Strategy Precedes Operational Effectiveness: Aligning High Graduation Rankings With Competitive Graduation Grade Point Averages

Two pivotal and interconnected claims are addressed in this article. First, strategy precedes program effectiveness. Second, graduation rates and rankings are insufficient in any account of academic progress for African American students. In this article, graduation is regarded as the floor and not the ceiling, as it were. The ideal situation in the promotion of strategy is the alignment of high graduation rates or rankings with high graduation cumulative grade point averages. This strategic alignment is precisely what needs to be formulated in the first instance before making judgments about program development and/or operational effectiveness. The work of the Office of African American Affairs of the University of Virginia provides the context for observing trends in academic performance that illustrate the optimal alignment between high graduation rankings and correspondingly high grade point averages.     

From Crisis Management to Academic Achievement: A University Cluster-mentoring Model for Black Undergraduates

In spite of the widening racial achievement gap among U.S. college students (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011), some universities are achieving success in supporting the graduation and postcollege goals of Black undergraduates (Apprey, Bassett, Preston-Grimes, Lewis, & Wood 2014/this issue; Baker, 2006; Hrabowski, 2003; Hrabowski & Maton, 2009). Although research has documented efforts to improve students’ college academic success in mathematics, science, and engineering (Maton & Hrabowski, 2004), little research has examined the role of undergraduate support programs across the academic disciplines to bridge success for students from high school graduation through graduate school matriculation. This is a key link in the pipeline to career and lifelong achievement for Black students. The following case study describes an inclusive cluster-mentoring model for Black undergraduates at a Research I university that includes four elements—(a) student peer-advising, (b) faculty–student academic mentoring and advising, (c) culturally sensitive initiatives, and (d) organized parental support—to create high impact with measurable results. This university-based model can serve as a guide to improve and expand services that support the academic and leadership success of Black undergraduate students in other higher education settings.     

Changing perceptions of family cohesion and power across adolescence

Adolescents' perceptions of family relationships were studied using the FAST, a spatial technique in which wooden figures were placed on a board to represent cohesion and power. 150 subjects, drawn equally from sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades, portrayed the family in 2 representations: as perceived typically and ideally. Father-mother, father-child, and mother-child dyads were analyzed. Perceptions were strongly influenced by age, type of representation, and dyad. In accord with a developmental perspective, older adolescents portrayed less cohesion in parent-child dyads and smaller power differences in all dyads than did younger adolescents. In accord with family systems theory, the father-mother dyad was depicted as the most cohesive and as near egalitarian in power. At all ages and in both representations, parents were perceived as more powerful than their children. The family was generally portrayed as cohesive, significantly more so in the ideal than typical representation. Furthermore, in the ideal representation there were no significant power differences between the parents but moderate power differences in the parent-child dyads. Results were interpreted from both developmental and family systems perspectives.     

Understanding metallic bonding: Structure,process and interaction by Rasch analysis

This paper reports the results of a survey of 3006 Year 10–12 students on their understandings of metallic bonding. The instrument was developed based on Chi's ontological categories of scientific concepts and students' understanding of metallic bonding as reported in the literature. The instrument has two parts. Part one probed into students' understanding of metallic bonding as (a) a submicro structure of metals, (b) a process in which individual metal atoms lose their outermost shell electrons to form a ‘sea of electrons’ and octet metal cations or (c) an all-directional electrostatic force between delocalized electrons and metal cations, that is, an interaction. Part two assessed students' explanation of malleability of metals, for example (a) as a submicro structural rearrangement of metal atoms/cations or (b) based on all-directional electrostatic force. The instrument was validated by the Rasch Model. Psychometric assessment showed that the instrument possessed reasonably good properties of measurement. Results revealed that it was reliable and valid for measuring students' understanding of metallic bonding. Analysis revealed that the structure, process and interaction understandings were unidimensional and in an increasing order of difficulty. Implications for the teaching of metallic bonding, particular through the use of diagrams, critiques and model-based learning, are discussed.     

The coping mechanisms of children with school refusal

There are a variety of ways in which the children of today cope with the stresses of modern life. This paper examines the mechanisms used by a sample of children who had established school refusal and found their mechanisms of coping to be quite different from those of a control group. The findings raise the question as to whether there is a connection between social isolation and poor socialisation in the aetiology of school refusal, and suggest a possible mechanism by which such problems are compounded by enmeshed family relationships. This work also indicates that some protection against the need to refuse school can be gained by establishing good social relationships, focusing upon improving coping strategies and increasing the young person's sense of belonging.     

What If the Doors of Every Schoolhouse Opened to Social-Emotional Learning Tomorrow: Reflections on How to Feasibly Scale Up High-Quality SEL

Social-emotional learning (SEL) refers to a set of competencies that form the basis of human interaction. So, SEL in schools is no fad. But what would happen if every school actively wanted to bring in SEL tomorrow? Using the articles in the special issue on SEL as a springboard, this article looks at the neurological basis of SEL, SEL best practices, approaches to SEL instruction, assessment, and the complex issue of SEL and equity, and it reflects on the implications of these areas for scaling up sooner rather than later. Specific guidelines are provided, starting with this basic point: There are not enough experts available to guide this process, so schools must invest in staff learning about SEL, its rootedness in our biology, its basic role in accomplishing everything humans try to accomplish, and what we know about best practices and must provide cohort-based, ongoing professional development experiences that provide continuous support.     

Meeting the Challenge of Diversity through Cooperative Learning

During the last two decades the use of group work in British primary classrooms has been a ‘neglected art’. This paper begins by considering the reasons for this ‘state of affairs’ and concludes that teachers often give up too early because of lack of initial success. The advantages of group work over other forms of classroom organisation are then considered, particularly in classes where there is a wide range of ability. Drawing from research findings obtained in the United Kingdom and the United States, the paper concludes with practical advice on how this grouping strategy can be used to develop higher level thinking skills. Three key factors are required. First, pupils must be taught necessary social skills. Second, a suitable ‘scaffold’ for thinking must be provided. Third, a mutually supportive classroom ethos must be created.