Multiple Choices,Multiple Chances: Fostering Re-entry Pathways for First Generation College Students

Student or program deficiencies are the classic explanation for student departure from community college partners of career technical education programs. However, a complex set of factors impact college attendance, persistence, and departure decision-making. Participants' experiences both within and outside program structures can reshape long-term goals. Based on a 7-year study of a population of 256 students, this article examines detailed case studies of 2 students' experiences leaving and reentering community college. It reveals how one program supported multiple exit and entry points. Interconnected educational and career pathways were made visible with the creation of a visual model that situated program experiences in a broader educational and career pathway. Additionally, both the use of creative solutions and adherence to rigid program parameters impacted students' career and educational trajectories. For more effective results, programs should support parallel career planning and encourage participants to question program structures in relation to their needs.     

The Role of Referent Indicators in Tests of Measurement Invariance

Confirmatory factor analytic tests of measurement invariance (MI) require a referent indicator (RI) for model identification. Although the assumption that the RI is perfectly invariant across groups is acknowledged as problematic, the literature provides relatively little guidance for researchers to identify the conditions under which the practice is appropriate. Using simulated data, this study examined the effects of RI selection on both scale- and item-level MI tests. Results indicated that while inappropriate RI selection has little effect on the accuracy of conclusions drawn from scale-level tests of metric invariance, poor RI choice can produce very misleading results for item-level tests. As a result, group comparisons under conditions of partial invariance are highly susceptible to problems associated with poor RI choice.     

“Read My Story!” Using the Early Authors Program to Promote Early Literacy Among Diverse,Urban Preschool Children in Poverty

This article evaluates the utility of the Early Authors Program, a 12-month early literacy intervention emphasizing highly meaningful language interactions that was implemented in childcare facilities in an ethnically and linguistically diverse, urban, low-income community. Children learn to be writers and readers by creating their own self-authored, storybook texts, supported by the sensitive guidance of adults. Children (n = 280) in 32 experimental group centers and children (n = 87) in 9 similar control group centers were individually assessed at pretest and posttest on measures of language and cognition. Teachers completed pretest and posttest surveys and interviews, and interventionists were also interviewed. 3- to 5-year-old children receiving the intervention, as predicted, made significantly greater gains than the control group specifically on the child language measures but not on other measures. The quality of the classroom literacy environment and teachers' literacy-promoting practices improved considerably in centers receiving the intervention. Teachers reported high satisfaction and sustainability for the program.     

Comparing Factors Related to Reading Comprehension in Adolescents Who Speak English as a First (L1) or Second (L2) Language

This study examined factors related to reading comprehension in adolescents who spoke English as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Measures of decoding, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension were administered to 31 L1 and 44 L2 speakers. English L2 adolescents scored significantly lower than their L1 peers on all measures. Factor analyses produced different configurations of variables for each group. For L1 learners, measures of decoding and vocabulary were separate factors but were one factor for English L2 learners. For the L1 learners, it was only the measure of vocabulary that was a significant predictor of reading comprehension. For L2 learners, decoding, vocabulary, and the interaction of decoding and vocabulary were all significant predictors of reading comprehension. Relations among these variables in adolescents who are beginning to learn English as an L2 are explored.     

Rachel’s literacy stories: unpacking one preservice teacher’s moral perspectives on literacy teaching

While teacher educators agree that teaching is a profoundly moral activity, little attention has been placed on the moral perspectives about teaching and learning of those entering the teaching workforce. As a way of illustrating the importance of helping both future teachers become aware of their own moral compasses and teacher educators to understand ways in which such knowledge can support their students, I use methods of qualitative inquiry to explore the life history of one European American preservice elementary teacher in the USA. In recounting the events of her life, Rachel Rosenberg demonstrates how she uses her own life experiences to frame the moral aspects of her future role as a teacher and especially her perspectives on literacy teaching and learning. The methods used here to elicit and analyse Rachel’s story can be useful to teacher educators who want to understand how the moral perspectives embedded in teachers’ stories influence the ways in which teachers approach and enact the work of teaching.     

Educational justice for all: the capability approach and inclusive education leadership

Leaders within education must weigh a number of fundamentals as they engage the needs of the stakeholders they represent within the political, social and economic context they operate within. Leaders must consider the unique needs and capabilities of individuals who might not possess similar abilities or talents to those of the majority. In this paper, we explore the capability approach as a frame to consider such contextual fundamentals in inclusive education leadership. In order to examine how educational leaders address the diverse needs of the groups they serve, we interviewed five central office educational administrators in the USA with the responsibility for leading programming for students with special needs. Using a human capabilities frame, we developed targeted questions to determine whether school leaders uphold the tenets of this theoretical foundation within their district's practices in an era of tight fiscal management and accountability. Findings indicate that those leaders whose districts had the highest level of inclusion for most students, including students with significant disabilities, most closely align with the capability approach. Recommendations for continued research and implications for both practice and policy are included.     

Shared Power,Risk-taking,and Innovation: Participatory Action Research in Jewish Education

ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors describe and discuss applications of the Group-Level Assessment/Understanding (GLA/GLU) process, an innovative participatory action research methodology. The authors first describe the GLA/GLU application in the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) and the creation of an MTEI interpretive community to deeply analyze the collected data. The authors then describe adaptations of the process in their home communities to address community-identified dilemmas, tensions, and problems. The article concludes with reflections on common themes that emerged in the GLA/GLU applications–shared power, risk-taking, and methodological innovation.     

Social Factors in the Implementation of a Computer Network for English Language Teachers

ABSTRACT

Studies on teacher education networks have unanimously pointed out that networks which allow teachers to share their experience, problems and curriculum materials enhance collegiality and professional growth. This paper reports findings of the implementation of TeleNex (Teachers of English Language Education Nexus) which is a teacher education network linking the Teachers of the English Language Education Centre (TELEC) set up at the University of Hong Kong with secondary schools. It points out that for a network of this nature to be effective, we have to take into consideration in the implementation process social factors such as user needs, motivation, background and psychology as well as user proficency in computer skills. The discussion will be illustrated with data from questionnaires, interviews, meetings, and messages on the network.     

Peer reporting of coworker wrongdoing: A qualitative analysis of observer attitudes in the decision to report versus not report unethical behavior

An employee who observes unethical behavior by a colleague will often question whether the incident warrants reporting. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may affect peer reporting of questionable behavior committed by a colleague. One hundred ninety‐seven (N = 197) registered nurses responded to a survey regarding reports of unethical behavior by coworkers. Results revealed that individual characteristics of the observer (such as personal ethics), situational factors (such as severity of the wrongdoing), and organizational issues (such as compliance or non‐compliance with policy and procedures) contributed to the reporting or not reporting of a coworker's wrongdoing. Discussion and implications suggest that various individual, situational, and organizational issues may affect an employee's decision to either report or not report unethical behavior committed by a coworker