges may be looking to or are beginning to offer noncredit courses for the first time. This paper is intended to provide information about noncredit instruction that will be useful to individuals with varying backgrounds and experience with noncredit and to provide recommendations that will help noncredit continue to serve the needs of diverse student populations. [For the original paper, "Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge" (adopted spring 2009), see ED510579.]

Learning frameworks are tools that specify learning outcomes and/or competencies that define, classify, and recognize educational, learner, and industry expectations of knowledge, skills, and abilities at increasing levels of complexity and difficulty. They allow for alignment, translation, and mapping of learning through various spaces in order to capture learning that can be valued and recognized by education, industry, and the military. This paper outlines the roles that learning frameworks play in the emerging ecosystem of connected learning--why they matter and how they can bring disparate pieces of the learning ecosystem together for greater portability and documentation of learning in all the places it unfolds. It concludes with a focus on technological innovations as a source of future directions for learning frameworks connectivity.

How does a large research university establish a culture supporting student-centered evidence-based teaching? In this paper, we describe Purdue University's "Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation" (IMPACT) which has involved 321 instructors and 529 courses. Of every first-time undergraduate student, who first enrolled at Purdue West Lafayette in fall 2011 to summer 2018, 95.1% of them enrolled in at least one IMPACT course in any academic period during that time. We describe the history and evolution of the program, from its roots in National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) models and Faculty Learning Communities to an innovative adaptation of Self-Determination Theory principles. The program aims to maximize autonomy support for instructors, as they design classes to meet their instructional goals and student needs. IMPACT uses assessment on multiple levels: What should we examine in addition to grades to document achievement of learning outcomes in individual courses? How do we measure the learning climate and student engagement in a class? Most important, how does a faculty development program focused on course redesign lead to meaningful and lasting institutional change? In telling this story including lessons learned, readers will discover ways to enhance and evaluate their own faculty development programs to effect evidence-based and teaching-centric culture changes on their own campuses. [Foreword by George D. Kuh.]

The Common Core curriculum standards represent the culmination of nearly three decades of federally driven centralization of curriculum--including content, pedagogy, and curriculum-based testing--in American K-12 education. Over the course of this period, decisions moved further away from schools and school systems upward toward higher levels of government. In this report, the authors describe the current clash in the education policy arena between the Scientific Management reform of Common Core curricular standards and the Liberation Management reform of parental school choice. The authors spend much of the first half of the report carefully documenting the development, rise, and recent stumble of curriculum standards-based reform, including of the specific type known as Common Core. Much of the second half of the report describes publicly funded private school choice as an alternative reform to Common Core. The cost of private schooling has remained a burden for many families, however, as a household that chooses to send their child to a private school still has to pay taxes in support of public schools their child is not attending as well as increasingly more expensive private school tuition. Public funding of private school choice represents an attempt to make private schooling options accessible to poor families as well as rich ones. The authors point out that educational freedom counts for something as well, and arguably should count for a lot when evaluating education reforms. When families are free to choose their child's school, public or private, the voluntary associations that result may promote civic comity. [Foreword by Patrick J. Wolf.]

The concept of project-based learning (PBL) has garnered wide support among a number of K-12 education policy advocates and funders. This working paper builds on and updates a seminal literature review of PBL published in 2000. Focused primarily on articles and studies that have emerged in the 17 years since then, the working paper discusses the principles that underlie PBL, how PBL has been used in K-12 settings, the challenges teachers have confronted in implementing it, how school and district factors influence its adoption, and what is known about its effectiveness in improving students' learning outcomes. PBL is grounded in cross-cutting "design principles" often related to what is taught, how it is taught, and how students should be evaluated in a PBL classroom. PBL design principles emphasize the importance of the project as the central vehicle of instruction and of students as active participants in the construction of knowledge. There is little consensus among developers of PBL design principles, however, about how PBL fits in with other instructional methods, how long a PBL unit should last, the roles of student choice and collaborative learning, and how learning should be assessed. The lack of a uniform vision complicates efforts to determine whether PBL is being implemented with fidelity and to evaluate its effects. PBL can be introduced into classrooms in a number of ways: Teachers and schools can make use of externally developed PBL curricula, they can develop their own PBL approaches, or PBL can be part of a whole-school reform effort. Implementing PBL is often challenging. It requires that teachers modify their roles (from directors to facilitators of learning) and that they tolerate not only ambiguity but also more noise and movement in the classroom. Teachers must adopt new classroom management skills and learn how best to support their students in learning, using technology when appropriate. And they must believe that their students are fully capable of learning through this approach. Given these challenges, professional development -- both initial training and continuing support -- is likely to be essential to the successful implementation of PBL. The working paper suggests that the evidence for PBL's effectiveness in improving students' outcomes is "promising but not proven." Evaluations of its effectiveness have been hampered by the paucity of valid, reliable, and readily usable measures of the kinds of deeper learning and interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies that PBL aims to promote. Many studies, too, have used evaluation designs that leave open the possibility that factors other than PBL were responsible for the outcomes that were found. This said, some studies have found positive effects associated with the use of PBL curricula in science and social studies classes. Evidence for its effectiveness in math and literacy classes is more limited. In particular, it has been noted that math teachers have found it difficult to integrate PBL into their instruction. Some studies in schools that follow PBL approaches have pointed to positive effects on students' engagement, motivation, and beliefs in their own efficacy, although the specific PBL model and the intensity of its use have varied across these schools. The working paper concludes with recommendations for advancing research and knowledge about PBL. [This paper was written with: Janet Quint, Mary G. Visher, Michael R. Bangser, Sonia Drohojowska, Larissa Saco, and Elizabeth Nelson. An earlier version of this paper was funded and published by Lucas Education Research.]

