Researcher-led academic development

In this study, members of a higher education department explore their research activity and how it influences their practice as academic developers in a research-led institution. While the research activities of the team members appear diverse, they are all underpinned by a shared set of professional values to provide an anchor for these activities. Research-as-pedagogy and the relationship between the discourses of research and teaching are explored using Bernstein’s knowledge structures. The authors conclude that differences in research focus (horizontal discourse) provide dynamism across a department and that stability is provided through the underpinning core values inherent in the vertical discourse.     

Parental involvement in education during middle school: Perspectives of ethnically diverse parents,teachers, and students

Maintaining productive partnerships between families and schools is more complex when youth enter middle school. A systematic and inclusive understanding of the strategies parents use, youth want and need, and teachers' desire is needed to broaden our conceptualization and deepen our understanding of parental involvement in education. The authors captured the voices of 3 primary stakeholders in education (i.e., parents, teachers, and students) to identify the goals for parental involvement in education, identify consistencies across stakeholders in the conceptualizations of parental involvement in education, and deepen our understanding of the types of involvement that matter for adolescents. The study used grounded-theory analysis of 20 focus groups, with ethnically diverse parents, youth, and teachers (N = 150), along with quantitative indicators of involvement and interactions with schools. From these analyses scaffolding independence, linking education to future success, and communication emerged as the most consistent strategies for promoting achievement. Conceptualizations of home-based involvement were broadened. Ethnic variations in the general experiences of families at school were highlighted.     

Exploring dimensions of social inclusion among alternative learning centres in the USA

Increasing disparities in out-of-school suspension and dropout rates have led a number of school districts to develop alternative models of education to include alternative learning centres (ALCs). Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this study explores dimensions of social inclusion among ALCs, located in the southeastern region of the USA. In the first phase, case-study analyses across two sites contextualised student experiences from the perspective of students, teachers, and assistant principals. In the second phase, data explored student outcomes among a sample of 593 students across 28 ALCs in the school district. Qualitative findings revealed varying dimensions of social inclusion through access, success through empowerment, and participation and engagement. Quantitative findings revealed a majority of students transitioned back to the traditional school environment. There were no clear student or school advantages associated with student transitions; however, high school students were more likely to transition back to the traditional school environment than middle school students. Discussion centres on the challenges school districts experience in promoting social inclusion and implications for inclusive models of education.     

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND TEST PERFORMANCE: AN EVALUATION OF BILINGUAL STUDENTS WITH THE WOODCOCK‐JOHNSON III TESTS OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES

In this article, we report the findings of an exploratory empirical study that investigated the relationship between English Language Proficiency (ELP) on performance on the Woodcock‐Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities‐Third Edition (WJ III) when administered in English to bilingual students of varying levels of ELP. Sixty‐one second‐grade students, identified as Limited English Proficient, were recruited from a suburban public school district and were given the WJ III in addition to their annual state standardized assessment of ELP. The findings of this study provide evidence to support a linear, inverse relationship between ELP and performance on tests that require higher levels of English language development and mainstream cultural knowledge. The implications of the findings of the present study suggest that practitioners must consider an examinee's level of developmental language proficiency and cultural knowledge acquisition as continuous variables when determining the impact of such factors on test performance and evaluation regarding whether scores obtained from tests administered in English are indeed valid for interpretation.