Sex differences in the acceptability and short-term outcomes of a web-based personalized feedback alcohol intervention for high school seniors

Despite the escalation of alcohol use through high school, the majority of research on school-based alcohol interventions has been conducted with junior high students or first and second-year high school students. Preliminary research indicates a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention developed for college students (eCHECKUP TO GO) may be a promising program for high school seniors. Although these studies demonstrate positive intervention effects, there is some evidence for greater program efficacy for females in this age group. The current study investigates sex differences in program acceptability of the eCHECKUP TO GO and its relationship to short-term alcohol outcomes among high school seniors (N = 135). Overall, the majority of students reported they found the program to be acceptable (i.e., user-friendly and useful). However, contrary to our hypothesis, results indicated that male students reported significantly higher perceptions of program acceptability than females. Although we did not find sex differences in alcohol outcomes, program user-friendliness was related to reductions in alcohol use for males. The results of this study add to the literature supporting the eCHECKUP TO GO for high school seniors and highlight the importance of program user-friendliness for males. Implications for implementing the program as a school-based intervention are discussed.     

Brief Report on PROSPER Academic Outcomes: Extended Model of Crossover Effects on Young Adult College Success

This study examines crossover effects of adolescent substance misuse preventive interventions on academic success in college. It evaluates pathways of influence on college grades, via effects on school engagement, problem-solving skills, and substance misuse in high school. Data were collected as part of an Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) evaluating a multicomponent intervention conducted in 28 school districts with middle school students. At age 19, study participants (N = 1,488) enrolled in college reported on college grades. The model fit the data, supporting hypothesized pathways of intervention impacts. Inclusion of a significant direct effect on college grades further improved model fit. Results support the potential for universal substance misuse preventive interventions delivered by community partnerships during middle school to yield effects on long-term academic success.     

基于核心素养的篮球课程校本化实施策略研究

高中阶段学生体育核心素养包括"运动能力、健康行为、体育品德"三方面,高中体育应该围绕这三方面进行课程设置和教学.为了更好地推进体育教学改革、促使核心素养有效落地,人大附中体育教研组在全面分析学校实际情况基础上,积极推进篮球国家课程校本化,建构适应学生发展的篮球三级课程体系,开发篮球校本教参.学校实施大单元教学,关注个体...     

Who Places into Developmental Education and Why

Having garnered national attention, high failure rates in developmental education present a significant barrier to state and national policymakers’ goals of increasing the percentage of adults who earn a college credential. However, a majority of the research fails to consider why students place into developmental education. This piece examines a sample of recent high school graduates in Texas who placed into developmental education with the goal of gaining a more nuanced understanding of why these students required remediation. We find that rather than simply blaming the students for their failure to learn basic skills, there are concrete and actionable steps that policymakers and practitioners can take to help students avoid remediation, important actions that would increase students’ chances of earning a postsecondary credential.     

蓝色与绿色的交响——山东半岛蓝色文化资源与烟台市初中语文校本课程建设

目前,烟台市初中均使用鲁教版的教材,许多课文没有凸显山东各地区的地域文化,不可能照顾到烟台学生生活学习的实际情况。基于山东半岛蓝色文化资源开发烟台市校本教材不仅是必要的,而且是可能的。胶东半岛历史上积累了丰富的蓝色文化资源,为建设具有烟台地域特色的初中语文校本课程提供了基础条件。烟台市初中语文课程开发应该分两步走：一是对鲁教版教材课文进行必要的替换和补充,主要用于烟台市中学的课堂教学;二是将烟台蓝色非物质文化遗产按照大类分在各个级部,编写独具特色的校本教材,建设数字化的蓝色校本课程软件产品。     

Improving Primary Education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: End-Line Results of a Cluster-Randomized Wait-List Controlled Trial of Learning in a Healing Classroom

Abstract

We used a cluster-randomized, wait-list controlled trial to examine impacts of a school-based social-emotional learning intervention on Congolese students and teachers. Seventy-six school clusters in two groups (A and B) were randomized to treatment or control. The groups differed in geographic location, accessibility, exposure to violence, and external donor investment. We estimated causal impacts in Group A, tested whether those impacts were replicated in Group B, and conducted sensitivity analyses on the pooled sample. Pooled analyses had higher statistical power and were therefore more likely to represent the true average impacts of the program. Improvements in students’ perceptions of school predictability and in addition and subtraction, geometry, and reading performance were specific to Group B. Only the effect on addition and subtraction remained significant in the pooled analysis. Improvements in teachers’ sense of accomplishment were found in Group A and remained significant in the pooled analysis. We detected no impacts on other outcomes. School-based interventions embedding social-emotional learning principles into the academic curricula are a promising but not yet proven approach to improving children’s outcomes in low-income countries affected by war.     

