Student Mobility in Multilevel Growth Modeling: A Multiple Membership Piecewise Growth Model

This study proposes a new model, termed the multiple membership piecewise growth model (MM-PGM), to handle individual mobility across clusters frequently encountered in longitudinal studies, especially in educational research wherein some students could attend multiple schools during the course of the study. A real data set containing some students who switched elementary schools was used to demonstrate and explain the MM-PGM. Parameter and model fit differences were compared between the MM-PGM and two other techniques for handling student mobility: the first school-PGM, which only used school membership at the first measurement occasion, and the delete-PGM, which removed mobile students from the analysis. Results indicated that the three approaches of handling mobile students led to different conclusions about the impact of school-level predictors of growth parameters and the school-level variability in the growth rates. Furthermore, deleting mobile students altered the impact of student-level predictors compared to the other two approaches.     

Excluded girls: interpersonal,institutional and structural violence in schooling

School exclusion and violence are defined with boys as the reference point and relatively little attention is given to the various forms of exclusion—disciplinary exclusion, self‐exclusion and withdrawal from learning—to which girls are subject. Girls in difficulty at school receive less attention than their male peers from policy‐makers, teachers and researchers. They find it more difficult to access resources. The concept of exclusion needs to be expanded to encompass girls’ experiences. This paper explores the policy context in which girls’ exclusion occurs and examines contributory factors, arguing that together they constitute systemic violence. Forms of violence include verbal abuse, psychological violence and the everyday “incivilities” which often go unchallenged in school cultures. The paper draws on research which privileged student voices and considered them alongside those of service providers, to analyse girls’ school experiences, examining violence and exclusion at interpersonal, institutional and structural levels. Issues such as bullying, self‐exclusion, learning difficulties, peer relationships, teacher–student relationships and student pregnancies are considered.     

School governance and teachers' attitudes to parents' involvement in schools

This study probes teachers' attitudes toward parental involvement in schools as a function of four types of school governance as suggested by Bauch and Goldring. Participants of the study included headteachers, chairpersons of parents' committees, and teachers of 11 primary schools in a medium-sized town in Israel. A discriminant analysis found different profiles of teachers' attitudes toward parental involvement: resistant and negative attitudes characterized schools where parents were empowered. Ambivalent attitudes characterized schools with professional and bureaucratic modes of governance, and positive attitudes were found in schools with partnership governance. This implies that the latter mode of governance is a promising step toward a community-oriented approach.     

Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons

Student teachers have difficulty planning lessons that fully integrate social justice with mathematics/science content. This study was a content analysis of 26 poster presentations of mathematics or science lessons incorporating social justice issues made by student teachers (20F, 6M) at a mid-sized college in central New York State. The presented lessons applied four pedagogical approaches to integration (data collection followed by graphing analysis; discussion of text/video; modeling; library/internet investigation) and addressed three major social justice themes (diversity, system disparities in human communities, and in stewardship of earth). Deeper content knowledge, faculty lesson modeling/reflection and practice delivering lessons are recommended.     

Effects of Exposure to Part-time Faculty on Community College Transfer

Over the past several decades, one of the most significant changes in the delivery of postsecondary education involves the dramatic increase in the use of contingent or part-time faculty. Although the increased use of part-time faculty within higher education makes sense from an administrative point of view, its use does not come without criticism. With community colleges representing a more convenient, affordable, and flexible educational option for a number of students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, examining how exposure to part-time faculty relates to students’ academic goals represents an important area of inquiry. This study draws from social and human capital frameworks and uses hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) to examine how exposure to part-time faculty relates to community college students’ likelihood of transferring to a four-year college or university. Findings suggest that students tend to be significantly less likely to transfer as their exposure to part-time faculty increases.     

SYMBIOSIS: Development,Implementation, and Assessment of a Model Curriculum across Biology and Mathematics at the Introductory Level

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”Alan Cohen (Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen''s books and programs, see (www.alancohen.com.)

With the support of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) administration and a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Curriculum and Instruction have developed a biology–math integrated curriculum. An interdisciplinary faculty team, charged with teaching the 18 curriculum modules, designed this three-semester curriculum, known as SYMBIOSIS. This curriculum was piloted to two student cohorts during the developmental stage. The positive feedback and assessment results of this project have given us the foundation to implement the SYMBIOSIS curriculum as a replacement for the standard biology majors curriculum at the introductory level. This article addresses the history and development of the curriculum, previous assessment results and current assessment protocol, and the future of ETSU''s approach to implementing the SYMBIOSIS curriculum.     

Defining the Difference: Comparing Integrated and Traditional Single-Subject Lessons

Early childhood curricula should be authentic and child-centered, however, many teachers still rely on direct instruction lessons. To better define how an integrated curriculum meets the needs of students, this study examined teacher talk and actions during instructional activities with first and second graders under two conditions: (1) subject-integrated social studies lessons of an integrated curriculum unit (experimental condition); and (2) single subject-focused mathematics lessons of a traditional separate subject curriculum (control condition). The mixed-methods study sought to define and compare characteristics of both curriculum approaches. Fourteen hours of observations were collected in each setting. In the integrated curriculum setting, the teacher was a facilitator of teamwork, offering choices, and giving praise; students made choices, decisions, and worked collaboratively. In the traditional setting, the teacher delivered direct instruction and controlled behavior; students followed directions, recalled knowledge, and worked individually. Less teacher energy was expended for behavior management in the integrated curriculum setting, indicating intrinsic motivation of students. Implementation of integrated curricula is recommended because of the student-centered focus that results in greater motivation, ownership, and teamwork, along with deeper knowledge connections. Because many factors hinder implementation, teachers need support when first teaching with this approach.     

Classroom Climate,Cardiac Vagal Tone,and Inhibitory Control: Links to Focused Attention in First Graders

The present study aimed to investigate the role of classroom climate and self‐regulation in terms of cardiac vagal tone and inhibitory control in primary school students' focused attention. A combination of direct and indirect measures was used to assess classroom climate, sustained and selective attention, and inattention behaviors among 62 first graders. We also registered students' cardiac vagal tone at rest and their levels of inhibitory control in a reaction time task. A single underlying factor combining sustained and selective attention as well as (the lack of) inattention behaviors accounted for students' focused attention. A regression analysis revealed that classroom climate, cardiac vagal tone, and inhibitory control interacted to explain first graders' focused attention. In classrooms with a negative climate, high levels of inhibitory control attenuated the negative effect of low cardiac vagal tone on students' ability to remain focused during classroom activities. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Jordanian and Malaysian science teachers' prominent perceived professional needs: A comparison

The prominent perceived professional needs of 365 Jordanian and 1,162 Malaysian secondary-level science teachers were examined using the Science Teacher Inventory of Need. These were compared across subgroups of the respective samples and across the two samples. The Jordanian science teachers' needs were in the areas of delivering science instruction, managing science instruction, administering science instructional facilities and equipment, and improving one's competence as a science teacher. The Malaysian science teachers' needs came from those four areas plus the area specifying objectives for science instruction. Needs from the first four areas were shared across the two samples. These needs were similar to ones observed in U.S. samples. The reason for the similarities is questioned.