School leaders’ identification of school level and teacher practices that influence school improvement in national numeracy testing outcomes

Since 2008, all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have been assessed in literacy and numeracy through an annual National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test. In 2015, a team of mathematics education researchers across Australia conducted a nationwide research project to identify school practices and policies that were consistent between schools that showed growth and/or improvement in their NAPLAN numeracy results. This paper reports findings from three case study schools, using a school improvement framework to interpret evidence gathered from the schools’ principals and school leaders. The study has particular implications for policy makers and school leaders who may be seeking ways to improve mathematical practices in their own jurisdictions and schools.     

A survey of primary schools and their communities for general education policy-making: The case of two provinces in Cameroon

A survey was conducted of primary schools and the communities they serve in the two anglophone provinces of Cameroon in 1974/75, as part of a programme of research preceding curricular reform in that country. It has become necessary for Cameroonian education to adapt under development pressures, and the government, before initiating reforms, decided to devote two years to research. The underlying premisses were that in an agrarian society improved conditions must come through improvements in the agricultural sector; that primary schools can contribute to rural development, and that the educational sector must contribute to the cost of education. Primary schools were not to be studied in isolation but as part of their communities. The environmental survey therefore became basic to the research programme. Data were sought on a wide range of topics including infrastructure, crafts and trades, agricultural systems and methods, ranking in the community, decision-making processes, and customs relevant to the life-cycle. In all twenty-four information topics were isolated, and data collected on these topics from more than one source in the course of travel including 10,000 km by Landrover and 1000 km on foot. The data were collected from a stratified random sample of schools/communities, using interview schedules, questionnaires and check lists. Analysis of the data took place partly in the field and partly in Germany, the point being stressed that data to be processed must from the start be related to the capacity to analyse them. To take advantage of computing facilities the SPSS programme package was used, and in the final analysis three main techniques were employed: multiple linear regression, multidimensional crosstabulation, and subgroup analysis. Expenditure excluding salaries totalled US $ 14,800.

---

Zusammenfassung Im Rahmen eines Forschungsprogramms als Vorstufe zur Curriculumreform in Kamerun wurde 1974/75, in zwei english-sprechenden Provinzen des Landes eine Erhebung über Primärschulen und die zugehörigen Gemeinden durchgeführt. Es hat sich als notwendig erwiesen, das Bildungswesen unter Entwicklungsdruck umzugestalten, und die Regierung beschloss, vor der Einführung von Reformen zwei Jahre für Forschung einzusetzen. Die zugrundeliegenden Voraussetzungen waren wie folgt: In einer Agrargesellschaft können bessere Bedingungen nur durch Verbesserungen im Agrarsektor geschaffen werden; Primärschulen können zur ländlichen Entwicklung beitragen; und der Bildungssektor muss einen Beitrag zur Deckung der Bildungskosten leisten. Das Primärschulwesen sollte daher nicht in Isolierung, sondern als Bestandteil der betreffenden Gemeinden untersucht werden. Somit wurde die Umweltuntersuchung zur Basis des Forschungsprogramms. Die Datenerhebung erstreckte sich über einen weiten Themenbereich, u.a. Infrastruktur, Handwerk und Gewerbe, Landwirtschaftssysteme und -methoden, Rangordnung in der Gemeinde, Entscheidungsprozesse und mit dem Lebenszyklus zusammenhängende Gebräuche. Insgesamt wurden 24 Informations-themen erstellt, für die auf ausgedehnten Reisen — 10.000 km mit Landrover und 1.000 km zu Fuss — Daten gesammelt wurden, und zwar aus einer geschichteten Zufallsstichprobe von Schulen/Gemeinden. Als Erhebungsinstrumente wurden Interviews, Fragebogen und Kontrollisten verwendet. Die Datenanalyse wurde teils an Ort und Stelle, teils in Deutschland vorgenommen, wobei betont wird, dass zu verarbeitende Daten von vornherein auf die Analysemöglichkeiten abgestellt werden müssen. Um von Computern Gebrauch machen zu können, wurde das SPSS Programmpaket benutzt. Für die Schlussanalyse wurden drei Techniken angewandt: mehrfache lineare Regression, mehrdimensionale Kreuztabellierung und Untergruppenanalyse. Die Kosten ausschliesslich der Gehälter beliefen sich auf US $ 14.800.

