Unintended Consequences: Understanding the Relationship Between Dual Enrollment Participation,College Undermatch,and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment

Research in Higher Education - Recent research suggests that dual enrollment programs are a useful recruiting tool for colleges and universities as many high school students remain at their dual...     

Grade 1 Students’ Out-of-School Play and Its Relationship to School-Based Academic,Behavior, and Creativity Outcomes

Research Findings: This study explored the relationship between play and child development at the Grade 1 level. As previous research has noted a sudden curtailment of classroom play during this period, the relationship between play at home and children's school grades, behavior, and creativity scores was examined using correlational and regression analyses. In particular, this study sought to assess whether particular types of play (pretend play, active physical play, construction play, etc.) and social arrangements during play (play with siblings, with parents, alone, with friends) predicted any of the outcome measures. A total of 56 children ages 6 and 7 from suburban areas outside of Montreal, as well as their parents and teachers, participated in the study. Practice or Policy: Findings indicated that children spent between 1 and 2 hr playing after school each day and that the most common form of play was active physical play. The most common social arrangement during play was play with siblings. Children's free time in the morning and freedom to choose their play activities in the afternoon were predictive of children's academic progress. Watching others play and the ability to choose their own activities in the afternoon predicted positive adaptive behaviors at school. Play with commercial toys and playing alone were predictive of creativity scores.     

The Relationship Between Academic Major and Environmentalism Among College Students: Is it Mediated by the Effects of Gender,Political Ideology and Financial Security?

Several studies have found a relationship between college students’ academic majors and their environmental attitudes and behaviors. Results from this study of incoming first-year students at a medium-sized public university suggest that students majoring in different programs of study were likely to have different environmental attitudes and behaviors. There were also differences in the proportions of women, political liberals, and financially secure students in each of the different majors. When controlling for the effects of gender, political ideology, and financial security, incoming business majors scored lower on two of the four measures of environmentalism than incoming students in the other majors. The findings in this study suggest that incoming students choose majors that are consistent with their worldviews.     

The Relation Between Classroom Age Composition and Children’s Language and Behavioral Outcomes: Examining Peer Effects

Grouping children of different ages in the same preschool classroom (i.e., mixed age) is widespread, but the evidence supporting this practice is mixed. A factor that may play a role in the relation between classroom age composition and child outcomes is peer skill. This study used a sample of 6,338 preschoolers (ages 3–5) to examine the influence of both classroom age composition and peer skill on children’s behavioral and language outcomes. Results supported the growing literature indicating preschoolers’ skills are higher when peer skill is higher, but differences related to classroom age composition were not found. These findings further support the view that peer skill plays an important role in preschool children’s outcomes.     

A Social Support Intervention and Academic Achievement in College: Does Perceived Loneliness Mediate the Relationship?

The authors examined whether a social support intervention reduced loneliness and increased academic achievement among college freshmen. Eighty‐eight 1st‐year students randomly assigned to a social support group program reported less loneliness in the spring of their freshman year and obtained higher grade point averages in the fall of their sophomore year, compared with control participants, after controlling for demographic variables. Loneliness barely mediated the relationship between the social support intervention and academic achievement, suggesting other mechanisms by which the intervention enhanced academic performance.     

Student Veterans’ Outcomes by Higher Education Sector: Evidence from Three Cohorts of the Baccalaureate and Beyond

We use nationally representative survey data from three cohorts of bachelor’s degree recipients to examine military veterans’ student loan debt at graduation and their employment and earnings 1, 4, and 10 years after graduation, relative to observably similar graduates. We also examine whether the effects of veteran status depend on college sector. Using propensity score weights with covariate adjustment, we find employment and earnings premiums for veterans 1 and 4 years after graduation, and an employment penalty but earnings premium (conditional on employment) 10 years after graduation. We find no clear evidence of a for-profit employment or earnings penalty among bachelor’s degree recipients, including veterans. We do find that veterans are as likely as similar non-veterans to graduate with debt, and that graduating from a for-profit institution yields markedly higher debt amounts, especially for veterans, despite the availability of Montgomery GI Bill benefits for these cohorts.     

