Black and other minority admissions to large universities: A four-year national survey of policies and outcomes

A survey of 108 large universities indicated that median new black freshmen enrollment has increased nationally to 5% in Fall 1972, from 4% in 1971 and 1970 and 3% in 1969. Open admission for all students was employed by 16% of the schools in 1972 compared to 12% in 1971. Schools were generally employing fewer selection variables in 1972 than previously. Schools with special programs for blacks were down to 54% in 1972 from 60% in 1971, although more special programs for American Indian and Spanish speaking students existed (14% in 1972, 8% in 1971), while private universities cut back considerably in all special programs. Results are discussed in terms of literature on minority admissions and current social trends.This study was sponsored and partially funded by Commission IX (Assessment for Student Development) of the American College Personnel Association. Portions of this study were presented at the American College Personnel Association Convention in Cleveland, April 6, 1973.     

Climate change and costs: investigating students’ reasoning on nature and economic development

The tensions between environmental protection and economic growth are critical to future well-being, and it is therefore important to understand how young people conceptualize these tensions. The aim of the present study is to explore students’ solutions to the dilemma of economic development and mitigating climate change, with regard to societal responses to the challenge of climate change. The study was conducted in China’s Green Schools. Green School is an international long-term programme with the aim of increasing students’ knowledge of environmental issues, and transferring this knowledge into positive actions to affect the wider community. The data were obtained through semi-structured pre- and post-interviews with 15–16-year-old students in three groups (12 students) from Green Schools in the Beijing area. The results show that students’ discussions focused exclusively on economic growth and social welfare. Students seem to believe that environmental problems are inevitable, nature is a ‘box’ of resources, and economic development is necessary in order to sustain and even improve nature. Therefore, there is no dilemma between economic development and environmental protection. The paper ends with a discussion on research and implications for teaching climate change.     

A HEBREW TEACHER'S MEMOIR

This article is a summary of a dissertation for the Master Education degree awarded by Wit‐watersand University, South Africa. The term “Matriculate”, which is not in common usage, refers to the young man or woman who has completed the officially recognised matriculation examination of its academic equivalent. ‘Day School’ refers to the Jewish school which conforms to the education authorities' requirements and, in addition to providing the same curriculum of studies as that of the Government Schools, includes instruction to matriculation level in Jewish studies and the Hebrew language.     

Prior activities and progress in MBA programs

Many graduate business programs encourage, and even require, postbaccalaureate work experience as a criterion for program admission. In this research we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 to examine the extent to which MBA students actually experience a hiatus in their educational careers, and whether their work/education profiles differ from those of other graduate students in the United States. We also address whether this emphasis on educational discontinuity in the formal sense has any effect on how the student progresses through the MBA program. Our results suggest that interrupting school between the BA and MBA leads to a higher likelihood of part-time enrollment, and a consequent lower probability of completing the degree program in a timely fashion.     

Turning around schools (and neighborhoods?): School improvement grants and gentrification

Most funding intended to close gaps in K-12 education targets schools, rather than students directly. We investigate whether household sorting in response to changes in K-12 school funding inhibits spending from reaching targeted students with a case study in Metro-Nashville Public Schools of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, which invested $7 billion in the nation’s lowest-achieving schools between 2009 and 2016. Using a boundary-discontinuity difference-in-differences design and home sales data, we estimate that households were willing to pay more than three times the average per-pupil grant award to live in SIG school zones. Neighborhoods zoned for SIG schools experienced moderate income and racial integration following funding receipt. However, evictions in these neighborhoods increased by 35%, and non-white enrollment at SIG schools declined by 15%. Our findings illustrate a major limitation of place-based public good provision: sorting may displace the initially targeted population.     

重点高中学生主观幸福感的现状调查

采用青少年主观幸福感量表对重点高中453名学生进行问卷调查。结果表明:重点高中学生的主观幸福感处于中等偏上水平。在家庭满意和正性情感上存在着显著的性别差异;在整体满意、环境满意、学业满意、正性情感和负性情感上存在显著的年级差异;除了自由满意外,在总体幸福感及各个维度上都存在显著的城乡差异;经常锻炼身体的学生与没有经常锻炼身体的学生主观幸福感存在显著差异。     

