Examining the engagement of career academy and comprehensive high school students in the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school using propensity score matching and structural equation modeling. We found that academy students had significantly higher levels of emotional engagement and significantly lower levels of behavioral engagement than those at comprehensive schools. We also found no statistically significant differences in the levels of cognitive engagement of academy students compared to comprehensive school students. We believe the academy model has the promise of transforming the high school experience for students as it relates to their attachment to the school, their relationships with peers and teachers, and their sense of belonging and safety. However, academies need to work with students to create and develop co-curricular and extracurricular activities of interest to engage students in their schools at a higher level.     

Academic hardiness as a mediator for the relationship between school belonging and academic stress

Academic stress is a commonly reported affective state by high school students that can be accompanied by unwanted and unhelpful short- and long-term implications including a low sense of school belonging. Understanding how academic stress may be alleviated or managed by students is an essential consideration for all schools concerned with student well-being. This study aimed to examine the relationship between academic stress and sense of school belonging, as well as the mediation effect of academic hardiness. Four hundred and five high school students from six schools in Tehran (Iran) were recruited in the study. Data analyses with Structural Equation Modeling revealed that a sense of belonging to school (β = −.38, p < .01) and academic hardiness (β = −.40, p < .01) were significant predictors of academic stress. Bootstrapping analysis showed that academic hardiness acted as a mediator between a sense of belonging to school and academic stress. The findings elucidate the underlying mechanism in how low school belonging may lead to academic stress in high school students. Creating a culture of school belonging and teaching and supporting skills related to academic hardiness should be key considerations for all schools seeking to reduce academic stress experienced by their students.     

How successful deaf teenagers experience and cope with isolation.

This study examined isolation among a group of deaf high school students who were nominated as "outstandingly successful" by their schools in a stratified random sampling from across the United States. From the data contained in 23 case studies, we determined that most of the students, whether from mainstream or residential programs, experienced some degree of isolation from peers or family or both. Nevertheless, most of the students had developed, or had at their disposal, positive strategies for coping with their isolation. These strategies are discussed and implications are drawn for teachers and parents.     

农村代课教师归属感问题及对策

教师是决定教学质量的重要因素,是学校发展的中坚力量。农村代课教师归属感的缺乏,影响到农村学校的教学效果、教学进度和教师队伍稳定。国家政策保障缺失、学校管理不善和教师个人素养不高是农村代课教师归属感缺乏的主要原因。需要从完善国家政策保障、营造良好工作环境和提高教师个人素养三个方面寻求农村代课教师归属感的建构。     

A Canonical Correlation Analysis ofBehavior Problems and School Achievementfor Different Grades,Sexes, and Races

Abstract

Using education survey data from 6,883 Grade 6 students in 148 schools and from 6,868 Grade 8 students in 92 schools in New Brunswick, Canada, the author applied student and school characteristics to explain differences among students and schools regarding students' sense of belonging to school. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed that in Grades 6 and 8, discrepancies in students' sense of belonging were mainly within schools, rather than between schools. At the student level, sense of belonging in both grades was affected more by students' mental and physical conditions and less by their individual and family characteristics. Students' self-esteem was the single most important predictor of their sense of belonging, followed by their health status. At the school level, school climate (academic press or expectation in Grade 6 and disciplinary climate in Grade 8) was more important than school context in shaping students' sense of belonging.     

农村学校教师归属感问题及策略探究

教师是决定教学质量的重要因素,是学校发展的中坚力量。农村学校教师归属感的缺乏,影响到农村学校的教学效果、教学进度和教师队伍稳定。国家政策保障缺失、学校管理不善和教师个人素养偏低是农村学校教师归属感缺乏的主要原因。需要从完善国家政策保障、营造良好工作环境和提高教师个人素养三方面寻求农村学校教师归属感的建构。     

Those Who Left,Those Who Stayed: Exploring the Educational Opportunities of High-Achieving Black and Latina/o Students at Magnet and Nonmagnet Los Angeles High Schools (2001–2002)

Being that educational disparities, manifested through socioeconomic instability, were a major contributing factor to the Los Angeles riots, it is important to examine how public high schools are now shaping the postsecondary opportunities of underrepresented students. Using opportunity-to-learn (OTL) and bounded rationality as frames, this article examines the college preparatory experiences of Black and Latina/o students at a magnet and standard urban high school, specifically focusing on the experiences of high achievers. Findings indicate that students at the two schools had equally high college aspirations, but experienced very different college preparatory environments. Magnet students had access to more college-going resources and greater opportunities to learn, manifested directly from opportunities offered at their school and indirectly from the collective college-going culture shaped by the school, peers, and parents. Bounded rationality allowed students at the underresourced urban school to perceive their school's resources positively and stay motivated, but limited their efforts to pursue additional resources to enhance their opportunity-to-learn.     

