The Effect of Two Years of Tutoring on Mathematics and Reading Achievement

This study investigated the cognitive impact of two years of tutoring on disadvantaged children in a “big-brother” type program. Although tutors were not specifically required to upgrade achievement, almost all assumed this to be a major thrust of their activities. Mathematics and reading skills were measured over a two-year period for children tutored two years, one year, and not at all. Findings indicate that one year of tutoring yielded some cognitive gains; however, a second year of tutoring did not increment them. Less emphasis on achievement goals during the second year of tutoring appeared to account for these results.     

SOCIAL CLASS AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

The effect of higher education upon student attitudes is one of increasing liberality and decreasing authoritarianism. In this study of 345 women students in a college of education similar trends were recorded concerning teacher‐role expectations during a three‐year period of anticipatory professional socialization. The early part of the course is seen as particularly significant in changing attitudes. The nature of the change is complex, for whilst on home‐school relationships, curriculum, organization and motivation students become more ‘open’ in their teacher‐role expectations, a hardening of attitudes was seen towards corporal punishment and teachers’ leisure time involvement with their school children. Some changes may be attributed to the orientation of the college towards certain professional beliefs and practices. The process of professional socialization is marked by increasing differentiation among students at different stages of their course on questions relating to teachers’ instrumental (task‐centred) roles. Further, this college's stress upon primary education may be responsible for only slight differences developing between the role‐concepts of groups training for different levels of school.     

Residential and non-residential learning experiences: Perceptions and performance

This study examines the perceptions and performance of vocational teachers exposed to a residential or non-residential tertiary learning situation. The perceptions of both groups of teachers, relevant to the outcomes of the learning situation or attendance mode to which they had been exposed, were obtained by questionnaire. Lecturers who had experience of both learning situations were also surveyed on similar issues. Information was sought primarily about attitudes to social, communication and learning outcomes relevant to the mode of attendance undertaken. In addition, final academic results concerning a major project for both residential and non-residential teachers were compared. Both groups of respondents perceived some major differences in outcome for teachers exposed to a particular learning situation. The residential mode was generally seen to be most effective by teachers and lecturers in terms of the perceived greater opportunities it gave for the development of peer group and lecturer communication and support with effects on learning and improved choices of academic success. There was, however, in terms of final academic success measured, no significance between group differences. Overall it was found that a residential program may significantly improve group cohesion and communication compared to a similar nonresidential program but that those outcomes may not necessarily lead to improved learning performance.     

Using a Geriatric Mentoring Narrative Program to Improve Medical Student Attitudes Towards the Elderly

This study examined first-year medical student attitudes concerning the elderly before and after instituting a geriatric mentoring program. The program began and ended with a survey designed to assess students' attitudes toward the elderly. During the mentoring program, students visited the same senior for four visits throughout the academic year. After each visit, students were required to write a narrative that included reflections on assigned themes. Comparisons of pre- and postsurvey data indicated that students became more positive in their attitudes toward older patients after the geriatric experience. Narratives indicated students were highly engaged in the visits with their seniors.     

Faculty evaluation of a faculty development center

There is relatively little firm information concerning the effectiveness of faculty development programs at the present time. This condition is not likely to be alleviated by any one study, including the present one. The study does, however, offer a rationale for the faculty survey approach it uses and reports faculty responses concerning importance and performance, to each of 19 functions that make up the faculty development program at the institution involved. The study was conducted in a large urban university and involved responses from both faculty who had participated in the program during the preceding year and those who had not. It was concluded that, despite the subjective nature and other limitations of the survey approach to evaluation of faculty development programs, the information provided is useful both as a basis for decision making and program improvement.     

