CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES' DIVERSITY COMPETENCE: RIGOROUS AND SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF CANDIDATES' EFFICACY TO TEACH DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS

The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES, 2010) continues to report substantial underachievement of diverse student populations in the nation's schools. After decades of focus on diversity and multicultural education, with integrating field and clinical practice, candidates continue to graduate without adequate knowledge, skills and dispositions to teach diverse students. The National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires teacher education programs to engage in assessment practices that examine candidates' competence to teach diverse students and to inform the unit. In this article the authors discuss the need to triangulate the results of performance-based assessment and to systematically examine the growth of candidates' competence to teach every student. They propose a rigorous and systematic unit (i.e., teacher education program unit) assessment practice, using reliable and valid instruments to measure candidates' efficacy to teach diverse students, which will provide effective data for teacher education programs to become proactive to improve programs.     

On the labor market for full-time non-tenure-track lecturers in economics

We examine AY2013 annual salaries, annual teaching assignments, and career publishing histories for more than 700 full-time lecturers and tenure-track faculty at 37 public Ph.D.-granting departments of economics. The roughly 15% of teaching faculty who were full-time lecturers were younger, more likely to be female and to teach at the program from which they received their Ph.D., and were assigned to teach both more courses and many more students. While lower than those for tenure-track faculty, the annual salaries paid to full-time lecturers compare favorably to those of tenure-track economics faculty at Master's- and Bachelor's-granting institutions. Regression results suggest that full-time lecturer salaries are determined by teaching assignments rather than research productivity while tenure-track salaries are determined by research productivity rather than teaching assignments.     

A multidimensional approach to overcoming challenges in leading community college math tutoring success

The United States lags behind many countries in mathematics proficiency. Quite often, students after graduating from high school are not prepared to enter college and are required to take remedial courses before taking credit-bearing math courses. This is particularly true at two-year institutions such as LaGuardia Community College, which provides the opportunity for students from a diverse background to attend college and earn a degree. Our college has created numerous initiatives to support the least prepared students. Our Mathematics Learning Center offers support for courses ranging from remedial mathematics through calculus and differential equations. In recent semesters, the mathematics department decided to dedicate a select group of faculty members to identify new ways of improving services at the center. In this paper, we argue for the need to give faculty a central role in assessing and devising appropriate policies for running a tutoring center. We discuss several challenges and solutions that would provide a multidimensional approach to students’ educational experience at a public two-year urban college.     

What drives students to complete online courses? What drives faculty to teach online? Validating a measure of motivation orientation in university students and faculty

Although online student enrollment has shown double digit growth for almost a decade and academic leaders recognize that online education is necessary for enrollment growth, little is known about what motivates students to enroll in or faculty to teach face-to-face (F2F) versus online courses. The psychometric properties of a motivation scale were examined with students (n = 235) and faculty (n = 104) at a large, public, urban university in the southeastern USA. Analyses revealed that the scale was reliable as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for online and F2F courses were similarly constructed for students and faculty; additionally, results revealed that motivations for online and F2F education are distinct concepts. Findings also demonstrated that online extrinsic motivation predicted the number of online courses students completed, while F2F intrinsic motivation negatively predicted the number of online courses a faculty member had taught. These results address several limitations with existing motivation measures and enhance the ability to predict student and faculty outcomes in online education.     

Transforming the College through Technology: A Change of Culture

In this article we address the implementation of sustainable technological change among the faculty, staff, and students in the College of Education and Human Services at a mid-western urban institution. We examine cultural factors common to institutions of higher education and then describe particular planning and implementation processes employed at one institution to move faculty and staff from a state of minimal technology use to one of substantial technological competence over a period of years. The process turns out to be robust and stable despite growth over time. We conclude with recommendations for other educational institutions facing similar needs for cultural change in the use of technology. James A. McLoughlin has been Dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Cleveland State University since 1995 and Interim Provost from 2000 to 2001; he received his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Arizona. Lih-Ching Chen Wang is a Fulbright Scholar. She is currently an Associate Professor of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Foundations at Cleveland State University. Her work focuses on the integration of technology into teacher education. She holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from Kent State University. William A. Beasley is a Professor of Education who specializes in Educational Technology and runs the Center for Teaching Excellence at Cleveland State University. He holds an Ed. D. in Gifted Education from the University of Georgia.     

