Metropolitan high schools: income,race and inequality

A review of the scholarship on urban education indicates that the knowledge base is disputed in fundamental ways and is fragmentary, reflecting educational research generally. Further, many promising practices remain unadopted or poorly implemented, further reinforcing the knowledge‐base problem. The political organization of urban schools (centralized bureaucracy, standardized resource allocation rules and bureaucratic incentives) poses a major obstacle to improving this knowledge base. Correspondingly, the task of generating better knowledge of how urban schools can work must overcome several political problems such as the strength of bureaucracies and their allies; the narrow orientation of consumer‐oriented reform demands, and the resource inadequacies of urban schools. Restructuring proposals do not address these interlocking impediments. Dramatic improvements in urban schools cannot be expected without attention to how the knowledge base can be improved.     

Commercial activities in primary schools: a quantitative study

The commercialisation of schools is a controversial issue, but very little is known about the actual situation in UK schools. The aim of this study was to investigate, with particular reference to health education and health promotion, commercial activities and their regulation in primary schools in the Yorkshire and Humber region of the UK. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 650 headteachers with respondents being asked whether a range of commercial activities had been present in their school during the previous 20 months. They also indicated whether the school had any policies on the types of activity covered by the questionnaire. The results showed that four types of commercial activity had been present in over 50% of responding schools. These were voucher/token collection schemes, business linked competitions/contests, business linked sports coaching and sponsorship. Voucher/token collection schemes were found to be the most common form of activity, with 85% of schools having participated in at least one of these initiatives. Only 4% of schools had any policies on the types of activity covered in the questionnaire. Further research in the UK on commercial activities in schools is recommended.     

Gender and Realized Educational Expectations: The Roles of Social Origins and Significant Others

Gender gaps in educational expectations and postsecondary enrollment are well studied, but few scholars have investigated the extent to which students realize or fail to realize their expectations. Even fewer have examined how the likelihood of realizing one’s expectations may differ for men and women. Using 35 years of data, this study examines the role race, social class, and significant others’ influences have played in realizing educational expectations and how these relationships have differed for men and women. It also investigates how group gender differences in these characteristics have contributed to the gap between the proportion of men and proportion of women who have realized their educational expectations via college enrollment. Results show trends in realized expectations by gender over time. Group gender differences explain little of past gaps but returns on students’ characteristics differ by gender, which has been a key explanatory factor for differences between men and women in realizing their expectations. Implications of these findings relative to policy and program initiatives are discussed.     

Teaching MSW Social Work Practice in a Blended Online Learning Environment

Blended learning is a newly emerging trend in higher education and is defined as the purposeful integration of synchronous and asynchronous learning to provide educational activities that maximize the benefits of each. This paper describes the development of a graduate social work foundation-year practice class in a blended online environment in which both asynchronous and synchronous activities transpire online. The course's underlying pedagogical principles are illustrated, and the perceptions of instructional faculty are reported in key areas, including engagement and participation, activities, and the challenges of technology, socialization, etiquette, and nonverbal cues.     

Doing injustice to inclusion: a response to John Wilson

In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of the importance of parenting and the way in which parenting programmes can be an effective intervention in changing behaviour and parent–child interactions. The aim of this research, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, was to provide a map of parenting programme provision in England. In phase 1 of the research data were collected through responsible local authority (LA) officers from all LAs in England to explore the different types of parenting programmes available. On the basis of findings from phase 1 of the research, 20 examples of particular types of parenting programmes were selected for more in‐depth study. In phase 2 field‐visits were undertaken to parenting programmes and interviews undertaken with staff. The paper reports the extent to which LAs have access to or provide educationally related parenting programmes in England and the nature of that provision, including infrastructure, organization and funding; the set up of programmes and referral systems; participants and dropouts; types of programmes; programme content and follow‐up; evaluation; staff training; and difficulties experienced in providing such programmes and for parents in accessing them. The findings are discussed in the light of the implementation of Parenting Orders and the operationalization of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.     

Perspectivism and form in drama: A Burkean analysis of Julius Caesar

This paper is a critical application of Kenneth Burke's notions of form and perspectivism. It argues for the potential of a complementary relationship between form and perspectivism in the appeal of rhetorical artifacts. Specifically, the essay claims that form is perspectival; it limits the possibilities for appropriate interpretations within a text. Perspectivism is formal; it cultivates a logic of anticipatory reasoning. This theoretical perspective is applied to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in the effort to illumine the rhetorical appeal of that work.     

Setting Passing Scores on Passage-Based Tests: A Comparison of Traditional and Single-Passage Bookmark Methods

In this study, a variation of the bookmark standard setting procedure for passage-based tests is proposed in which separate ordered item booklets are created for the items associated with each passage. This variation is compared to the traditional bookmark procedure for a fifth-grade reading test. The results showed that the single-passage bookmark method produced greater consistency among the participants' cutscores, and most participants' bookmark placements did not change after the first round. In addition, participants reported greater understanding of the bookmarking task and greater confidence in their recommended cutscores. Both procedures required approximately the same amount of time to complete, but it is likely that the single-passage bookmark method could be carried out in two, or possibly even one, round of bookmarking rather than the three rounds used in traditional bookmarking. On the other hand, there are several concerns about the single-passage bookmark method that warrant further research. These include floor and ceiling effects, training issues, optimal booklet length, and multiple standards.     

Applying Motivational Interviewing to School-Based Consultation: A Commentary on “Has Consultation Achieved Its Primary Prevention Potential?,” an article by Joseph E. Zins

Despite a decade of advances since Zins' 1995 article on prevention, much work lies ahead to make prevention everyday consultation activities for school psychologists. To foster prevention efforts, this commentary discusses how motivational interviewing in school-based consultation (a) might peak consultees' initial interest in change, and (b) address barriers to successfully implementing and maintaining change plans.     

Behavioral Assessment of Coping Strategies in Young Children At-risk,Developmentally Delayed,and Typically Developing

Research Findings: This study investigated the effects of full- and half-day kindergarten programs on classroom instructional quality and children's academic achievement. Considerations were given for how the length of the school day, language status (English language learner [ELL] and non-ELL), and children's attendance patterns influenced achievement. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently and were interpreted to note the convergence (or lack thereof) of the findings. Quantitative results revealed no difference in the quality of instruction being offered in full- and half-day classrooms. Additionally, full-day kindergarten positively impacted children's academic achievement in literacy but not in mathematics, regardless of children's language status. In regard to language development, ELL children benefited more from full-day kindergarten than did their English-speaking peers, whereas all (ELL and non-ELL) children enrolled in full-day kindergarten made greater language gains when they missed fewer than 10 school days. Practice or Policy: Findings from this study have significant policy and practice implications related to the overall quality, availability, and cultural and developmental appropriateness of kindergarten programming in the United States.