Promising or Potentially Harmful? Suburban School Responses to Racial Change

Over the last several decades, suburban schools have become increasingly more diverse and now must respond to racial change, so that they can successfully educate an increasingly more diverse and multiracial student body. This article analyzes interview responses of administrators, teachers, and staff at 19 schools in six diversifying suburban school districts across the United States to explore how they adapt their policies and practices in response to racial change. Findings indicate that school responses are mixed, with each school adapting some policies that demonstrate promise for creating inclusive, enriching, and academically rigorous environments and other responses that are potentially harmful. Promising responses include facilitating diverse student groupings, modifying curriculum and instruction, developing an inclusive school climate, and implementing diversity efforts with teachers and staff. Potentially harmful responses include isolating English Language Learners, narrowing curriculum to focus on test preparation, developing an exclusionary school climate, and failing to respond at all. Schools with the greatest degree of racial change, strong school leadership, and district support often adopt the most promising responses.     

THE RACIAL STRESS OF MEMBERSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTY INVENTORY OF RACIALIZED EXPERIENCES IN SCHOOLS

Research on the experience of faculty of color in predominately White independent schools (PWIS) is limited. This study explored faculty of varying racial backgrounds and their initiation of, interactions with, and stress reactions to racial conflicts within the school settings using an online survey. Several measures were developed according to the Racial/Ethnic Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (recast) model and administered to 339 faculty participants. Using factor analytic and correlational analyses, results from the highly reliable measures found that Black faculty show significantly less trust in schools to manage racial conflict, lower sense of school membership, greater racial stress, and more racial socialization than their White counterparts do. With reliable and valid measures on the racialized experiences of faculty in PWIS, future research can ask better questions on how much racial politics influence diversity initiatives, including faculty and student recruitment and retention, supportive racial and intellectual climate, and organizational mission and professional development. Implications for the development of racially relevant measures in schools are discussed.     

TEACHER BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES: RELATIONS TO STUDENT RISK BEHAVIORS,LEARNING BARRIERS,AND SCHOOL CLIMATE

Student behavioral problems pose a myriad of challenges for schools. In this study, we examine the relations among teacher and school‐level constructs (i.e., teacher collaboration, supervision/discipline, instructional management), and student‐related outcomes (i.e., high‐risk behaviors, barriers to learning, student social–behavioral climate). Teachers across 29 high schools, in a large urban school district serving primarily low‐income students, completed self‐report surveys. Multilevel regression was used to test both individual‐ and school‐level predictors of student outcomes. Findings suggest that teacher practices at the individual and school levels are linked to student high‐risk behaviors, barriers to student learning, and school climate. More specifically, findings indicate that better supervision/discipline and instructional management are associated with fewer high‐risk behaviors and barriers to learning. More instructional management is also linked to positive social–behavioral climate. Results from this study highlight the association between teacher practices and a range of student‐related problem behaviors, and suggest that system‐level interventions in the school may have positive effects.     

The Promise of Restorative Practices to Transform Teacher-Student Relationships and Achieve Equity in School Discipline

ABSTRACT

Restorative approaches to school discipline are increasingly being implemented throughout the United States in an attempt to reduce reliance on suspension and eradicate the racial discipline gap. Yet, little is known about the experience of students in classrooms utilizing restorative practices (RP). This study draws on student surveys (N = 412) in 29 high school classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling and regression analyses show that high RP-implementing teachers had more positive relationships with their diverse students. Students perceived them as more respectful and they issued fewer exclusionary discipline referrals compared with low RP implementers. In addition, the findings demonstrate some initial promise of well-implemented RP for narrowing the racial discipline gap. The study found that higher RP implementers issued fewer discipline referrals to Latino and African American students compared with lower RP implementers. The study findings have implications for equity-focused consultation in schools that honor student experience of new programming.     

