Developing Instruments to Capture Young People's Perceptions of how School as a Learning Environment Affects their Well-Being

This article describes the Universal Education Foundation's (UEF) activities to create research tools and methodologies that capture the voices of children concerning their perceptions of the effect of the school learning environment on their well-being. UEF defines well-being as the realisation of one's physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual potential. The Voice of Children (VOC) toolkit includes a survey and techniques to conduct focus groups as ways for young people to share their views. Young people participated in the development of the pilot instruments and, perhaps more importantly, they are involved as agents of change, presenting the findings through advocacy events to those who make decisions about policies and programmes that can have a positive impact on well-being. While UEF will be examining the effects of many learning environments — school, information and communications technologies (ICT) and media, and health care settings — this article focuses on the school as one learning environment.
Methods to create Version One of the Voice of Children ( VOC1 ) and preliminary findings from the initial pilot in Palestine are described. Steps taken to revise the instruments and create Version Two for Wales ( VOC2 ) are discussed. UEF's definition of well-being and its sub-components, background research and theoretical framework, hypotheses and structure of the survey are reviewed. The overarching hypothesis is that learning environments — in this case the school — affect various aspects of young people's well-being, both overall and in its sub-components.     

Quantifying the long-term impact of zoological education: a study of learning in a zoo and an aquarium

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that zoos and aquariums do, as intended, educate their visitors. However, even though most zoos offer a wide array of educational experiences, few studies have considered if the duration of an educational experience affects learning or whether learning lasts beyond the immediate visit. The current study used matched-pairs surveys to investigate children’s knowledge, attitude and knowledge of positive behavior during both a five-day zoo camp and six months after an aquarium visit. The participants of the study included children aged 9–12?years some of whom had participated in a purposefully designed educational intervention. First, the impact of a five-day zoo camp experience on children’s learning was investigated. Second, learning retention was investigated six months after a school tour at an aquarium. Results showed that during the camp learning was positively affected by participation in the educational intervention and by previous zoo experience. Girls were more likely than boys to have an increase in learning six months after an aquarium visit. The study demonstrates that learning persists, but that education can be enhanced with longer programs. Thus, zoos can play an increasingly important role in igniting pro-environmental behavior.     

Integration: The disruptive student and suspension

In 1984 the Education Department of Victoria, Australia, declared its support for developing policies and programs committed to the integration of disabled students into the educational and social life of regular schcols. These programs were to include disruptive students. Simultaneously, Victorian education administrators were engaged in revising suspension regulations and the proliferation of off-site facilities for disruptive students. In surveying literature pertinent to school suspension and segregated learning centers, this article highlights the paradox of marginalizing students through suspension and segregation while promoting the rhetcric of integration. Successful integration of disruptive students requires teachers and educational administrators to broaden their focus of attention beyond concentration upon changing individual student behaviour. Consideration of the responsibility of school processes in contributing to aberrant behavior is warranted.     

The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions

This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. Compared to controls, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance that reflected an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement. School teaching staff successfully conducted SEL programs. The use of 4 recommended practices for developing skills and the presence of implementation problems moderated program outcomes. The findings add to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs. Policy makers, educators, and the public can contribute to healthy development of children by supporting the incorporation of evidence-based SEL programming into standard educational practice.     

家庭环境对学业成绩的影响研究

采用自编的家庭环境调查问卷,对安徽省凤阳县1295名初三学生家庭环境状况与中考成绩进行调查,以考察家庭环境因素与学业成绩之间的关系,结果发现:家庭环境因素中家庭教育背景、家庭结构、家庭学习资源对学业成绩显著正相关;家庭教育态度中其父母参与度、支持度、亲子互动对学业成绩显著正相关,监管度对学业成绩显著负相关.家庭经济水平、家庭教育背景、家庭职业背景、家庭结构均可透过家庭学习资源间接影响学业成绩;而家庭经济水平、家庭教育背景、家庭结构又可透过家庭教育态度间接影响学业成绩,家庭学习资源和家庭教育态度是影响学业成绩的重要因素     

Improving the School Learning Environment to Reduce Bullying: An Experimental Study

A framework based on research on bullying and on educational effectiveness was offered to schools to assist them in developing strategies and actions to improve their learning environment, their policy for teaching, and their evaluation mechanisms in order to reduce bullying. At the beginning and end of the intervention, the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and a teacher questionnaire measuring three school factors (school policy for teaching, school learning environment, and school evaluation) were administered to the experimental and control groups. This experimental study reveals that the intervention had both a direct impact on the reduction of bullying and an indirect impact through improving the school factors. Implications for research into supporting schools to reduce bullying are given.     

