Longitudinal reading outcomes in response to a book-based,whole class intervention for students from diverse cultural,linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds

A learning disabilities coping program was implemented in the final year of two primary schools within the context of a whole class coping program and whole school learning disabilities professional development. Using data collected over three years from school surveys, reports, interviews, school documents and a field diary, this paper reports on the feasibility of implementing and sustaining this intervention. The schools successfully implemented the program and continue to use components of it. Facilitators were: priority given by the school, usefulness and ease of use of the coping program, teacher skill and interest and maintenance of the connection between the universal and withdrawal aspects of the program. It is likely there is a need for increased presence of the above facilitators for continued implementation of all components of the intervention to be sustained.     

Evaluation of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program in a Regular Norwegian School Setting

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) program implemented as a school-wide preventive intervention at 1st to 3rd grade in a regular school setting reduces the development of problem behavior and improves social competence. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, the IYTCM was implemented in 21 schools and compared with 22 matched schools that did not receive the program. A total of 241 1st to 3rd grade teachers and 1518 students aged 6 to 8 years took part in the trial. Mixed-model analyses found small positive effects on changes in students’ social competence (d_w?=?0.19), while effects on change in students problem behavior were less than small (d_w?相似文献   

Enhancing students’s social and ethical development in schools: An intervention program and its effects

This chapter describes effects on students social and ethical attitudes and behaviors of a comprehensive elementary school program that was implemented in 12 elementary schools in six school districts in the United States over a four-year period, with an additional 12 schools serving as a comparison group. The program as a whole is designed to promote a sense of the school as a community. Data, collected in a baseline year and each of three program years, included classroom observations and student and teacher questionnaires. Data analyses showed variability both within and between schools in teacher changes from baseline to classroom program implementation. Positive effects on students’s sense of community and on several social/ethical variables were found for the five program schools that showed adequate changes in implementation. Structural equations modeling analyses of classroom-level data showed clear support for a model in which program effects on social-ethical outcomes for students were mediated through intervening linkages with program implementation and with the sense of community.     

How the Media Misleads the Story of School Consumerism: A Perspective From School Finance

Noting the dramatic rise in media reporting on the topic of school commercialism and consumer activity in schools, this research explores the fiscal benefits of such activities. Though a variety of activities frequently associated with school consumerism generate revenues for schools, in the example of student activity fees there is very little correlative evidence that suggests substantive and systematic shifts are under way in how schools are funded. A central argument is that the media representation of school consumerism may exaggerate the significance and effects of consumer and consumer behavior in schools, specifically in terms of the fiscal contribution of fee-based revenue. This argument is explored using quantitative methods to investigate fee-based revenue among U.S. public school systems.     

Supplying Choice: An Analysis of School Participation Decisions in Voucher Programs in Washington,DC, Indiana,and Louisiana

Since school voucher funds are public, policymakers fiercely debate how those funds should be spent. A goal of many decision-makers is to ensure that every private school option is “high-quality” through program accountability regulations. Private schools, however, decide whether to participate in a private school choice program and likely factor the amount of state regulations into that decision. This paper estimates the program participation decisions of the private schools in D.C., Indiana, and Louisiana. We specifically examine the impacts of voucher regulations on the supply-side of voucher programs. We employ a linear probability model to examine how school quality, as measured by revenue, tuition, enrollment, and Great School Review scores, is associated with program participation for schools. Results indicate that higher tuition-levels and larger cohort enrollments, conditions normally associated with high quality schools, identify schools that are less likely to participate in voucher programs. We also find a consistent negative relationship between Great Schools Review score and the school participation decision in all three locations; however, these coefficients are not statistically significant. State fixed effects reveal that private schools in D.C. and Louisiana, the two states that have higher regulatory burdens, are less likely to participate in voucher programs.     

Market Forces and Strategic Adaptation: The Influence of Private Scholarships on Planning in Urban School Systems

While the current debate about the effects of vouchers focuses on the effects of private schools on achievement, it is also important to examine how the introduction of need-based scholarships influences change in school systems. This study uses a qualitative method to examine the influence of a privately funded scholarship program on strategic adaptations within urban public and private schools in a major metropolitan area. The study revealed that senior administrators in public and private schools rapidly adapted their strategies to contend with the new program: suburban public schools prevented scholarship students from enrolling; urban public schools increased choices for public school students; and private schools actively recruited students. However, the scholarships had little influence on the ways these administrators viewed school choice.     

