Page 6
Page 6
The Education Systems of Europe
Presents an analytical description of the education systems of all European countries, following common guidelines. These conceptual guidelines consider various criteria concerning presumptions as to the quality of a good education system. One of the book’s central aims is to explore the paradoxical character of education, i.e. the relationship between universal values and the search for a national identity. It looks at the dynamics of the developments in the ‘new’ Eastern European countries compared to those of ‘older’ Western European countries. It then goes on to discover a common pattern of European education and compares it to that of education systems outside Europe, making it relevant reading to educators around the world. The handbook provides many suggestions for further study.
The Education of Diverse Student Populations : A Global Perspective
Takes up the challenge of examining the thorniest educational issue from a global perspective. It contributes to the evidence-based conversation among policy makers, educators, and researchers around the world about what works to improve the education outcomes and what can make a bigger difference for the education of diverse students. The eleven countries included — the United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Ghana, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand are unique, and yet overlap in the sense that they all face similar challenges of teaching diverse students.
The economy as a complex Spatial System : Macro, meso and micro perspectives
Represents the final outcome of the COST Action IS1104 “The EU in the new complex geography of economic systems: models, tools and policy evaluation”.Visualizing the EU as a complex and multi-layered network, the book is organized in three parts, each of them dealing with a different level of analysis: At the macro-level, Part I considers the interactions within large economic systems (regions or countries) involving trade, workers migration, and other factor movements. At the meso-level, Part II discusses interactions within specific but wide-ranging markets, with a focus on financial markets and banking systems. Lastly, at the micro-level, Part III explores the decision-making of single firms, especially in the context of location decisions.
The Economics and Regulation of Financial Privacy: An International Comparison of Credit Reporting Systems
Provides the first in-depth analysis of the economics and regulation of financial privacy. It is an international comparison of credit reporting systems in the United States and in European countries. On the theoretical level the book explains competition in information markets, especially in markets for goods made of highly personal and sensitive information. It reviews the microeconomics of information and privacy and discusses the economic incentives to disclose or to conceal information.
The Distributed University for Sustainable Higher Education
Discusses the re-imagining of the higher education sector. It exposes problems that relate to the way that universities have become over-managed business enterprises which may not reflect societal, national, or global educational needs. From there, it proposes some solutions, including three innovative programs, that make universities more responsive to needs, as well as reduce their impact on the environment. The central idea of this book is developing the ‘Distributed University,’ which distributes education to where it is needed, reducing local and global inequalities in access, and emphasizing local relevance in place of large centralized campuses, with a low impact on the environment. It emphasizes the distribution of trust in place of managerialism and collaboration in place of competition.
The current role of geological mapping in geosciences ; Proceedings of the NATO Advanced research workshop on innovative applications of GIS in geological cartography, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland, 24-26 November 2003
Contains private views of experts from various countries on the role of geological mapping in sustainable development. New technologies and concepts are presented, which are either awaiting for recognition by Geological Surveys, or are gradually applied in some survey. The target of the book is well worded in the "Summary and recommendations" elaborated by the Ad Hoc Committee at the Advanced Research Workshop on Innovative Geological Cartography, held under NATO sponsorship in Poland in November 2003. Generally, the book is addressed to cartographers in Geological Surveys, geologists and geographers co-operating with landuse planners, ecologists and decision makers, who may learn about the state-of-the-art and the enormous information potential of the modern information technologies in Geosciences. The book, however, gives no methodological recipes but, as it was the authors' intention, may and shall be used as a guide-book in modernizing Information Technologies at the local, regional and national levels in Geosciences.
The Changing Governance of the Sciences : The Advent of Research Evaluation Systems
The establishment of national systems of retrospective research evaluations is one of the most significant of recent changes in the governance of science. In many countries, state attempts to manage public science systems and improve their quality have triggered the institutionalisation of such systems, which vary greatly in their methods of assessing research performance, and consequences for universities. The contributions to this volume discuss, inter alia, the birth and development of research evaluation systems as well as the reasons for their absence in the United States, the responses by universities and academics to these new governance regimes, and their consequences for the production of scientific knowledge. By integrating new theoretical approaches with country studies and studies of general phenomena such as university rankings and bibliometric evaluations, the book shows how these novel state steering mechanisms are changing the organisation of scientific knowledge production and universities in different countries.
