Category: Education

Further Education. Is It Worth It ?

xenium88 asked:

Education increases a person’s ability to comprehend issues better with a better outlook. It also increases the perspective of a person. The result is that the person’s ability to seek information for itself and look for literature for better alternative ideas improves considerably.

Back to School?

In this economic crisis what we need is to plan our finances for long term achievements. Students increase their future opportunities for better salary packages and better prospects only after further education. Good career has roots of a good educational background. Higher education not only improves the remuneration figure but also gives an individual job satisfaction and expand his or her business network as well. A good quality graduate education helps to improve not their personal progression as an individual, but are highly beneficial to their organization and even at a national level as well. This is especially so in countries like Singapore, Sweden and Finland where human capital development are their main competitive asset in the global economy. Education should not be considered as a means to an end but as means to enrich their lives and of those around the.

Graduate Education is worth far more than for a fiscal reason.

In tough economic situation like today, people sound miserable when they talk about recession they are in reality deceiving themselves by promoting negative views on how the economic turmoil is devastating peoples’ life and this prediction is actually stopping them living their lives. But they must understand the fact that it is precisely in times like this that the more qualified you are the better it is for your career. To say that education is not worth it in this financial climate proves how short sighted we are. The need of the day is to educate individuals so that similar recession can never recur. The value of a quality graduate education ranks much higher in the mind of prospective employers, graduate schools like INSEAD, Chicago and The City University of New York are flourishing in Singapore, attracting experienced professionals across ASEAN.

The forecast – the recession might be temporary and variant, but higher education is compulsory to enjoy a better life when the downturn fades out

If acquiring a degree requires three long years of investment of time and money, it is bound to scare the students. However, students can avail of student loans from the various banks today and start studying for a higher degree course. In the three years’ time, they would get enough time to prepare and ready themselves for a job after the completion of the course. By the time they will finish their degrees, the recession is going to be over and there will be enough jobs for them to grab and make it big!

Students, however will have to be more conscious about their financial situation. Several finance companies offering loans which are to be repaid only when they start earning over 15,000 GBP and the repayments start at 5 GBP per week, favor the case of students. Student debt, hence is one of the safest loans to opt for, while the best fight against the recession is to opt for higher studies. Furthermore, the success lies in taking advantage over those who have wrong reasons and ideas against further studies.

We can overcome!

Lastly, The Tripartite Centre for Fair Employment has given the WPP agency a plan to transform the approach of employers to adopt “fair and merit-based workplaces”. The WDA has also structured the WPP agency to craft a national education campaign to give confidence to Singaporeans so that they do not hesitate to enter further education. This is to boost their morale and get ready as employment is supposed to rise above 3 million by this year itself! WDA also launched a series of graduate diplomas and post graduate diplomas under the Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP) which helps Professionals, Managers, Engineers and Technicians (PMET)s to explore career switches and advancement.

So exactly how much value can be placed on further education today?

Talk to anyone in the industry, everyone recognized the value of a quality graduate education. An enhanced education will play a significant role cause regardless of economic conditions, time tested attributes like experience, qualifications and right attitudes always survives.

http://business.smh.com.au/business/study-now-for-a-wage-worth-waiting-for-20090213-873o.html

http://www.brandrepublic.asia/BR/searcharticle/2008_08/YR-hired-to-promote-fair-employment-and-further-education-in-Singapore/32090

http://debatewise.com/debates/671-is-three-years-of-university-education-worth-it-in-this-time-of-economic-crisis

The Link Between Education And Marriage

Kenneth Scott asked:

While many very capable people have had very little schooling, and some individuals who have advanced degrees can be stupid in some areas of their lives, formal schooling does have several important advantages.

In regard to social status, family and money are critical, but people with education tend to have a higher standing that those without it. In some cases, the higher the education, the higher the social standing.

With a formal education, individuals have a better chance to obtain job opportunities that result in higher income. While it may be true that some blue-collar jobs pay more than college professorships, overall, more education means a higher income level. Many professions, including medicine and law, are closed to individuals without special training. In the current job market, those without special training are at a real disadvantage.

