Charter School Accountability

ABSTRACT

Stakeholder surveys conducted as part of the development of an accountability and assessment system for five charter schools in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, Florida, revealed high positive response regarding high expectations, school climate, basic skills instruction, and monitoring student progress. The lowest overall rating revealed dissatisfaction with charter school resources. Five researchers distributed questionnaires to stakeholders, defined as parents, pupils, teachers, administrators, special program teachers, and auxiliary personnel. Survey results were generally positive in assessing the schools, programs, teachers, administrators, and relationships between the various stakeholder groups. This study provided the quantitative data needed to form the framework for the development and implementation of an accountability system.     

Preliminary development of the Brief–California School Climate Survey: dimensionality and measurement invariance across teachers and administrators

A brief 15-item version of the California School Climate Scale (Brief-CSCS) is presented to fill a need for a measure that could be used for periodic monitoring of school personnel's general perception of the climate of their school campus. From a sample of 81,261 California school personnel, random subsamples of 2,400 teachers and 2,400 administrators were used in the analyses. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a model in which general school climate was a second-order latent factor composed of 2 first-order latent traits, organizational supports and relational supports. Measurement invariance of factor loadings for teachers and administrators was found. Additional analyses revealed that administrators held more positive perceptions of school climate than teachers, with this difference increasing from primary through high school. The implications for these findings for educational research and policy reform are outlined.     

Student achievement and elementary teachers’ perceptions of school climate

Teachers’ perceptions of school climate in 59 elementary schools were assessed using a modified version of the School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ). Using structural equation modelling, a statistically significant, positive relationship was found between school mean teachers’ perceptions of school climate and school mean student achievement. A second model showed that school and community context variables mediated that relationship. In schools in high socioeconomic status (SES) communities, the influence of school climate on student achievement was stronger than it was for schools in lower SES communities. Recommendations for further examination of the relationships are also made.     

School Climate,School Improvement and Site-based Management

This article examines the relationship between school organisational climate and the school's preparedness to undertake restructuring and improvement. Over the last two decades, much research into school improvement and effectiveness has indicated the importance of school climate for a school's efforts to change. For school-level personnel, an understanding of the nature of the prevailing climate would seem valuable in determining the school's willingness and capacity to embark on school improvement initiatives and to evaluate the impact that such initiatives have on the nature of the school's climate. The research reported here was conducted in three phases. The first phase involved the assessment of the prevailing organisational climate in 30 secondary schools drawn from three State education systems in Australia. The second phase involved analysing and documenting the principles and school-level process associated with the establishment of site-based management in the three State education systems. The third phase sought teachers' perceptions about the impact of site-based management on school improvement planning, collaboration and curriculum leadership, and classroom practices. The research indicated the existence of an important relationship between organisational climate and the school's capacity to implement and sustain authentic site-based management. Where the prevailing organisational climate is negative, tailored ‘front-end’ strategies designed to improve the climate might be undertaken prior to the school embarking on substantial school improvement initiatives. Finally, assessing organisational climate can provide information about a school's preparedness to undertake change, and a re-assessment of climate following a change initiative can provide evaluative data about the extent of change within the school. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Classroom disciplinary climate in secondary schools in England: What is the real picture?

This paper uses international data from a range of sources, principally the 2013 round of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2013), to provide new information on classroom disciplinary climate in secondary schools in England. The paper advances the literature in three distinct ways. Firstly, the data show that teachers in England perceive that there is considerable disruption in their classrooms. While some reports, especially from official sources, have suggested that classroom disruption is minimal in schools in England that does not seem plausible given these results from TALIS. Secondly, since TALIS contains comparable data for over 30 countries, the results for England can be set in a wider context. Reports in the media frequently highlight pupil disruption and suggest that classroom climate tends to be worse in England than in many other countries. In fact what emerges from the international comparison is that, on each of the items measuring classroom climate in TALIS 2013, the results for England were somewhat better than both the all‐country average and the average for a group of European comparators. Thirdly, the survey also includes a range of information about the school in which the teacher worked, the pupils which they taught, and the teachers themselves. We draw on this data to investigate which school‐level characteristics, teacher attributes, and characteristics of pupils in the classroom, were associated with favourable classroom climate in England. While some commentators have focused exclusively on school‐level factors, we emphasise the importance of within‐school variation.     