Marketing Colleges to Home-Schooled Students

ABSTRACT

One emerging but relatively untapped market of traditional age colleges students is children who have been home schooled. The National Center for Educational Statistics estimated that 1.1 million children were being home schooled in 2006 (Conlin, 2006). This non-empirical paper examines issues related to the home school movement as they apply to colleges and universities hoping to attract these students to their institutions. It explores the unique characteristics of home-schooled students who apply to colleges and universities. Recommendations are made to institutions of higher education for attracting more home-schooled students.     

Achievement and Attitudinal Differences among Students in Regular,Remedial, and Advanced Classes

The collection of data by the National Center for Educational Statistics for the High School and Beyond study offered an opportunity to examine differences in achievement and attitudinal measures among students in regular, remedial, and advanced classes. Groups of low achieving and high achieving sophomores and seniors were identified on the basis of overall grades. Comparisons were made between students in regular and ability-grouped English and mathematics classes. The data were consistent with views that grouping leads to improved achievement and attitude toward subject matter for students in regular and remedial classes. The data were not consistent with a view that remedial group placement leads to poor self-concept or attitude toward school.     

Are the Factors Affecting Dropout Behavior Related to Initial Enrollment Intensity for College Undergraduates?

We use data from the 1990/1994 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey to determine whether the factors associated with long-term attrition from higher education differ for students who initially enrolled part-time as compared to for students who initially enrolled full-time. Using a two-stage sequential decision model to analyze the initial enrollment intensity decision jointly with attrition, we find no evidence of correlation in the unobservables that necessitates joint estimation, but substantial evidence that the factors associated with attrition differ by initial enrollment status. The timing of initial enrollment, academic performance, parental education, household characteristics, and economic factors had a substantially greater impact on those initially enrolled full-time, while racial and ethnic characteristics had a greater impact on those initially enrolled part-time. The results of our study suggest that separate specifications are necessary to identify at-risk full-time as compared with at-risk part-time students. The data employed here were generated while working under a grant supported in part by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Science Foundation under the Association for Institutional Research 1999 Improving Institutional Research in Post-secondary Educational Institutions Grant Program. The Spencer Foundation Small Grants program provided funding for the analysis. Leslie Stratton gratefully acknowledges additional support from a 2001 Faculty Excellence Award from Virginia Commonwealth University. Referees from the 2005 Southern Economic Association meetings and from Research in Higher Education provided very helpful comments. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation, the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, or the National Science Foundation.     

Mathematics readiness of first-year college students and missing necessary skills: perspectives of mathematics faculty

College readiness of students and the effectiveness of remedial mathematics courses have been under consideration for the last two decades. There is a considerable misalignment between the expectations of students regarding secondary education and those regarding higher education. Information about current expectations and perspectives of college mathematics faculty who have to deal with this gap is missing in the literature. This study explores college readiness of first-year students and topics that they need to have mastered before entering college. A survey was disseminated to college/university mathematics faculty throughout the US (48 states) whose email addresses were shown on their institutional webpages, and data were gathered from 737 faculty. The survey instrument includes scaled items reflecting the Common Core State Standards and free response items. The scaled items are divided into six subscales: Basics, Algebra, Functions, Geometry, Statistics and Probability, and Reasoning and Generalisation. Faculty responses are categorised and statistically analysed with respect to types of institution, position titles of the participants and types of course offered by those institutions. Findings indicate that faculty view first-year students as having poor mathematical ability in terms of what they consider to be important topics for college preparation. Faculty also agree that students need remediation, which, in its current state, is not sufficient. Implications of these results for further research and practice are discussed.     