Education means a better understanding of life and the world. Those who have no training lack the basic tools needed for effective living. Intelligence and awareness can compensate for a lack of education to a degree, but the wisdom of those who have only limited experience is insufficient for taking part in the world as it exists today.

Higher education levels mean a greater chance for success in marriage. Research has shown that high school graduates have lower rates of divorce than those with less schooling. And college graduates remain married longer and have happier marriages that those without a college degree. When it comes to education in marriage, it is best if both partners have about the same level of education.

While less-educated individuals may be proud of their more educated partners initially, troubles can develop later on. They may start to feel inferior or uncomfortable around the educated partner and his or her friends. And the more educated individual may start feeling isolated and hurt. The marriage partners cannot relax or be themselves, and the marriage is no longer enjoyable.

Since women are sometimes in a less favorable bargaining position in regard to marriage, she may have to take whatever man she can get, even he is not an educational equal. Men have more choices and are better off with partners who are more like them.

Nearly anyone who wants an education in the United States can get as much as they want. If people do not want advanced schooling, it is not a disgrace either. Some people should not go to college, but they will be as good as those who graduate.

These individuals should marry within their educational level, however. And no one should use a promise to get more education after marriage to convince a partner to marry him or her.

The right choice is always for a good character and personality, and these traits can usually be found in someone at your own educational level.

Online Education – The Changing Face of Education

Scott asked:

Opportunities in education today would have been impossible even a few decades back. With the popularity of the Internet, easy accessibility to computers and the World Wide Web, higher education has been transformed into a new dynamic entity. With technology progressing at a rapid pace and demands changing almost daily, our lives are only becoming busier. The world around us is left with no option but to change and move along with the times to accommodate to our new schedules and requirements. This is more than apparent in the field of education. As times change, fewer and fewer students rely on the traditional method of attending classes at a college campus. The ‘brick and mortar’ type of education still exists but now side by side with the option of graduating from an online degree program as well.

As the number of people who look for ways to complete their education or improve their skills becomes too large, it is inevitable that a large number of colleges and universities take the necessary steps towards filling that need. But jobs, childcare and other family obligations limit the amount of time people can devote to their education, and thus, alternative arrangements are created. Online education has started gaining popularity and has now completely changed the way we approach education today.

Online degrees are now widely accepted and recognized as authentic educational qualifications. As long as the institution offering the degree is accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, there should be no problem in the degree being accepted and acknowledged anywhere. Fully accredited online degree programs are now available in nearly every field. From management to medicine, law to accounting, there is a wide variety of choices on offer. Even obscure subjects and fields of study have found their place on the Internet. With degrees such as healthcare, students are even given the option of combining the practical aspect of their training at local hospitals or clinics along with virtual classes and studying online.

The flexibility of online education has opened up the doors of education to people from all walks of life. Stay at home moms and dads can now study from their own houses and employees can complete their assignments around their work schedules. There is 24 hour accessibility to the study material allowing for all night study sessions as well as the possibility of returning to subject matter again and again if necessary. And as universities continue to expand their options, the flexibility of online education will only increase. Students will be offered more options with the possibility of a custom created curriculum that suits their individual requirements and interests.

Distance learning also allows people hundreds of miles away to graduate with degrees from the college of their choice. Without spending a penny on gas or transport, students can make the most of a world class education with resources and faculty from all over the world. Through pre-recorded lectures, worksheets, assignments, e-classes, online forums, and tests, students can view, interact, and study from the comfort of their own space. With a more flexible attendance policy, students can choose to tackle their workload as quickly or as slowly as they need to (all within a larger pre-determined schedule, of program). While this freedom may prove to be a little daunting to a new student, after completing a few programs, it becomes easier to get used to this new way of studying. To be successful in an online program, a large amount of self discipline and motivation is imperative. Without which it is all too easy to take advantage of the flexibility of the program and not achieve much. And while online education is definitely less expensive than a traditional degree program, to spend time, money and effort on something that is not taken seriously will not accomplish anything in the long run.

Online education in short offers every individual the right information in the right format at the right time for the best chances of success. Once upon a time online schools were considered the next wave of education and that future is finally here – ready to change the way we look at education way beyond the boundaries of any classroom.