Self-regulatory climate: A positive attribute of public schools

This study contributes to the development of a positive framework for effective public schools in 2 ways. First, it advances the construct self-regulatory climate as consisting of 3 generative school norms—collective faculty trust in students, collective student trust in teachers, and student-perceived academic emphasis. The authors argue these norms signal a school climate supportive of student psychological needs. Second, they test the predictive validity of self-regulatory climate by empirically examining its relationship with school performance. Results of structural equation modeling support the theory that collective faculty trust in students, collective student trust in teachers, and student-perceived academic emphasis combine to form a self-regulatory climate that has positive consequences for urban school performance.     

Hazing in Public Schools: A Liability Challenge for School Leaders

Hazing in public schools is a significant problem that may result in serious physical or emotional harm to students who are victims. According to experts in the field, each year more than 1,500,000 American students become new hazing victims. Hazing also results in legal challenges for school personnel. The courts consider public schools to be safe places where teaching and learning occur in a peaceful environment. Thus, school personnel have a leading responsibility to protect the safety of students under the functional custody of their schools. Hazing activities, if not checked, pose a threat to the health and safety of students. Hazing by its very nature is a private act. Consequently, a significant number of hazing acts goes unreported. Hazing has become so prevalent that it has prompted 44 states to pass legislation banning it. Despite anti-hazing laws, hazing continues to occur among athletes, peer groups, gangs, and other schools clubs and organizations. Hazing creates stress, anxiety, intimidation, and often results in physical and emotional harm to victims. Well-defined policies prohibiting hazing and proper procedures for reporting hazing coupled with vigilance by school personnel in monitoring student activities may greatly reduce hazing incidents and minimize potential liability claims for school personnel.     

A meta-analysis on the relationship between school characteristics and student outcomes in science and maths – evidence from large-scale studies

ABSTRACT

In the present meta-analysis, we examine how secondary school characteristics – such as schools’ academic press, school climate, material resources, personnel resources, classroom climate, instructional practices, out-of-school activities, and socioeconomic status (SES) composition – provide opportunities for students to engage in science and maths, and how these matter with regard to students’ cognitive and motivational-affective outcomes. The meta-analysis includes 71 (international) articles from large-scale studies with a total of 3,960,281 students, 260,390 schools, and 285 effect sizes that were transformed to correlation coefficients. Multilevel meta-analyses were performed. Results identified a number of school variables that can be regarded as relevant for making a difference in student outcomes and at the same time be influenced by education. These refer to school variables such schools’ academic press, classroom climate, instructional practices, and out-of-school activities. Moreover, SES composition was significantly related to student outcomes. Material and personnel resources as well as school climate yielded a close to zero effect. No differences were found between cognitive and motivational-affective outcome variables or between science and maths. The results point to the most promising school characteristics for promoting students’ outcomes and emphasise schools’ potential for students’ engagement in science and maths.     

Relationships between school climate and adolescent students’ self-reports of ethnic and moral identity

This article reports research into associations between students’ perceptions of the school climate and self-reports of ethnic and moral identity in high schools in Western Australia. An instrument was developed to assess students’ perceptions of their school climate (as a means of monitoring and guiding schools as they are challenged to become more inclusive and grapple with increasingly diverse populations) and administered to 4067 students, 63 % of whom were aged between 12 and 17 years, in eight schools. The same students also responded to a survey developed to assess ethnic and moral identity. Analysis of the data indicated strong, positive associations between the school climate and students’ ethnic and moral identity. The results suggest that, for schools wishing to promote students’ ethnic and moral identity, it would be beneficial to consider important elements of the school climate identified in the new survey.     