The challenge of continuation: Schools’ continuation of the Respect program

The Respect program is a whole school approach to prevent and reduce problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate which conditions in schools helped them to continue the program successfully after the end of the 1-year implementation period. The study also looked at the actual continuation after the program end. Especially, we looked at which strategies and structures promoted change beyond the implementation phase. The project groups at four Norwegian schools implementing the program were interviewed at the end of the implementation period and again 2? years later. The main findings suggest that involvement in the Respect program enables schools to implement change. However, it is challenging for the schools to continue the work afterwards. The one school that successfully continued the work after the program was characterized by strong and supportive leadership, leadership at many levels, they made plans and saw them through, renewed activities and new members of staff were introduced to and included in the work according to the program principles. These elements were more or less lacking at the other three schools, at least after the active program period. A main finding is that a 1-year program period is not long enough for most schools to implement and continue an extensive whole school program like Respect.     

EVALUATION OF A TRUANCY DIVERSION PROGRAM AT NINE AT‐RISK MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Many schools are faced with the prospect of soaring absenteeism rates, despite the use of traditional truancy courts and other legal interventions. A recent trend in the literature has been to explore alternative, hybrid, and multidisciplinary approaches to address the underlying obstacles to school attendance. These programs are often integrated into schools to reduce stigma and transportation burdens on families. The present study involved an evaluation of a truancy diversion program in nine at‐risk middle schools in an ethnically diverse sample. Graduates from the program demonstrated significant declines in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. In addition, participants and their parents expressed high levels of perceived improvement in academic performance. Academic tutoring was found to differentiate program graduates from nongraduates. Results are preliminary but discussed within the context of the role of school attachment in truancy diversion programs.     

School improvement plans and student learning in Jamaica

A school improvement program that provided support to poor-performing schools on the basis of needs identified in a school improvement plan was implemented in 72 government schools in Jamaica, from 1998 to 2005. In this independent evaluation of the program, we use propensity score matching to create, post hoc, a control group of schools that were similar to program schools in the baseline year. By the final year of the program, we find that program schools had received more inputs to improve literacy and numeracy than control schools, and that some inputs associated with the program were correlated with improvements school average achievement: supplementary reading materials, additional training for reading resource teachers, and functioning computers. At the student level, however, we find no evidence that students enrolled in program schools achieved higher reading or math scores than those in control schools. We suggest three possible reasons for this: (a) the lack of sensitivity of the learning measures to improvements at the lower end of the scales; (b) the availability of program-like inputs in non-program schools, provided by other programs and donors; and (c) the growth in student enrollment in the program schools, which may have diluted the program effect for incoming students in upper grades. Schools with school improvement plans did not outperform comparable schools that did not have these plans.     

"Bridging the Gap": The Effects of the Success For All Program on Elementary School Reading Achievement as a Function of Student Ethnicity and Ability Level

This study examined the effects on reading achievement of the Success For All (SFA) program for minority and nonminority students attending elementary school in a small midwestern city. SFA uses a research-based kindergarten program, beginning and intermediate reading programs in Grades 1–3, one-to-one tutoring for low achievers, family support, and other elements. Findings from a comparison between two SFA schools and two matched control schools showed that on individually-administered reading tests, minority (African American) students in the SFA schools performed comparably to their nonminority counterparts at the four schools while significantly outperforming control school minority students. Although overall program effects were not significant, SFA was also effective for the subsample consisting of the lowest-25% achieving students. Longitudinal results over four years showed stable benefits for the lowest-achievers, but some decline in overall program effects relative to the first two years.     

The Challenge of Improving Urban High School Graduation Outcomes: Findings from a Randomized Study of Dropout Prevention Efforts

This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The primary program component was the provision of a facilitator for about 60 program students at each school to encourage students regarding attendance, their academic coursework, and personal issues. In particular, the study examined whether at-risk students randomly assigned to the program had better outcomes (particularly attendance, on-time promotion in grade, and high school completion) than those at the same high schools that were assigned to the control group. The article explores reasons for the nonsignificant effects of this program, emphasizing the need for earlier intervention prior to the ninth grade year among at-risk urban students.     