Changing patterns of school enrolment in Australia

The various explanations offered for the decline in government school enrolments since the mid-1970s are considered in this article. Changing parental perceptions of the educational strengths and weaknesses of school systems are held to be of critical importance. Changes in government funding policy have been very important too, in their effects not only on enrolments but also on the educational policies of some non-government schools and, indeed, whole systems. The need is stressed for further research into parental concerns about education and the effects of funding policies on educational decisions.     

The role of National Strategy Behaviour and Attendance consultants with regard to training and professional development in special educational needs

The year 2003 saw Behaviour and Attendance (B&A) consultants beginning work across the country, supporting (mostly) mainstream secondary schools. They are part of an extensive advisory team which is instrumental in improving standards in schools through the Government's Secondary National Strategy. Their brief was to develop and improve the systems, strategies and approaches for managing and improving behaviour and attendance, and thereby have a positive impact on learning and attainment. This approach has been confirmed in the fourth Steer Report which highlights improving behaviour and attainment via better understanding and provision for special educational needs and additional needs in mainstream schools. Each B&A consultant draws on their own strengths and strategies to work with school staff at many levels and support a wide range of focuses; some draw on their extensive experience of working with special educational needs and additional needs. This article provides an illustration of the role of such consultants specifically in relation to training and professional development in special educational needs or additional needs. It covers areas such as staff support, school management and systems, use of data and, of course, the social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL).     

Pedagogical Thinking in a Student's Mind: A conceptual clarification on the basis of self‐determination and volition theories

This article suggests that educational psychology should pay more attention to the role of the curriculum when the optimal motivation to learn in school is considered. The curriculum frames the teaching‐studying‐learning process in school. This fact has several implications on the motivation to learn in school. After the child starts school, his or her motivation to learn seems to change from an intrinsic motivation to an extrinsic motivation. To develop pedagogical thinking in a student's mind means that the student must become acquainted with the aims and goals of the curriculum, assimilate them into his or her integrated sense of self and, thus, fully accept them as their own. If this succeeds, it will have positive effects on the student's motivation at school and especially on the motivation to study and learn. The concept of pedagogical thinking in a student's mind is analogous to the concept of teacher's pedagogical thinking. Based on previous studies, this article provides an example of how joint‐planning can offer a learning environment that promotes students' pedagogical thinking and the internalisation of the aims and goals of the curriculum in school. This article calls for new theoretical syntheses and research programmes that better take into account the normative nature of learning and teaching in school.     

‘It’s the best thing I’ve done in a long while’: teenage mothers’ experiences of educational alternatives

Pregnant and mothering schoolgirls have been identified as an educationally vulnerable group. Many are not welcomed in their mainstream schools and as a consequence, access a range of educational alternatives. This article presents the views and experiences of 14 young women in the English Midlands, who became pregnant while still of statutory school age, 12 of whom spent time in alternative educational settings. It is based on data gathered from repeat interviews over an 18-month period and shows that all who attended the educational alternatives rated them highly and benefitted from what they had to offer. Using the concept of ‘difference’ as a central analytic theme, the article examines how and why this was the case. The analysis shows that it was through recognising some differences but not others that the educational alternatives were successful in supporting young women’s learning and well-being. Importantly, those that were recognised were done so in non-stigmatising ways. The research also highlights some limitations of the alternatives, alongside the ways in which gender and class continue to impact the educational outcomes and career trajectories of this particular group of students.     

School Leader Appraisal — A Tool to Strengthen School Leaders' Pedagogical Leadership and Skills for Teacher Management?