Desegregation,Racial Conflict and Education for Democracy in the New South Africa: A Case Study of Institutional Change

Education under apartheid in South Africa was characterised by racism and segregation. Since the first democratic election in 1994 a process of racial desegregation has begun in South African schools. However, desegregation is not the same as integration. Given the historical context of South Africa, simply mixing students from different racial groups in one school is likely to result in racial conflict and violence unless the structure and processes of schooling are changed at the same time. This article examines the experience of one school in South Africa which has not only desegregated its intake but has also attempted to democratise its management structures in order to teach democratic values through experience and in particular to foster a climate of mutual respect among students so as to decrease racial distrust. So far, the changes appear to be successful but there are a number of important lessons to be learned.     

Skilled Students and Effective Schools: Reading Achievement in Denmark,Sweden, and France

This study investigates how reading achievement relates to student and school characteristics in countries with different reading scores at the fourth grade level. Data comes from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2011 for Denmark, Sweden, and France and the multilevel analysis includes two levels: student/home and schools. The school effectiveness and the home literacy models informed the selection of the independent variables. Results show that students’ early literacy skills, home literacy practices and resources, and reading behavior are associated with reading scores in all countries. Furthermore, across different countries there are student/home universals and school particulars that explain variation in reading achievement. Educational policies should address home and school literacy skills and practices, school climate, and school composition to improve students’ reading ability.     

No Parent Left Behind: Strengthening Ties Between Educators and African American Parents/Guardians

This study used regression analyses to identify variables predicting the six most frequently cited problems that concerned 129 African-American parents and guardians of children who were primarily enrolled in urban schools. The findings indicate that in order to increase African-American parents' and guardians' satisfaction with the public school system, the racial climate in schools must be improved; unfair disciplinary practices must be eradicated; and curricula and instructional practices must be reformed specifically in areas that result in the strengthening of African-American students' math and reading-comprehension skills.     

Observations of the middle school environment: The context for student behavior beyond the classroom

This article describes the use of an observation system to measure middle school staff practices, environment characteristics, and student behavior in the school common areas. Data were collected at baseline from 18 middle schools participating in a randomized controlled trial of school‐wide Positive Behavior Support. The observations were reliable and showed sensitivity to differences between school settings and between schools. Multilevel models with students nested in schools were used to examine the associations of staff practices and the school environment with student behavior. Less effective behavior management and more staff criticism, graffiti, and percentage of low‐income students were associated with student problem behaviors. Greater use of effective behavior management and positive attention, and fewer low‐income students were associated with positive student behavior. The use of data‐based feedback to schools for intervention planning and monitoring is illustrated. Implications for school‐wide efforts to improve student behavior in middle schools are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

PRINCIPAL ATTITUDES REGARDING ZERO TOLERANCE AND RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS

Zero tolerance school discipline practices have been associated with a national increase in suspensions, a practice that has had a disproportionate negative impact on Black students. The present study investigated an association between principal attitudes toward zero tolerance and suspension rates for White and Black students in 306 Virginia high schools. Black suspension rates were more than double White suspension rates. Regression analyses controlling for student poverty and school enrollment showed that principal endorsement of zero tolerance was moderately associated with suspension rates for both White and Black students, but was not associated with the size of the racial disparity. Paired‐samples t tests showed statistically significant differences in the types of offenses that resulted in suspensions, with Black students significantly more likely to be suspended for disruptive offenses and White students more likely to be suspended for alcohol‐ and drug‐related offenses.     

School climate and teacher beliefs in a school effectively serving poor South Carolina (USA) African-American students: A case study

This study examined the roles of school climate, teacher expectations, and instructional practices in one elementary school in South Carolina (USA) that produced effective achievement outcomes with poor and minority students. Survey data, teacher interviews, and classroom videotaping was used to identify school characteristics and instructional behaviors of six teachers nominated by colleagues as exemplary. The school was characterized by an emphasis on high student expectations, school staff cohesiveness, engaging instruction, high parent involvement, and multicultural instruction integrated with curriculum. The practices identified are consistent with literature on effective American schools; and the practices are key aspects of the sound instruction of poor and minority children. Teachers stated that teacher education programs did not prepare them to teach these students and that they had to learn this on the job.     