Do you get what you pay for with school-based health programs? Evidence from a child nutrition experiment in rural China

This study uses a randomized controlled trial of a school-based anemia reduction program in rural China to examine how increased school emphasis on health promotion affects academic performance. Although education and health promotion are complementary functions of schools, they do compete for finite school resources. We compare the effects of a traditional program that provided only information about anemia and subsidies to an otherwise identical program that included performance incentives for school principals based on school-level anemia prevalence. By the end of the trial, exam scores among students who were anemic at baseline improved under both versions of the program, but scores among students in the incentive group who were healthy at baseline fell relative to healthy students in the control group. Results suggest that performance incentives to improve student health increase the impact of school-based programs on student health outcomes, but may also lead to reallocation of school resources.     

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEVEL PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN OVERCOMING CUMULATIVE RISK FOR BEHAVIOR DIFFICULTIES IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

The study investigated whether school‐level protective factors could moderate the effects cumulative risk has upon behavior difficulties in children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The sample comprised 4,288 children identified with SEND: 2,660 pupils within 248 primary schools, and 1,628 pupils within 57 secondary schools. Risk factors associated with increases in behavior difficulties over an 18‐month period were summed to a cumulative risk score. Various school‐level factors were added to multilevel models, with interaction terms computed between cumulative risk and these variables to assess their potential protective effects. The primary school model revealed a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school academic achievement in predicting behavior difficulties. Higher levels of achievement in primary schools help reduce behavior difficulties for children most at risk. The secondary school model evidenced a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school percentage of students eligible for free school meals (FSM). Lower proportions within a school of children eligible for FSM were associated with reductions in behavior difficulties for children at high levels of risk. Interventions aimed at improving school‐level academic achievement and targeting high‐risk students attending schools with large proportions of children eligible for FSM would be beneficial.     

Making the most of summer school: a meta-analytic and narrative review

Summer schools serve multiple purposes for students, families, educators, and communities. The current need for summer programs is driven by changes in American families and by calls for an educational system that is competitive globally and embodies higher academic standards. A research synthesis is reported that used both meta-analytic and narrative procedures to integrate the results of 93 evaluations of summer school. Results revealed that summer programs focusing on remedial or accelerated learning or other goals have a positive impact on the knowledge and skills of participants. Although all students benefit from summer school, students from middle-class homes show larger positive effects than students from disadvantaged homes. Remedial programs have larger effects when the program is relatively small and when instruction is individualized. Remedial programs may have more positive effects on math than on reading. Requiring parent involvement also appears related to more effective programs. Students at all grade levels benefit from remedial summer school, but students in the earliest grades and in secondary school may benefit most. These and other findings are examined for their implications for future research, public policy, and the implementation of summer programs. Based on these results, our recommendations to policy makers are that summer programs (a) contain substantial components aimed at teaching math and reading and (b) include rigorous evaluations, but also (c) permit local control of curricula and delivery systems. Funds should be set aside to foster participation in summer programs, especially among disadvantaged youth. Program implementers should (a) begin summer program planning earlier in the year, (b) strive for continuity of staffing and programs across years, (c) use summer school in conjunction with summer staff development opportunities, and (d) begin integrating summer school experiences with those that occur during the regular school year.     

Do Charters Pose a Threat to Private Schools? Evidence from Nationally Representative Surveys of U.S. Parents

Charter schools increasingly challenge both district and private schools for student enrollments in the United States. With more parents able to choose among the sectors, the success of each in attracting students will turn in part on the levels of satisfaction provided to families who enroll. We analyze data from two nationally representative surveys of parental perceptions. Private school parents are the most satisfied with the climate, student behavior, and school-to-parent communications in their child’s school, but the gap between private school parents and charter parents is much less than the one between private school parents and those in district schools. We find little difference across sectors in satisfaction with school infrastructure and in school–parent communications about student behavior. Because charters, like district schools, are free, this narrowing of the satisfaction gap between the tuition-based and free school sectors may erode the size of the private sector.     

