Experiences of violence and deficits in academic achievement among urban primary school children in Jamaica

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the relationship between children's experiences of three different types of violence and academic achievement among primary school children in Kingston, Jamaica.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 1300 children in grade 5 [mean (S.D.) age: 11 (0.5) years] from 29 government primary schools in urban areas of Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica, was conducted. Academic achievement (mathematics, reading, and spelling) was assessed using the Wide Range Achievement Test. Children's experiences of three types of violence – exposure to aggression among peers at school, physical punishment at school, and exposure to community violence – were assessed by self-report using an interviewer administered questionnaire.ResultsFifty-eight percent of the children experienced moderate or high levels of all three types of violence. Boys had poorer academic achievement and experienced higher levels of aggression among peers and physical punishment at school than girls. Children's experiences of the three types of violence were independently associated with all three indices of academic achievement. There was a dose–response relationship between children's experiences of violence and academic achievement with children experiencing higher levels of violence having the poorest academic achievement and children experiencing moderate levels having poorer achievement than those experiencing little or none.ConclusionsExposure to three different types of violence was independently associated with poor school achievement among children attending government, urban schools in Jamaica. Programs are needed in schools to reduce the levels of aggression among students and the use of physical punishment by teachers and to provide support for children exposed to community violence.Practice implicationsChildren in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean experience significant amounts of violence in their homes, communities, and schools. In this study, we demonstrate a dose–response relationship between primary school children's experiences of three different types of violence and their academic achievement. The study points to the need for validated violence prevention programs to be introduced in Jamaican primary schools. Such programs need to train teachers in appropriate classroom management and discipline strategies and to promote children's social and emotional competence and prevent aggression.     

The scholarship of university-community engagement: Interrogating Boyer's model

Albeit with different conceptualisations, the engagement between universities and external communities continues to gain significant currency. While the emphasis has been on more socio-economic relevance in a period of significant financial constraints and a changing clientele, a more significant area of engagement has been on promoting the scholarship of engagement towards regional/local development. The praxis and outcomes of community engagement continues to be surrounded by strong debate on issue such as its impact on the core functions of the university, teaching and research. This article sheds light on the community engagement practices from a case-study university in Africa. Using Ernest Boyer's proposed scholarship of engagement model as a framework, findings provide evidence that, different contextual specificities affect the way university-community engagement practices evolve. The methodology involved an analysis of primary and secondary data collected through interviews with policy and academic staff. The article concludes with an argument that the success of university-community engagement in fostering social and economic development significantly relates to how much the practices of engagement is foregrounded in the universities’ core policy and practice. But also on how much academic scholarship draws on engagement activities. The challenge lies in ensuring this balance.     

Bridging the Gap Between Academic Gerontology and the Educational Needs of the Aging Network

Colleges and universities have failed to meet the long-recognized, growing need for nonacademic-credit gerontology education. With the explosive growth of the aging network, other organizations have readily responded to the fast-growing market. Results of two needs assessments over a 5-year period demonstrate employers' higher support for noncredit gerontology educational experiences over for-credit academic degree programs. The Professional Development in Gerontology Certificate Program at Kennesaw State University, which has grown substantially over the past 7 years, is a viable model for easy adoption by other colleges and universities who wish to meet community needs for gerontology noncredit education.     

Re-thinking America's Teacher Education Programs

More than ever before, our nation needs teachers who are not only motivated to teach but who are also properly educated, trained, and prepared for the many challenges that are facing our nation's K-12 public schools. The education departments and schools at our colleges and universities cannot continue to do business as usual—they need to adjust their teacher preparation programs to effectively support the changing times, and to provide our future teachers with a realistic and rigorous education. There is little or no disagreement among educators, social scientists, or anyone else for that matter, that great schools are the product of great teachers. It makes sense, therefore, to create a world-class teacher education and training program.     

Does Higher Education Need a Hippocratic Oath?

Taking as a starting point Eric Ashby's proposal that academic staff should swear to inculcate ‘the discipline of constructive dissent’, this paper explores the question of whether or not contemporary society's ethical expectations of higher education should be codified. Three types of relationship between the university and its communities are explored: ‘first order’, arising from the university just being there; ‘second order’, being largely structured by contracts; and ‘third’ order, between the institution and its members. This leads to discussion of partnerships, stakeholding, of governance, of the public interest and of academic citizenship. Ashby's approach to academic values is then contrasted with that of the Institute of Business Ethics and the Council for Industry and Higher Education, as well as Macfarlane's concept of academic virtues. The author concludes with a proposed set of ‘10 commandments’ for members of universities and colleges.     