ENHANCING RECRUITMENT SUCCESS FOR TWO-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS OF COLOR

The increasing proportion of students of color enrolled in secondary institutions makes the issue of their recruitment into postsecondary institutions an increasingly important concern in higher education. Data from a national survey of chief student affairs officers (CSAOs) on recruitment barriers and strategies for students of color were merged with 1995 National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Fall Enrollment Survey data. A regression analysis was conducted to identify significant predictors of the percentage of students of color at 562 two-year colleges. The percentage of students of color was used as a proxy measure of aninstitution's success inrecruiting students ofcolor.Demographic and institutional characteristics that emerged as predictors included (a) having a CSAO of color and(b) being an urban institution.Recruitment strategies that entered as predictors included (a) having recruitment materials in students' native languages, (b) working with minority high schools in the design of curricula, (c) having individuals of color as members of the board of trustees, and (d) participating in dual-enrollment programs with minority high schools. The percentages of faculty members and administrators of color and the amount of contact that CSAOs have with students of color emerged as the strongest predictors. The study found that two-year colleges reap the benefit of faculty-student and faculty-teacher interactions in the form of greater institutional success in increasing their percentages of students of color. Policy makers, administrators, and faculty members can use the results of this study to promote equity by designing and implementing more successful recruitment policies and practices for two-year college students of color.     

A Project-Based Approach to Statistics and Data Science

Abstract

In an increasingly data-driven world, facility with statistics is more important than ever for our students. At institutions without a statistician, it often falls to the mathematics faculty to teach statistics courses. This paper presents a model that a mathematician asked to teach statistics can follow. This model entails connecting with faculty from numerous departments on campus to develop a list of topics, building a repository of real-world datasets from these faculty, and creating projects where students interface with these datasets to write lab reports aimed at consumers of statistics in other disciplines. The end result is students who are well prepared for interdisciplinary research, who are accustomed to coping with the idiosyncrasies of real data, and who have sharpened their technical writing and speaking skills.     

美国高校学生群体结构及特征

根据美国教育统计中心(NCES)的数据,当代美国高校(泛指)学生群体结构有八大特征.同时,结合近36年的数据可以发现,驱动美国高等教育发展的动力主要来自于18至24岁人口高等教育入学率的增长,而未来美国高等教育中女生和全日制学生将越来越多.     

Examination of Factors that Predict Academic Adjustment and Success of Community College Transfer Students in STEM at 4-Year Institutions

ABSTRACT

There are a limited number of individuals who possess the skills to fulfill the workforce demand in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in the United States. Therefore, community colleges and 4-year institutions must be able to identify academic and social factors that impact students’ participation in the areas of STEM. These institutions must also explore the possibility that these factors contribute to the high rate of students switching out of STEM fields. This study’s purpose was to develop a better understanding of the perceptions of community college transfer students who continue at a 4-year institution to determine academic and social factors that influenced their academic success in STEM. To collect the quantitative data, the Laanan-Transfer Students’ Questionnaire was utilized. The results of this study reveal that Academic Adjustment was predicted by father’s highest level of education, interaction with faculty at the community college and university, and perception as a transfer student at the university. The cumulative grade point average (GPA), was predicted by the highest level of education of the father, associate degree obtained at the community college, community college transfer GPA, general courses from the community college, transfer credit hours, and university course learning. Overall, the findings indicate that community colleges and 4-year institutions should encourage students to be connecting more in class and after class—not only with their peers, but also with faculty. Findings also suggest that students should become more involved academically and socially to enhance their academic and social adjustment at a 4-year institution.     

One Goal,Two Institutions: How a Community College and 4-Year University Partner to Bridge Student College Readiness Gaps

ABSTRACT

Recent national attention on college completion poses unique challenges and opportunities for community colleges. Moving underprepared students through basic skills educational courses to degree attainment represents an ongoing challenge. With more than 60% of community college students enrolled in remedial education, 2-year institutions must explore innovative approaches aimed at underprepared student completion. One community college did just that and partnered with a 4-year institution to expand postsecondary pathway options for underprepared first-year students. By establishing the Tiger Gateway Program, these two institutions collaborated to address student college readiness gaps using a summer bridge model. Seventy-five percent of participants self-reported as Hispanic/Latino with the remaining 25% identifying as African American or Black. Outcomes indicate participants who completed the program, 23 of 26, made gains in intellectual, academic, and social development. Findings support scholarship attesting that highly structured, meaningful, well-defined collaboration particularly benefits students from low-socio-status and underserved populations.     