The effectiveness of teaching a life skills program in a physical education context

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a life skills training program taught as part of physical education lessons. Seventy three, seventh grade students were assigned either in an experimental or in a wait-list control replication group and received an abbreviated version of GOAL, a school-based intervention designed by Danish and colleagues to teach life skills. The program focused on setting goals, making plans for achieving goals and on positive thinking. Students were assessed on physical fitness tests, knowledge about life skills, and beliefs about effective use of life skills. Results showed gains and retention on physical fitness, knowledge and self-beliefs regarding goal setting. These results show that life skills training can be effectively implemented within a school physical education context.     

Using state data sets and meta-analysis of low-powered studies to evaluate a school-based dropout prevention program for students with disabilities

This study explores the use of state data sets and meta-analysis of low-powered studies to evaluate a school-based dropout prevention program for students with disabilities. The program was implemented in several states. A randomized controlled trial was infeasible because schools were not chosen at random; furthermore, pretest data were minimal. The use of extant state data allowed these obstacles to be overcome by providing valid pre- and post-intervention outcomes as well as a large selection of schools and variables to create reasonable matches for the treatment schools. Results from four states were synthesized meta-analytically to evaluate whether the program had a significant impact on any of seven proximal and distal outcome variables. No such impacts were demonstrated. More importantly, this paper demonstrates and explains the methodological steps and choices involved in a quasi-experimental evaluation approach that may be applied to cases for which large amounts of extant data are available.     

Validation of the Learning Progression-based Assessment of Modern Genetics in a college context

Building upon a methodologically diverse research foundation, we adapted and validated the Learning Progression-based Assessment of Modern Genetics (LPA-MG) for college students’ knowledge of the domain. Toward collecting valid learning progression-based measures in a college majors context, we redeveloped and content validated a majority of a previous version of the LPA-MG which was developed for high school students. Using a Rasch model calibrated on 316 students from 2 sections of majors introductory biology, we demonstrate the validity of this version and describe how college students’ ideas of modern genetics are likely to change as the students progress from low to high understanding. We then utilize these findings to build theory around the connections college students at different levels of understanding make within and across the many ideas within the domain.     

The Impact of School-Based Mentoring on Adolescents’ Social–Emotional Health

In order to support at-risk adolescents in their transition to high school, a school-based mentoring program was implemented for a group of 9th and 10th grade students. Due to the need for greater clarity regarding the impact of school-based mentoring on youth outcomes, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of one-to-one mentoring on students’ social–emotional health. Strengths-based survey data were collected from participants at pre-intervention and post-intervention. Findings suggested that school-based mentoring is a promising practice for improving the social–emotional strengths of adolescents and/or protecting them from the risks associated with adolescence.     

校本课程开发实践模式探索

校本课程开发具有多样的实践模式:创新模式、整合模式、调适模式、选择模式。课程创新是校本化程度最高的一种课程开发模式;课程整合是以超越不同学科知识体系而关注共同要素的方式来安排学习的课程开发活动的,从而实现课程教学整体育人的功能;课程调适是对国家颁布的课程标准和审定的教材在学校实施层面中由教师所进行的校本化处理,使之对教师和学生更具适切性;课程选择是从众多可能的课程项目中挑选、确定学校实施的课程的过程。四种实践模式各具特点又相互补充交叉,反映了课程开发的复杂性与不确定性。     

英语教师“双元双向”培训模式探微

英语教师校本培训是学生、学校及英语课程发展的重要途径。以四川高中新课程改革为背景,透析出大学与高中英语在教学中的不衔接问题源于两种教育的差异性,并对高中英语新课程标准与大学英语教学改革文件要求进行解读,以找出两种教育融合的发展趋势,从而提出高师院校与高中英语教师＂双元双向＂校本培训的创新策略,以期实现大学与高中英语的有效衔接。     

Development and Construct Validation of the Mentor Behavior Scale

Researchers suggest that certain supportive behaviors of mentors could increase the benefits of school-based mentoring for youth. However, the literature contains few validated instruments to measure these behaviors. In our present study, we aimed to construct and validate a tool to measure the supportive behaviors of mentors participating in school-based mentoring programs. The mentor behavior scale (MBS) was developed drawing on the premises of the mentoring sociomotivational model. Two hundred and fifty-three (253) college students participating in an eight-month school-based mentoring program completed an experimental version of the MBS and different measures of the quality of the mentoring relationship at two times during the program. The questionnaire has good internal consistency coefficients and adequate factorial structure, with the exception of the factor autonomy support. Moreover, three dimensions of the MBS predict mentoring relationship quality and the perceived usefulness of the intervention. Recommendations for the use and improvement of the MSB are proposed.     