中学生感恩影响学校归属感:社会支持的中介作用

探讨中学生感恩对学校归属感的影响,以及领悟社会支持的中介效应,以此为提升中学生的学校归属感提供相关建议。采用中学生感戴量表、领悟社会支持量表、中学生学校归属感量表对292名中学生进行问卷调查,结果发现:（1）感恩能够正向预测学校归属感;（2）社会支持能够正向预测学校归属感;（3）社会支持在感恩和学校归属感之间起部分中介作用。因此,学校要对中学生进行感恩能力的培养,帮助构建社会支持系统并学会领悟家庭支持、教师支持及同伴支持,从而提升对学校的归属感,以便更好地促进学业成绩与心理健康。     

A study of the effect of sustained,whole‐school professional development on student achievement in science

This longitudinal study of middle school science teachers explored the relationship, if any, between teacher participation in whole‐school, sustained, collaborative professional development and student achievement in science. Eleven teachers from Glendale Middle School participated in the Discovery Model Schools Initiative 2‐week summer institute, followed by monthly release day professional development sessions focused on implementing instruction outlined in the National Science Education Standards. Student achievement was assessed using the Discovery Inquiry Test in Science. The same students completed the test in grades 6–8. Students of teachers at Glendale Middle School significantly outperformed students at the control school. Findings in this study revealed the positive impact that whole‐school, sustained, collaborative professional development programs have on student achievement, indicating that programs of this nature could be a means to narrowing or eliminating achievement gaps in science. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 775–786, 2007     

Bullying in Middle School: Individual and School Characteristics of Victims and Offenders

The purpose of this study was to examine individual and school characteristics of victims and offenders of bullying in middle school, using survey data from the New Brunswick School Climate Studies (N = 6,883 students in Grade 6 from 148 schools, and N = 6,868 students in Grade 8 from 92 schools). Results show that gender and physical condition were the most important characteristics of victims in both Grades 6 and 8. Victims came from schools with poor disciplinary climate in both Grades 6 and 8. Gender was the most important characteristic of offenders, with affective and physical conditions being secondary, in both Grades 6 and 8. Offenders, however, varied considerably in school characteristics. School size was the salient contextual characteristic in both Grades 6 and 8, but significant school climate characteristics were entirely different between Grades 6 and 8. Schools where students bullied less can be characterized as having positive disciplinary climate and strong parental involvement in Grade 6 and having high academic press in Grade 8.     

Bachelor’s degree student dropouts: Who tend to stay and who tend to leave?

Factors of students’ dropout can be studied either by surveys among students or by analyzing data the university collects. In the work reported in this paper, we analyzed data known about students at the time of admission as well as data about the students' study achievements collected on a semester basis. Using data about students who enrolled in the academic year 2013/14, we created several data mining models to predict who will finish their studies successfully and who will not. Our results show that the key factor is the percentage of lost credit vouchers in the most recent semester. The pre-entry attributes have only a very small impact. We also created association rules of different types to find characteristics of students who did not successfully complete the first semester of study. Here, the factor that mainly increases the probability of a failure is the time gap between secondary and tertiary education.     

江北大学堂考述

1902年由漕运总督陈夔龙创办于清江浦的江北大学堂是清末新政时期江苏官方最早创立的四所高等学堂之一，也是当时全国最早创办的为数不多的官办高等学堂之一，1903年江北大学堂更名为江北高等学堂。之后，因漕运总督撤消，津浦铁路的通行，以及学堂内部管理不善等因素，一变而江北初级师范学堂，至民初，则演变为江苏省立第六师范学校。     

A Case Study of a Community‐Based Transition Education Project∗

Abstract

In Australia, the needs of non‐tertiary bound students have been the focus of a number of special initiatives funded by the Commonwealth Schools Commission. One such intitiative, the Commonwealth‐State Transition Education Programme was designed to help students prepare for work while completing their schooling. In this paper, a particular transition education project is described and its effectiveness as an agent of whole‐school improvement is discussed.

     

An updated analysis of author affiliation across four school psychology journals: Is practitioner research increasing?

This study analyzed articles published in four school psychology journals (Journal of School Psychology, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology Quarterly, and School Psychology Review) between the years 2009 and 2015. Articles were classified based on whether they were narrative or empirical, and affiliation of each author was classified as either practitioner or university. Results were compared to those of a previous study that similarly classified articles from 2000 to 2008. Across the years, the total number of authors increased; however, the proportion of practitioners compared to university affiliates decreased from 9% to 6%. In particular, a regression analysis revealed a large increase in the number of university secondary authors. Discussion focuses on examining the impact that practitioners’ involvement in research has on implementing evidence‐based practices within the schools.     

