Statement of American Social Scientists of Research on School Desegregation to the U.S. Supreme Court in Parents v. Seattle School District and Meredith v. Jefferson County

In June 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review two related cases originating from school districts in Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington that involved voluntarily adopted racial integration plans. Concerned about the outcome of these cases, 553 social scientists submitted a social science statement to the Supreme Court summarizing the large body of social science research supporting the school districts’ policies relevant to the Court’s determination. The statement, reprinted here, supports three interrelated conclusions: (1) racially integrated schools provide significant benefits to students and communities; (2) racially isolated schools have harmful educational implications for students; and (3) race-conscious policies are necessary to maintain racial integration in schools. Because of the overwhelming amount of scholarly data, social scientists argued, as the lower courts had found, that the schools boards have a compelling interest to promote racial integration and prevent racial isolation through choice-based school assignment policies that consider race as a factor. On June 28, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the school assignment plans on the grounds that the plans were not narrowly tailored to the interests that the school districts had asserted. In addition to affecting the ability of school districts to maintain racially diverse schools, the decision has broad implications for researchers who seek to help school districts in these efforts.

University supervisors and preservice teachers: Clarifying roles and negotiating relationships

Abstract

We focus on the preservice teacher‐university supervisor relationship within the context of field experiences to explore the general question, “How can we, as university teacher educators, better assist preservice teachers in their development through field experiences?” Our discussion is based on: reflective accounts of preservice teachers written before, during, and following periods of field experience; our experiences as teachers and teacher educators, which include being faculty supervisors; and on research on the role of the university supervisor in field experiences. We first describe some typical perceptions associated with the preservice teacher‐university supervisor relationship, and then go on to suggest some specific ways to enhance the understanding that preservice teachers have of the roles of university supervisors and, hence, to facilitate the negotiation and development of productive preservice teacher‐university supervisor relationships.     

A Fine-Wire Electromyographic Investigation of the Gluteus Minimus and Gluteus Medius Muscles

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functions of the gluteus minimus and gluteus medius muscles through the use of fine-wire electromyography. Electrical activity of the gluteus minimus and gluteus medius muscles of 13 subjects, six females and seven males, was recorded during a series of basic anatomical movements. Results showed that the gluteus minimus functioned as an abductor, medical rotator, extensor, and in some cases a flexor of the thigh. The gluteus medius functioned as an abductor, extensor, and medical rotator in six of the 13 subjects. It also exhibited some activity during flexion in five of the subjects tested.     

Effects of an art-based environmental education camp program on the environmental attitudes and awareness of diverse youth

ABSTRACT

This study used a combination of surveys and drawing-based metrics to evaluate whether integration of art-based activities into EE camp programing could enhance environmental orientations of diverse youth ages 6–12 (n?=?285) in Athens, GA, USA. Compared to a control group, art-based EE had a positive effect on children’s eco-awareness and environmental knowledge. However, effects of the art-based EE were comparable to those observed for a conventional EE summer camp. Interactions between the treatment and demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity) were minimal, suggesting that both types of EE programing worked well for different groups of youth. Results highlight the potential value of art in EE research and practice.     

A review of thinking and research about inclusive education policy,with suggestions for a new kind of inclusive thinking

A range of changes, in politics and economics internationally as well as in thought about learning and society, now make the time right for a re‐think of inclusive education, a re‐think that ceases to employ the constructs and clichés of the past in explaining students' difficulties at school. There exists new discourse on difference, which throws fresh light on the ways that students at school are disadvantaged—there is a new psychology of difference emerging from work in varied social scientific fields that gives insights into the mechanisms by which inequality, relative poverty and contrastive judgment construct difficulty and closure on learning. In this review, both a history and a hope, I argue that no time has been better for such understandings to make themselves realized in policy and practice.     

Patterns of out-of-home placement decision-making in child welfare

Out-of-home placement decision-making in child welfare is founded on the best interest of the child in the least restrictive setting. After a child is removed from home, however, little is known about the mechanism of placement decision-making. This study aims to systematically examine the patterns of out-of-home placement decisions made in a state's child welfare system by comparing two models of placement decision-making: a multidisciplinary team decision-making model and a clinically based decision support algorithm. Based on records of 7816 placement decisions representing 6096 children over a 4-year period, hierarchical log-linear modeling characterized concordance or agreement, and discordance or disagreement when comparing the two models and accounting for age-appropriate placement options. Children aged below 16 had an overall concordance rate of 55.7%, most apparent in the least restrictive (20.4%) and the most restrictive placement (18.4%). Older youth showed greater discordant distributions (62.9%). Log-linear analysis confirmed the overall robustness of concordance (odd ratios [ORs] range: 2.9–442.0), though discordance was most evident from small deviations from the decision support algorithm, such as one-level under-placement in group home (OR = 5.3) and one-level over-placement in residential treatment center (OR = 4.8). Concordance should be further explored using child-level clinical and placement stability outcomes. Discordance might be explained by dynamic factors such as availability of placements, caregiver preferences, or policy changes and could be justified by positive child-level outcomes. Empirical placement decision-making is critical to a child's journey in child welfare and should be continuously improved to effect positive child welfare outcomes.