Community-Building in a Diverse Setting

Research demonstrates that community-building in schools is an integral aspect of student success. Based on a foundation of research findings related to the importance of implementing community-building into all aspects of a school, community-building activities, including five specific classroom strategies (parent visits class to tell about child, weekly newsletter with interactive activities, bi-monthly open-house hour where children explain school work to parents, Valentine letters filled with true compliments, and a cultural celebration unit focused on Africa), were implemented in an urban magnet school. This school was moving toward racial integration as well as implementation of a Montessori education program. As predicted from research information, incorporating community-building strategies geared at creating a welcoming climate, at improving faculty interaction, at fostering collaborative classrooms, and towards on-going and open teacher/parent communication and collaboration resulted in positive outcomes in what could have otherwise been a difficult, negative or unproductive situation.     

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.     

“So,we kind of started from scratch,no pun intended”: What can students learn from designing games?

Much research attention has been focused on learning through game playing. However, very little has been focused on student learning through game making, especially in science. Moreover, none of the studies on learning through making games has presented an account of how students engage in the process of game design in real time. The present study seeks to address that gap. We report an exploratory embedded case study in which three groups of students in one classroom created a computer game designed to teach peers about climate science, while drawing on scientific knowledge, principles of game design, and computational thinking practices. Data sources were student design sheets, computer video, and audio screen capture while students created their game, and interviews after completing the curriculum unit. A theme-driven framework was used to code the data. A curricular emphasis on systems across climate systems, game design, and computational thinking practices provided a context designed to synergistically supported student learning. This embedded case study provides a rich example of what a collaborative game design task in a constructionist context looks like in a middle school science classroom, and how it supports student learning. Game design in a constructionist learning environment that emphasized learning through building a game allowed students to choose their pathways through the learning experience and resulted in learning for all despite various levels of programming experience. Our findings suggest that game design may be a promising context for supporting student learning in STEM disciplines.     

Persistence to graduate education

This paper examines the process by which students arrive in graduate school by estimating a causal model incorporating measures of socioeconomic background and undergraduate institutional characteristics and experiences. The student's background was found to influence strongly the initial choice of undergraduate institution, but the direct impact of background became nonsignificant as the student progressed through the educational process. However, background variables do affect decisions to enroll in graduate school, although indirectly, through intervening variables. Primary direct influences on graduate school attendance were found from variables associated with the undergraduate experience. Although both academic and social integration are significant for men and women, academic integration has greater influence for men, whereas for women, social integration has a slightly larger effect.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, April, 1985.     

Grade Placement of High-School Biology

Abstract

Using 35 elementary schools (3,350 fourth and sixth grade students), 10 secondary schools (3,613 eight and eleventh grade students), and 1,145 teachers, this study presents data summarizing the relationships between student' perceptions of "verified" principal competencies and selected school climate indices and outcome variables. The results indicated that there is a general tendency for positive teacher attitudes towards various dimensions of the school and working environment and higher student standardized achievement test performance to be associated with students' reports of a low frequency of interaction with die principal. A student "independence factor" was hypothesized to account for these results, with the implication being that principal/student interaction is minimized in schools where teacher and student attitudes are positive and student achievement is high. In addition, effective principal performance in dealing with student misbehavior was highly and positively associated with school average daily attendance at the secondary level. Supplementary analyses indicated that teacher and student attitudes "mediating" the school environment were relatively independent for both elementary and secondary samples. General support was found for higher correlations between student assessments of principal competencies and school environment measures than with student performance measures.     

