The Impact of Teacher Study Groups in Vocabulary on Teaching Practice,Teacher Knowledge,and Student Vocabulary Knowledge: A Large-Scale Replication Study

The purpose of this replication study was to examine the impact of the Teacher Study Group (TSG) professional development in vocabulary on first-grade teachers' knowledge of vocabulary instruction and observed teaching practice, and on students' vocabulary knowledge. Sixty-two schools from 16 districts in four states were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. A total of 182 first-grade teachers and their 1,811 students formed the sample. Treatment teachers received the TSG professional development from October to March. Teachers in the business-as-usual control condition received school/district professional development. A multilevel analysis was conducted to detect impacts. Significant impacts were found for teacher knowledge and observed teaching practice. No impacts were found at the student level.     

The Dynamics and Macro Strategy of Structural Reform in Higher Education in China: Case Study of Two Critical Periods (1949–1960 and 1998–2009)

The development of the higher education system in China has experienced huge changes alongside the transitions in the socio-economic milieu since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Among the major structural transformations of higher education, the reform during the 1950s and the one from 1998 to 2009 can be seen as two typical cases and manifestations of macro strategy modulation. Both reforms were driven by the need of strengthening and empowering the nation as a whole through the advancement of higher education. But the 1950s reforms featured the perpetuation of state control, highly centralized resource allocation, and authoritarian administration, while the 1998–2009 period reflected the transition from a planned to a market economy in higher education, manifested in an increased weight given to market forces, the enlarged autonomy of higher education institutions (HEIs) and expanded government guidance instead of mere state control. The paper will take the two periods as cases to show why and how the reforms were formulated and what directions they are leading towards.     

Higher education and early life outcomes

A multidimensional view of the impact of higher education is presented. The influence of earnings on three other life outcomes is considered. Data from a follow-up of students in the United States who had earlier participated in the Freshmen Norms Survey of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) indicate the distinctiveness of selected outcomes. A different developmental process is suggested for each. Controlling for other inputs, we found possible impacts of higher education on earnings attainment and liberalism-conservatism, but not on later job and life satisfaction.     

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