Closing the Achievement Gap in Disadvantaged Communities: Lessons from Successful Schools

Abstract

The fact that all children must attend school has characterised South Africa over the past two decades. While many schools are struggling to address this challenge, others have made strides and progress in closing the gap between groups. This article recounts how these secondary schools have been able to narrow the achievement gap and sustain their success over time. The three schools described here are all large public schools that serve disadvantaged communities in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Data was collected during meetings with the three schools which consisted of two rounds of focus group and one whole group session. These meetings helped the researcher to gather important information about each school’s characteristics, school change process, school climate, role of the curriculum and instructional practices in promoting learner achievement. While each of the participating schools has unique characteristics, a set of important common practices emerged.     

初中生认知灵活性与学习风格的关系及其对学业成绩的影响

采用《认知灵活性问卷》和《所罗门学习风格自测问卷》对273名初中生进行调查,考察认知灵活性、学习风格对学业成绩的影响,结果表明：（1）认知灵活性与学习风格关系密切,认知灵活性高的学生偏爱直觉型、沉思型的学习风格;（2）认知灵活性与语文、数学及各学科总成绩均呈显著正相关,并对语文、数学及各学科总成绩均具有显著的正向预测作用;（3）学习风格各维度中,信息输入对数学及各学科总成绩具有显著的正向预测作用,信息感知对数学成绩具有显著的正向预测作用。     

中学生学习压力、成就目标与学业成绩的关系研究

运用问卷对686名中学生进行调查，探索学习压力、成就目标与学业成绩的关系。结果发现：对于掌握目标组，掌握目标对学业成绩起正向直接作用，学习压力起负向直接作用，成绩目标通过学习压力对学业成绩起负向间接作用。对于成绩目标组，成绩目标通过学习压力对学业成绩存在间接消极作用，掌握目标通过学习压力对学业成绩存在间接积极作用。     

Asset Ownership and Academic Achievement Among Youth in Ghana: Examining Associations Based on Asset Type and Academic Subject

This cross-sectional study examined the relationships between asset type and academic achievement among Ghanaian junior high school students. Results suggest that the positive relationship between asset ownership and academic achievement depends on the type of asset and academic subject. Homeownership was positively and significantly associated with math achievement. Ownership of transport-related assets was positively and significantly associated with English achievement. Findings have implications for asset-building programs to promote academic proficiency and progress for all youth.     

以学论教：学业成绩的教学质量考核价值及其实现

科学客观地评价教学质量是提高教学效果的重要保障。当前高校的教学质量考核存在着设计理念上的偏差：比较重视教师的奖惩,不够重视教师发展;侧重简单量化,忽视内涵质量;重考核形式,轻学业收获;偏重考核人员的数量,不讲究其素质等。以学业成绩进行的教学质量考核,能够反映考核的科学性和客观性。     

The Achievement Gap Among Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents: Life Stressors Hinder Latina/o Academic Success

This study compares life stressors and school outcomes among newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Participants attended a predominantly low-income, urban international public high school in the northeast. The Latina/o students were exposed to more life stressors and had lower attendance and achievement than non-Latina/o students. Life stressors mediated the relationship between ethnicity and academic outcomes. Results deepen experts’ understanding of the achievement gap, suggesting that newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America face unique risks and deserve intervention efforts focused on sociocontextual stressors that may prevent these students from achieving their full academic potential.     

成就目标、自我效能、学习策略和学业成就的关系研究

对545名中学生进行测量，以探讨成就目标、自我效能、学习策略与学业成绩的关系。结果表明：掌握目标、成绩目标与自我效能、学习策略有显著的正相关，回避目标与自我效能、学习策略存在显著的负相关，自我效能与学习策略有显著的正相关；掌握目标、自我效能和学习策略与学业成绩有显著的正相关，而回避目标与学业成绩则有显著的负相关；学习策略直接影响学业成绩，成就目标和自我效能对学业成绩的影响是间接的。     