Strategies to improve public service activities in urban universities

Summary Some of the strategies utilized by universities to carry out the public service mission to their communities include cooperative extension, evening colleges, workshops and seminars, community forums, research and technical assistance, and minority outreach.A conceptual framework originally developed by Armand Lauffer for describing continuing education in the human services, was found useful in analyzing the multiplicity of public service activities of an urban university. The framework indicates that continuing education activities are targeted either at the individual or an agency, and that such programs are oriented either to service or change. Within the framework Lauffer identified four models of practice: (1) the consumer choice model (services provided to individuals); (2) the training model (changes planned for individuals); (3) the systems change model (changes planned for agencies or organizations); (4) the consultative model (services to agencies or organizations).On the basis of the foregoing framework, four general categories of activities within urban universities were discussed: continuing education schools or colleges, public affairs departments or colleges, traditional academic departments or colleges, and university externalities. It was concluded that most continuing education units serve through the consumer choice model, that public affairs units tend to emphasize the training and systems change models, and that the traditional collegial units tend to fit the consultative model.The concluding part of this paper suggests that the delivery of public services by urban universities would be enhanced by developing facilitative structures, establishing a common definition of the public service mission, clarifying goals and responsibilities, inventorying public service activities and interests, and reviewing and evaluating existing public service functions.Don Deppe is Director, Center for Applied Urban Research, University of Nebraska at Omaha.David Hinton is Assistant Dean, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, University of Nebraska at Omaha.John Kerrigan is Dean, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, University of Nebraska at Omaha.     

什么影响了弱势职业阶层子女的学业成就 ——基于中国教育追踪调查基线数据的分析

基于中国人民大学中国调查与数据中心提供的“中国教育追踪调查”基线数据,通过线性回归和独立样本T检验,分析家庭社会阶层较低的子女中哪些获得了优异的学业成就,以期帮助更多的弱势职业阶层子女提高学业成就,以助于实现社会和谐、教育公平。研究表明,弱势职业阶层子女获得高学业成就的关键在于其所特有的文化资本,父母的教育期望、自我教育期望、学校归属感、同伴表现、学习态度是弱势职业阶层子女获得优异学业成就的重要因素。因此,政府应联合学校、社区,健全家庭教育指导服务体系,使弱势职业阶层父母形成正确的教育价值观,提高教育期待;学校应该关注弱势职业阶层子女的归属感;弱势职业阶层子女要利用自己吃苦耐劳的禀赋优势积累人力资本。     

大学学术副校长的角色和特征——以香港科技大学为例

文章以香港科技大学（HKUST）为例探讨了大学学术副校长的角色和特征。总的来说,大学学术副校长演绎着校长的协助者、学术领导者、院长的合作者及教师的服务者等角色,并在教育背景、职业经历和学术成就等方面呈现出鲜明的特征。     

An Ecological Approach to a University Course that Develops Partnerships Impacting Health and Wellness in K-12 Schools and Communities

Over the past several decades, there has been an increased focus on health promotion as opposed to individual health determinants and disease prevention. Given the association between health and academic success, health promotion is a vastly overlooked lever for establishing effective K-12 schools. Student, organizational, and community well-being are intricately linked, and thus, focusing on any one of these alone will not eliminate achievement gaps and health disparities. We assert that university–community collaboration is instrumental in promoting student and family well-being. Moreover, employing an ecological systems lens to inform partnership and health promotion practices facilitates collective action and magnifies results. In this article, we describe the philosophical and theoretical orientations that guide our teaching, service, and scholarship. We explain how a university undergraduate course that utilizes service-learning has leveraged theory to build university–community collaboration. Using illustrative examples of several service-learning projects, we show how an ecological systems orientation has enhanced the course; supported a systemic approach to health promotion in schools and communities; and facilitated strategic, mutual, and sustained partnerships. We conclude by highlighting the implications of an ecological approach to university–community collaboration, including organizational capacity building, implementation of evidence-based practices, and the need to enhance preservice teacher education.     

