Electronic Resources for Education

About

The resources available on this page are meant to compliment more general resources, such as ERIC, available through the library. Many of the links below are to freely available authoritative websites about specific topics and issues in the field of Education. There are also some links to resources only available to LMU students which may require the database login. Please contact the library for additional assistance.

For more in-depth assistance on searching ERIC, try the EdS/Graduate Education Online Tutorial.



Reference

Department of Education Website

This is the official website of the US Department of Education.
Encyclopedia of Education

Offers a complete view of the institutions, people, processes, roles, and philosophies in educational practice in the United States and throughout the world. Features biographies of influential educators; profiles of historic colleges and universities and of organizations active in the field; and an appendix of full text source documents, including education related legislation, international treaties, and testing methods.

The Educator’s Desk Reference

Combining elements of DataMap, the Encyclopedia of Associations, the Mental Measurements Yearbook, and various guides to education sources, The Educator’s Desk Reference (EDR), like the similarly named Physicians’ Desk Reference, is intended to be a one-stop source of educational information. Its six sections include information sources, an author’s guide, microcomputer software, standardized tests, research processes, and educational organizations. Review in Library Journal by Brian E. Coutts, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green.

The Gateway to 21st Century Skills

This is a great website to find lesson plans, activities, games, projects and more for all grade levels and subjects. It is maintained by the National Education Association (NEA) and links to over 49,000 sites. If searching it is a little overwhelming, this video may be helpful.
The Greenwood Dictionary of Education

A good basic reference source which succinctly defines key education terms.

World Education Encyclopedia

This 3-volume country-by-country survey of educational systems provides detailed essays on the histories, legal foundations, and primary and secondary educational systems of 233 countries. This updated and expanded edition gives users up-to-date coverage of reorganized educational systems and high-interest topics such as technological advances.

International

International Archive of Education Data (IAED)

From the website: The Archive acquires, processes, documents, and disseminates data collected by national, state or provincial, local, and private organizations, pertaining to all levels of education in countries for which data can be made available. Data will encompass the “inputs” to education (funding, personnel, teaching resources, facilities, teacher and student preparation, etc.), the variety of processes by which teaching and learning occur, and the “outputs” of education (graduation and matriculation rates, drop-out rates, test scores, job placements, life histories, life assessments, etc.). The data stored in this Archive are intended to support a wide variety of comparative and longitudinal research through the preservation and sharing of data resources. The Archive seeks to serve the needs of academics, policymakers, and researchers in the field of education.
World Education Encyclopedia

This 3-volume country-by-country survey of educational systems provides detailed essays on the histories, legal foundations, and primary and secondary educational systems of 233 countries. This updated and expanded edition gives users up-to-date coverage of reorganized educational systems and high-interest topics such as technological advances.

Australia

Australia Department of Education

Official site for Australia’s Department of Education.

Australia: Brief Overview of Education System

Covers grading systems, higher education, technical and vocational education, teacher education, and school education.

Brazil

Brazil - Education

This site is maintained by a working group for the United Nations. It gives some basic information about the principles, aims, objectives, organization, and structure of the Brazilian education system. Briefly describes educational levels, programs, and teacher training qualifications.

China

China: Ministry of Education

 

Official site for China’s Ministry of Education (MOE). The menu on the left has details on: Laws and regulations, planning and statistics, basic education, higher education, vocational education, international cooperation, and a list of Chinese higher education institutions.

Denmark

Cirius: Education in Denmark

 

Cirius is a Danish agency “supporting internationalization of education and training in Denmark.” This link has a good overview of various aspects of the Danish education system with some nice charts and more detailed information.

Denmark: Ministry of Education, Facts and Figures 2007

Official Ministry of Education fact sheets. Includes: The education system, finances, basic school, youth education, higher education, and more.

France

France: The State of Education

Lenghty PDF document from the Ministere Education Nationale giving a good overview of the system and detailing education expenditure, personnel, length of schooling, priority education and more.

The Ministere site itself is only in French, so this may be the best document on French education in English you can find.

The European Education Directory: France Higher Education

This site deals mostly with higher education institutions in France. There is some mention of teacher education and qualifications as well.

Germany

Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Official German government education website. General information only, mostly in English, some links in German only.
The Education System in Germany 2006

Published by the German Education Server (Deutscher Bildungs Server). From the website: The dossier provides a comprehensive overview of the German education system, including political and economic background, covering all levels of education from pre-primary to secondary, higher and continuing education (date: 2005). Furthermore, the evaluation of teachers and institutions is addressed, and special sections cover special needs education and the European dimension. The English language dossier can be accessed at the bottom of the site, either as a full text document containing the dossier as a whole, or by accessing the individual chapters.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Education Bureau

This is Hong Kong government’s official education website. Use the navigation tabs on the left to access information about primary and secondary education, administration, teacher development and more.

India

India: Department of Education Annual Report 2004-2005

Official Indian DOE Annual Report. Menu links to PDF sections on Administration, Policy, Elementary Education and more.

India: Education

Gives basic overview of Indian Education System. Sections on: Administration and Funding, Primary and Secondary Education, Colleges and Universities, Education and Society,

Source: James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden, editors. India: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.

Israel

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Education

Israeli government site providing information and statistics on its educational system, levels, programs, and other details.

Japan

MEXT: Japan’s Education at a Glance 2005

More detailed report of various aspects of the Japanese Education system: Statistics, curriculum, facilities, etc.