初中生成就目标取向与学业效能感、学业成绩的关系研究

为了解初中生成就目标取向与学业效能感、学业成绩的关系,采用问卷对204名初中生进行了调查,所有数据采用SPSS16.0进行统计分析。结果发现：（1）初中生在成绩接近目标和成绩回避目标上存在显著的性别差异,学业效能感在年级上差异显著。（2）掌握目标取向和成绩接近目标取向与学业效能感和学业成绩之间有显著正相关,对学业效能感和学业成绩有正向预测作用;成绩回避目标取向与学业效能感之间相关不显著,对学业成绩有负向预测作用。（3）学业效能感在成就目标取向与学业成绩之间起着部分中介作用。     

成就动机、家庭影响力及学业成就的关系研究

以570名中小学生为研究对象,以成就动机问卷和家庭影响力调查表为工具探讨了家庭影响力、成就动机及学业成就的关系。主要获得以下结果:1.家庭影响力与成就动机关系密切;2.不同水平的学校在家庭影响力和学生的成就动机上有差异;3.成就动机对学业成就有一定预测作用,但是,在不同年级会有不同表现。     

小学生心理素质对学业成绩影响的研究

运用《瑞文标准推理测验》和自编《小学生心理素质问卷》对1247名小学生作心理素质团体测试。路径分析结果表明:(1)整体上看,小学生心理素质对学业成绩的影响是:认知、个性对学业成绩起直接作用;适应性通过认知、个性对学业成绩有间接作用。(2)从学业成绩分组来看,对高分组的小学生而言,个性对学业成绩有直接影响,认知和适应性对学业成绩有间接影响;对中等组的小学生而言,认知、个性、适应性都对学业成绩有直接影响;对低分组的小学生而言,认知对学业成绩有直接影响,个性、适应性对学业成绩有间接影响。     

大学生学业成就的性别差异研究

本研究是针对高校学生学业成就方面性别差异进行的调查研究。研究进一步证实了当代大学生在学业成就(主要指学习成绩)方面的性别差异，并对存在差异的原因进行了探析。研究结果表明，男女大学生在学业成就，尤其是学习成绩方面存在显性差异。差异的原因是多方面的，内因有智力因素和非智力因素，外因有社会化影响以及大学教育制度的弊端。作提出一些参考性的建议，以期促进男女大学生共同发展、共同进步。     

Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

The idea that parental involvement has positive influence on students' academic achievement is so intuitively appealing that society in general, and educators in particular, have considered parental involvement an important ingredient for the remedy for many problems in education. The vast proportion of the literature in this area, however, is qualitative and nonempirical. Among the empirical studies that have investigated the issue quantitatively, there appear to be considerable inconsistencies. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the quantitative literature about the relationship between parental involvement and students' academic achievement. The findings reveal a small to moderate, and practically meaningful, relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. Through moderator analysis, it was revealed that parental aspiration/expectation for children's education achievement has the strongest relationship, whereas parental home supervision has the weakest relationship, with students' academic achievement. In addition, the relationship is stronger when academic achievement is represented by a global indicator (e.g., GPA) than by a subject-specific indicator (e.g., math grade). Limitations of the study are noted, and suggestions are made for future studies.     

Closing the Gap: Modeling within-school variance heterogeneity in school effect studies

Effective schools should be superior in both enhancing students’ achievement levels and reducing the gap between high- and low-achieving students in the school. However, the focus has been placed mainly on schools’ achievement levels in most school effect studies. In this article, we focused our attention upon the school-specific achievement dispersion as well as achievement level in determining effective schools. The achievement dispersion in a particular school can be captured by within-school variance in achievement (σ²). Assuming heterogeneous within-school variance across schools in hierarchical modeling, it is possible to identify school factors related to high achievement levels and a small gap between high- and low-achieving students. By analyzing data from the TIMMS-R, we illustrated how to detect variance heterogeneity and how to find a systematic relationship between within-school variance and school practice. In terms of our results, we found that schools with a high achievement level tended to be more homogeneous in achievement dispersion, but even among schools with the same achievement level, schools varied in their achievement dispersion, depending on classroom practices.     

