Questions tagged [education]

Education is a process of imparting knowledge. It is typically associated with the formal, systematic process that includes schools and trained teachers, but also includes the informal "word-of-mouth" method where knowledge is imparted through the telling of stories and folk-tales.

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In literate countries, does more education lead to more economic growth?

In Matt Ridley's The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge he makes many challenges to widely accepted ideas. He challenges the widely held idea that more education is good. For example: Is there any evidence that it was education that…
matt_black
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Can one hour of TV per day worsen GCSE grades?

Earlier today, I read a scientific article in the British newspaper The Daily Mail. The article in question states that one hour of TV/electronic devices can worsen your performance in GCSEs. A single hour’s TV or internet use each night will…
user28632
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Can someone have a "gift for languages"?

In Australia, although it has changed significantly in the past 30 years due to migration, it is quite common for people of Anglo background to only speak one language. I learned my second language quite quickly due to hard work and regular…
going
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Is it true that the Bennington College endowment is low because they declined donations to maintain academic independence?

Some (possibly dubious) college Q&A web sites (e.g. this one) make the claim that Bennington has a paltry endowment of $3.5 million, the result of a historical philosophy - now recognized by its own staff as a big mistake - of eschewing donations…
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Only half of students graduating with a STEM degree [in 2009] were able to find STEM jobs [then]

From a 2013 EPI report as highlighed in an article published in The American Prospect: As the EPI report lays bare, the common wisdom about our STEM problem is mistaken: We are not facing a shortage of STEM-qualified workers. In fact, we appear to…
Fizz
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The average age of a highly skilled factory worker in the U.S. is 56 (or so)

In a 2012 NYT piece we read that The average age of a highly skilled factory worker in the U.S. is now 56. “That’s average,” says Hal Sirkin, the lead author of the study. “That means there’s a lot who are in their 60s. They’re going to retire…
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Is sponsoring a child responsible for people going to university in Mongolia?

An ad from World Vision advertised on Channel Seven today: A gift that lasts a lifetime | World Vision Australia (another Aussie mentioned TV personality's Melissa Doyle's story to me previously, so World Vision's promotion of this story is…
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Did Russia have over a million universities in 2005?

According to the European University Institute's Academic Careers Observatory, in 2005 Russia had over a million degree-granting institutions: In 2005, Russia had 1,196,350 universities and higher education establishments that are authorised to…
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Are top quartile teachers radically better than their colleagues?

Bill Gates claimed in his TED talk Mosquitos, malaria and education: A top quartile teacher will increase the performance of their class -- based on test scores -- by over 10 percent in a single year. What does that mean? That means that if the…
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Do private school students attain lower GPAs in college than "equal" public school students?

First, I realize this question is quite like this one, but I want to focus more on the college GPA and then relate it to two older studies. There are a few decades old study which show that public school graduates perform better academically than do…
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Does "learning by teaching" have a 90% retention rate?

Studies that claims "learning by teaching" has a 90% retention rate cites a study published by "National Training Laboratories, Behel, Maine". However, that study is not available anywhere to confirm if the methodology applied is reliable. Example…
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Are there no courses to teach medics how to handle pharmaceutical marketing?

David Healy, the controversial author of, inter alia, Pharmageddon rails against the credulity of many doctors in his latest blog arguing, for example: Recent estimates suggest companies spend over $50,000 per annum on marketing to each and every…
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Is active recall testing more effective than passive study?

A claim made by Anki is that: Research has shown that active recall testing is far more effective at building strong memories than passive study. Definitions (from Anki): Active recall testing: being asked a question and trying to remember the…
user5582
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Is participating in competitive sport harmful to young children?

There is a proposal for all primary school children (ages 4 to 11) in England to play competitive team sports: Competitive team sports will be made compulsory for all primary age children, David Cameron said on Saturday, after he criticised schools…
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Do school spelling tests increase reading or writing performance of students?

Elementary schools across the US often give weekly spelling lists that the students will be tested on at the end of the week. Clearly schools believe having kids learn to spell these words helps them with reading and/or writing if they keep doing…
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