A Comparison of Tutor and Student Conceptions of Undergraduate Research Project Work

Tutor and student conceptions of undergraduate research project work were evaluated following the distribution of questionnaires to 85 members of academic staff and 136 final‐year (honours) students in the Schools of Biology and Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University of Belfast (QUB). The percentage of individuals submitting a return was 52% for staff and 38% for students. The issues considered included: (1) types and purpose of honours projects, (2) roles and responsibilities of supervisors (staff) and students, and (3) assessment and feedback. The results revealed a diversity of opinion among both staff and students about the various issues surrounding this complex learning exercise. To remedy this situation and to enhance student learning it is essential to establish a climate of open dialogue between staff and students, to share learning conceptions and to ensure that the assessment of any learning task is commensurate with the aims, objectives and learning outcomes.     

Effectiveness of feedback: the students’ perspective

While effective feedback has frequently been identified as a key strategy in learning and teaching, little known research has focused on students’ perceptions of feedback and the contribution feedback makes to students’ learning and teaching. This reported qualitative study aims to enrich our understanding of these perceptions and importantly to provide insight into the meaning of ‘effective’ when related to feedback. The study involved four focus groups of undergraduate students of varying levels and from a range of Schools completing degrees in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney. Students’ perceptions relating to a definition of feedback, how they use it and preferences for delivery were prompted by the facilitators. Thematic analysis resulted in three key dimensions: perceptions of feedback, impact of feedback and credibility of feedback. The analysis demonstrated that effectiveness of feedback extends beyond mode of delivery and timeliness to include the credibility of the lecturer giving the feedback. The role of effective feedback includes not only enhancing learning and teaching but also facilitating the transition between school and university.     

Dear Hilary Shuard…

Since the demise of the Schools Council, the newly formed School Curriculum Development Committee has initiated, as one of its first projects, an exploratory study of the mathematics curriculum for the six to 13 age range. In this open letter to Hilary Shuard, the project director, a case for particular consideration for the needs of pupils with learning difficulties is presented by Alec Williams, Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln. He has recently piloted, for the Mathematical Association/NARE, the new diploma course in the Teaching of Mathematics to Low Attainers in Secondary Schools.     

Getting Them There,Keeping Them There: Benefits of an Extended School Day Program for High School Students

Over a decade of research has demonstrated the positive effects of extended school day programs on various elementary and middle school student outcomes, both in the short and long term. The efficacy of extended school day programs in promoting academic outcomes among high school students is less well understood. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining school attendance, credit attainment, and standardized reading and math scores in a group of students at risk of academic failure who participated in extended school day programming. The study compared their outcomes to those of a group of demographically similar students who did not participate in the program. The extended school day program is provided within a full-service Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Community School (CS) in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Results suggest an advantage for SUN students in terms of better school attendance and earning credits toward graduation, but not in terms of standardized test scores. Implications for future research and extended school day policy are discussed.     

Parental involvement: an issue for Swiss primary school teacher education

Abstract

This article is the Swiss contribution to the European project ‘Collaboration on Improving Students’ Preparation for Family–School Partnerships’. It presents results from a study investigating how Swiss Schools of Teacher Education prepare primary school students for cooperation with the parents of four- to thirteen-year-old pupils. Nine Schools of Teacher Education in the German-speaking part of Switzerland were surveyed. The study conducted questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews and document analysis on this topic. This article focuses on the results for primary school teacher education. The findings show that Swiss primary school teacher education programmes accord importance to family–school cooperation. All Schools of Teacher Education cover the topic of family–school cooperation either by conducting special courses on this subject or by connecting the subject with other courses. However, the content and extent of the coverage of and linkages to family–school cooperation in the courses largely depends on the individual educator. Moreover, preparing for family–school cooperation is an important issue during in-field training. The results of this study differ from those in other countries and contradict common prejudices in public perception on the issue in Switzerland.     

听力障碍学生语音意识发展的实验研究

本研究通过音节意识和首音-韵脚意识的问卷测试了聋校二、四、六、八年级共103名听障学生的语音意识。结果表明,听障学生的语音意识随年级的升高而提高;阅读水平越高,语音意识测验的成绩就越好,反之也一样,且年级差异与阅读水平高低差异的程度与趋势基本一致;女生对声、韵母意识的感知好于男生;听障学生首音-韵脚意识的发展好于音节意识的发展;听障学生普遍存在对字形、声调学习和掌握的困难。研究结果对现今聋校语音教学有一定的启示作用。