Charter school authorizers and student achievement

In this paper we analyze the relationship between charter school authorizers and student achievement. We perform this analysis using a 10-year panel dataset from Minnesota, a state that permits four distinct types of authorizers—local school boards, postsecondary institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the Minnesota Department of Education. The results of the analysis indicate that there is no statistically significant relationship between charter school authorizing type and mean levels of student achievement. However, the analysis also reveals that schools authorized by nonprofit organizations exhibit substantially more variability in achievement than schools authorized by local school boards.     

Measuring the earnings returns to lifelong learning in the UK

This paper examines the earnings returns to learning that takes place following the conventional ‘school-to-work’ stage of the life-course. We operationalise such ‘lifelong learning’ as the attainment of certified qualifications in adulthood, following the completion of the first period of continuous full-time education. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for the period 1991–2006, our approach and findings represent an important addition to the existing evidence base. By using annual data, we are able to employ the fixed effects estimator, which eliminates the problem of time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity. Our dynamic specification uses a lag structure to consider how earnings returns evolve in the medium and longer run, whilst also controlling for wage trends which were evident prior to qualification attainment. Our results show a medium-run return for women of 10% on hourly wages. For men, initial suggestions of a similar positive return are eliminated once pre-qualification trends are taken into account. This suggests that adult learning has a causal effect on women's subsequent earnings but, for men, any apparent gain is due to selection.     

How to improve pupils’ literacy? A cost-effectiveness analysis of a French educational project

The Action Lecture program is an innovative teaching method run in some nursery and primary schools in Paris and designed to improve pupils’ literacy. We report the results of an evaluation of this program. We describe the experimental protocol that was built to estimate the program's impact on several types of indicators. Data were processed following a Differences-in-Differences (DID) method. Then we use the estimation of the impact on academic achievement to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis and take a reduction of the class size program as a benchmark. The results are positive for the Action Lecture program.     

Measuring the effect of charter schools on public school student achievement in an urban environment: Evidence from New York City

This paper uses student level data from New York City to study the relationship between a public school losing enrollment to charter school competitors and the academic achievement of students who remain enrolled in it. Geographic measures most often used to study the effect of school choice policies on public school student achievement are not well suited for densely populated urban environments. I adopt a direct approach and measure charter school exposure as the percentage of a public school's students who exited for a charter school at the end of the previous year. Depending on model specification, I find evidence that students in schools losing more students to charter schools either are unaffected by the competitive pressures of the choice option or benefit mildly in both math and English.     

Math skills and labor-market outcomes: Evidence from a resume-based field experiment

We examine the link between math skills and labor-market outcomes using a resume-based field experiment. Specifically, we send fictitious resumes in response to online job postings, randomly assigning some resumes to indicate stronger math skills, and measure employer responses. The resumes that are randomly assigned to indicate stronger math skills receive more interest from employers than the comparison resumes. Our findings add to the body of evidence showing that stronger math skills positively affect labor-market outcomes.     

章学诚:“道”的探索与历史编纂的革新

章学诚一生精于辨析史书体例,自信"创例发凡,多为后世开山"。他勇于开拓、革新的力量源泉,乃在于哲学上有极高的造诣。《文史通义》中《原道》诸篇,是其哲学探索之结晶。其精髓,是他认识到:作为社会生活根本法则性的"道",是来源于社会实践,"渐形渐著",不断演进发展的;应当摒除"道"是"天纵之圣"头脑中所固有、"六经"是万古不变的教条一类陈旧观念,而确立"道"是必须随着实践的发展而发展的正确观念,勇于根据社会实践的需要,开发出新的"道"。因此,他正确总结了两千年史学的演变,中肯地批判"正史"末流墨守成规造成的严重积弊,提出"仍纪传之体而参本末之法",作为改革历史编纂的方向。其主张,对于20世纪历史编纂的发展产生了深远的影响。     

“激进”背后的人文关怀：尼尔自由教育理想的当代意蕴

英国教育家尼尔以“激进”著称的教育理念建立在其自由主义教育哲学基础之上。尼尔秉承卢梭的自然主义教育观,相信儿童善良的天性和主动的求知欲,主张以关爱的态度帮助儿童自由发展,而不是以成人世界的观念去改造儿童。他重视人生的幸福更甚于书本知识的灌输。在其创办的夏山学校中,民主的学校管理与平等的师生关系是最显著的特色。他的教育思...     

日本侵华新闻史研究——以创刊初期的《盛京时报》为中心

《盛京时报》是近代日本在中国东北地区发行时间最长、发行量最大的中文报纸。日俄战争后,该报以维护日本的在华利益,扩张日本国权为目的,成为日本政府宣传其大陆政策和对华侵略的工具。本文通过考察《盛京时报》创刊初期的论调,揭示日本媒体的侵华战争责任。     

20世纪中国山水画发展中的问题探究

20世纪的中国山水画打破了"四王"保守思想在山水画坛的统治地位,山水画重新焕发出生机。各地的山水画派层出不穷,山水画家们进行了各种形式的复兴运动,在某些方面取得了很大的突破,涌现出了黄宾虹、张大千、傅抱石、李可染、陆俨少等山水画大师。但是,20世纪以来的中国山水画也出现了很多的问题,由于对山水画传统的蔑视,中国山水画的笔墨美、写意性等美学思想被西化的写实所取代,中国文人山水画的传承脉络已经断代。20世纪发展到当代,已经跌入山水画发展的最低谷。