Conceptualizing Organizational Dimensions of Instructional Supervisory Practice: Implications for Professional Learning Environments in Schools

This study explored the organizational nature of the professional learning environments of teachers, administrators, and other peer professionals in schools. A conceptual model of the organizational structure and effects of instructional supervisory practices was developed to guide the empirical investigation. The model is based on an organizational conception of instructional supervision in which the variety of supervisory behaviors, interactions, and decision making engaged in by school personnel contributes to a unique organizational/supervisory (O/S) climate infusing a school's professional learning environment. Six meaningful dimensions of O/S climate were empirically derived. Climate variable linkages to various indices of school effectiveness were posited and explored using quantitative and qualitative methods. The study's qualitative findings revealed additional school-level, organizational context factors which further explicated the O/S climate and professional learning environment constructs and quantitative supervisory climate/effectiveness linkages identified in the study's original conceptual model. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The influence of classroom disciplinary climate of schools on reading achievement: a cross-country comparative study

Despite considerable interest in research and practice in the effect of classroom disciplinary climate of schools on academic achievement, little is known about the generalizability of this effect over countries. Using hierarchical linear analyses, the present study reveals that a better classroom disciplinary climate in a school is significantly associated with better school reading performance in 53 of the 65 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 participant countries. The classroom disciplinary climate of schools can explain 11% of the between-school differences in reading achievement over countries. Controlling for economic, social, and cultural variables and student gender-related variables at student and school levels, the between-country differences in the effect of classroom disciplinary climate of schools shrank by three quarters. These findings can inform countries that face educational inequality issues (e.g., Argentina) and gender gap issues (e.g., Trinidad and Tobago), suggesting the possibility of tackling these issues via intervening on classroom disciplinary climate of schools.     

Improvements in school climate associated with enhanced health and welfare services for students

School improvement initiatives are needed to better meet the needs of underprivileged students, to reduce underachievement and to break a continuing cycle of disadvantage. This article describes part of a school improvement initiative in New Zealand that provided additional funding for school nurse and social worker services in nine secondary schools with the most disadvantaged students in New Zealand. It describes the nature and delivery of services provided by the social workers in these schools. In addition, the article reports changes over time in staff and student views about school climate including a comparison with non-participating schools of similar socioeconomic status. The findings indicated that school climate is a useful intermediate measure of the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives. There were significant improvements in staff views about school climate over time, with staff views about school climate becoming more favourable on scales measuring Improvements in the Last 12 Months and Support for Ethnic Diversity compared to eight non-participating schools. Student views were more favourable on scales measuring Satisfaction with School, Support for Achievement and Support for Ethnic Diversity, compared to the non-participating schools.     

School Personnel Educating the Whole Child: Impact of Character Education on Teachers’ Self-Assessment and Student Development

There is an increasing interest in linking character education programs with social and academic outcomes. The Child Development Project (CDP) is a character education program that promotes academic and social growth in teachers and students. This theory-driven evaluation employed a quasi-experimental design with matched control schools. School personnel participated in an intensive professional development process to learn the CDP model. Performance measures included state-mandated achievement measures, teacher self-assessment reports, and student attitudes and outcomes. Results yielded support for the CDP model as a strategy to improve social and, if properly implemented, cognitive outcomes in students; the model also improved teacher self-assessment and provided information that may facilitate professional growth about school collegiality. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed.     