Educational Toys for Babies

Tim Lawrence asked:

Educational toys are fun for babies and provide another tool to stimulate learning and brain development in your infant. There are many ways to teach a child and tens of thousands of educational toys on the market to help parents in the endeavor. The challenge for parents, child care providers and educators is to choose from the vast array of educational toys available in a way that creates a balance of learning techniques, is age appropriate, and most of all fun. This article will provide basic facts about; how babies learn, types of educational toys available and examples of each.

How Babies Learn

It is quite surprising the rate at which babies learn and develop. Learning begins in the womb and continues throughout childhood. In early life how a child learns centers largely around the relationship with the parents. At least until the child starts preschool, the job of stimulating and satisfying baby’s desire to learn falls primarily to the parents.

While babies respond to their parent’s voice there are many other sounds they find interesting. When parents are choosing educational toys for babies they should look for toys that have sound, colors that are bright and contrasted like red, black and white, and have interesting textures that babies like to touch.

Sounds

Babies’ respond to sound and some of the best educational toys include rattles and musical toys. Soothing music such as lullabies is usually best. Auditory and musical toys are known to stimulate logical thinking and imagery in babies and in adults for that matter.

One good educational auditory toy is the Electronic Metal Keys. These keys are good for a child 6 months and up. The Electronic Metal Keys are an imitation of the parent’s car keys. However, the Electronic Metal Key toy is safe for the child to chew on and has a push button that emits sounds like a car horn, doorbell, ignition, and remote control door.

Sight

Bright colors in educational toys stimulate baby’s vision. Look for toys with strong color contrast and patterns. A good one to look for is a colorful crib mobile that emits music, has different textures, curves and symmetry.

One such educational toy is the Bath Time Fishing toy. This item is appropriate for babies 12 months and up. It’s a great prop to use during a baby bath. Making the bath as fun as possible can also help overcome any resistance or fear your child may have during the bathing process. The toy is bright in color, has a rod and reel, and the strong magnets attached to its tails allow for easy catching. Bath Time Fishing is priced at around $16.00 dollars.

Fine motor play

Fine motor play educational toys are used to stimulate coordination in baby’s finger and eye movements. One such toy aimed at developing the hand-eye coordination is “Counting Pals”, which is aimed at babies 6 months and up. Counting Pals are 10 soft and squishy colored blocks. They can be stacked, tossed, chewed by the baby. Counting pals also provides animal illustrations that will enchant the baby. Counting Pals educational toy is priced at around $12.00.

Cognitive Skills

There are some educational toys that promote cognitive skills in babies, which is to say they stimulate the child’s memory, how they picture things and their problem solving skills. Educational toys like building blocks, activity boxes or puzzles are a good purchase for your child. The puzzles can deal with numbers, letters or pictures; it does not matter, but they should be fairly easy for a baby to grasp and manipulate.

Obama’s Map for Education is Critical

Dr. Stephen Jones asked:

President-elect Obama has a background in community service that frequently put him in touch with individuals whose K12 education was lacking.  His compassion to implement strategies that bring about access to the best education for all students is critical to our nation’s future.  With all of the talk about the financial crisis the president-elect needs to make education a major priority.  We are fast approaching a significant period where large numbers of professionals will retire.  There is potential for a largely underutilized workforce that needs more education to help the country will remain unemployable in corporate level jobs.  As the states continue to struggle due to a loss of tax revenue more must be done to keep education funding afloat.  Losses in financial resources to educate the youth who are the rising workforce will put many companies in jeopardy.

More needs to be done to highlight the education issues that students and parents face today.  Education is not affordable at all levels.  There needs to be a road map that leads to creative solutions.  Many of the larger cities and rural school districts are underfunding the education investment that should be received for each student. One idea is to have corporations to receive some type of tax credit for investing their finances in local schools.  This type of innovative idea would provide two benefits.  First it could raise corporate involvement in making school better.  Secondly it would help more students to prepare for the world of work.  More mentors are also needed in all of the schools because students are unaware of how companies work.