The Mediating Effects of Student Engagement on the Relationships Between Academic Disciplines and Learning Outcomes: An Extension of Holland’s Theory

This research examined the relationships among students?? academic majors, levels of engagement, and learning outcomes within the context of Holland??s person?Cenvironment theory of vocational and educational behavior. The study focused on the role of student engagement as a mediating agent in the relationships between academic majors and student learning. Drawing on data from a stratified random sample of 20,000 seniors who participated in the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement, results revealed that students?? academic majors were significantly related to levels of engagement and learning outcomes. Student engagement was also significantly related to learning outcomes. Students?? academic majors generally were not indirectly related to learning outcomes through levels of engagement. An important exception to this result was found for students in Enterprising environments where indirect relationships among Enterprising disciplines and Enterprising learning outcomes were positive, statistically significant, and substantially larger than the direct relationship.     

The Association Between a Community College’s Teacher Education Program and the 4-year Graduation Rates of Black and Hispanic Teacher Education Students

ABSTRACT

In response to a shortage of qualified Black and Hispanic teachers, community colleges (CC) have developed certificate programs and Associate of Arts degrees in teacher education to address shortages of minority teachers in the nation’s classrooms. We examined one CC’s effectiveness in transferring Black and Hispanic students to university teacher education programs and the association with Black and Hispanic students graduating with a bachelor’s degree. We compared enrollment and transfer student data for the 2003 community college teacher education program cohort to graduation data for native-to-university students of two 4-year universities. Data were analyzed using chi square and phi coefficients. The CC Black and Hispanic students graduated at the same rates as the native-to-university students and higher than their peers of the same races, regardless of major, who began at 2-year colleges at the national level. We encourage CC teacher education programs to invest resources to increase enrollment of Black and Hispanic students to address the growing need for minority teachers to serve in urban communities.     

Margins that Matter: Exploring the Association Between Academic Match and Bachelor’s Degree Completion Over Time

Research in Higher Education - There is a well-documented relationship between academic match and bachelor’s degree completion; students who undermatch are less likely to complete a BA than...     

Algebra by the Eighth Grade: The Association Between Early Study of Algebra I and Students’ Academic Success

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we examine the association between taking Algebra I by the eighth grade and...     

Examining the Relationship between Teachers’ Self-Efficacy,their Digital Competence,Strategies to Evaluate Information,and use of ICT at School

Research indicates that self-efficacy in teaching is a key issue for carrying out good teaching practice. The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy in information and communication technologies (ICT), their strategies to evaluate information, their digital competence, and use of ICT at school. A sample of 332 teachers participated in a survey. The teachers answered self-report questions and responded to a multiple-choice test on digital competence. Structural equation modelling was used to test a hypothesized model of the relationship between self-efficacy in basic ICT, self-efficacy in online collaboration, strategies to evaluate information, digital competence, and the use of ICT. The analysis confirmed that the empirical data supported the hypothesized model. Significant factor loadings and positive relationships between the factors were found. Overall, the factors in the model explained 41% of teachers’ digital competence, 49% of their self-efficacy in online collaborative, and 36% of their use of ICT at school.     

Subgroups of Assessor and Assessee: the Relationship Between Students’ Peer Assessment Roles and Perceptions of MSCL in Science Education

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Recent research in collaborative learning has indicated that peer assessment has a positive influence on students’ learning performance and...     

“Maybe That Helps Folks Feel Better About What They're Doing”: Examining Contradictions Between Educator Presumptions,Student Experiences,and Outcomes at an Alternative School

The use of alternative schools as exclusionary discipline for students found guilty of committing behavioral infractions raises questions about the effectiveness of these schools in producing improved student outcomes. Educators' justifications for alternative placements are highly relevant, because decisions regarding placements are often subjective and based on ill-defined criteria. This mixed-methods study investigates educators' perceptions of one disciplinary alternative school in the Southeast and educators' justifications for its use. The study examines the district's alternative school students' outcome data and analyzes whether these data support educators' explanations for why they assign students to the alternative school. Findings show that educators often hold mixed beliefs about alternative schools, seeing them as both a punishment and as providing needed support and services. Students, however, do not demonstrate dramatically different academic or behavioral performance as a result of their placement, bringing into question educators' justifications for placing students in these schools.     