“Wait,What Do You Mean by College?” A Critical Race Analysis of Latina/o Students and Their Pathways to Community College

ABSTRACT

As a group, Latina/o students are more likely to experience a substandard K–12 education complete with underresourced schools, high teacher turnover, and fewer college-preparatory courses. It is this same inferior education that denies many Latina/o high school students the opportunity to engage in college-choice—leading to their disproportionate enrollment in community colleges over 4-year colleges or universities. In California alone, approximately 75% of Latina/o students in higher education can be found in the community college sector—making this an important pathway for many Latina/o students. This qualitative study incorporated a Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Education framework to focus on the racialized K–12 experiences of four Latina/o graduate students who started their postsecondary career at a community college. This study was undertaken to better understand what led Latina/o students to enroll in community colleges after high school. Exploring the pathways of Latina/o students from high school to community college is imperative to community college practitioners (i.e., faculty, staff, and administrators) when considering best practices for their large Latina/o student body, as is found in California. The initial findings suggest that racism in K–12 in the forms of tracking, limited college information, and low expectations from academic personnel had a direct impact on the postsecondary experiences and opportunities available to Latina/o students. Lastly, the findings challenge prevailing portrayals where Latina/o students passively accept their marginalized position in education by highlighting their voice, resiliency, and agency in the face of systematic racism, as evidenced by their successes in academia.     

Science in Action: How Middle School Students Are Changing Their World Through STEM Service-Learning Projects

The purpose of Science in Action (SIA) was to examine the relationship between implementing quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) service-learning (SL) projects and the effect on students' academic engagement in middle school science, civic responsibility, and resilience to at-risk behaviors. The innovative project funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) included 6,000+ middle school at-risk students (eligible for at least 50% free or reduced-cost lunch), 126 science teachers who integrated STEM problem-based SL pedagogy into science instruction to teach students to solve real problems in schools and communities. The project involved 20 schools and communities with assistance from 120 community partners. Participants completed pre- and post-SL surveys on academic engagement, civic responsibility, and resilience; qualitative data were collected from journals, interviews, focus groups, observations, and field notes. Results highlight exemplary SL projects that demonstrated increased student academic engagement and achievement for students living in high poverty areas with potential at-risk behavior. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.     

The Promise of University-Assisted Community Schools to Transform American Schooling: A Report From the Field, 1985–2012

This article explores the university-assisted community school approach as it has been developed at the University of Pennsylvania with its school and community partners in West Philadelphia since 1985, as well as adapted nationally. The approach is grounded in John Dewey's theory that the neighborhood school can function as the core neighborhood institution that provides comprehensive services, galvanizes other community institutions and groups, and helps solve the myriad problems schools and community confront in a rapidly changing world. Building on Dewey's ideas, the authors argue that all colleges and universities should make solving the problem of the American schooling system a very high institutional priority; their contributions to its solution should count heavily both in assessing their institutional performance (by themselves and others) and be a critical factor when responding to their requests for renewed or increased resources and financial support. Providing concrete examples from over 20 years of work in West Philadelphia, as well as from initiatives across the country, this article explores the potential of developing university-assisted community schools as an effective approach for school reform, pre-Kindergarten through higher education.     

Variation in Effectiveness Between Private and Public Schools: The Impact of School and Family Networks*

Abstract

Building upon the assumption that cohesion between different levels of the school is essential to the schools’ effectiveness, the hypothesis is tested that a close kinship between school and parental community causes a positive effect on student outcomes in primary schools. Recent theories regarding the effects of ‘functional communities’ on academic achievement mainly focus on the characteristics of the parental community that surrounds a school. Recognizing, however, that schools differ regarding their responsiveness to the role of parents and other actors around the school, our expectation is that a definition of functional community which comprises interactions between characteristics of the parental network around the school and the governance structure of the school offers a better explanation of variation in student achievement. Based on a national sample of 90 schools for primary education in the Netherlands, our analysis shows that the differences in math achievement for public and private primary schools are mediated by characteristics at both the family and the institutional level. It also indicates that characteristics at the institutional level are conditional for the effects of parental networks around schools.

     

An Overview of Community College Programs for Elderly Texans

Abstract

This report presents a summary of the program presented by 16 Texas community and junior colleges for people over age 60 during the academic year 1974–1975. This program, funded by the Governor's Committee on Aging and administered by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, supported demonstration projects to improve the quality of life of elderly Texans through innovative educational activities. The development of these programs and the kind of activities made available are described. The majority of these colleges have subsequently continued programs with local funds, based on their demonstration experiences. This pilot project has helped a number of colleges in Texas enter the field of late-life education and, in turn, is helping the older residents in these communities to have an educational program of their own.     

The effect of secondary school study skills preparation on first‐year university achievement

Although many studies have revealed the importance of study skills for students' first‐year performance and college retention, the extent of the impact of study skills preparation on students' academic achievement is less clear. This paper explores the impact of pre‐university study skills preparation on students' first‐year study experiences, academic achievement and persistence. The setting for this study is a large law school in the Netherlands which attracts students from more than 100 schools for secondary education. The results show that the perceived study skills preparation concerning time management and learning skills does have a positive impact on college students' first‐year study behaviour and academic achievement. However, the study also shows that the impact of perceived college preparation is far less important for college retention than other factors such as satisfaction about the chosen degree programme and tutorial attendance.     