President-elect Obama must not back away from the education crisis.  If the country backs down from addressing the education crisis we will suffer severely.  Students already come to school unprepared to learn.  Their parents are unaware of the role that they play in their child’s future.  Obama and his wife Michelle have an opportunity to participate as supporters of parents who need guidance to effectively educate their children.  There needs to be encouragement so that parents talk to their children about where they will go to college rather than if they will go to college.  Their must be a definite response that reaffirms that college is possible.  This tone should be set at the beginning of Obama’s presidency.

It would be great to say that after the presidents first 100 days in office education gained ground in the war against economic instability.  There should be a plan in place that outlines how education in this country must change.  Just like we have witnessed what a weak infrastructure can do to a country we are witnessing a national school system that needs repair.  The president must diligently hear messages that demonstrate that the education of every citizen is important.  The country needs more adult learners to pursue additional education.  Obama must emphasize that it is never too late to renew your desire for education.

President-elect Obama has an opportunity to create a lot of good will within the education  community.  There are K12 schools and colleges that need to know that there contributions to society are valued.  Obama could work with the congress to require banks who are receiving money to invest 5 percent of their stimulus dollars to improve resources for local schools.  Our country needs an education revolution that raises the inspiration of students, parents and teachers to expect the best from the American education

What Ails Education in India?

Jayanta Deka asked:

WHAT AILS EDUCATION IN INDIA

Consolation Prize

Essay Competition No. 3

News & Events, Nov. 2001

-a monthly magazine.

While writing about education, an eminent educationist once said that, “Education is most worth which comes in response to a felt need.” If this statement has some truth, the all round enthusiasm for education in India and the whole world needs no more justification. It is now no longer a myth that foundation of a healthy democracy is found in an educated wide-awake electorate. But; and is quite a big ‘BUT’; education to be good and useful, must be liberal and not regimented and must take into consideration one main point in view and that is the all-round development of the child’s personality, and the inculcation in him of noble sentiments and fair ideals.

There is, however, so much confused thinking in the field of education today that it becomes quite different to recognize and define these trends. Moreover, education as it is being practiced in the vast majority of our school today is so ill-planned and haphazard that we tend to depend more upon educational slogans and fads than upon actual educational philosophies and practices for an understanding of what ‘good education’ really means. Nevertheless, it should be quite a worthwhile exercise in the present confuse state of our educational development to seek clearly the path that we should follow. An acquaintance with the latest trends in education could also be worthwhile if only to realize how much leeway our schools have to make up in the education given to our children is to be really worth-while.

In Indian education, curriculum and text books are inadequate. The main criticism against the secondary schools is that allowance is not made for variation in aptitudes, interests and abilities. All the students are taught the same courses irrespective of their mental caliber and interests. All the students have to pass through the same straight jacket whether it fits them or not. This has resulted in maladjustments, mass failures and eventual stagnation in many cases. Eventually many students fail to pass in the examination because they have no choice. They are to take the burden of all the subjects. If he is expert in a subject and knows nothing in the other, he is treated as an unsuccessful candidate. He is also treated badly by his teachers. By this if, India wants to prove that it is giving equal status to every educational subject.

In addition, instruction imparted in our schools is book-centered and leaves a little scope for creative thinking and self expression. It is no wonder that a vast majority of students cannot write a few lines on any given topic. The reason for this mental vaccum are not far to seek. They only know about the facts that are important to exams, and they have to learn it by heart i.e. memorises, but they know really nothing about the concept. They only memorise it due to its importance in the examination. In addition the teachers taught that materials in the class which are important in the examination. The students with some exceptions have been encouraged to cram answers to the spotted questions likely to figure in the examination papers and pass the examination. Unfortunately, the wagon of secondary education in this country has been hitched to a lamppost of passing the examination. It does not aim a lodestar of idealism, which should form the basis of all worthwhile education. The curriculum that is being given to us is now very outdated. It is introduced in 1986 under the National Policy of Education. At that time, it was good but time has changed now. It needs many changes. In countries like China, students are taken in that path where they are interested to go or join. They are not forced to pass through the same tunnel of gate. Suppose if someone is interested in sports then right from the early ages they are trained and taught in that field only. Thus, later on they can become a well-known personality in that field. This system can be proved by watching the number of medals China gets in the Olympics. Likewise, in India also this system should be interested so that we can be developed as termed in economics.