Faculty Environments,Psychosocial Dispositions,and the Academic Achievement of College Students

Postsecondary institutions seek to create a pedagogical environment that increases students' knowledge, expands their powers of reasoning, and shapes their psychosocial dispositions. In this study, we examined a conceptual model of academic attainment including two aspects of the pedagogical environment experienced by students, namely the cognitive demands set by professors and the social support provided by both professors and other students. Along with these climate variables, three psychosocial dispositions of students, self-esteem, perceived academic control, and coping strategies, were also included. A sample of 854 undergraduate students in the faculties of Arts and Science from a mid-western Research-1 (Canadian) university was used to estimate the effect parameters in the model. The results suggest that both cognitive demands and social support affected the students 9 perceived academic control and coping strategies. In turn, the pedagogical environment and the psychosocial dispositions affected the students' academic achievement. Implications for establishing and maintaining supportive pedagogical environments and for helping students improve their perceived control and coping strategies are discussed.     

Differential Influences of Family Processes for Scientifically Talented Individuals' Academic Achievement Along Developmental Stages

Differential influences of various family processes for students of science talent and students in general education from Grades 4 to 12 and Science Olympians in Korea were examined by administering Korean Inventory of Parental Influence. Korean Science Olympians were additionally interviewed about their family and school experiences. Family processes were perceived more frequently or more strongly by scientifically talented students and younger students than general-education students and older students, respectively. Supportive and conducive family processes were maintained even in the high-school period in the families of scientifically talented students, whereas they decreased as students in general education get older. Father's involvement emerged as the most influential predictor of mathematics and science achievement, whereas press for intellectual development was a significant predictor for grade-point average (GPA). Parents may need to maintain the conducive and supportive family processes even for their high-school children in order to nurture their talents in mathematics and science.     

高职院校学业成就测量与评价的实现

从学业成就测量与评价的意义、教育测量在教育评价中的作用入手分析探讨了教育测量在高职学校中的应用。分析指出,学业成就的测量与评价作为一种必不可少的机制和手段,应用到高职院校日常教学和管理中将起到积极作用,通过测量与评价可以有效地提高教学质量,反馈教学信息,完善教育目标。     

学分银行“学习成果认证”方法研究

学分银行制度是一种为了实现终身学习社会而采取的突破传统的专业和学习时段限制,将学历教育与技能培训结合起来的教育创新模式。针对学习者进行学习成果认证是学分银行制度建立的基础和前提,这种认证在中国的应用还有待发展和完善。本文综述了国外现存的学分银行中学习成果认证方面的实践和经验,并对我国学习成果认证机制的构建进行了初步思考和探索,提出了相应的建议和对策。     

单亲青少年学业成就影响因素辨析

通过对单亲子女学业研究成果的梳理,辨析了家庭结构、经济压力、家庭冲突和社会环境等因素对单亲子女学业的影响,指出贫困、家庭结构缺陷、家庭冲突和情绪并不直接导致单亲教养失败。家庭情绪、父母对子女的学业期待与参与程度、提供资源和支持是影响学业成就的间接变量,学业自我概念是直接变量。通过分析可以看出,同伴交往、单亲家庭的社会支持、文化环境对单亲子女的成长影响更多;对单亲子女人格和社会情感的教育更重要。     

我国大学学术自由实现的制度分析

基于学术失范泛滥的学术自由限制的讨论基础是不成立的,学术失范泛滥恰恰是学术自由缺失的表现。现阶段,实现我国大学教师在教学和科研方面的学术自由,在制度的框架下,要通过构建以落实教师职务聘任制改革为核心的外在制度来保障权利层面的自由,同时重构以培育学术自由精神核心的学术独立意识、学术良知和学术规范的内在制度来保障精神层面的自由。     

学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系:流动与城市儿童的比较分析

为了探讨学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系,以及该纵向关系在城市与流动儿童之间的差异,本研究使用问卷调查法对653名城市儿童和686名流动儿童进行连续五次追踪。交叉滞后结构方程模型分析发现:(1)虽然总体上学业自我概念和学业成绩的纵向关系支持了交互影响模型,但儿童类型具有显著调节作用,城市儿童支持了发展观,而流动儿童则支持了交互影响模型;(2)在七年级上学期到八年级下学期期间,流动儿童先前的学业成绩对后来的学业自我概念的影响显著大于城市儿童。未来教育实践中要注重群体差异,因材施教,努力培养流动儿童的积极学业心理品质。