The effects of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on Children's school performance at the end of the program and one year later

The effectiveness of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)—a two-year, free, home-based, family-oriented, early childhood education intervention-was assessed in a longitudinal, two cohort, randomized experimental evaluation. One hundred and eighty-two low-income families (84 in HIPPY and 98 in the control group) were assessed at baseline, at the end of the program, and one year later. Outcomes included assessments of children's cognitive skills, adaptation to the classroom, and standardized achievement at the end of the two-year program, and classroom adaptation and standardized achievement one year later. Data were collected from objective measures, teacher ratings, and school records. Analyses of covariance were conducted controlling for baseline scores on child and family background variables. Results revealed that for Cohort I there were significant and educationally meaningful differences in children's school performance both at the end of the program and one year later. These results were not replicated in Cohort II. Attrition analyses did not reveal differences between groups and cohorts which would account for the lack of replication. Findings are interpreted as mixed support for the effectiveness of the HIPPY program to improve the chances that poor children will succeed in school.     

Extending pre‐school experience as preventive intervention: Relationships with later reading achievement

This study investigated the predictive validity of decisions made by a pre‐school teacher concerning the cognitive and social maturity of her pupils to enter formal schooling, based on their performance on the Neale Scales of Early Childhood Development.Thirty‐five children selected from the rolls of a Melbourne pre‐school which had maintained records over a ten‐year period were followed up in primary school and their reading ability assessed. Findings showed that subjects who had undertaken an additional pre‐school year following advice based on their Neale Scales’ performance were reading significantly better than those who had displayed similar developmental anomalies but who bad not been exposed to further pre‐school experience; moreover, the former were reading as well as or better than children selected on the basis of their pre‐school profiles as being ready for school.     

Relations between colorblind socialization and children's racial bias: evidence from European American mothers and their preschool children

To examine European American parents’ racial socialization, mothers (n = 84) were videotaped while reading 2 race‐themed books to their 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children and completed surveys concerning their racial attitudes and behaviors. Children completed measures of their racial attitudes and both groups (mothers and preschoolers) predicted the others’ racial attitudes. Results indicated that nearly all mothers adopted “colormute” and “colorblind” approaches to socialization. Furthermore, neither children nor mothers accurately predicted the others’ views. Children’s racial attitudes were unrelated to their mothers’ attitudes but were predicted by their mothers’ cross‐race friendships; those children whose mothers had a higher percentage of non‐European American friends showed lower levels of racial biases than those children whose mothers had a lower percentage of non‐European American friends.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the stay safe primary prevention programme for child sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE: This child abuse prevention study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Stay Safe Programme in training unscreened 7 and 10 year old children in personal safety skills. Subsidiary aims were to evaluate the program's impact on children's self-esteem and parents' and teachers' knowledge and attitudes of relevance to child abuse and protection. METHOD: Changes in safety knowledge and skills and self-esteem of 339 children who participated in the Stay Safe Programme were compared with those of 388 waiting list controls. Children in the training group were also followed up at 3 months. In addition, the knowledge and attitudes of parents and teachers of children who completed the program were evaluated before and after the program and 5 month follow-up data were collected from teachers only. RESULTS: Compared with waiting-list controls, trained children showed significant improvements in safety knowledge and skills and these gains were maintained at follow-up. The greatest gains were made by 7 year olds. Children who participated in the program also showed significant improvements in self-esteem which were maintained at 3 months follow-up but only the 7 year olds in the training group made significantly larger gains in self-esteem than their control group counterparts. Children with a higher socioeconomic status benefited more from the program than less privileged children. Both parents and teachers showed significant improvements in knowledge and attitudes concerning protection over the course of the program and for teachers, these gains were maintained at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the Stay Safe Programme was effective in training children in safety skills and so may usefully be used as a primary prevention intervention for child abuse.     

Assessing the influence of field- and GIS-based inquiry on student attitude and conceptual knowledge in an undergraduate ecology lab

Combining field experience with use of information technology has the potential to create a problem-based learning environment that engages learners in authentic scientific inquiry. This study, conducted over a 2-yr period, determined differences in attitudes and conceptual knowledge between students in a field lab and students with combined field and geographic information systems (GIS) experience. All students used radio-telemetry equipment to locate fox squirrels, while one group of students was provided an additional data set in a GIS to visualize and quantify squirrel locations. Pre/postsurveys and tests revealed that attitudes improved in year 1 for both groups of students, but differences were minimal between groups. Attitudes generally declined in year 2 due to a change in the authenticity of the field experience; however, attitudes for students that used GIS declined less than those with field experience only. Conceptual knowledge also increased for both groups in both years. The field-based nature of this lab likely had a greater influence on student attitude and conceptual knowledge than did the use of GIS. Although significant differences were limited, GIS did not negatively impact student attitude or conceptual knowledge but potentially provided other benefits to learners.     

