The Cry of the Teacher\u27s Soul

Matthias, L.R. (2015). The cry of the teacher’s soul. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. In the current educational landscape, particularly in the West, myriad factors contribute to the challenges and difficulties teachers encounter on a daily basis. In the face of bewildering student concerns, high-stakes testing, and rigid accountability structures that often de-personalize the teaching profession, educators – perhaps more than ever before – are facing the very real effects of burnout. In The Cry of the Teacher’s Soul, Laurie Matthias weaves scholarly insights from theology, psychology, and education together with powerful, personal stories to provide a spiritually and pedagogically-sound resource

Why Have Some Monetary Reforms Succeeded and Others Not? - An Empirical Assessment

Monetary history is characterised by crisis and reform. The paper is dedicated to an explanation of what makes monetary reforms successful. A cross--sectional exonometric analysis is schosen to deal wht this problem. It is based on a standard macroeconomic model of commitment and credibility. As the dependent variable, we calculate a post-reform inflation rate. the exogenous variables are the degree of legal commitment and the constraining influence of institutions. The paper allows for the conclusion that monetray commitment, the consideration of institutional constraints and abstinence from the money press are crucial for the success of a monetary reform.Monetary Reforms; Credibility; Commitment; Institutions

Estonian labour market and EMU membership - challenges and policy options

With the planned membership in EMU, Estonia will give up every option to pursue a discretionary monetary policy. This demands a very flexible labour market, returning to equilibrium by itself after a negative external shock. In general, the Estonian labour market regime allows for flexibility and labour force mobility. Nevertheless, there is a serious problem on the Estonian labour market, namely, a mismatch with respect to qualification. The paper discusses three potential remedies for this problem: 1) further development of the relatively underdeveloped social dialogue in Estonia, 2) an increase of the low extent of public labour market spending, and 3) a significant improvement of the education and training system. It turns out that concentration on education policy promises the highest yields. We conclude by referring to earmarked education vouchers. Such a system allows to fully employ the capacities of competition to generate the structure of qualifications necessary to increase the level of employment in Estonia.

Exploring Perceptions of Care in Christian Teacher Education Communities: Toward a Faith-Informed Framework of Care

During a recent sabbatical (spring 2013), the author investigated perceptions of care in a variety of teacher education programs at Christian colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. My purpose for engaging in this study was to ascertain whether there might be elements of care unique to teacher education programs at Christian institutions that reach beyond prevailing conceptions of care found in the feminist philosophical literature. In this article, I discuss prevalent views of care across sacred and secular lines, detail the research methodology employed in the current study, elaborate upon emergent themes and trends, propose a model of relational care upon which Christian teacher education programs might shape their communities, and identify care-related topics warranting further exploration. With an ever-increasing sense of urgency, the educational landscape in the West has been dominated by a seemingly insatiable quest to attain academic supremacy on an international scale. While academic excellence is unarguably an exceedingly important goal, the unintended consequence of pursuing intellectual achievement at any cost has been an unbalanced shift in which the curriculum has become the focal point and the needs of the learner have taken a back seat (Freytag, 2008; Kohn, 1999). Framing education as a commodity rather than a process by which human beings can enlarge and expand their knowledge of the world and enrich their responsive interactions with others has significantly dehumanized the teaching and learning relationship (Spears & Loomis, 2009). Success has been reduced to quantifiable results on a handful of high-stakes assessments, and the centrality of caring relationships between and among teachers and learners in both the education of children and the preparation of responsive, effective teachers has gotten lost in the fray (Rabin, 2013). While a few stalwart educational theorists and advocates have been unwavering in their mission to keep care at the center of a responsive, high-quality educational experience for all students (e.g. Anderson, 2012; Goldstein, 1997, 2002; Noddings, 1992, 2005, 2012a, 2012b; Palmer, 1993; 2007; Rosebrough & Leverett, 2011), their voices are often overpowered by those who would elevate success over the development of whole persons through caring, responsive educational relationships. In an era that is necessarily characterized by high standards and accountability, how might teacher educators effectively prepare future instructors to care responsively for both their students and the curriculum

A Way to Solve the Euro pean Balance of Payments Crisis? Take a Chance on Market Solutions!

Schulden; Finanzmarktkrise; Schuldenkrise; Europäische Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion

Monetary Commitment, Institutional Constraints and Inflation: Empirical Evidence for OECD Countries since the 1970s

Central bank independence (CBI) is a very important precondition for price stability. However, the empirical evidence for a correlation between both is relatively weak. In this paper, this weakness is countered with a) an extended measure of monetary commitment, which includes well-known criteria for CBI and external criteria such as convertibility and exchange rate regimes and b) the argument that monetary commitment can grant price stability best if it is backed by an adequate assignment of economic policy. An empirical assessment with data from four decades confirms the crucial role of monetary commitment for price stability.central bank independence, price stability, monetary commitment

Entrepreneurship and its determinants in a cross-country setting

The relative stability of differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries suggests that other than economic factors are at play. The present paper offers some new thoughts about the determinants of entrepreneurial attitudes and activities by testing the relationship between institutional variables and cross-country differences in the preferences for self-employment as well as in actual selfemployment. Data of the 25 member states of the European Union as well as the US are used. The results show that country specific (cultural) variables seem to explain the preference for entrepreneurship but not the actual entrepreneurship. The present paper also introduces the remaining four papers of the special issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Economics around the theme Entrepreneurship and Culture.