Does students' machismo fit in school? Clarifying the implications of traditional gender role ideology for school belonging

How much students feel at home in school predicts academic outcomes. In view of the gender achievement gap, it is worth examining the gendered pattern of this school belonging. Studies on school belonging, however, have barely acknowledged possible obstructive effects of traditional gender role attitudes of individual students and student cultures. This study examines the relationship between gender role attitudes and a sense of school belonging among a sample of 6380 students from 59 Flemish schools at the start of their secondary education. The results of multilevel analyses indicate that boys show less sense of school belonging than girls, as do students with more traditional beliefs about gender roles. Moreover, student attitudes related to gender roles are strongly shared at the school level, so that we can speak of a gender role student culture. Students enrolled in more traditional gender role student cultures reveal less school belonging.     

Do I belong in my math class? The importance of perceived racial/ethnic context and math course sequence

As careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) continue to grow, so has attention to Algebra 1 enrollment timing that serves as a critical predictor of STEM success. The present study adds to the literature by examining if Algebra 1 enrollment timing from 8th to 9th grade is related to sense of belonging in math, and whether this association changes as a function of the students’ perceived school and math race/ethnic context. To capture the dynamic nature of these contexts, we examined racial/ethnic incongruence, or the difference in the perceived number of same-race/ethnic peers in math class and the school of Black, White, Latino, and Asian students. Mixed effects linear modeling analyses were conducted on a sample of 2,938 participants (46% males; 54% females) who attended 26 racially/ethnically diverse middle schools and who transitioned to 142 public high schools in California. The results showed that enrolling and successfully passing 8th Algebra was protective for sense of belonging but this association depended on students’ race/ethnicity and the racial/ethnic incongruence between the math class and school context. Findings have important implications for math education, teaching, and policy.     

Positive Peer Support or Negative Peer Influence? The Role of Peers Among Adolescents in Recovery High Schools

Evidence from previous research suggests that peers at times exert negative influence and at other times exert positive influence on drug and alcohol use among adolescents in recovery. This study explores recovery high school staff members’ perceptions of peer support among students in recovery high schools using qualitative interview data. Themes of peer support are discussed in terms of positive peer support, negative peer influence, peer relationships, and sense of community. In general, recovery school staff members discuss peers in the school as sources of positive support and peers outside the schools as sources of risky influence. Themes and quotes are presented to highlight the diverse ways that staff members discussed peer influence. Limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Heterogeneous Effects of Charter Schools: Unpacking Family Selection and Achievement Growth in Los Angeles

Disparate findings on whether students attending charter schools outperform peers in traditional public schools (TPS) may stem from mixing differing types of charters or inadequately accounting for pupil background. To gauge prior family selection and heterogeneous effects, we distinguish between conversion and start-up charter schools, along with a third site-run model operating in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). We find that TPS campuses converting to charter status (conversions) attracted more experienced and consistently credentialed teachers, and served relatively advantaged families, compared with newly created charter schools (start-ups), after tracking 66,000 students over 4 years, 2007–2011. Charters overall attracted pupils achieving at higher levels as they began a grade cycle (at baseline), relative to TPS peers, most pronounced among conversions that remained affiliated with the district. After matching students on their propensities to enter a charter school, we find that pupils attending charters outperformed TPS peers over the 4-year period. These benefits are most consistent and moderate in magnitude for middle school students. We observed significant though small effects in English language arts for pupils attending charter high schools. Latino students, mostly attending start-ups, enjoyed consistent benefits from attending a charter school.     