高职学生的自我认同培育

从整体上讲,高职学生自我认同普遍较低,这在很大程度、很深层面上影响高职学生成长和高职院校人才培养的质量。高职学生的自我认同培育,要从以下几方面进行：高职教育社会认可度的培育,高职院校学生认可度的培育,以及学生个体自我认同的培育。     

Longitudinal inter-relations between school cultural socialization and school engagement: The mediating role of school climate

The question of whether schools should promote cultural pride and engage students in ethnic traditions is hotly contested. To contribute to this debate, this longitudinal study examined whether school cultural socialization predicted adolescents' engagement in school over time and whether this relation was mediated by school climate. Data were collected in four waves during a two-year period from 254 African American fifth-graders (53.9% males; M_age = 10.95 at Wave 1) enrolled in three public middle schools. Results revealed that African American youth who reported more school cultural socialization also had greater school engagement over time. This longitudinal relation was fully mediated by youth's perceptions of school climate. Implications for how to promote African American youth's perceptions of schools as culturally sensitive and supportive environments are discussed.     

Climate change education in the humanities classroom: a case study of the Lowell school curriculum pilot

Abstract

Climate change as an instructional topic in K-12 schools is most frequently taught in the science classroom. However, it is a human issue requiring social as well as technological and scientific solutions. This study analyzes and evaluates a climate change curriculum implemented via an integrated social studies and language arts framework in a middle school classroom. The curriculum reflects collaboration between a private school, a climate education non-profit, and a government agency (NOAA). Following the first year of implementation, student surveys, teacher interviews, and classroom observations comprise the primary tools of data collection and evaluation. Based off these data, students demonstrate high levels of climate literacy, improvements in reading comprehension, and overall engagement with the topic. Teachers report successes and challenges of teaching the curriculum, and administrators offer opportunities for scaling and implementing the curriculum in other schools and contexts (including public schools). Findings from this study are relevant to climate change curriculum developers, researchers, and educators seeking to incorporate an interdisciplinary, socio-scientific approach to climate change education in their work.     

Relationships among school climate domains and school satisfaction

This study investigated the magnitude of the relationships between eight school climate domains and a measure of global school satisfaction among 2,049 middle and high school students. Tests of moderator effects were conducted to determine if the magnitude of the relationships between the school climate domains and school satisfaction differed as a function of students' gender, grade, age, GPA, or SES. Multiple regression analyses suggested that five school climate domains are significantly related to school satisfaction (p < .01): Academic Support (beta weight = 0.17), Positive Student‐Teacher Relationships (0.12), School Connectedness (0.11), Order and Discipline (0.13), and Academic Satisfaction (0.12). In addition, the importance of the school climate variables to students' school satisfaction appeared invariant across the demographic variables and academic performance levels. The inclusion of school climate and school satisfaction measures may form a foundation for more comprehensive assessments for understanding and monitoring the experiences of students in schools. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of an inclusive programme on achievement,attendance and perceptions towards the school climate and social-emotional adaptation among students with disabilities

The aim of this paper is to report outcomes of a school-based programme aiming to promote achievement, attendance and positive perceptions towards the school climate and social-emotional adaptation among students with disabilities (SWD). The programme included a series of training and social activities for school staff, parents and children followed by implementation of the knowledge gained through these activities. The programme lasted one school year and data were collected through quantitative and qualitative methods. Results of the study indicated enhanced student attendance and achievement, social-emotional development, and positive perceptions about the school climate. In addition, parents and teachers were mostly content with development of students and the attempts of their schools to prompt student learning. Findings of this research indicate the significance of the holistic approach in educating SWD in mainstream schools and confirm that schools can make progress relying on their internal structures and planned action.     

Examining integrated leadership systems in high schools: connecting principal and teacher leadership to organizational processes and student outcomes

Research on school leadership suggests that both principal and teacher leadership are important for school improvement. However, few studies have studied the interaction of principal and teacher leadership as separate but linked systems in how they relate to student outcomes. In this study, we examine how leadership pathways are related in the context of high schools and compare findings to research in elementary schools. Using survey and administrative data from high schools in a large urban context, the paper explores direct and indirect pathways from leadership to student achievement growth. The results indicate that there are 2 pathways through which principal leadership is related to student learning in high schools. One pathway is mediated by teacher leadership, whereas the second pathway does not include teacher leadership. We find that similar to elementary schools, the learning climate is the only organizational factor that links principal and teacher leadership with student achievement.