With increasing school autonomy, often coupled with greater accountability requirements, school leaders are increasingly responsible for new human resource management tasks. Policies to improve the teaching workforce, therefore, cannot do without policies to improve the school leadership profession. Teachers' effectiveness depends, among others, on effective school leaders who shape teachers' working environment and influence their motivations. Furthermore, as recent research indicates, school leaders are the second most important school-level factor affecting, even if mainly indirectly through their influence on teachers, student learning after classroom instruction. Considering the role school leaders play for the effective school-level management of teachers and for teaching and learning through their pedagogical leadership, it is essential that school leaders are adequately prepared and supported for their role. As part of their school reform programmes, more and more countries have been introducing a range of evaluation and assessment policies to improve school, school leadership and teaching practices. The individual appraisal of schools leaders and teachers is a key component of evaluation and assessment policies. This article explores if, and how, individual school leader appraisal can develop school leaders' pedagogical leadership, a key element of which is teacher management. It analyses the policy approaches of several European countries and the extent to which formal frameworks in these countries focus on developing pedagogical leadership. The article concludes with ideas for policy to strengthen appraisal as a tool to improve school leaders' practices and behaviours and their competencies for pedagogical leadership and teacher management.     

At-Risk Students Attending Second Chance Programs: Measuring Performance in Desired Outcome Domains

Meeting the educational needs of at-risk secondary students is a challenge for many states. Some states have blended school reform policies, such as school choice, with specific programs for students at risk of school failure. One blended school choice option that has been in operation for nearly a decade is Minnesota's Second Chance Option. This option allows students at risk of school failure the opportunity to choose alternative programs designed to meet their needs; however, little is known about the effectiveness of these programs. In this article, findings from a study examining a broad array of outcomes for students attending Minnesota's second-chance school choice option for at-risk secondary students are presented. Student performance was assessed in 7 outcome areas, using a model developed by the University of Minnesota's National Center on Educational Outcomes. Students at 3 representative alternative school sites were assessed in the fall and spring of an academic year to determine their level of student performance. This article addresses the performance of persisters (those who remained in the programs) and dropouts, the use of the model for accountability, and the effectiveness of second-chance programs.     

Exploring DNA structure with Cn3D

Researchers in the field of bioinformatics have developed a number of analytical programs and databases that are increasingly important for advancing biological research. Because bioinformatics programs are used to analyze, visualize, and/or compare biological data, it is likely that the use of these programs will have a positive impact on biology education. Over the past years, we have been working to help biology instructors introduce bioinformatics activities into their curricula by providing them with instructional materials that use bioinformatics programs and databases as educational tools. In this study, we measured the impact of a set of these materials on student learning. The activities in these materials asked students to use the molecular structure visualization program Cn3D to locate, identify, or analyze diverse features in DNA structures. Both the experimental groups of college and high school students showed significant increases in learning relative to control groups. Further, learning gains by the college students were correlated with the number of activities assigned. We conclude that working with Cn3D was important for improving student understanding of DNA structure. This study is one example of how a bioinformatics program for visualization can be used to support student learning.     

Evaluating the effects of programs for reducing achievement gaps: a case study in Taiwan

Considering that achievement gaps have become a serious educational problem worldwide, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan has been addressing a series of policies to reduce achievement gaps, but the effect of these policies has not yet been carefully examined. Therefore, the present study investigated current educational policies, achievement gap phenomenon, and its changing trends in the use of national standardized tests in Taiwan and evaluated the degree to which these policies are reducing the achievement gaps among Taiwanese students. Junior high school graduates who took the high school entrance examination between 2004 and 2010 were recruited to examine the associations between their academic achievements and variables such as socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and school district. Time series analyses were conducted to determine the longitudinal trends for the achievement gaps. The results revealed that achievement gaps are decreasing among different ethnicities, but they are increasing among different SESs and school districts. These findings demonstrate some positive effects of the educational policies introduced in Taiwan, but also the need for further modification and precise implementation of these policies. Suggestions for implementing educational programs and policies to reduce achievement gaps are also presented.     

The Pursuit of School Effectiveness and Educational Quality in Hong Kong

This article briefly describes the Hong Kong education system, discusses the policies and efforts for education quality and school improvement, and reviews the development of school effectiveness research in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people have shown their strong commitment to educational reform for better societal development in the coming decades. A number of important policies have been issued to improve educational practice and school management. Even though some drawbacks and difficulties have inevitably been encountered in policy formulation and implementation, numerous good opportunities have been created for policy-makers, school practitioners, and educational researchers to conduct educational innovation, school improvement, and school effectiveness research. The ongoing education experiments, reform experiences, improvement practices, and effectiveness studies at both the system and school levels may not only benefit Hong Kong people but also make a contribution to international concern for school effectiveness and improvement.     