How teacher emotional support motivates students: The mediating roles of perceived peer relatedness,autonomy support,and competence

Multilevel mediation analyses test whether students' mid-year reports of classroom experiences of autonomy, relatedness with peers, and competence mediate associations between early in the school year emotionally-supportive teacher-student interactions (independently observed) and student-reported academic year changes in mastery motivation and behavioral engagement. When teachers were observed to be more emotionally-supportive in the beginning of the school year, adolescents reported academic year increases in their behavioral engagement and mastery motivation. Mid-year student reports indicated that in emotionally-supportive classrooms, adolescents experienced more developmentally-appropriate opportunities to exercise autonomy in their day-to-day activities and had more positive relationships with their peers. Analyses of the indirect effects of teacher emotional support on students' engagement and motivation indicated significant mediating effects of autonomy and peer relatedness experiences, but not competence beliefs, in this sample of 960 students (ages 11–17) in the classrooms of 68 middle and high school teachers in 12 U.S. schools.     

A teacher competence development programme for supporting students’ reflection skills

The Teachers of Promise study has followed the work histories of 57 primary and secondary teachers who had been identified at the beginning of their third year of teaching as having the potential to make a significant contribution to the profession. Using data from surveys and interviews, this paper reports on what sustained or inhibited their initial commitment to and enthusiasm for ‘making a difference’, six years later, both in the classroom and in broader school leadership roles. Satisfaction with their day-to-day experiences in their schools was a particularly strong driver of teachers’ career decisions over time. Thirty-four teachers responded to survey items that were used to identify three different groups of teachers: a group of 10 primary school teachers with the highest levels of job satisfaction who were ‘fulfilling their promise’; a group of 21 primary and secondary teachers who were ‘persevering and coping’; and three teachers who were ‘detached and disengaged’. The group with the highest levels of job satisfaction taught in primary schools where they felt respected and valued, and supported to develop their teaching and leadership expertise. School leadership practices and school cultures in the other two groups diminished teachers’ overall job satisfaction and contribution to collective knowledge building in their schools. Almost all of the teachers had retained their commitment to students, to their current schools and to teaching as a career, including those with lower levels of satisfaction. Although these teachers reported ‘collegial’ relationships with their peers, individualistic school cultures, most often in secondary schools, impacted on their opportunities to learn with and from their colleagues. Few secondary school teachers felt appreciated, and included in school decision-making or had found it possible to combine high standards of classroom teaching with management responsibilities. The study indicates that while most promising teachers were still satisfied with teaching after nine years, relatively few were in schools where they were able to make the impact that had been predicted for them early in their careers.     

中学生的学校人际关系特点及其与社会适应的关系

采用问卷法研究了1791名不同年级、性别、学校类型中学生师生关系与友谊质量的特点,结合同伴特征和问题行为分析了学校氛围对中学生学校人际关系的影响,并探讨了中学生学校人际关系与社会适应的关系。结果发现：（1）中学生的师生关系总体上重点校好于非重点校,初一、高一好于高二,在亲密性和支持性维度上,年级与学校类型、年级与性别的交互作用显著;（2）中学生的友谊质量总体上重点校好于非重点校,高一、初一略好于初二,女生好于男生,学校类型与年级的交互作用显著;（3）重点校拥有不良同伴的学生和问题行为较多的学生比例均显著少于非重点校;（4）师生关系与友谊质量各维度可以预测中学生社会适应过程中的自我肯定、自我烦扰和社会疏离感。     

Learning Environment, Interaction, Sense of Belonging and Study Success in Ethnically Diverse Student Groups

The purpose of this paper was to investigate a model for describing the relationships between the extent to which learning environments are activating and students’ interaction with teachers and peers, sense of belonging, and study success. It was tested whether this model holds true for both ethnic minority students and ethnic majority students. A total of 523 students from four different universities completed a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (Amos) was used to test the model. The model that best describes the relationships in the group of ethnic minority students (N = 145) was shown to be different than the model that best fits the group of majority students (N = 378). Ethnic minority students appeared to feel at home in their educational program if they had a good formal relationship with teachers and fellow students. Ethnic minority students’ sense of belonging to the institution nevertheless did not contribute to their study progress. On the other hand, in majority students, informal relationships with fellow students were what led to a sense of belonging. In these students, the sense of belonging did further academic progress.     