From student to teacher: changes in preservice teacher educational beliefs throughout the learning-to-teach journey

Preservice teachers enter programs with beliefs about teaching and learning, constructed from prior schooling experiences. This longitudinal study examines preservice teachers’ K–12 memories, their initial educational beliefs, and the changes in those beliefs over their teacher education program. Analysis of questionnaires, interviews, work samples, and observations from six preservice teachers collected over a two-year period revealed that they initially believed that students were similar to themselves, that teaching was simple and autonomous, that students perform uniformly within grade levels, and that teaching ensures learning. At program’s end, however, they believed that students differ from one another and from themselves, that teaching is complex, that classroom freedom has limits, that differentiation is essential, and that teaching does not ensure learning. The data suggested a common progression from initial idealism, to cognitive dissonance, to a search for an authentic teaching persona, and finally, to confidence in their new role as teacher.     

Problems of beginning teachers: Comparing graduates of bachelor's and master's level teacher preparation programs

This study compares classroom problems of novice teachers who had completed either a traditional 4‐year baccalaureate or 1‐year graduate level preparation program. Problems encountered were remarkably similar. For both groups, the three most frequent problems are shared and identically ranked: (a) having adequate time for planning and preparation; (b) having every student work up to his or her ability; and (c) providing for individual learning differences. Of the 20 most frequently experienced problems for each group, 15 are common to both. Furthermore, problems these teachers encountered are highly comparable to those encountered by novice teachers of two decades ago. When viewed from a teacher development perspective, these results may indicate that beginning teachers have a similar set of problems to work through regardless of their preparation program. The results also indicate that graduates of a 1‐year master's level program are no more likely to encounter problems in their first years of teaching than are graduates of a traditional 4‐year baccalaureate program.     

A high school follow-up of children who were nonpromoted or attended a junior first grade

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of repeating a grade or participating in a junior first-grade program. High school students (N = 137) answered a questionnaire concerning their experience with grade retention or a transitional year while in elementary school. In addition, we collected data on past academic performance from the students' school records. Groups of students were composed of former participants in the junior first program, students who had been retained in a grade, and matched controls. Attitudes towards nonpromotion and the junior first program were positive and, among all three groups, there were few important differences in opinion. In high school, however, measures of academic competence indicated there were performance differences between the groups. Participants in the junior first program were at par with peers, whereas grade repeaters made less progress in high school and had lower mathematics grades. The later in school the grade retention, the poorer the academic performance.     

Approaches to Curriculum: The Journey from Preservice Training to Novice Teacher

In this longitudinal study, carried out over a period of 6 years, the curriculum approach of student-teachers in the fields of Jewish Studies was examined, from their 1st year of studies until their 6th year when they took their places as full-fledged teachers in schools. This article focuses on the student-teachers’ approaches to curriculum and the differences in their attitudes toward two formal study programs, that differ in character and essence. The major argument in this article is that the character and essence of a formal syllabus has great influence on curriculum approaches of students preparing to become teachers, and their place in developing their own teaching program.     

Attitudes of Parents and Teachers toward Mainstreaming

A questionnaire measuring attitudes toward mainstreaming was completed by teachers and parents at two primary schools, one of which had initiated a mainstreaming program in Year 1 classes. Results indicated that attitudes of parents and teachers at this school were more negative than those of their counterparts at the school with no mainstreaming program. Despite this apparent relationship between contact with disabled children and a negative attitude towards mainstreaming, a significant association was found between amount of experience with disabled children and a positive attitude towards mainstreaming. Among explanations proposed for these discrepant findings is the suggestion that attitudes expressed prior to experience with mainstreaming may not be an accurate guide to views held after its implementation.     