Another malady be setting our secondary education is tremendous wastage and stagnation resulting from mass failures at the school leaving examinations conducted by various school boards in this country. Sometimes the pass percentage is below 50%; even in the school examination, the picture is no way better. This is not a healthy symptom and calls for a thorough probe and early remedy. No developing country can afford frittering away of scare resources in this way. It not only results in wastage of time, energy, and money, but also brings lots of frustration to the failed and his family. In this way the failure student losses his courage and sometimes a day comes when the failed leaves school. Like that, it is the wastage of human resources also.

In schools and colleges, there is the system of ‘Ragging’. The school authorities should take proper action against the miscreants. It results badly to many students. Sometimes they have to leave the school also. Therefore, this system also ails our educational system.

Moreover, school is a place; a temple of ‘LEARNING’, but the alphabet ‘L’ now disappeared in real sense from this word, becoming the place of ‘EARNING’. Why it is so? Why the teachers only come to earn and not to teach? Why they only like the students who are smart, handsome, and good in studies?

Lastly, school should be a place where the teaching should not be book centered. There should be practical and orals also. The examination system should be changed. It is to be more interesting and should be a place of enjoyment, learning and should be a place for doing and knowing the facts practically.

I agree that school is necessary. Nevertheless, why does it have to be so boring? Why are we treated like machines to be switched on and off and fed with facts? Why are we treated like parrots and simple calculating machines? Why can’t school be more interesting and more challenging?

Choosing the Best Educational Toys

Rachel Nunez asked:

Educational toys enable children to learn as they play. Educational toys help a child acquire new skills and improve their current ones all the while having fun. Educational toys are great at this – in encouraging learning in a fun environment. Educational toys are not only fun but practical. Of course, there are important factors that a parent needs to consider in getting the best educational toys for their children:

1. Consider the child’s age when choosing educational toys. There are educational toys in the market available for all age groups. Check the labels of toys for age appropriateness. Electronic toys, breakable toys, and those with minute parts are definitely not for infants. Consider safety fore mostly. The best for smaller kids are ones that activate the senses and are good for motor skills – toys producing, sounds, turning buttons, push and pull, filling and emptying, bobbing bath toys, squishy toys, clay or shapes. A one year old would probably only throw number or letter blocks without recognizing the idea of numbers. So not too complicated; neither should you underestimate a preschooler with toys meant only for younger kids. Maybe you should challenge them with more books (picture books and pop-ups are so much fun) or chalk boards, flash cards, toy clocks and globes, and puzzles.

2. Also consider a child’s interest. A child could be interested more in sports than in music or art for example. Observe if he likes to bang things more than scribble. Try to get an idea of your child’s “field” before buying educational toys.

3. Let your child’s imagination work. Children’s play is often centered on their little worlds, and getting their minds working creatively greatly stimulates and develops their minds. The more the toy encourages creative thinking and make-believe, the better. Toys that are good at this are building blocks, arts and crafts, coloring books, stuffed animals, doll set, action figures, cars, and science and discovery toys like binoculars, archeology tools, veterinarian kits, habitats, and the likes.

4. Watch-and-learn toys are magnificent. Toys that are imitative of adults’ activities always get a child’s attention. The average cooking play set goes a long way in a child’s learning. So does sports toys like ping pong play or dad’s favorite shooting hoops basketball and profession toys like doctor’s kit.

5. Educational toys should be fun. The best way for a child to learn is probably by having fun. Whatever that interests your child stimulates his brain to get ready for learning. Educational toys serve this purpose. It is important for educational toys to be entertaining to foster brain activity stimulation. It has been scientifically proven that this brain stimulation through activating interest in a child help develop thought and reflex patterns and a good hand-eye coordination. Plus, fun is an important factor in choosing an educational toy since the child won’t even notice that lessons are being taught while he is playing. And lastly, fun is great way to get a child’s attention and focus in the first place. Thus, educational toys should be fun in the best way they could be.

Exposure to educational toys in the early formative years of learning, during times of perception with awe and surprise, when a child’s brain acts like a quick sponge absorbing great new experiences playing a huge part in a child’s capacity for learning in the later stages of his life. It is then responsibility of every parent to provide educational toys for their child to get them a head start in early development helping them explore the world around them. Grab some of these tips and watch your child maximize his abilities.