Classroom Environment Instruments: Development,Validity and Applications

Few fields of educational research have such a rich diversity of valid, economical and widely-applicable assessment instruments as does the field of learning environments. This article describes nine major questionnaires for assessing student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment (the Learning Environment Inventory, Classroom Environment Scale, Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire, My Class Inventory, College and University Classroom Environment Inventory, Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, Science Laboratory Environment Inventory, Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and What Is Happening In This Class) and reviews the application of these instruments in 12 lines of past research (focusing on associations between outcomes and environment, evaluating educational innovation, differences between student and teacher perceptions, whether students achieve better in their preferred environment, teachers' use of learning environment perceptions in guiding improvements in classrooms, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, links between different educational environments, cross-national studies, the transition from primary to high school, and incorporating educational environment ideas into school psychology, teacher education and teacher assessment).     

Institutional habitus in context: implementation,development and impacts in two compulsory secondary schools in Barcelona

This article aims to revisit the relationship between school-level variables and students’ educational opportunities through the lens of institutional habitus. This approach is particularly well suited to explore the notion of school culture because it brings to the forefront the impact of social context, avoiding some of the limitations typically associated with the long-dominant perspective of school effectiveness research. Drawing on an ethnographic approach, the article explores how institutional habitus unfolds in two urban public secondary schools in the city of Barcelona. Breaking the notion down into three main components (educational status, organizational practices and expressive order), the analysis identifies two main types of institutional habitus – one based on action and inclusion, and another based on reaction and expulsion. Ultimately, these results give insight into the complex interplay of these three components, as well as on their combined impact on students’ educational opportunities.     

When Special Education Goes to the Marketplace: The Case of Vouchers

This article examines the role of market-based policies in special education, focusing on the case of voucher programs. It examines the nature of contemporary social reforms, while discussing school choice as the theoretical linchpin of a market model for educational reforms. Moreover, it includes analysis of why the market-driven rationale of vouchers erodes the public functions of special education. Despite their current implementation on a small scale, vouchers have the potential to become a threat to free and appropriate public special education.     

Making the most of summer school: a meta-analytic and narrative review

Summer schools serve multiple purposes for students, families, educators, and communities. The current need for summer programs is driven by changes in American families and by calls for an educational system that is competitive globally and embodies higher academic standards. A research synthesis is reported that used both meta-analytic and narrative procedures to integrate the results of 93 evaluations of summer school. Results revealed that summer programs focusing on remedial or accelerated learning or other goals have a positive impact on the knowledge and skills of participants. Although all students benefit from summer school, students from middle-class homes show larger positive effects than students from disadvantaged homes. Remedial programs have larger effects when the program is relatively small and when instruction is individualized. Remedial programs may have more positive effects on math than on reading. Requiring parent involvement also appears related to more effective programs. Students at all grade levels benefit from remedial summer school, but students in the earliest grades and in secondary school may benefit most. These and other findings are examined for their implications for future research, public policy, and the implementation of summer programs. Based on these results, our recommendations to policy makers are that summer programs (a) contain substantial components aimed at teaching math and reading and (b) include rigorous evaluations, but also (c) permit local control of curricula and delivery systems. Funds should be set aside to foster participation in summer programs, especially among disadvantaged youth. Program implementers should (a) begin summer program planning earlier in the year, (b) strive for continuity of staffing and programs across years, (c) use summer school in conjunction with summer staff development opportunities, and (d) begin integrating summer school experiences with those that occur during the regular school year.     

The Strategies Instructional Approach

OVER THE PAST ten years, various efforts to develop and validate instructional programs to train students in strategies and thinking skills have been initiated. These efforts have usually focused on either the benefits of specific strategy training or on the very general parameters of how strategy instruction should be implemented. As a result, the translation from research to practice has often resulted in educational applications that have either been removed from common academic and social tasks required for school success, or the applications have not been sufficiently intensive or specific to have a significant impact on the learning and performance of individuals with handicapping conditions. To be successful, strategies instruction must focus on both the general and specific elements of instruction within the context of a rich strategy environment Well designed strategy environments should promote, model, guide, and prompt efficient and effective learning and performance across settings for all students, not just those with learning disabilities or handicaps. This has been the primary goal of researchers involved in the creation of the Strategies Intervention Model developed at the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities. The authors of this article describe how they define and view the use of strategies for instruction and explain how the basic concepts of strategies instruction have been operationalized for use in educational settings.