Race and demographic trends: the employment of minority teachers in California public schools

Given the centrality of educators to the functioning of schools, little work has been done to understand how student demographic variations shape school employment practices. This study argues that both the minority status of teachers and the shitting racial composition of schools are important social variables in predicting the probability of public school employment. The study utilizes data on Black. Hispanic and non-minority teachers employed in California public schools. The study concludes that minority student growth rates, interacting with school segregation, are significant predictors of minority teacher employment patterns.     

Developmental relationships and school success: How teachers,parents, and friends affect educational outcomes and what actions students say matter most

The current paper explores how students’ relationships with their teachers, parents, and friends might differentially impact their academic experience and success, by presenting and integrating the results of two related studies. In the first study, survey methods and structural equation modeling are used to describe the similar and different effects that developmental relationships with teachers, parents, and friends seem to have on middle- and high-school students’ academic motivation, GPA, and perceptions of school climate. Relationships with teachers directly predicted all three outcomes at the middle school level, and motivation and school climate at the high school level. Relationships indirectly predicted high school GPA, through motivation. Student-teacher relationships, and parent-teacher relationships, also indirectly predicted middle school GPA, through motivation. Relationships with parents directly predicted only motivation in middle school. Relationships with friends directly predicted school climate at both levels. The results from Study 1 showed the central importance of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and led the research team to qualitatively look in study #2 at how teachers build relationships that motivate students and how students experience those relationships. Study 2 used student focus groups and a grounded theory, open coding approach to analysis to identify commonly occurring themes describing what practices teachers used successfully, in students’ eyes, to build strong relationships with students and boost their academic motivation. These practices focused on how teachers expressed care, provided support, challenged students to grow, shared power with them, and expanded their sense of possibilities. The mixed methods produce an overall study that uniquely captures both a global and more granular, practice-oriented view of the ways in which differing developmental relationships in young people’s lives affect their connection to and success in school.     

How “Good” is Your Institution's Retention Rate?

Attempts to assess institutional performance by means of retention rates, student performance on standardized tests, and other raw outcome measures are seriously flawed because such measures fail to take into account the powerful effect of student inputs. In this study, national longitudinal retention data on 52,898 students attending 365 baccalaureate-granting colleges and universities are used to generate formulas for estimating any institution's expected retention rate based on its students' high school grades, admission test scores, and racial and gender composition. Separate formulas are provided for computing estimated degree completion rates four, six, and nine years after freshmen entry. Institutions that wish to assess their effectiveness in retaining students can compare these estimated rates with actual degree completion rates.     

Investigating Students’ Learning Through Co-designing with Technology

Involving students in the co-design of educational curricula and practices can benefit both students and teachers. Students who participate in co-design may show better learning or increased agency or engagement. In the present study, we investigated what kind of science knowledge or practices can be learned by student co-designers while engaging in co-design practices and how that learning happens with six high school students. We created a model to guide the analysis of students’ learning with technology in co-designing processes. The results revealed that students learned engineering design process even if no explicit instruction on engineering learning was given. Also, our analysis suggested that co-designing with technology enabled learning of the engineering design process and potentially furthered learning of science because it promoted knowledge integration. The results have implications for understanding and enhancing engineering design and science learning through co-designing with technology.

     

The attitudes of hong kong primary school principals toward integrated education

Positive attitudes of key stakeholders, such as school principals, towards a new policy are considered a necessary pre-requisite to implement any such policy. Hong Kong has recently formulated a policy that supports the integration of students with disabilities into regular schools. This study investigated the attitudes of Hong Kong primary school principals toward integration, with a view to determining if these school leaders are prepared to implement integrated education practices in their schools. A modified version of the School Principals’ Attitudes toward Inclusion scale (Bailey, 2004) was used to collect data from participants. Based on the responses of 130 primary school principals, it was found that their attitudes toward integration were slightly negative. Principals who had less teaching experience and who were administering schools with smaller student enrolment were found to hold more positive attitudes toward integration. The variable of “having a family member or close friend with a disability” had a significant and positive effect on the principals’ attitudes toward integration.