Character Education: Elementary Vs. High School

Marilyn Etzel asked:

Character Education: Whose Job Is It? While elementary and middle school teachers often work with students on critical but non-academic issues of Character and Values education, such as getting along, behaving appropriately, being respectful, honesty, cooperating, and so forth, high school teachers have a tendency not to work on these issues.

According to Dr. Andrew Milson in the Journal of Research in Character Education (Vol. 1, Number 2,2003), many elementary school teachers feel that values and character based teaching should be combined along with subject-oriented teaching and learning. High school teachers on the other hand, tend not to have a strong sense of self-efficacy in relation to teaching character education. They often feel that they don’t know how to “do” character education and if they did try it, they feel they probably would not have a real impact on their students.

Milson (2003) cites studies which indicate that high school teachers who have only had character education pedagogy during their pre-service training, or who only have university-delivered character education training, feel less confident about being able to teach character development. In contrast, teachers who have attended conferences or had staff development sessions on character education express a greater sense of confidence about being able to teach these critical skills to their students.

It makes sense, then, that schools and districts attempt to provide sessions on character education in the form of staff development, in particular focusing on strategies and programs that address issues that teachers are currently experiencing in their classrooms, rather than theory or abstract ideas.

Teachers can also benefit from learning how to incorporate elements of character education through their regular curriculum. Character education can contribute to a psychologically healthy classroom environment as well as increased achievement among students. It can also set the stage for mutual respect in the classroom. This respect can reduce the amount of time usually spent on disciplinary issues, and focus the class time back on learning the curriculum.

When teachers get practical information on how to incorporate character education into what they already do, they can become more confident about following through and reaping the benefits of character education.

Hal Urban, a successful teacher in a multiethnic public school for 35 years shares the importance of character education at home and in the classroom. He begins his presentation by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

Urban states, “The best news of all is that we now have solid research to prove that schools with an effective character education program promote higher academic standards. Yes, this even means higher scores on standardized tests. The reason is simple: an environment of mutual respect results in a better place for teachers to teach and a better place for students to learn.”

Utilizing an integrated character education program that emphasizes modeling and incorporating character education throughout the day is the best way to teach the students the value of character. Just as important is a support system for teachers that included staff development training and sessions that focus on specific implementation strategies, demonstrating how character traits can be integrated into the curriculum.

Innovative Kids Educational Software – Reviving Kids Education

Pattrick Savarna asked:

When we talk about educational software, we notice a much evident feature attributed to them. They are rather less-commercialized in nature, unlike other popular software. Their main purpose is to impart education in an exclusively interactive way.

Thus using ultra innovative educational software will not help you make enormous money, but of course it can help the students understand concepts in a much better way.

The rising popularity of interactive based teaching, equipped with real-life experience, forced the professionals, dealing with education system, to escape from the conventional instruction based teaching. Rather, they adopted audiovisual design in classrooms empowered by educational software.

Undoubtedly, results with a difference were soon very much evident. The evaluators found that the learners, especially kids, were more entranced when the teacher used multimedia devices to elaborate any concept. The students, seeing visuals added with audio, were comprehensively comfortable and gave their maximum attention while the session went on.

Thus this satisfying evaluation led numerous companies to jump into the field of developing educational software. Of course, we can say, at some extent, that the competition amongst the companies to come up with the best educational software has given it a commercial undertone. However, this commercialization is solely meant for education, thus it can be bearable.

As the educational software tend to be interactive, the kids get greater chances to discuss a topic and clear the doubts, if any. Thus, as a result, they become more vocal and can have their personal point of views on a certain topic. It helps a lot to develop their communication skills.

Thus the software companies are developing a series of interactive educational software with the help of educational software developers who are well versed with the students psychology and their needs. They are also trained to understand the demand of syllabus and curriculum of the related educational institution.

For example; educational software like Kidspiration, Microsoft office, Inspiration, iLife etc are the flag bearers in this regard. Such educational software help the students of various grades in the better planning, evaluation and comprehension of the subject matters.

Inspiration is most suitable for students studying in grades between 6-12. Also educational software for all age groups and grades can be found at Educational Software Reviews.

