(In)visible Witnesses: Young people's views of images of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians on UK children's television from a gender perspective (Research Briefing)

This briefing is based on the (In)visible Witnesses study by a team of researchers led by Liz Whitelegg and Richard Holliman at the Open University. This project is one of five commissioned by the UKRC to explore issues around the role of the media and representations of women in STEM. This briefing looks at the (re)construction of gendered representations of STEM on children's television and investigates the ways in which these images affected children's and young people's perceptions of STEM. The content of two weeks of children's television was analysed. Following this, 45 children and young people were involved in a study which looked at how children and young people made sense of the STEM they watch on television. Several methods were used to elicit children's and young people's perceptions of STEM and their place within these fields in the future - a questionnaire, 'draw-a-scientist' test, reflective writing about their future selves as scientists and the creation of a 'storyboard' for a TV programme

Excellence for all: A gifted and talented approach to whole-school improvement

"This booklet is one of a series of publications designed to support secondary schools in developing Gifted and Talented (G&T) education as part of a whole-school approach to improving provision and outcomes for all pupils. They form part of a suite of National Strategies guidance and resources supporting school improvement and raising attainment." - Prefac

Scientific Illiteracy: Causes, Costs and Cures

[Excerpt] This article examines the causes of the learning deficits in science, math and technology, evaluates their social costs and then recommends policy measures for remedying the problems identified. Following the American Association for the Advancement of Science\u27s Science for All Americans report, I define the domain of science very broadly to include mathematics and technology along with the natural sciences. To avoid confusing readers accustomed to the narrower definition of science, broadly defined science is referred to as science, mathematics and technology

Building and Strengthening State Data Systems to Measure Community College and Workforce Outcomes

Calls for creating state data systems on postsecondary, adult education, and workforce development programs and employment outcomes in order to better serve low-income, low-skilled workers. Outlines barriers, effective systems, and policy recommendations

Impact Philanthropy to Improve Teaching Quality: Focus on High-Need Secondary Students

Offers models for improving teachers' skills, including through apprenticeships and in-school mentoring; for creating an environment for great teaching through better leadership and whole-school reform; and guidance for donors on the policy environment

Why High School Students Learn So Little And What Can Be Done About It

[Excerpt] The National Commission on Excellence in Education has stated, Learning is the indispensable investment required for success in the information age we are entering. The high American standard of living has always depended on the high quality of American workers. There is no way unskilled American manufacturing workers can compete with the millions of unskilled workers of India, China and Latin America. The watchword in American manufacturing is now AUTOMATE, MIGRATE, OR EVAPORATE. Automation, however, requires a highly skilled and flexible work force. Skilled workers are essential for the design, introduction and maintenance of the advanced manufacturing technologies that must be adopted if we are to maintain our high standard of living

Incentives and Innovation? R&D Management in Germany’s High-Tech Industries During the Second Industrial Revolution

The allocation of intellectual property rights between firms and employed researchers causes a principal-agent problem between the two parties. We investigate the working contracts of inventors employed by German chemical, pharmaceutical, and electrical engineering firms at the turn of the 20th century and show that some firms were aware of the principal-agent problem and offered performance-related compensation schemes to their scientists. However, neither a higher total compensation nor a higher share of variable compensation in total compensation is correlated with a higher innovative output. Thus, incentives techniques were already used during the early history of industrial research laboratories, but their impact on innovative output was unsystematic.Compensation packages; incentives; innovation; economic history; Germany, pre-1913