Educators increasingly agree that a learner-centered syllabus is associated with better rapport between students and teachers and increased student motivation, achievement, and empowerment. Accordingly, in 2009 Cullen and Harris developed a rubric for assessing the degree to which a syllabus is learner-centered versus teacher-centered. To date, however, there has been no such resource to explain how to actually construct a learner-centered syllabus. Therefore, I set out to provide a primer: In the first half of this paper, I review the history of syllabus construction and then discuss the research that assesses the impact of learner-centered syllabi. In the second half, I provide an assessment tool for teachers, based on the work of Cullen and Harris, for evaluating a syllabus to determine its learner-centeredness. I then explain specific elements of a learner-centered syllabus and provide examples of how to include these elements in your syllabus.

The ongoing push to raise or eliminate the charter school cap in Massachusetts provides an opportunity to reflect upon the purpose of charter schools. When the legislature created the Commonwealth's charter school law, as a part of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), it clearly stated a main reason for these new schools was innovation. Charters were expected to provide new curricular and pedagogical options and even experiment with existing school structures, such as grade configurations and the length of the school day and year. This paper highlights two Massachusetts charter schools that offer curricular opportunities rarely available in other public schools in Massachusetts. Both of these schools enable students to achieve exceptional results in comparison to their peers in traditional district schools. The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (MVRCS) consistently ranks among the best schools in Massachusetts and the country. It offers two distinct but complementary curricula--the Core Knowledge Curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels and the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum at the high school level. At the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA) in Marlborough, MA science and math are the "driving forces" behind much of the curricular content, but students are exposed to holistic and rigorous content in all subject areas. The curriculum is horizontally and vertically aligned and follows a logical, chronological sequence of content from grade to grade, enabling students to make intellectual connections not just within but also among and between content areas. In the current policy environment, understanding some of the important innovations that charter schools offer to students and families can productively inform the debate. The schools profiled in this white paper are providing high caliber educational opportunities and interesting curricular options to students and families in the communities that they serve.

Holyoke Community Charter School (HCCS) provides high quality educational opportunities to students and families in a city where such opportunities are not widely available. A long waitlist, high lottery subscription, and low attrition rate are all evidence of community demand for the school. Student outcomes that surpass the district of Holyoke attract parents and help to put students on the path to college success. Despite its success, HCCS has been the target of charter critics because of its association with the for-profit educational management organization SABIS. Most critics are focused on the organization's worldwide presence and for-profit status. They are unable to describe the SABIS approach or the extent to which it enables students to succeed. They also have limited or inaccurate information about why schools would choose SABIS. This white paper shines a light on Holyoke Community Charter School and the SABIS-designed systems that the school uses; systems that relate to curriculum, assessments, and the gathering of school level data pertaining to both. Drawing upon school- and state-generated data and interviews with HCCS students and faculty, this cases study describes how SABIS's integrated approach to curriculum, assessment, and data-driven instruction engages students in a way that encourages them to take ownership of their own learning--something rarely seen in schools, especially at the K-8 level.

Many community colleges offer a "student success" course--also known as College 101 or Introduction to College--as a means to help incoming students transition to college and become successful. The typical course is meant to provide key information and address important non-cognitive skills and behavioral expectations with the goal of familiarizing students with the college environment and giving them the tools they need to build important competencies, persist in college, and earn a credential. This paper examines the efforts of Bronx Community College in implementing a redesigned student success course called First Year Seminar (FYS), which is intended to better support students than a typical student success course by incorporating academic content, skill-building exercises, and applied teaching pedagogies, among other features, into the course. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis, our study finds that FYS participation is associated with positive student outcomes that appear to be sustained for a longer period of time than what is typically found for students taking a traditional student success course. The focus of FYS on student-centered pedagogy and on integrated course content appears to be beneficial. Our findings also suggest that when students have the opportunity to practice student success and basic academic skills within the context of an improved student success course, they are likely to apply those skills in future courses, potentially increasing their long-term educational attainment.

