Ethnographic Data and Education Policy Analysis: Recent Qualitative Research

Review of Harry F. Wolcott, Teachers vs. Technocrats: An Eduacational Innovation in Anthropological Perspective (Eugene, Ore.: Univ. of Oregon, 1977).
Review of Safe School Study: Violent Schools – Safe Schools (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978).
Review of Ray Rist, The Invisible Children: School Integration in American Society (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1978).     

African American preschool children's physical activity levels in Head Start

The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity levels of urban inner city preschoolers while attending Head Start, the federally funded preschool program for children from low-income families. Participants were 158 African American children. Their physical activity during Head Start days was measured using programmed RT-3 accelerometers. Results revealed that the children spent the most time in sedentary and light physical activity, while their participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities was low. Given the sedentary class format and limited physical space for the Head Start programs observed, we suggest adding a structured physical activity component to Head Start schools to fight the overweight and obesity crisis.     

Characteristics of project management at institutions sponsoring National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus Go Local

Objectives:

Through interviews with the National Library of Medicine''s MedlinePlus Go Local collaborators, an evaluation team sought to identify process characteristics that are critical for long-term sustainability of Go Local projects and to describe the impact that Go Local projects have on sponsoring institutions.

Methods:

Go Local project coordinators (n = 44) at 31 sponsor institutions participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences developing and maintaining Go Local sites. Interviews were summarized, checked for accuracy by the participating librarians, and analyzed using a general inductive methodology.

Results:

Institutional factors that support Go Local projects were identified through the interviews, as well as strategies for staffing and partnerships with external organizations. Positive outcomes for sponsoring institutions also were identified.

Conclusions:

The findings may influence the National Library of Medicine team''s decisions about improvements to its Go Local system and the support it provides to sponsoring institutions. The findings may benefit current sponsoring institutions as well as those considering or planning a Go Local project.

Highlights

• Many project coordinators said they underestimated the level of work their National Library of Medicine (NLM) MedlinePlus Go Local projects would require, but most expressed dedication to the project and optimism about project sustainability.
• An institutional record of community service or outreach and a director who was supportive of the project were important factors in the progress and sustainability of Go Local projects.
• Go Local projects brought recognition to some sponsoring institutions from their parent institutions or their communities and provided opportunities to establish better relations with other libraries and institutions.
• Go Local projects ran more smoothly when a person, even a temporary hire, with dedicated time for the project was in charge during the initial building phase. Volunteer assistance has been difficult to motivate and sustain.

Implications

• NLM''s Go Local proposal guidelines accurately identify the factors that institutions should pay close attention to when planning a Go Local project.
• NLM should emphasize continuity plans to address project coordinator turnover.
• NLM should develop a more formal orientation plan for new project coordinators to assist program continuity at the sponsoring institutions.

     

Situated Self-Regulation: Modeling the Interrelationships Among Instruction,Assessment, Learning Strategies and Academic Performance

To succeed academically, college students must actively construct course information, synthesize this information with information from texts and other resources, understand this information so that they can succeed on various forms of assessments and ultimately retain this information for the long term. While the complexity of these demands has been modeled somewhat metaphorically, there has been little ecologically valid research into learning in authentic classroom contexts. The present study examines the interrelationships among student perceptions of the learning context, test complexity, study strategies, and academic performance. Results of a path analysis demonstrated that perceptions of the teaching format and test complexity were positively related to the study strategies reported, and these study strategies were further related to the reported course performance.     

The development of beginning mathematics teacher pedagogical content knowledge

Recent research efforts (Schmidt et al. in The preparation gap: teacher education for middle school mathematics in six countries, MSU Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education, 2007) demonstrate that teacher development programs in high-performing countries offer experiences that are designed to develop both mathematical knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. However, identifying the nature of the mathematical knowledge and the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) required for effective teaching remains elusive (Ball et al. in J Teacher Educ 59:389–407, 2008). Building on the initial conceptual framework of Magnusson et al. (Examining pedagogical content knowledge, Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 95–132, 1999), we examined the PCK development for two beginning middle and secondary mathematics teachers in an alternative certification program. The PCK development of these two individuals varied due to their focus on developing particular aspects of their PCK, with one individual focusing on assessment and student understanding, and the other individual focusing on curricular knowledge. Our findings indicate that these individuals privileged particular aspects of their knowledge, leading to differences in their PCK development. This study provides insight into the specific aspects of PCK that developed through the course of actual instructional practice, providing a lens for future research in this area.     

Lived meanings: what teachers mean when they say they are learner‐centered

While the term ‘learner‐centered’ is invoked in many curriculum standards documents, packaged curriculum materials, mission statements and criticisms of educational practice, there is little agreement on its meaning. Shallow understandings and conflicting practices abound. And rarely do the meanings ascribed to the term take into account the meanings of thoughtful teachers who live learner‐centered approaches daily in their work. Here we introduce lived meanings of learner‐centeredness found in the personal and professional histories of experienced teachers. Data were gathered in interviews that took the form of focused conversations which yielded elaborated stories and reflections that suggest that learner‐centeredness is a concept that cannot be captured in finite, static, unquestioned definitions. The teachers’ lived meanings are expressed in fine‐grained detail, are embedded in particular settings and the teachers’ own personal and professional histories, go beyond surface features of practice and are in motion and unfinished. Taken together, these lived meanings have the potential to challenge and deepen current understandings of learner‐centered practices. Further, they have the potential to bring humanity, humility and integrity to the work of those who engage in these practices and of those who would support or criticize them.     

Academic and Student Affairs Issues Post Hurricane Katrina

This article describes several issues in the academic and student affairs areas faced by students and faculty in the post-Katrina destruction environment. Cases are used to illustrate the issues, and a call is made for increased disaster readiness plans.     

Careers in Health

Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) provides bilingual/bicultural individuals with a fully-supported customized career path for nursing and other allied health occupations bridging individuals from unemployment/underemployment to high-demand healthcare positions. Healthcare providers, elected officials, and community leaders have partnered with the collaboration and supported the initiative in its various stages.     

The Personal-Emotional Social Adjustment of English-Language Learners to a Community College

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effects of locus of control and other predictors on personal-emotional and social adjustment to community college in English-language-learner students. Results indicated that locus of control was significantly associated with both social adjustment and personal-emotional adjustment. Students with more external locus of control showed better adjustment to college. Stress and being first in the family to attend college significantly predicted personal-emotional adjustment, while having precollege friends attending the same college was significantly related to social adjustment. Implications for research and service programs are discussed.