Examining change in K-3 teachers’ mathematical knowledge,attitudes, and beliefs: the case of Primarily Math

This study examines the impact of the Primarily Math Elementary Mathematics Specialist program on K-3 teachers’ mathematical content knowledge for teaching, attitudes toward learning mathematics, and beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning. Three cohorts of teachers participating in the program were compared to a similar group of non-participating teachers. Teacher outcomes were measured longitudinally across 5 years. Participating teachers showed changes in their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in line with program goals immediately after completion of coursework. Moreover, these changes were sustained in subsequent years, following program completion. Relative to the comparison group, participants demonstrated greater gains in knowledge as well as greater improvements in attitudes and beliefs. Implications of these results for professional development design, implementation, and evaluation are discussed.     

“We’re Friends,We Have to be in This Together”: Examining the Role of Culturally Relevant Peer Interactions in Urban Youth’s College Readiness and Access

This paper analyzes how and why ten Black and Latina/o youth attending an urban public high school engage culturally relevant peer interactions (Knight and Marciano in College ready: preparing Black and Latina/o youth for higher education—a culturally relevant approach. Teachers College Press, New York, 2013) in preparing for, applying to, and/or enrolling in college. The study reconsiders culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings in The dreamkeepers: successful teachers of African American children. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1994) as an analytic tool for exploring youth’s culturally relevant peer interactions as supportive of their college-going processes (Tierney and Colyar in Preparing for college: nine elements of effective outreach. SUNY Press, Albany, 2005) and new media literacy practices (Ito et al. in Living and learning with new media: summary of findings from the Digital Youth Project. The MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, 2008. http://www.macfound.org/media/article_pdfs/DML_ETHNOG_WHITEPAPER.PDF). Research findings include: new understandings of the reciprocal nature of youth’s culturally relevant peer interactions; and new enactments of youth’s college-going new media literacy practices. Recommendations for educational policy, practice, and research supportive of students’ college readiness and access are discussed.     

Suggestions for Utilizing the 2008 EPAS in CSWE-Accredited Baccalaureate and Masters Curriculums—Reflections from the Field,Part 2: The Implicit Curriculum

This article is Part 2 in a 2-part series discussing the new guidelines for Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) issued in April 2008 by the Council on Social Work Education. The 2008 EPAS shifted the focus of assessment for accreditation or reaffirmation from the evaluation of program objectives to assessment of educational outcomes and student achievement of practice competencies. Because major accreditation challenges for social work programs derive from the 2008 EPAS, this article continues the discussion of a model for sequencing accreditation tasks that began in Volume 30, Issue 2 of this journal. In this article, Part 2, the authors discuss the program's implicit curriculum and its assessment under the 2008 EPAS. The articles in this 2-part series are intended to be companion pieces.     

Academic care,classroom pedagogy and the house group teacher: ‘making hope practical’ in uncertain times

The development of an ethos of academic care is about creating the structures, both formal and informal, that cater for the developmental learning needs of students. Such an approach celebrates individual difference in the belief that academic care will not only underpin improved academic performance but will also build confidence in the ability to learn. For over 30 years the economic field has been all pervasive. Human endeavour seemed entrapped by the demands of efficiency and the profit motive. The language of nurture and care, language that forms such an essential part of educational discourse, was consumed by economism. It is now time to redefine educational practice to celebrate pedagogy and learning. The development of an ethos of academic care is one way in which educators can start to redraw the boundaries. This paper draws together a number of disparate themes based on my observations over many years. They are based on my various roles as a curriculum leader, syllabus writer and teacher, as well as my discussions with parents and students concerning digital learning technologies. The essential premise is that academic care matters and that therefore schools need to commit to its strategic implementation. It is a contention of this paper that there is a renewed role for the house group teacher as ‘learning hero’ in a structure that is based on an ethos of academic care.     

Convergence of Sequences and Series 2: Interactions Between Nonvisual Reasoning and the Learner’s Beliefs about their own Role

This paper examines the work of students who, when reasoning about real analysis, do so almost exclusively by means of verbal and algebraic reasoning, and tend not to incorporate visual images into their work. It examines the work of students from two parallel courses of introductory real analysis, whose reasoning ranges from those who introduce definitions appropriately and work with them competently, to those who cannot recall definitions and appear to manipulate notation without regard for its reference. It presents a theory that relates the differences to students expectations regarding their role as learners of mathematics. Throughout, the argument is illustrated with interview data from which the theory was inductively generated.