Technologies for Development : From Innovation to Social Impact
Presents 18 case studies that explore current scientific and technological efforts to address global development issues, such as poverty, from a holistic and interdisciplinary point of view, putting actual impacts at the centre of its analysis. It illustrates the use of technologies for development in various fields of research, such as humanitarian action, medical and information and communication technology, disaster risk-reduction technologies, habitat and sustainable access to energy. The authors discuss how innovative technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles for disaster risk reduction, crowdsourcing humanitarian data, online education and ICT-based medical technologies can have significant social impact. The book brings together the best papers of the 2016 International Conference on Technologies for Development at EPFL, Switzerland. The book explores how the gap between innovation in the global South and actual social impact can be bridged.
Teaching, Research and Academic Careers : An Analysis of the Interrelations and Impacts
Evaluates research quality, quality of teaching and the relationship between the two through sound statistical methods, and in a comparative perspective with other European countries. In so doing, it covers an increasingly important topic for universities that affects university funding. It discusses whether university evaluation should be limited to a single factor or consider multiple dimensions of research, since academic careers, teaching and awarding degrees are intertwined. The chapters included in the book evaluate teaching and research, also taking the gender dimension into account, in order to understand where and when gender discrimination occurs in assessment. Divided into five sections, the book analyses the administrative data on the determinants of career completion of university students; increasing precariousness of academic careers, especially of young researchers; methods designed to assess research productivity when co-authorship and team production are becoming the standard practice; and interrelations between students’ achievements and teachers’ careers driven by research assessment. It brings together contributions from a large group of economists, statisticians and social scientists working under a project sponsored by ANVUR, the Italian agency for the evaluation of teaching and research of academic institutions. From an international perspective, the findings in this book are particularly interesting because despite low tuition costs, tertiary education in Italy has relatively low enrolment rates and even lower completion rates compared to those in other European and American countries.
Teaching Writing in Chinese Speaking Areas
One of the most civilized nations in history, China has a long-standing writing tradition and many Chinese texts have become world treasures. However, the way the Chinese teach writing in various countries in contemporary times is little known to the outside world, especially in Western countries. Undoubtedly, the Chinese have had an established traditional method of writing instruction. However, recent social and political developments have created the perception amongst both practitioners and researchers of a need for change. Whilst certain socio-political changes, both in Mainland China and in the territories, acted as agents for reform of the teaching of composition, the shape these reforms are taking has been due to many different influences, coming both from inside the countries themselves and from foreign sources.this is the first book that systematically introduces recent developments in teaching composition in Chinese-speaking areas. It outlines current theories and paradigms originating both in the West and in China and Chinese-speaking territories and the way in which these have been adapted to suit the various cultural contexts and learning environments. The overview is of relevance not only to the East, but throughout the world.
Teaching Tolerance in a Globalized World
Identifies factors and conditions that can help schools and education systems promote tolerance in a globalized world. The IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) is a comparative research program designed to investigate the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens, and provides a wealth of data permitting not only comparison between countries but also comparisons between schools within countries, and students within countries. Advanced analytical methods provide insights into relationships between students’ attitudes towards cultural diversity and the characteristics of the students themselves, their families, their teachers and school principals. The rich diversity of educational and cultural contexts in the 38 countries who participated in ICCS 2009 are also acknowledged and addressed.
Teaching in America : A cross-cultural guide for international teachers and their employers
The movement of teachers from mostly English-speaking countries into the U.S. has expanded the flow of skilled laborers to include the area of education. Many of such teachers are coming to teach in critical shortage areas such as mathematics, science, and foreign languages. The purpose of this book is to facilitate the transitions of international teachers from their native countries into American classrooms, using original research. This is done by discussing some of the important issues and theories to consider before and after such transitions, as viewed by international teachers themselves. Important insights about the American society and the educational system are discussed, together with strategies for achieving success in American schools. This ground-breaking, original research-based book contains narratives of real-life international teachers, includes relevant, important theories, and presents targeted issues and strategies for success. In brief, this book is a compendium of the professional, pedagogical, socio-cultural, and psychological landscape of American education.