SCALE‐UP OF SAFE & CIVIL SCHOOLS’ MODEL FOR SCHOOL‐WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS

This study evaluated the scale‐up of a Safe & Civil Schools Foundations: Establishing Positive Discipline Policies positive behavioral interventions and supports initiative through 4 years of “real‐world” implementation in a large urban school district. The study extends results from a previous randomized controlled trial that established the effectiveness of the Safe & Civil Schools program in 32 elementary schools in the same district. This study emphasizes the application and evaluation of the program in regular district schools. Four‐year results indicate that elementary, middle, and high schools experienced moderate but steady improvements in (a) school discipline, (b) student safety policy and training, (c) staff perceptions of student behavior, and (d) student suspension and chronic tardiness rates. With few exceptions, improvements occurred after schools began Safe & Civil Schools Foundations training, and more years of training were associated with larger cumulative improvements in school and student outcomes. Given that similar effects were observed in schools with and without random assignment of training, and only after training began, we concluded that the improvements stem from Safe & Civil School's Foundations training.     

Student Team Reading and Writing: A Cooperative Learning Approach to Middle School Literacy Instruction

The goal of this project was to create a middle school literacy program that was more responsive to the needs and abilities of early adolescents in urban middle schools. The program components included: (a) cooperative learning classroom processes; (b) a literature anthology for high interest reading material; (c) explicit instruction in reading comprehension; (e) integrated reading, writing, and language arts instruction; and (f) a writing process approach to language arts. The study was conducted in 5 schools in a large urban school district, 2 implementing Student Team Reading and Writing (STRW) and 3 comparison schools. The results indicated that the students in STRW had significantly higher achievement in reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, and language expression. The results suggest that a multifaceted approach to restructuring can effectively improve the achievement of students in urban middle schools.     

School based management effects: Resources or governance change? Evidence from Mexico

In their struggle to improve student learning, many developing countries are introducing school-based management (SBM) reforms that provide cash-grants to school councils. School councils are expected to work collaboratively and decide on the best use of the funds. In this paper, we study the effects of one such program in Mexico on student outcomes. We complement the differences-in-differences analysis by qualitatively exploring program implementation. Results suggest the program had substantial positive effects on third grade Spanish test scores, with most benefits accruing to schools receiving SBM cash grants for the first time. These results are robust to alternative model specifications. The implementation analysis suggests school councils did monitor grant use, but parental participation did not significantly improve in other areas. Our findings suggest that the observed positive program effects are likely to be the result of providing schools with financial resources to meet pressing equipment, material, and infrastructure needs.     

The impact of school choice and public policy on segregation: Evidence from Chile

Advocates argue that vouchers can make improved educational opportunity available to disadvantaged students. Critics contend that vouchers increase the risk of stratification. Researchers have found that Chile's voucher program has lead to increased socioeconomic school segregation. What has been overlooked, however, is segregation between schools within a sector and variation within private for-profit and non-profit school sectors. I find that public schools are more likely to serve disadvantaged students than private voucher schools. I also find that disadvantaged students are more segregated among private voucher schools than among public schools. While between and within sector segregation levels vary across private voucher school types, the differences are not always consistent with theory. The data also suggest that policies can either mitigate or exacerbate the stratifying effects of educational vouchers.     

Pupils’ perceptions of safety at school

The research reported in this article was carried out in four secondary schools, two with a peer support system (PS) and two without (NPS) and involved a total of 931 pupils, (49.5 per cent males, and 50.5 per cent females). Participants were aged between 11 and 15 years of age, mean age 12.8 years. The aim was to compare the perceptions of safety on the part of pupils in secondary schools with and without a system of peer support in place. The findings provided little evidence that the presence of a peer support system enhanced feelings of safety in the school population. On the positive side, PS pupils were slightly more aware of the value of having other people around as a means of enhancing feelings of safety. They were also less afraid of older pupils indicating that peer supporters may have influenced the attitudes of some older pupils towards younger peers and may have made them friendlier. However; for the PS pupils, toilets and corridors/stairs were less safe for them than for NPS pupils, largely because of the unpleasant actions of the peer group towards them. With specific regard to bullying, there was no difference between PS and NPS. Around one‐fifth of both PS and NPS pupils reported that the reason for feeling unsafe was because of bullying. The most common suggestions for making school a better place referred to action against bullying.