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81. Fresh Starts: School Form and Student Outcomes

Author:
Peter Bearman and Christopher Weiss
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University
Abstract:
Seemingly endless tinkering and adjustment of the structure of education in the United States over the past century has led to the adoption of different school forms at different times. Currently the middle school is the dominant form of schooling for the middle years of education; however, the middle school is a relatively new form that replaced the junior high school, which itself replaced previous schooling forms. Despite the rhetoric of policymakers and practitioners, little research has considered what school forms work for what kinds of adolescents across what dimensions. In this article, we show that for both academic and non-academic outcomes, how school systems structure the transition from 8th to 9th grade makes almost no difference. Where differences appear, they are small and point to the benefits of school transitions for providing fresh starts to adolescents in socially difficult situations. The policy implications are correspondingly clear: the optimal school structure for any school district is the one that maximizes building space, reduces crowding, and achieves administrative rationality.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Education
Political Geography:
United States

82. Secure Borders: The European Experience - A Roundtable with Jonathan Faull

Author:
Mark R. Shulman
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The EastWest Institute hosted a roundtable discussion with Jonathan Faull, Director-General, Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) of the European Commission. Mr. Faull discussed various important, innovative and effective initiatives that JHA is pursuing to cultivate security while promoting freedom and justice throughout Europe and its new neighborhood. He also discussed impending changes to the US visa regime and their potential impact on transatlantic trade, educational and cultural exchanges, tour ism and relations generally. Other participants included leading experts and scholars from the media, universities, think tanks, and human rights organizations.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Education, Human Rights, and Culture
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

83. The Liberal Arts at Home and at Work

Author:
Pauline Yu
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
Abstract:
How many of you have had the experience of touring an older industrial city, perhaps in the company of a local booster keen to describe the city's glorious past, exhibit its vibrant present, and sketch its exciting future? You're likely to have been shown the redeveloped business district, with some gleaming skyscrapers, transportation hubs, and commercial redevelopment. Much would have been made of the "world-class," "cutting-edge," and "competitive" facilities businesses could find there.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

84. U.S.–South Africa Research and Training Collaborations

Author:
Beth Elise Whitaker
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This report, the most recent of several SSRC projects related to knowledge production, research networks and capacity building in sub-Saharan Africa, concerns the state of collaboration between U.S. and South African higher education institutions around social science research and other areas linked to the extraordinary changes that have (and are) taking place in post- apartheid South Africa's higher education system. Conducted and written by Beth Whitaker, an assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and former program associate at the American Council on Education's Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development, the study inventories recent partnerships with an eye toward the future. Political transformations in South Africa catalyzed a flood of student exchange programs, individual research partnerships between U.S. and South African scholars, and broader efforts in establishing institutional linkages around research, advanced training, and in addressing the extreme inequities of a higher education system bifurcated along racial lines (an issue far from unfamiliar in the U.S. context). In focusing on these broader institutional connections, the study demonstrates some overlaps and some significant gaps (especially the paucity of cross-national institutional collaborations on HIV/AIDS). It also calls attention to the unevenly distributed participation in partnerships—with historically black and disadvantaged institutions in both countries less able to establish networks internationally for mutual benefit. It should be an important resource for those institutions planning future collaborations, which will hopefully address some of the gaps that have been identified in the study. While the research for the study was primarily conducted in 2002-3 with the support of the National Science Foundation, Prof. Whitaker updated the results for the purposes of this publication in the Spring of 2004.
Topic:
Education and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

85. An Economic Perspective on Urban Education

Author:
William Gale, Megan McNally, and Janet Rothenberg Pack
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Participants in the annual symposium on The Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs—convened by Brookings and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School—present research on issues unique to urban areas as well as on broader economic and policy topics that can apply to urban settings. This year's participants focused on urban education and presented findings on the results of an experiment designed to detect cheating on standardized tests, the impact of school reform in an urban setting, the effect of school quality on housing values, and the determinants of improved academic performance. Two other studies addressed other urban economic issues: the increase in economic inequality across and within geographic regions, and local variation in land use regulations. This year's Brookings-Wharton symposium took place at Brookings in October 2002. The resulting bound volume is due out this month from the Brookings Institution Press.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United States and Pennsylvania

86. Keeping America in Business: Advancing Workers, Businesses and Economic Growth

Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Assembly at Columbia University
Abstract:
At the close of their discussions, the participants in the 102nd American ;Assembly on “Achieving Worker Success and Business Prosperity: The New Role for Workforce Intermediaries,” at Arden House, Harriman, New York, February 6-9, 2003 reviewed as a group the following statement. The statement represents general agreement; however, no one was asked to sign it. Furthermore, it should be understood that not everyone agreed with all of it.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, New York, and America

87. A Comparison of Military and Civilian Approaches

Author:
Maria D. Montilla and Carol J. De Vita
Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
New information on early childhood learning and increasing demand for child care services have placed a spotlight on the need to improve the quality of early education and care in America. Research on brain development and learning has shown the importance of early education for young children (Shonkoff and Phillips 2000). Surveys of child care settings have documented the mediocre to poor quality of many of our child care programs (Helburn and Bergmann 2002). Mothers who work outside the home report that child care is a critical factor in their lives, and welfare reforms are intrinsically linked to the availability of child care services. While almost everyone agrees that something needs to be done, there is less agreement on how to do it.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Civil Society, and Education
Political Geography:
United States

88. Art, Technology and Intellectual Property

Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Assembly at Columbia University
Abstract:
At the close of their discussions, the participants in the 100th American Assembly on "Art, Technology, and Intellectual Property," at Arden House, Harriman, New York, February 7-10, 2002, reviewed as a group the following statement. While the statement represents general agreement, no one was asked to sign it. Furthermore, it should be understood that not everyone agreed with all of it, and some vigorously disagreed with some of it.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States, New York, and America

89. Affirmative Action At Sciences Po

Author:
Daniel Sabbagh
Publication Date:
09-2002
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
Unlike in the United States, in France, the main operational criterion for identifying the beneficiaries of affirmative action policies is not race or gender, but geographical location. In this respect, the first affirmative action plan recently designed in the sphere of higher education by one of France's most famous 'grandes écoles', the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, while not departing significantly from this broader pattern of redistributive, territory-based public policies, has given rise to a controversy of an unprecedented scale, some features of which may actually suggest the existence of a deeper similarity between French and American affirmative action programs and the difficulties that they face. That similarity lies in the attempts made by the supporters of such programs to systematically minimize the negative side-effects on their beneficiaries' public image potentially induced by the visibility of the policy itself.
Topic:
Education
Political Geography:
United States, America, Paris, and France

90. Pakistan: Madrasas, Extremism And The Military

Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
In its new role as key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, Pakistan's military government has toned down many policies that previously fostered militancy and religious extremism within the country and internationally. Action against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and home-grown sectarian terrorists are examples. But the military's confrontation with its former religious allies is likely, at best, a short-term response compelled by circumstances and foreign pressure.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Politics
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, and South Asia