Contributing Factors to Earning Tenure Among Black Male Counselor Educators

The authors used a phenomenological research design and a critical race theory lens to examine interviews with 8 Black male counselor educators and learn what contributed to their earning tenure. Participants described requisite personal dispositions and institutional support as contributing factors. Recommendations include facilitating programmatic sociocultural awareness, assessing faculty experiences, and coordinating mentoring opportunities.     

The development and piloting of a training web site for health and safety enforcement officers

This paper evaluates the development and piloting of a training web site for Local Authority (LA) based health and safety enforcement officers and reviews the technique of knowledge elicitation as a means of informing training content. The research was part of a project funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate the application of emerging technologies for enforcement officer training. A web site was developed to provide work-based training in the field of accident investigation, using a group knowledge elicitation technique. Evaluation of eight key aspects of the training was carried out to determine the acceptability and utility of the web site for health and safety inspector training. The majority of the respondents believed that the training was realistic and that the embedded discussion facility had the potential to improve consistency of enforcement. Whilst many of the participants reported that this exercise was their first exposure to the Internet and some experienced minor difficulties using the technology, most found training via the Internet easy to use, an enjoyable experience and one they would like to repeat.     

Learning strategies in an 'ideal' computer-based learning environment

An experiment was conducted with 30 postgraduate students to discover how they might go about learning from an 'ideal' computer-based environment. A system was created which preserved the appearance of a computer-based interaction, yet which freed itself from the constraints of current technology. The students, although not aware of this at the time, were in fact interacting with two human experts, backed up with appropriate documentation and computer files, via a computer screen. The results suggest a number of different learning strategies linked to relatively successful and less successful learning. Implications for the design of computer-based learning materials are discussed.     

Pointing teachers in the wrong direction: understanding Louisiana elementary teachers’ use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Compass</Emphasis> high-stakes teacher evaluation data

Spurred by Race to the Top, efforts to improve teacher evaluation systems have provided states with an opportunity to get teacher evaluation right. Despite the fact that a core reform area of Race to the Top was the use of teacher evaluation to provide on-going and meaningful feedback for instructional decision making, we still know relatively little about how states’ responses in this area have led to changes in teachers’ use of these sources of data for instructional improvement. Self-determination theory (SDT) and the concept of functional significance was utilized as a lens for understanding and explaining patterns of use (or non-use) of Compass-generated evaluation data by teachers over a period of 3 years in a diverse sample of Louisiana elementary schools. The analysis revealed that the majority of teachers exhibited either controlled or amotivated functional orientations to Compass-generated information, and this resulted in low or superficial use for improvement. Perceptions of the validity/utility of teacher evaluation data were critical determinants of use and were multifaceted: In some cases, teachers had concerns about how state and district assessments would harm vulnerable students, while some questioned the credibility and/or fairness of the feedback. These perceptions were compounded by (a) the lack of experience of evaluators in evaluating teachers with more specialized roles in the school, such as special education teachers; (b) a lack of support in terms of training on Compass and its processes; and (c) lack of teacher autonomy in selecting appropriate assessments and targets for Student Learning Target growth.     

Beyond the Classroom: A Framework for Growing School Capacity in a Digital Age

Abstract

Rapid technological advancements promise unprecedented educational opportunities to foster student-centered and personalized learning, yet many schools are underprepared, lacking comprehensive organizational strategies for technology enhanced learning. This study sought to provide a framework to guide K-12 school leaders to build and evaluate digital-age school capacity by identifying essential criteria for digital learning in schools, resulting in the development of the Digital Learning Implementation Framework for Education (D-LIFE). Geographically dispersed digital learning experts contributed to a six-round Delphi study gaining consensus on 148 essential criteria for school administrators and policymakers to appraise strategic evaluation of technology implementation. When compared to prominent frameworks, D-LIFE confirmed high-level alignment with ISTE Essential Conditions, providing a comprehensive evaluation framework for K–12 schooling not addressed in prominent standards or frameworks.     

‘.he was excluded for the kind of behaviour that we thought he needed support with…’ A qualitative analysis of the experiences and perspectives of parents whose children have been excluded from school

Exclusion from school is associated with adverse outcomes for young people. There is limited research that explores parents’ perspectives, particularly in relation to the exclusion of primary school aged children. The present study used semi-structured interviews with 35 parents of 37 children aged 5–12 years from the Southwest of England. Parents experiences were captured in a conceptual model through three main themes. Exclusion was described as part of a complex journey of difficulties reflected by a continuum of coping. The child’s place on the continuum was determined by an interaction between the child, family, and school with communication a key determinant. The study also highlighted the wider implications of exclusion, including emotional and functional impacts on the child and parent and highlighted the importance of the parents voice in the identification and support of their child’s needs. It also presents many complexities surrounding exclusion from school and limited support parents felt their child was offered.     

Counselor Education and Title IX: Current Perceptions and Questions

This national survey of counselor educator perceptions of the Title IX requirement to report student disclosures of gender‐based discrimination revealed the need for greater clarity about faculty strategies for serving counseling program students while upholding the federal law. The authors describe the recent expansion of the requirements and provide a suggested statement for course syllabi.