In the chapters that follow, the history and current status of early childhood education in selected countries, along with a review of current research that is being conducted in these countries will be presented. In essence this will provide a glimpse of the intellectual base of early childhood education in many parts of the world.

This handbook presents a timeless, comprehensive, and up-to-date resource covering major issues in the field of teacher education research. In a global landscape where migration, inequality, climate change, political upheavals and strife continue to be broadly manifest, governments and scholars alike are increasingly considering what role education systems can play in achieving stability and managed, sustainable economic development. With growing awareness that the quality of education is very closely related to the quality of teachers and teaching, teacher education has moved into a key position in international debate and discussion. This volume brings together transnational perspectives to provide insight and evidence of current policy and practice in the field, covering issues such as teacher supply, preservice education, continuing professional learning, leadership development, professionalism and identity, comparative and policy studies, as well as gender, equity, and social justice.

This book presents a peer reviewed selection of extended versions of ten original papers that were presented at the 15th International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE 2013) held in Viseu, Portugal. The book provide a representative view of current Information and Communications Technology (ICT) educational research approaches in the Ibero-American context as well as internationally. It includes studies that range from elementary to higher education, from traditional to distance learning settings. It considers special needs and other inclusive issues, across a range of disciplines, using multiple and diverse perspectives and technologies to furnish detailed information on the latest trends in ICT and education globally. Design, development and evaluation of educational software; ICT use and evaluation methodologies; social web and collaborative systems; and learning communities are some of the topics covered.

Governments urgently need better national information bases for determining educational policy and practice in an increasingly interconnected world. This report, from the first phase of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), presents a framework for improved international cooperation in improving the knowledge base for educational practice and policy formation. The information is based on CERI seminars and country reports from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The first chapter presents the statement of the problem and explains how the study was conducted. The second chapter examines some of the pervasive criticisms directed at educational research and describes some implications for research policy. An analysis of what the term "educational research and development" means is presented in the third chapter. Chapter 4 describes the current position of educational research in a group of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, using several indicators of research-and-development finance and staffing. Chapter 5 discusses how educational research relates to policy and practice and how this relationship might be improved. The sixth chapter considers what the knowledge base in education is and could be like. What are the interests of the various constituencies and how can these interests be better aligned? The last chapter presents a summary of the main challenges and describes the options for government policy. One figure and four tables are included. Appendices contain case studies of innovation in educational research and development (R&D), a list of subject interests from country reports, and a description of the methodology used in measuring indicators of educational R&D. Each chapter contains references. (LMI)