Moreover, the ongoing boom in online and distant education system would not have been a possibility without the advent of these educational software. A student, miles away from the schools and colleges, learns successfully a concept, all because of the audiovisual aid.

Educational Sciences in Iran: Problems, Challenges and Prospective By: Hossein Lotfabadi(ph.d)

Oerp Public Relations asked:

Iran, as a historically, culturally, and scientifically ancient country has had a prosperous status in the human life and worlds education. To give an example, Iranian cosmopolitan scientists and educators such as Bozorgmehr, Ferdowsi, Birooni, Razi, Avicenna, Sadie, Khayyam, Nasir-oddin-Toosi, and many others are among the great educators and scientists who have played an important role in human life. When we compare this with other main ancient countries of China, India, Egypt, and Greek, it becomes clear that only Greek scientists and educators are comparable to Iranians in the amount of influence of their science and education on international and historical basis.

But, nowadays, in terms of innovations in culture, education, and other sciences, both philosophically and methodologically, Iranian scientists and educators research products are not remarkable. Todays Iranian human sciences are academically and socially struggling with some essential problems and challenges that block the process of qualitative growth and development of sciences and education in this ancient land which was once one of the most valuable cradles of knowledge and wisdom.

Research indicates that the qualitative development of higher education in our country is much lower than its quantitative growth. During the past 25 years (1981-2005), the Iranian academic community and its institutions have expanded dramatically (Yalpani, et. al, 2006). Currently, there are more than 50 state universities, and nearly 150 non-private technical undergraduate schools, which enroll about 750,000 students. There are also about 60 official research institutions throughout the country. In addition, since 1984, an extensive country wide private university system (mostly undergraduates) was started which enrolls another 750,000 full time students.

We may ask why the qualitative development and scientific products, especially in social sciences and humanities, are not worthy to mention. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology for the academic year 2003, the total numbers of master and doctoral students and available faculty were 68287, 12189, and 25723, respectively. Subtracting from the latter the 50 percent of instructors/tutors, who are not directly involved in any meaningful research activity, there still remain 12861 potentially researching faculty members.

The same source gives the total numbers of national scientific output for 2003 as 3326 counts. This means that each faculty member has produced in that year 0.23 indexed scientific publications. Should we include all those who with their daily work collect the needed scientific data, i.e., the graduate students, each year we end up with a publication per scientific worker ratio of only 0.034. This number is the resultant when we include all academic disciplines. When we now focus our attention to the Social Sciences and Humanities group, the situation seems to be significantly worse (op. cited). In a research conducted by the present author himself, it has been found out that there are only seven research-based scientific journals of education. in our country with maximum publication volume of 10 thousands for about one million teachers and about one hundred thousand educational experts. All these mean that we are confronting huge problems and challenges with regard to the educational research products and publications.

The question is why there is such a shortage in scientific review articles, especially in education, in our country. Our understanding is that there are different problems confronting scientists in Iran. These problems are tremendously larger and much more complicated for researches in social sciences and humanities than natural and pure experimental sciences. Ideological problems are the most difficult ones in human sciences and education as well. The more brilliant the scientists of human sciences, the more frustrated they are from scientific institutions. Medium-range researchers seem to be much happier with the scientific institution to which they belong compared to the brighter scholars. These institutions seem not to play a positive role in the case of the best scientists. Shortage of facilities provided by institutions are one other major problem for research. Another is the tenuous cooperation among scientists.

In such a situation, the Quarterly Journal of Educational Innovations aims to focus on most significant preoccupations and questions concerning educational issues and then to answer them. The articles of this journal explain some problems and challenges of education and try to show the main roots and factors of the problems that the education system is encountered with. As well, it seeks to reach an understanding and offering of the specific and applied ways through which the educational sciences can be grown and developed. In this special issue of the Quarterly Journal of Educational Innovations, nineteen articles are presented in English language to follow its six years of publication in Persian language. We welcome the researchers and scientists of education and psychology to send their articles in English language to be considered and reviewed for publication. As a prospective aim, we are looking forward to publishing the journal in both English and Persian in parallel form to reach the international scientific society as well as the one inside Iran as we have done in the past time.