This report provides the historical background and interpretive analysis needed to understand controversies surrounding Common Core and its associated tests. In this report, Williamson M. Evers presents a revised and expanded version of his expert report for "Jindal v. United States Department of Education et al.," No. 14-CV- 534 (M.D. La), that includes the following four points: (1) That longstanding federal statutes contain prohibitions on the federal government in general--and the U.S Department of Education in particular--from directing or controlling curriculum; (2) That Common Core in combination with its associated tests are components of curriculum and put the country on the path to a national curriculum; (3) That, notwithstanding the role of the state officials and others in the creation of Common Core and its tests, the federal government and its Department of Education got the states to adhere to the Common Core and its associate tests and are enforcing against the states policies aimed at keeping in place these national standards and national tests (or their federally-approved equivalents); and (4) That, although the Common Core and its tests are defended as needed for school-improvement purposes, there is an alternative approach to school improvement that is consistent with the Constitution and federal statutes.

This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data to compare the outcomes of students at Chabot College who participated in an accelerated, one-semester developmental English course and their peers who participated in a two-semester sequence. The sample included first-time students who entered college between summer 1999 and fall 2010; students were tracked for up to five years. Propensity score matching and regression analyses show that participation in the accelerated course was positively associated with a range of positive short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes, including entry-level college English completion, credit accumulation, grade point average, transfer to a four-year institution, and certificate and degree attainment. To better understand the quantitative findings, the authors draw on data from interviews with faculty, administrators, and staff; student focus groups; and classroom observations. The authors posit that the benefits of an accelerated course structure are amplified at Chabot College by a developmental English curriculum that is well aligned with college-level English and that develops critical academic literacy skills.

In this paper, the authors draw on empirical data from CCRC's Scaling Innovation project to examine trends in developmental education instructional reform and outline a framework for reform adoption and adaptation. The paper's findings are based on two qualitative data sources: a scan of developmental education reforms that involved changes to curricula, course structure, and/or pedagogy; and fieldwork conducted at 11 colleges working to replicate high-potential instructional innovations developed at other colleges. The data suggest that colleges tend to enact developmental education reforms in ways that may unintentionally undermine their potential benefits. The authors present a framework for engaging practitioners in activities that will increase the impact of their developmental education reforms while strengthening institutional capacity. Appended are: (1) Scaling Innovation Partner Programs; and (2) Methods.

In January 2011, the Lumina Foundation published its Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) to challenge faculty and academic leaders in the U.S. to think deeply and concretely about aligning expectations for student learning outcomes across higher education. Since then, the DQP has kindled extensive discussions about what the postsecondary degrees granted by American colleges and universities really mean with respect to what graduates know and can do. But the text of the DQP itself provides only limited guidance to stakeholders with respect to assessment. In order to render the Profile's potential real, institutions and their faculties will need to develop consistent and systematic ways to gather evidence that the competencies that the DQP describes are actually being mastered at the levels claimed. In this paper, I explore some of what needs to be done in this area and provide a few tools and techniques (some of which are already in widespread use) that may help us move forward. In offering them, I invite faculties at all our colleges and universities to carefully examine what the DQP asks us to do in designing more aligned and integrated approaches to teaching, learning, and determining student competence--as well as to actively experiment with these ideas and techniques with their colleagues. (Contains 13 footnotes.) [Foreword by George Kuh and Stan Ikenberry and Afterword by Carol Geary Schneider.]

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the quality and accessibility of underpinning knowledge in competency-based training. It uses the Vocational Graduate Certificate and the Vocational Graduate Diploma in Education Design in a Queensland TAFE [technical and further education] institute to examine how the "traditional" knowledge and theory associated with higher-level qualifications can be accommodated within the framework of competency-based training and assessment. The paper raises some interesting, and provocative, questions about the status and value of these qualifications by comparison with their university counterparts. (Contains 2 footnotes, 2 figures, and 2 tables.)

This working paper is part of a series on early transitions from "Young Lives," a 15-year longitudinal study of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. It explores the diverse experiences of 28 children from four contrasting communities in Peru as they start school. These detailed case studies highlight common problems: exclusion of certain parts of the population from pre-school services, lack of coordination between pre-schools and primary schools, issues with physical punishment and cultural diversity. It proposes four ways in which children's early educational transitions can be enhanced, looking at such factors as educational structures, curriculum planning and teacher training. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 23 footnotes.)