MEXT: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - Japan

Official goverment site on education in Japan. Discusses elementary and secondary education, higher education, lifelong learning policy, and more.

Jordan

Country Studies, Jordan: Education

Good brief overview and discussion of the development of Jordan’s education system.

Note on the Source: This website contains the on-line versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Army.

Education in Jordan

Brief overview of Jordan’s education system from the official government site.

Pacific Islands

Pacific Archive of Digital Data for Learning and Education (PADDLE)


PADDLE facilitates the sharing of best practice and experience amongst the fifteen Pacific countries of the Project. The focus of PADDLE is to provide access to all relevant education policy, planning and development material from the participating countries. Most of these documents have previously been unavailable in digital form.

Russia

Country Studies, Russia: Education

Discusses Russian education since the fall of the Soviet Union. Seems to have been published in the 1990s, so more current information may be needed to supplement this discussion.

Source:

Glenn E. Curtis, ed. Russia: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1996.

 

The European Education Directory: Russia

Gives good brief overview of Russian education system, includes: Structure of education system, admissions to higher education, student life, and international cooperation and exchanges.

South Africa

South Africa Department of Education

Official website for South Africa’s Department of Education.
South African DOE Annual Report 2006/2007

PDF of full report (222 pages) with information, statistics, and more on administration, programs, training, and development.

United Kingdom

Directgov: Education and Learning

UK government website on education. Full of information and statistics on all aspects of education in the UK.
Overview of the UK Education System

This document provides a nice succinct overview of the UK’s primary, secondary, and higher education levels. Also covers assessment, academic year, and a narrative of a typical day in a UK school.

TeacherNet: UK Education System

More on the UK education system at this site sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Gives structure of the education system, public examinations and qualifications, and also some historical background on the UK’s education system.

No Child Left Behind

Public Law 107-110

Complete text of the act commonly referred to as the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001″.

Philosophy and Theory

Biography Resource Center

Biographical database giving good basic overview of the lives of notable figures. If you are off campus, look for this under the “reference tools” section of the electronic database list.
Dr. Black’s Handbook of Educational Philosophy

Former LMU professor’s extended analysis and commentary on many current trends of educational philosophy, including: Idealism, Realism, Neo-Thomism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism. Also a long section on Christian Theism which is clearly the author’s favored position.

Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Education
An excellent, though incomplete, educational philosophy resource. The language and tone is more scholarly and technical than many introductory resources. There are entries on individual philosophers such as Plato, Dewey, Dennett, as well as broader concepts such as “pragmatism”, “feminism and philosophy of education”, “ethics and education”, and “knowledge, violence and education”. Also represented are many philosophers not usually discussed in education philosophy text books such as Hegel, Nietzsche, Gadamer, and Habermas, giving overall a more international and continental perspective on philosophy of education. The searching mechanism is a bit cumbersome, but the entire site is almost brief enough to just browse through.

Constructivism

Concept to Classroom: Constructivism

This is a concise, well-written exposition of constructivism beginning with an explanation of the concept and moving toward practical applications in the classroom. Includes critical perspectives. Be sure to check out the “Expert Interview” section for a video interview with educational theorist Jaqueline Grennon Brooks.

Constructivist Views of Learning in Science and Mathematics. ERIC Digest.

This ERIC digest gives a definition and overview of constructivism, suggestions of how to apply it in the classroom, and has a list of further resources.
Vygotsky’s Constructivism

Discusses constructivism as advanced by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky who offers a critical alternative to Piaget’s theories. Written in a casual, engaging style without losing scholarly focus. Includes also vignettes to give you a real life application understanding. Be sure to check out the narrated PowerPoint and other animated tutorials.

Existentialism

Existential Approaches to Action Research

Allan Feldman gives an account of his existential approach to conducting action research which involves a discussion of existentialism in educational theory and practice.
Existentialism in Education

Van Cleve Morris’ book on existentialism gives a synopsis of existentialist philosophy and its application to educational practice. Available in PRINT ONLY from the library. Contact the library for document delivery if you are off-campus.

Idealism

Christian Educators: Herman H. Horne

Biography and overview of education theories of noted American idealist philosopher and educator Herman Horne.
Dr. Black’s Handbook of Educational Philosophy

Former LMU professor’s extended analysis and commentary on many current trends of educational philosophy, including: Idealism, Realism, Neo-Thomism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism. Also a long section on Christian Theism which is clearly the author’s favored position.

Idealism in Education

Donald Butler’s book on idealism in education gives a synopsis of idealism and its application to educational theories and practices. Available in PRINT ONLY from the library. Contact the library for document delivery if you are off-campus.

Multiple Intelligences

Concept to Classroom: Tapping into Multiple Intelligences

Good introduction to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Includes interviews with Gardner himself, critical perspectives, and fun interactive games to familiarize yourself with the concepts.

Pragmatism

John Dewey’s Democracy and Education

Complete text of Dewey’s seminal work on education. Originally published in 1916.

Realism

Aristotle

This is a brief entry about Aristotle’s ideas on education provided by infed, “a small, independent, not-for-profit site put together by a small group of educators” with a focus on “informal schooling”.
Realism in Education

William Oliver Martin’s book on realism in education gives a synopsis of idealism and its application to educational theories and practices. Available in PRINT ONLY from the library. Contact the library for document delivery if you are off-campus.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Good overview of this seminal classification of educational goals and objectives. Includes a fun summary animation show.

Research and Statistics

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.