New conceptualizations for special education

During their secondary school years, a considerable number of students seriously consider choosing between learning and leaving. Leaving school early means that students do not complete their education. Early school leaving is the last step in a process in which students gradually lose interest and develop the intention to leave school. This study focuses on students with special needs and the impact of their social relations with parents, teachers and peers on their intentions to leave school early. The sample for this study comprises 1873 typical students and 132 students with special needs aged 16 from secondary schools in a large region of Norway. The intention to leave early can be predicted by teacher support and by loneliness as an indicator for peer support. The findings suggest that especially peer support is, for all students, a key variable in staying motivated for school. For students with special needs, teacher support is also important to stay in school in the early years. Over time, however, the support from teachers becomes less important for students with special needs. They too become more dependent on support from peers.     

基于S大学在校大学生学校归属感的调查研究

学生是学校存在和发展的基础与前提,让学生在一个认同的、有归属感的学校生活和学习,对于学校和学生来说都是非常重要的。因此,有必要对影响大学生学校归属感的各种因素进行探究,以便找到相应的对策来解决学生的困惑。环境、成长、规范、关系和情感因素与学校归属感的相关程度较大,是组成学校归属感的主要因素。学生的家庭背景、经历等会影响学生对学校归属感的强度。一般来讲女生的学校归属感比男生的要强。担任学生干部或参加社团活动都会增强学生的学校归属感。因此,学校要开展一些针对性活动,教师要多关怀和帮助学生,多利用网络途径加强师生间、学生间的联系,提高学生的学校归属感,从而健康成才。     

‘Teachers are kind to those who have good marks’: a study of Japanese young people’s views of fairness and equity in school

This paper presents the results from a study of Japanese young people’s views of being treated fairly in school and considers the extent to which their experiences differ from their peers in schools in England. The study involved 1191 students from nine Japanese junior high schools in their final year of study. Their experiences are compared with those of 2836 English students of the same age. Our findings suggest that while many Japanese students report positive experiences of school, many were also able to identify instances where their perceived treatment was unfair or inconsistent. These instances include teachers having students who are treated as ‘favourites’, and the apparent unequal allocation of punishments and rewards. In this respect, the reported experiences of the Japanese students were similar to those of their English peers and therefore provided no evidence to support recent ‘crisis accounts’ of the ‘examination hell’ and excessive academic pressures that are purportedly experienced by young people in Japanese schools. Nevertheless, our evidence does suggest that teacher initial and continuing development would benefit from the inclusion of rather more on the principles of equity.     

Learning to teach science in urban schools

Teaching in urban schools, with their problems of violence, lack of resources, and inadequate funding, is difficult. It is even more difficult to learn to teach in urban schools. Yet learning in those locations where one will subsequently be working has been shown to be the best preparation for teaching. In this article we propose coteaching as a viable model for teacher preparation and the professional development of urban science teachers. Coteaching—working at the elbow of someone else—allows new teachers to experience appropriate and timely action by providing them with shared experiences that become the topic of their professional conversations with other coteachers (including peers, the cooperating teacher, university supervisors, and high school students). This article also includes an ethnography describing the experiences of a new teacher who had been assigned to an urban high school as field experience, during which she enacted a curriculum that was culturally relevant to her African American students, acknowledged their minority status with respect to science, and enabled them to pursue the school district standards. Even though coteaching enables learning to teach and curricula reform, we raise doubts about whether our approaches to teacher education and enacting science curricula are hegemonic and oppressive to the students we seek to emancipate through education. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 941–964, 2001     

School belonging among young adolescents with SEMH and MLD: the link with their social relations and school inclusivity

Despite the considerable institutional changes schools have made to accommodate the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as underpinned by key principles of inclusion, there is still international concern about the mainstream experiences pupils with SEND have in school settings. This study helps us understand the schooling experiences of pupils with behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties by investigating whether they have a sense of belonging and positive social relations and whether these vary according to the level of inclusiveness of the school ethos at the institution they attend. Perceived social relations and feelings of belonging of 1,440 (282 SEND) young adolescents from three secondary mainstream settings that differ in inclusivity, were analysed using a self-reporting questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that pupils with SEND are not a homogeneous group, as pupils with behavioural difficulties were found to have less of a sense of belonging, and social relations than those with learning difficulties. It was also found that the sense of belonging of both groups is associated with their positive perceived relations with teachers and their inclusiveness of school ethos. These findings contribute as they offer ways of enhancing the sense of belonging of pupils with behavioural and learning difficulties in schools.