Search

Over the period 2007-2013, a series of undertakings were made to introduce fundamental elements of decentralized education finance to Egypt. In 2009, 8.4M Egyptian pounds (EGP) of the Government of Egypt's (GOE) budget was decentralized to every primary school in three pilot governorates. By 2013, EGP 1.2B of the GOE's money had been decentralized nationwide. This paper describes what these undertakings strived to achieve, what specifically was done to achieve these objectives, the degree to which these objectives were achieved, the reasons why they were achieved to the degree they were with particular attention paid to the institutional and political context within which these undertakings unfolded. The account of the technical work that was undertaken to decentralize these funds is important, but more important is the account of the interplay between the technical work, the fact that this work supported a GOE-led initiative, and the volatile political environment--pre-revolution, revolution, and post-revolution Egypt--in which the work was done for it is here where important lessons about reform emerge.

This paper examines the research literature concerning the effects of homogeneous vs. heterogeneous ability grouping on the mathematical achievement and attitudes of students. The studies examined concern all grade levels from 1 through 12, and relate to grouping on the basis of general ability and on the basis of prior mathematical achievement. Differential effectiveness of grouping patterns on students of high, middle, and low ability is examined. Grouping within individual classrooms is also discussed. On the basis of the analysis of the literature, three recommendations are made: (1) school systems should be encouraged to experiment with homogeneous grouping; (2) teachers should be encouraged to experiment with grouping students within the classroom; and (3) research on team-teaching should be done. The second part of this paper provides an annotated bibliography. Seventy-seven research reports related to ability grouping are annotated. For each report bibliographic information, a summary of the research methods, and a list of findings are provided. (SD)

Separate simultaneous equations models for the educational process for high and low achievers are estimated with two stage least squares for a sample of the 12th grade Coleman data. The nine observed endogenous variables concern cognitive, non-cognitive, and attitudinal factors. The 48 exogenous variables concern demographic, home, peer, teacher, and school effects. Bias resulting from splitting the sample on the basis of the dependent variable is discussed. The results are compared to those for the full sample and the reduced form models to distinguish findings that may arise from this bias. The results suggest that the educational process is similar for the two groups, but that the relationships among some of the endogenous variables and the effects of some exogenous variables are different. In particular, sense of control over the environment affects the achievement of low achievers but not that of high, while self-esteem affects the achievement of high achievers but not of low. Several school and teacher characteristics affect the achievement of high and low achievers differently, suggesting that school resources could be re-distributed to increase achievement. However, the results also suggest that such policies would have detrimental effects on other outcomes for students. (Author)

This study examines four hypotheses concerning the nature of fear of success (FOS). Data were gathered in two stages. First, respondents in a large sample survey of metropolitan Detroit area residents were asked to tell a Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) story. In the second stage, white currently-married females aged 18 to 56 whose households were included in the first sample were re-interviewed six months to a year later. Comparative results suggest that the presence of FOS was strongly related to story length. Further, the hostility in FOS stories may represent free-floating anger. The study concludes that parents who are traditional, and who regard competition as inappropriate for females, seem more likely to rear daughters who regard achievement as inappropriate or threatening. FOS does not seem to be related to the inhibition of achievement activity but rather to high-achieving behavior, suggesting the need for further exploration of environment factors. (Author/BW)

This report contains a collection of papers on the status of the use of calculators in the schools of 16 countries. Each report summarizes trends and prevailing opinions about curricular implications of calculators; research activities; instructional practices; student attitudes; in-service activities; and general background on amount and type of use, projects, and other concerns. Also included are a synthesis of these national reports and a report of the International Working Group on Calculators from a meeting in January 1980. The report concludes with a list of selected references. The hope of the authors is that this document will answer some of the questions about the current status of calculator use for the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and West Germany. (MP)

The results of three investigations into major influences affecting women's participation and achievement in mathematics and their preferences for mathematics-related careers are reported. The major cognitive, affective and educational influences are studied. Major social influences, including sex role stereotyping mathematics as a male domain, and perceived usefulness of mathematics for later life roles, are also discussed. Evidence related to hypotheses of biological sources as major influences of differences in mathematical achievement are investigated. The underlying theme of all three papers is the finding that sex differences in mathematics achievement, which are usually evident for the first time around grade 8 or 9, are largely a function of differential course taking rather than any inability on the part of women to learn mathematics. Mathematics tests that do show sex differences usually do not control for the number of courses taken. Also, differences do not appear to have a biological basis. (Author/MP)

This review of the literature on achievement ambitions summarizes the more important developments in this area for the last 10 years. Sociology and psychology literature are included. Among the topics discussed are the following: (1) ambition and achievement in the context of role theory, (2) measurement of achievement ambitions, (3) acquisition and development of ambition, (4) sex roles and ambition, and (5) socioeconomic and related consequences of ambition. The conclusions of the paper indicate that: (1) there are few if any conventions by which ambition is assessed, (2) the social psychological sources of differential ambition are at best suggested by an unsystematic empirical literature, and (3) in tightly controlled experimental situations, success and failure at competitive tasks influence levels of ambition and are consequences of it. However, in the natural world, the successes and failures of persons are more likely to result from events in their life cycles such as marriages, divorces, etc. than from their differential ambition to achieve in these competitive settings. (Author/AM)