Changes in students' educational attitudes: A study of an experimental living-learning program

This study highlights the longitudinal changes in educational attitudes of students during the freshman year of college, with the prime focus on comparisons between students in a living-learning program (N=95) and students in the regular curriculum (N=89) at the University of California, Davis. The Student Orientations Survey was used in a pre-post design, and major results were (1) students who selected the experimental program held somewhat different attitudes from their peers in the regular curriculum prior to the start of the academic year and (2) compared to changes in attitudes of their peers, the experimental-program students, by the end of the academic year, had significantly decreased their desire for lectures and formalized education, expressed greater interest in self-directed independent study, desired a more significant role in educational decision-making, and viewed education more as a way of exploring various academic areas rather than solely preparing for a vocational future. Coupled with findings from student interviews, various implications of the results were discussed.     

One year of preschool or two: Is it important for adult outcomes?

Until recently, public funding for preschool education had been growing rapidly over a decade with most state programs providing one year of preschool for four year olds. Fewer three year olds are enrolled in preschool. To investigate the importance of enrollment duration, this study is the first to estimate long-term dosage effects of years of preschool. We use data from a cohort of 1500 students in the Chicago Longitudinal Study who enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools in the mid-1980s. Many of these students participated in a high-quality preschool program called Child-Parent Centers (CPC) for one or two years. To address selection with multiple treatments, we employ inverse propensity score weighting. Relative to children who attended one year of CPC preschool, the two-year group is significantly less likely to receive special education or be abused or neglected or to commit crimes. The findings provide support for the long-term benefits of greater exposure to preschool.     

A study of student outcomes and teacher characteristics in exemplary middle and junior high science programs

Recent efforts of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) have encouraged collaborative “research partnerships” between university researchers and classroom science teachers. This research partners study, begun in 1987, examined student outcomes and teacher characteristics in middle/junior high exemplary programs identified by the NSTA's Search for Excellence in Science Education (SESE). A second year of the study has been completed involving SESE program teachers with similar instructional profiles. Using Iowa Test of Basic Skills and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) items, key teachers in those SESE programs examined their seventh- and eighth-grade student outcomes in three domains: (a) knowledge, (b) attitudes, and (c) applications/connections. Results were compared with national populations. A similar study was conducted during the second year, involving teachers from the first year and additional teachers with instructional practice profiles similar to those in SESE programs. Teachers were surveyed using a questionnaire from the Report of the 1977 National Survey of Science, Mathematics and Social Studies Education Teachers (Weiss, 1978a) and supplemental questions (Bonnstetter, 1985). This study found that in exemplary middle/junior high programs: (a) as a group, students achieve high scores in science knowledge and maintain or develop positive attitudes toward science; and (b) students need opportunities to make connections between what they learn in science and personal responsibility.     

Residents' attitudes toward the legal system and court testimony in child abuse

Resident physicians' contacts with the legal system during management of abused children may influence their attitudes, which were evaluated in a pilot survey completed by 42 pediatric and medicine/pediatric residents. Although negative attitudes toward attorneys were common, almost all of the residents considered general and hearing-specific legal training to be a legitimate part of their residency program. They reported lower levels of stress of court testimony than expected by the authors. Most who had testified in court believed their testimony had been needed and helpful, but all who believed their testimony had been a waste of time were senior-level residents. Although most residents believed the laws and courts usually work for protecting children, only 8 of the 20 residents who had previously testified in court responded affirmatively, and none of the 10 senior residents who had previously testified held this belief. The disillusionment of senior-level residents appeared to affect attitudes toward patient care less than expected, in that 90% of those who planned to enter private practice indicated they would perform physical abuse evaluations and 70% planned to perform sexual abuse evaluations. Only one resident who did not expect to perform the evaluations gave as a reason the prospect of having to testify in court.