Search

In 2018, Shanghai implemented an admission policy that canceled the admission priority of private schools to promote education equity. Since this policy is a unique measure for adjusting private and public school competition and discouraging private school choice priority, little is known about the policy effects. In this research, to examine the impact of the new admission policy on the capitalization of public education quality, we apply boundary fixed effect and Difference in Differences (DID) analysis to housing transaction records before and after the policy. The admission policy on average led to an additional 2% housing price premium for every standard deviation increase in public school quality. However, this average increase in premium was mainly driven by elite (top 5%) school districts, where an additional 8.6% housing price premium was generated by the policy. Housing prices in non-elite school districts, on the other hand, demonstrated no significant changes. These results indicate that the policy enlarges the housing price gap among school districts with different education quality. Thus, rather than promoting education equity, this policy may overall worsen the housing affordability in good public-school districts and make access to quality education more exclusive.

Digital technology is an increasingly integral component of teaching and learning within schools and, with Australia’s National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) moving to an online assessment, students now require a level of ICT capability to undertake this national measure of achievement. Substantial research exists around the presence of a digital divide, indicating that students from lower socioeconomic status households typically have less access to digital hardware and schools with low socio-educational advantage (SEA) are less likely to offer the same opportunities to engage with digital hardware as high SEA schools. This research examined classroom teacher perspectives on their students’ digital access and ICT capability and its impact on their ability to undertake online assessments. The research used a convergent mixed methods design to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The participants consisted of 107 self-selecting Australian teachers who completed an online survey. The participants worked in different school sectors representing a range of low to high socio-educational advantage schools. The findings of this research indicated that teachers identified inequity in digital access in students’ school and home learning environments. Students with access to their own devices, compared to students who share a device, were perceived by teachers to have significantly higher levels of ICT capabilities in both learning environments. Students accessed their own devices more prevalently in non-government schools, higher socio-educational advantaged schools, than in government schools and lower socio-educational advantaged schools, where students were more likely to share devices. The implications are important as the results identify that teachers perceive inequity in the level of digital ability students possess when undertaking online assessments like NAPLAN. The participants highlighted that the type of support schools provide to teac

The paper discusses changes which Germany’s federal system and its distribution of competences, responsibilities and resources between the central/federal and the regional/Länder levels has undergone between the foundation of the Federal Republic in 1949 and the current situation. The guiding question is whether, when and why the development has pointed at decentralization or centralization. The discussion focuses on the education sector (schools, universities) which, in 1949, was given a pronouncedly decentralized constitutional and political status with the legislative, financial and operational responsibilities for the education sector (schools, universities) almost exclusively assigned to the regions (Länder) (and to a lesser degree to the local authorities). In the subsequent developmental stages and moves (constitutional amendments etc.) which are laid out in the paper the education sector experienced a sequence of “centralizing” federal (legislative and financial) interventions. Recently, in 2019, a major federal financial intervention has been inaugurated which is meant to promote the “digitisation” of the school sector and the importance and the impact of which has been heightened by the Corona virus crisis. In conclusion the paper discusses political initiatives and strategies for the regions (Länder) and local authorities to maintain (and also regain) their traditional role in the education sector., En el artículo, se analizan los cambios del sistema federal alemán en relación a la distribución de competencias, desde el establecimiento de la República Federal en 1949 hasta el presente. La pregunta que se plantea es en qué momento y por qué se han desarrollado tendencias hacia una mayor descentralización o centralización. La discusión está focalizada en el sector educativo actual. En 1949 fue asignado un status constitucional y político explícitamente descentralizado debido a las responsabilidades legislativas, financieras y operacionales atribuidas casi exclusivamente a los Länder y (a menor grado) a los gobiernos locales. Desde entonces el sector educativo ha visto intervenciones federales (legislativas y financieras), culminando en 2019, en una intervención financiera federal para fomentar la “digitalización” del sector escolar cuya importancia e impacto se subrayó por la crisis de la COVID-19. En las conclusiones, el artículo discute iniciativas y estrategias de los Länder y de las autoridades locales para mantener (y también recuperar) su papel tradicional en el sector educativo.

The performance of the education industry is vital to the national security and economic prosperity of the United States. The advent of the Information Age has significantly increased both the opportunities and the challenges presented to policymakers and educators. An examination of the education industry leads to five principal conclusions. First, high academic standards and effective assessments are essential to promote achievement and measure progress. Second, efforts to recruit, train, and retain high-quality teachers and administrators require special priority. Third, the United States should continue to implement policies, and increase targeted resources that promote equal access and opportunity for all U.S. citizens. Fourth, teachers cannot be successful alone. Social support with adult involvement and a safe learning environment are key to successful student development. And fifth, innovative ideas such as school choice, home-schooling, charter schools, and e-learning can spur competition, raise industry performance, and promote equity. The overall assessment of the U.S. education industry at present produces mixed results. Primary and post-secondary schools are above average compared with those of international competitors; middle schools are average; and secondary schools are below average. The performance of the transitional sector (non-collegiate adult education) is marginal (but improving) relative to other countries, and that of the workplace sector is expanding and satisfactory. Although most U.S. citizens agree that education in the U.S. needs improvement, the degree and method of change remain debatable issues.