Development and Evaluation of an Inquiry-Based Elementary Science Teacher Education Program Reflecting Current Reform Movements

The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council 1996, National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press) and various other national and state documents call for teachers who possess science content knowledge, employ an inquiry approach in teaching, and engage in reflective practices. This paper describes a rationale for choosing particular recommendations to implement and how we incorporated those as we revised our elementary science education program. An analysis of the impact of the reformed inquiry-based content courses revealed that students who take more than one reformed content course improve their science content knowledge and efficacy towards teaching science significantly more than students who take fewer courses.     

The impact of community college attendance on baccalaureate attainment

Community colleges are seen as contradictory institutions. Supporters contend that community colleges increase baccalaureate attainment by providing access to higher education for students who would otherwise not attend college, while critics argue that these institutions decrease baccalaureate attainment for students who would otherwise attend a 4-year institution. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, this article advances the literature on the impact of community colleges on baccalaureate attainment by estimating new models that allow controlling for pathways of enrollment while using different measures of educational expectations and correcting for college choice. Findings suggest that community colleges significantly reduce the probability of attaining a bachelor’s degree, as compared to 4-year institutions, an effect that remains after having taken into account non-traditional enrollment pathways, educational expectations, and self-selection into 2-year and 4-year institutions.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the November 2004 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.     

Course-Taking Effect on Postsecondary Enrollment of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 were used to examine the effect of academic and career or technical education course-taking in high school on deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) youth’s postsecondary enrollment in 2-year, 4-year, and career or technical education institutions. We examined the proportion of academic and career or technical education courses taken, completion of algebra, and completion of an occupationally specific course of study. Propensity model analyses indicated that academic course taking significantly increased the odds that DHH students would enroll in postsecondary school. Completion of a higher proportion of career or technical education courses was not related to enrollment in postsecondary education, including career and technical education schools. Implications for practice and future research are discussed, including the importance of secondary transition planning staff both encouraging DHH students who have a goal of future postsecondary attendance to take a rigorous, academically focused high school curriculum, and providing students with the support to complete these courses.     

Promising Programs for Elementary and Middle Schools: Evidence of Effectiveness and Replicability

This is a time of great opportunity, but also of great danger in the education of students placed at risk for school failure. Students may be placed at risk for many reasons, among which are low socioeconomic status (SES), minority status, and limited English proficiency, if they attend schools that are not prepared to build on their strengths. Although individual low-income and minority students may excel, and individual schools may have great success with high-poverty students, on average such students perform significantly worse in school than do advantaged students in well-funded schools (Knapp & Woolverton, 1995; National Center for Education Statistics, 1993, 1994). In particular, African American and Latino students have, as a group, performed significantly lower than other groups. Although the gap between these groups and White students on the National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP) and other tests has gradually diminished since the early 1970s, the gap remains substantial, and in the most recent NAEP assessments the White-minority gap actually increased slightly for the first time since the NAEP has been given (National Center for Education Statistics, 1994).     

美国大学教师队伍结构变化分析

美国高等教育在世界的优势与其拥有的教师队伍是密切相关的。因此,依据美国国家教育部统计中心的相关数据,分析美国大学教师队伍的形式结构、职称结构、学历结构和生师比的变化,同时结合我国大众化发展阶段的高校师资队伍结构进行反思。     

Assessment and the fear of punishment: how the protection of anonymity positively influenced the design and outcomes of postsecondary assessment

This study examines how a state system of higher education, located in the Rocky Mountains area of the United States, allowed faculty members from the state's public institutions of higher education to control the design and implementation of a pilot assessment of statewide general education courses. One of the primary reasons faculty were allowed to control the assessment process was to assuage the commonly held fear by faculty, academic departments, and institutions that they could be punished for the poor assessment results of their students who took the pilot assessment. An important conclusion of this study is that the promise of anonymity, given by the state board of regents (and tacitly by the legislature) to individual faculty members, academic departments, and institutions, was essential to the success of the assessment process.