Bringing equity to underserved communities through STEM education: implications for leadership development

ABSTRACT

STEM Education is sweeping the United States, prompted primarily by the recent adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. The surge in interest in STEM Education is beneficial for local schools and communities, and promises to positively impact students, teachers, school leaders, community members, and the future workforce. Unfortunately, inequitable hegemonic structures and practices limit urban students’ access to knowledge, resources, and a comprehensive and fair educational experience. This article explores the STEM activities in place at the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE), at a local university in greater Los Angeles. From a historical context, CISE data show that an approach to STEM education that focuses on serving underrepresented populations by creating a pipeline, can serve as an example for K-12 schools, universities, and educational leaders seeking equitable practices in the field of STEM education. We identify implications for leadership development for school leaders, teacher leaders, and districts.     

Focusing on the Whole Student: An Evaluation of Massachusetts's Wraparound Zone Initiative

We used a comparative interrupted time series design to examine the impact of the Massachusetts' Wraparound Zone Initiative on student achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. This initiative was designed to create coordinated district systems that allow schools to proactively and systematically address students' nonacademic needs. The state education agency awarded grants to seven high-need districts, each of which used the funds to support a select group of schools in implementing strategies that focused on school climate and culture, family engagement, systems to identify and address student needs, and community partnerships. Results from this study showed that students in Wraparound Zone schools performed better on state academic assessments than students in comparison schools, when considering prior achievement trends. Effects were statistically significant in the 3rd year of implementation. The impact on academic achievement was greatest for third- and fourth-grade students, and was particularly strong for English learners. There was no statistically significant overall impact on attendance, retention, or suspension.     

The Role of Universities in the ‘Cultural Health’ of their Regions: universities' and regions' understandings of cultural engagement

As Arbo and Benneworth (2007) have alerted us, higher education institutions are now expected not only to conduct education and research, but also to play an active role in the development of their economic, social and cultural surroundings. They call this the ‘regional mission’ of HEIs. This paper is concerned with cultural engagement. Research on universities’ cultural engagement in their regions and the impact of that engagement is still in its infancy, partly because there are different understandings of ‘culture’ and of what ‘engagement’ entails. In this paper, qualitative data from the reports of mixed teams of academics and regional administrators involved in a large international project designed to improve universities’ regional engagement are analysed and discussed. The on-going study — PASCAL Universities' Regional Engagement (PURE) — investigates the role of HEIs in their regions across in a variety of fields such as the economy, community development, the environment and others. This article analyses the data from the study to identify the different perspectives universities and regions have of cultural engagement. The aim here is to demonstrate the value of PURE in facilitating the development of mutual understanding both between universities through a common language and between universities and their regions in respect of mutual expectations. For example, particularly difficult to de-construct is universities’ engagement with disadvantaged communities (Doyle, 2007) but Powell's (2009) work suggests that universities might engage more broadly and effectively ‘through better knowledge sharing and co-creation with business and community partners’ to become ‘real drivers of creative change in developing socially inclusive projects’. Others have written about the educational role of universities in developing a ‘lifelong learning culture’ in their region (European Universities’ Charter on Lifelong Learning, 2008).     

Student mentoring in higher education: Hong Kong Baptist University

There is a developing interest in mentoring in the educational system in Hong Kong, especially in higher education. Mentoring is looked at as a retention and enhancement strategy for undergraduate education. With the setting up of a mentoring system during the freshmen year, it is hoped that student retention can be increased and academic achievement can be promoted. The study aims to find out the current mentoring practices carried out at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Results are based upon quantitative data collected from 456 students and 79 faculty members engaging in the mentoring programme of the University Life Programme at the university in 1998. The author also conducted insight interviews into the student–mentor relationship and the problems encountered by mentors. The study focuses upon students' perspectives of an ‘effective’ mentor. The implications for resources are discussed as part of a review of the mentoring programme at the university.     

试析大学视频公开课的定位及原则

大学视频公开课是以大学生为服务主体,同时面向社会大众免费开放的科学、文化素质教育网络视频课程与学术讲座。大学视频公开课建设应根据受众需求,坚持合理性与易于教学性相结合、专业学术性与通俗直观讲解相结合、学生个性发展与全面发展相结合、继承传统与发展创新相结合等原则,实现高等教育资源社会共享,让以高校为主体的正规教育融入学习型社会。