This study was conducted to address two questions: (1) are deficiencies in fraction skills due to current instructional programs, and, if yes, (2) should instruction on fractions be postponed until secondary school or should instruction at the elementary levels be revised? A battery of fraction tests consisting of 78 items was developed; tests were classified according to cognitive level as computation, comprehension, or applications. Tests were given to average eighth-grade students. More than 1500 students took 10-item parts of the battery. Results indicated that students do not have the fractional skills needed to compute or to solve problems. Responses to number line and diagramatic items indicate they understand fractional concepts; however, performance on other items indicates a poor understanding of the structure of the rational number system. The investigators recommended that some instruction on fractions be postponed. (SD)

Score on the Mathematics Test of the National Teacher Examinations (NTE) was the dependent variable in a stepwise multiple regression using personological variables of in-service teachers as regressors. Two variables--number of semester hours credit in mathematics, and grade level of teaching--accounted for 61 percent of the observed NTE score variance. Predicted and obtained NTE scores were compared for a trichotomous division of teachers into low, middle, and high achievement. The prediction seems adequate for use in classifying teachers by achievement in research studies without requiring costly and time-consuming testing. (Author/HM)

The derivation and analysis presented in this report allow the experimenter to perform multifactor contrasts on correlation coefficients for several populations in an experimental design. Cells of the design constitute independent groups of subjects on which two measures have been taken and correlated. Measures need not be identical for each group. An example is given in which the dependent variable represents the correlation between attitude and achievement for six secondary school science classes stratified by ability (three levels) and grade level (two levels). An overall relationship was observed between science attitude and knowledge of science for junior and senior high school students of science. No difference due to achievement was found, but the grade difference was significant. (Author/BB)

A 1975 U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity Census Update Survey was analyzed in an effort to investigate local-born and migrant populations of Hawaii. Findings showed that among the local-born, the most notable recent development has been the rise of the Orientals (essentially Japanese and Chinese) to equality with the haoles (essentially non-Portuguese and non-Puerto Rican Caucasians) on some social and economic indices and clear superiority on others. In contrast, local-born Filipinos and members of other groups remain disadvantaged on all dimensions. Mainland-born haoles initially suffer from high unemployment but are characterized by moderate income and high educational and occupational levels. Their income and homeownership levels appear to improve markedly with increasing duration of residence. Among Asian immigrants, recent arrivals are characterized by occupational and income levels far below what would be expected given their educational levels. Cultural and historical explanations for these and other findings are examined. A projection of the Hawaii population to the year 2000 demonstrates slower than expected growth for the haole population, a large increase in the proportion that is Filipino, and a large drop in the Oriental share of the population. (Author/RM)

This paper reviews and synthesizes the results of 17 studies of the prediction of successful achievement in first-year algebra courses. On the basis of this review, four major points are made: (1) success in prior mathematics courses is a better predictor of success in algebra than general intellectual ability; (2) ability to understand and apply mathematical concepts is a better predictor than computational skill; (3) different measures of specific abilities predict success in different aspects of algebra; and (4) it is unlikely that any set of measures will account for more than 50 to 70 percent of the variance in algebra achievement. Annotations are provided for each of the studies reviewed; these indicate the tests used in the study and the major findings, as well as bibliographic information. In the final section of this paper the findings of the National Longitudinal Study of Mathematics Abilities (NLSMA) which concern algebra are summarized. The scales in the NLSMA tests are briefly described, and sample items are provided. (SD)

The purpose of this paper is to identify patterns of performance which might yield insight into findings concerning mathematics achievement of Chicano students. The Chicano student populations of these studies were identified and restricted by the following criteria: Spanish surname, of Mexican descent, language (bilingual, Spanish-English; monolingual, Spanish), geographic area (southwestern and western United States). The majority of Chicano students in the studies were from backgrounds of low socioeconomic status. This paper summarizes the general results of the literature reviewed and concludes with an annotated bibliography. The review of the studies is organized according to three major constructs: (1) Tests, (2) Instructional Programs, and (3) Socio-Cultural-Economic Conditions. Section 1 contains three subsections: (a) Mental Ability Profiles, (b) Language and Cultural Factors in Tests, and (c) Reliability and Predictability of Mental Ability and Achievement Tests. Section 2 contains three subsections: (a) Bilingual Programs, (b) Teacher-Student Interactions, and (c) Special Programs. The studies are cross-referenced under appropriate subsection; thus the results of one study may be included under more than one topic. (Author/SD)

This working paper presents specifications for the test items to be used in the second mathematics study to be conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). A content-by-behaviors grid is presented for two population levels, with specifics for each dimension outlines and examples of test items provided. (MS)

Teachers and teacher educators seem to be little aware of some major concepts about instruction that provide important insights into the central requirements for learning. A common misconception is that motivation has to do with wanting or desiring. It is instead attention to stimuli that is influenced by two powerful agents--(1) suspense, discovery, curiosity and (2) reinforcement. Introduction of new learning by the arousal and subsequent relief of curiosity is one important motivational tactic. Reinforcement for correct responses or prompt knowledge of results leads to increased student success at the task, which is the most powerful motivator for learning. Student errors can either be corrected immediately to maximize student success or planned by the instructor to result in learner annoyance or perplexity to lead him into the desired responses. Guidance or prompting should be limited to early stages of learning; confirmation of unprompted responses should characterize the vast bulk of instruction. Student behavior should be shaped through a series of successive approximations to the eventaul terminal behavior by specifying in measureable terms the standard of acceptability at each stage of learning. Explicit generalization of discrimination training, as applicable, is recommended for presenting the confusable elements present in every learning task. (YLB)