Teaching for Excellence and Equity : Analyzing Teacher Characteristics, Behaviors and Student Outcomes with TIMSS
This book examines the interrelationship of national policy, teacher effectiveness, and student outcomes with a specific emphasis on educational equity. Using data from the IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted between 1995 and 2015, it investigates grade four and grade eight data to assess trends in key teacher characteristics (experience, education, preparedness, and professional development) and teacher behaviors (instructional time and instructional content), and how these relate to student outcomes. Taking advantage of national curriculum data collected by TIMSS to assess changes in curricular strategy across countries and how these may be related to changes in teacher and student factors, the study focuses on the distributional impact of curriculum and instruction on students, paying particular attention to overall inequalities and variations in socioeconomic status at the student and country level, and how such factors have altered over time. Multiple methods, including regression and fixed effects analyses, and structural equation modelling, establish the evolution of these associations over time.
Teaching and learning mathematical modelling : Approaches and developments from German speaking countries
Provides an overview of the German discussion on modelling and applications in schools. It considers the development from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, and discusses the term “mathematical model” as well as different representations of the modelling process as modelling cycles. Different trends in the historical and current debate on applications and modelling can be differentiated as perspectives of modelling. Modelling is now one of the six general mathematical competencies defined in the educational standards for mathematics introduced in Germany in 2003, and there have been several initiatives to implement modelling in schools, as well as a whole range of empirical research projects focusing on teachers or students in modelling processes. As a special kind for implementing modelling into school, modelling weeks and days carried out by various German universities have been established.
Teacher Quality, Instructional Quality and Student Outcomes : Relationships Across Countries, Cohorts and Time
This volume offers insights from modeling relations between teacher quality, instructional quality and student outcomes in mathematics across countries. The relations explored take the educational context, such as school climate, into account. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the only international large-scale study possessing a design framework that enables investigation of relations between teachers, their teaching, and student outcomes in mathematics. TIMSS provides both student achievement data and contextual background data from schools, teachers, students and parents, for over 60 countries.
Taxation and Public Finance in Transition and Developing Economies
Examines accounting and financial system reform in transition economies. The first book used Russia as a case study. The second volume in the series examined some additional aspects of the reform in Russia and also looked at the accounting and financial system reform efforts that are being made in Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Armenia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The present volume examines taxation and public finance in transition and developing economies. It is divided into three parts. Part 1 consists of four general studies on various aspects of tax compliance, corruption, budget efficiency and fiscal policy. Part 2 includes nine comparative studies of various aspects of public finance. Part 3 consists of 23 country and regional studies of countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Talent Development in European Higher Education : Honors programs in the Benelux, Nordic and German-speaking countries
Examines the much-debated question of how to unleash the potential of young people with promising intellectual abilities and motivation. It looks at the increasingly important topic of excellence in education, and the shift in focus towards the provision of programs to support talented students in higher education. It provides a systematic overview of programs for talented students at northern European higher education institutions (HEIs). Starting in the Netherlands, where nearly all HEIs have developed honors programs over the past two decades, the book explores three clusters of countries: the Benelux, the Nordic and the German-speaking countries. For each of these countries, it discusses the local culture towards excellence, the structure of the education system, and the presence of honors programs.
Swiss Public Administration : Making the State Work Successfully
Swiss citizens approve of their government and the way democracy is practiced; they trust the authorities and are satisfied with the range of services Swiss governments provide. This is quite unusual when compared to other countries. This book provides insight into the organization and the functioning of the Swiss state. It claims that, beyond politics, institutions and public administration, there are other factors which make a country successful. The authors argue that Switzerland is an interesting case, from a theoretical, scientific and a more practice-oriented perspective. While confronted with the same challenges as other countries, Switzerland offers different solutions, some of which work astonishingly well.
Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass for Energy : A Synthesis with Focus on the Baltic and Nordic Region
With the large-scale utilization of forest biomass for energy still in its infancy, there is an urgent need to understand the short- and long-term consequences of intensive forest biomass harvesting - both on the forest ecosystem and on forest economics. Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass for Energy draws on the vast body of knowledge of forest ecology and management in the Nordic-Baltic region, with the aim of bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and general principles on the one hand, and more concrete practical forest management and policy development on the other. The focus on the Nordic and Baltic countries makes it possible to compare two groups of countries in Europe which have similar ecological conditions, but substantial differences in both their economic frameworks and, consequently, their need to overcome barriers to increased use of forest biomass for energy.
Sustainable Urban Housing in China : Principles and Case Studies for Low-Energy Design
This book features case studies and recommendations for new approaches to environmentally responsive sustainable building, illuminating many principles of sustainability and energy efficiency applicable to buildings worldwide, and in developing countries in particular.
