Part 1:
Select 2 countries, other than the United States, that you are interested in learning more about.
Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:
Identify the structural organization of public schools and the leadership structures in public schools for the 2 countries you selected.
Compare the structures of public schooling in the countries you selected and the United States. What are the similarities and differences between these 3 countries’ public school structures?
Include examples of 2 standards used to assess student learning in all 3 countries.
Include your own experience, as well as 4 citations that align with or contradict your comments as sourced from peer-reviewed academic journals, industry publications, books, and/or other sources. Cite your sources using APA formatting. If you found contradicting information to what your experience tells you, explain why you agree or disagree with the research.
Part 2:
Research and read 2 peer-reviewed journal articles about the Common Core Standards. One article should support using the Common Core Standards and one article should be opposed to the use of the Common Core Standards.
Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:
Summarize the main points of each article.
Share your own experiences (not your feelings about the standards) with using a set of standards in your state (Louisiana).
Part 3:
Select an academic content area that interests you (English Language Arts – Reading Specifically) and create a visual presentation, such as a Microsoft® PowerPoint®, Prezi®, or YouTube™ video, about standards in that content area at elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Your presentation should be no more than 15–20 slides or 10–15 minutes in length.
- Frame your presentation to address the questions under each of the following categories: Students, Teachers, Assessment, and Standards and Benchmarks. Use these categories as subheadings in your presentation.
Students
- Do we expect all students to achieve all the standards? Why or why not? Who makes this decision?
What academic intervention, if any, will be provided to students who fail to meet the standards?
- What are some potential effects standardized education may have on students?
Teachers
- What does literature say about teacher perceptions of the teaching–learning–assessment process? How does one change teachers’ beliefs about the teaching–learning–assessment process if it does not align with the standards?
What are some ways we can help teachers understand the written standards and the implications for their teaching?
What steps can be taken to ensure curriculum is not solely focused on teaching to the tests?
What support can be given during the process of teachers becoming more autonomous?
Assessment
How is students’ progress toward achieving the standards reported?
What changes, if any, need to take place regarding school, district, and state assessments? Provide rationale for your suggestions.
How do states, districts, and schools assess whether students have achieved the standards at different levels? What measures of accountability should be taken?
Will national or district tests give the United States a barometer for determining how well schools are doing and provide valuable information about which students need additional assistance? Why or why not?
- Standards and Benchmarks
What is the goal of standardization and benchmarking at each of the following levels: elementary, secondary, and higher education?
- Who sets the standards?
At what levels will benchmarks be written?
What is the most appropriate format for publishing standards, taking into account that the curriculum is dynamic and changes will be made, especially regarding the benchmarks?
Part 4:
Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:
Explain similarities and differences in models of higher education in 2 different parts of the world.
Describe the effect online education has on higher education globally (refer to different models of higher education in those parts of the world that you selected).
Include your own experience, as well as 4 citations that align with or contradict your comments as sourced from peer-reviewed academic journals, industry publications, books, and/or other sources. Cite your sources using APA formatting. If you found contradicting information to what your experience tells you, explain why you agree or disagree with the research.
Part 5:
The German educational system at the secondary level incorporates a leveling system that places students in tracks according to achievement and post-secondary expectations. Read about Germany's leveling system below.
Mini Case: German Leveling System
There is a high degree of social selectivity in the German educational system. Most students at the age of 10 have to choose between 3 different tracks: lower secondary, intermediate secondary, or upper secondary school (Hillmert & Jacob, 2010). Transitioning from the elementary school into one of the arranged tracks is a significant step toward the opportunities of achieving a higher education. A secondary school track recommendation is based on previous performance and grades acquired at school (Hillmert & Jacob, 2010). The advantage of having academic training is considered the fundamental qualification for knowledge, creating values, and entering a higher-level career.
In 1983, the National Commission Report, A Nation at Risk, harshly criticized American schools and teachers, claiming that other industrialized nations such as Japan and Germany were beating the United States in the economic race (Kubow & Fossum, 2007). Teachers were classified for giving attention to self-esteem, sex education, and other “soft subjects” as opposed to concentrating on basic reading, mathematics, scientific and technological preparations. In social expectations, in Germany, schoolwork is something that naturally extends into the home (Kubow & Fossum, 2007). The home to school link provides an opportunity for quality and family time. School and home activities extend the learning beyond the classroom.
Germany has methods other than tests that serve to sort and select students. In Germany, students about 10 years of age enter into 3 separate schools based on a combination of assessment measures, such as teacher recommendation, family input, and student academic performance over their previous schooling years (Kubow & Fossum, 2007).
The German education leveling system is often considered highly effective. An appreciation of the German education leveling system begins with an understanding that not all students will attend college. The leveling education system essentially tracks students at an early age making career choices known sooner instead of later. If there is a disadvantage of the education leveling system, it would relate to the income status of the family. According to Fernandez-Kelly (2010), students who attend lower types of secondary school and leave after 9 or 10 years of schooling benefit less from the public school system with public funding than those who attend a gymnasium type of school and leave after 12 years to attend a university.
Write a 250- to 300-word response to the following:
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this German leveling system and how it addresses the educational needs of all students.
References
Fernandez-Kelly, P. (2012). The unequal structure of the German education system: Structural reasons for educational failures of Turkish youth in Germany. Spaces & Flows: An International Journal of Urban and Extraurban Studies, 2(2), 93–112. doi: 10.18848/2154-8676/cgp/v02i02/53849
Hillmert, S., & Jacob, M. (2010). Selections and social selectivity on the academic track: A life course analysis of educational attainment in Germany. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 28(1), 59–76. doi: 10.1016/j.rssm.2009.12.006
Kubow, P. K., & Fossum, P. R. (2007). Comparative education: Exploring issues in international context (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Part 6:
Assignment Content
Refer to Comparative International Education Associations and Nongovernmental Organizations.
Select an issue that requires reform within educational systems, such as standardization, teacher development, or technology.
Choose and research 5 countries with a western-centric perspective that are currently addressing the issue you selected and are making attempts to reform their educational systems.
Complete the Global Education Matrix.
Use the information from the matrix to create a 12- to 15-slide presentation that includes the following:
- A general comparison and reflection on educational systems in the countries you researched
An explanation of how the differences in educational systems led to different results in reform movements of each country you researched
- Detailed speaker notes using APA 7 Citations.