On the Path to College: Three Critical Tasks Facing America's Disadvantaged

A middle high school student's likelihood of continuing on to college or university rests on the completion of at least three critical tasks: (a) acquiring at least minimal college qualification, (b) actually graduating from high school, and (c) applying to a 4-year college or university. Eighty-one percent of those 1988 eighth graders who completed these three tasks enrolled in college by 1994. The path to college among socioeconomically disadvantaged middle high school students can best be characterized as hazardous. By 1994, just 1 out of 10 of the original class of 1988 poor eighth graders was attending a 4-year institution. Comparative analyses of lowest and highest SES students reveal substantial differences between these two groups, favoring upper-SES individuals at each of the three tasks on the path to college. These substantial SES-gaps are reduced, if not eliminated, once a number of influential school-based and family background variables are taken into account.     

School-based extracurricular activities,personality, self-concept,and college career development skills in Chinese society

In the present study, we examined in Chinese society the association of school-based extracurricular activities (SBEAs) in both high school and college with students’ career development skills in college, as well as with various personality characteristics and self-concept. Each of 281 college students administered the Lai Personality Inventory, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Adult Career Cognition Scale and an SBEA questionnaire. The results indicate that students who were more engaged in SBEAs had a healthier self-concept, were more extraverted, had better psychological health, were more emotionally stable, and had better social adaption and career development skills than other students. The implications and limitations of the findings, as well as future directions for research, are discussed.     

Efficacy of the Check & Connect Mentoring Program for At-Risk General Education High School Students

Although graduation rates are rising, the high school dropout problem remains a national crisis, and evidence-based information about interventions for at-risk students is critically needed. Prior research shows that Check & Connect, an individualized mentoring program, has positive effects on school persistence and progression for students with disabilities. This study examined the efficacy of Check & Connect with general education students who showed early warning signs of risk for dropping out of high school in a large urban district. The sample included 553 students with the lowest predicted probabilities of on-time graduation based on attendance, behavior, and course performance in Grades 8 and 9. Students were randomly assigned to receive a Check & Connect mentor for three years, starting in the summer after Grade 9, or not. Findings suggest the program was implemented with fidelity, except with students who left district schools. Check & Connect did not have any statistically significant impacts on measures of engagement, academic progress, the likelihood of dropping out, or graduation. These results are discussed in the context of other literature on mentoring and dropout prevention.     

公共服务动机视角下新时代大学生使命教育研究

青年肩负着时代使命和国家未来,针对大学生开展使命教育具有重要意义。在文献研究和访谈的基础上,提出基于“公共服务动机”模型研究青年使命感,并结合中国实际和大学生群体特点,提出了影响因素模型(在校经历、专业认同、政治理念和家庭社会化)。对北京部分高校大学生问卷调查的分析结果表明,在校经历、专业认同、政治理念和家庭社会化对公共服务动机影响显著,这一结果为对大学生开展使命教育提供了理论基础。     

An early in-service intervention in Irish mid-nineteenth century elementary education

The political and social rationale for the establishment of a national system of education in nineteenth-century Ireland has been the focus of considerable attention by scholars. Less attention has, however, been paid to teacher quality and school effectiveness within that system. Various efforts were made over the course of the century to address the issues of teacher quality and school effectiveness. The paid monitor was introduced in the early 1840s to convent and ordinary national schools, with paid pupil–teacher programmes recognised in the larger convent and national schools during the same period. A more strategic effort was made to address the issue of teacher quality with the introduction of an in-service type intervention from the mid-1850s to provide a school-based programme for teachers and managers in effective school organisation. Examining this intervention is the purpose of this paper: what was its rationale and purpose, how was it planned and implemented; what was its impact and what is its historical legacy?     

The Efficacy of the LearningRx Cognitive Training Program: Modality and Transfer Effects

This article describes two studies testing the efficacy of a commercial one-on-one cognitive training program (LearningRx) and its computer-based version (Brainskills) in laboratory and school settings. Study 1 tested Brainskills in a laboratory setting with 322 middle school students. Paired t-tests revealed significant gains on all cognitive measures and math performance after 3 weeks of training. Study 2, a randomized control study, included 225 high school students randomly assigned to one of three conditions: LearningRx, Brainskills, or study hall (control) in a school setting for a 15-week training period. Univariate ANCOVAs revealed significantly higher scores for the treatment groups compared with controls on working memory, logic and reasoning, and three of four math attitude measures but not for math performance. Implications for school-based interventions are discussed.     

Strategies for Improving Vertical Alignment: Implementation of a College-Readiness Collaborative of Secondary and Post-Secondary Educators

This article describes how one community college and region service center developed a collaborative of secondary and post-secondary English/Language Arts educational professionals to promote college readiness. Challenged by state mandates to test college readiness and by concerns about student performance in high school and college English classes, the collaborative examined standards and testing practices, high school and college cultures, college placement policies, course content, assessment practices, syllabi and sample assignments, and college preparation programs. The results of the two-year collaboration include a list of nine specific practices that educators can use to enhance students’ success in college Composition I. In addition, the collaborative implemented these recommendations in several area high schools.