---

Résumé Une étude sur les écoles primaires et les communes où se trouvent ces écoles fut faite dans deux provinces anglophones du Cameroun en 1974/1975, comme partie d'un programme de recherche qui précède la réforme du curriculum dans ce pays. Il est devenu nécessaire que, sous la pression du développement, l'éducation camerounaise soit remodelée et le gouvernement, avant d'instaurer les réformes, a décidé de dévouer deux années à la recherche. Les prémisses fondamentales étaient, que dans une société agraire, on ne peut améliorer les conditions que par des améliorations dans le secteur agricole; que les écoles primaires peuvent contribuer au développement rural et que le secteur pédagogique doit contribuer aux frais de l'éducation. Les écoles primaires ne devraient pas être étudiées isolément mais comme partie constituante de leurs communes. L'étude sur le milieu deviendrait donc la base pour le programme de recherche. La recherche de données s'étendit sur un grand nombre de thèmes comprenant l'infrastructure, l'artisant et le commerce, les systèmes et méthodes de l'agriculture, l'ordre hiérarchique dans la commune, les processus de décision et coutumes importantes au cycle de vie. En tout, vingt quatre thèmes d'information furent élaborés, on recueillit les données de ces thèmes au cours d'un long voyage — 10.000 kms par Landrover et 1.000 kms à pied. Les données furent recueillies à l'aide d'un échantillon au hasard stratifié des écoles/communes. Pour ceci, on se servit d'interviews, de questionnaires et de listes de contrôle. L'analyse des données eut lieu en partie sur place et en partie en Allemagne, en soulignant le fait que les données à traiter doivent dès le début pouvoir être aptes à être analysées. Afin de pouvoir se servir du computer, on utilisa le paquet du programme SPSS. Pour l'analyse finale on employa trois techniques: la régression multiple linéaire, la cross-classification multi-dimensionnelle et l'analyse sous-groupe. Les frais à l'exclusion des salaires s'élevèrent à US $ 14.800,-.

     

Evaluating admission criteria effects for under-represented groups

The effects that admission criteria may have for under-represented groups are an important concern for programs seeking to improve access to post-secondary education. Using data from a large preservice teacher education program in the Canadian province of Ontario, we demonstrate two approaches to evaluating the effects of admission criteria. The first approach uses survival analysis to compare the effects of minimum admission criteria for determining the admissibility of applicants. The second approach compares the actual admission decisions with the decisions that would have been made using eight alternative sets of rules with varying emphases on academic preparation, ratings of applicants’ essays and applicants’ demographic information. Both approaches offer insights into the roles of specific admission criteria in addressing under-representation.     

Assessment of the Motivational Reactions of Teachers to a School-Based Performance Award Program

The Charlotte–Mecklenburg Schools school-based performance award program (SBPA) for teachers and classified staff is an accountability program that measures and sets goals for student achievement, provides numerous performance enablers for teachers (such as professional development and information about best practices), and awards monetary bonuses to teachers and staff in schools that meet their goals. Based on expectancy and goal-setting theory, an interview protocol was used to assess teachers motivational reactions to the program. Teachers reported that the goals were specific, understandable, focused, and challenging; there were concerns, however, about being able to meet ever higher future goals. The usefulness of the performance enablers received mixed reactions. Bonuses were viewed as appropriate and an appreciated form of recognition, though of too small an amount. Helping students learn and seeing them meet achievement goals were reported to be more potent motivators than the bonus per se. Comparison of these reactions to those from teachers under the Kentucky SBPA showed both common and contrasting impacts. Numerous implications for future research, and for the design and implementation of SBPA programs, were suggested.     

Aims of Education for Our Age of Science: Reflections of a Logical Empiricist (orig. 1955)

Science &; Education -     

Academic self-concept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: reciprocal effects models of causal ordering

Reciprocal effects models of longitudinal data show that academic self-concept is both a cause and an effect of achievement. In this study this model was extended to juxtapose self-concept with academic interest. Based on longitudinal data from 2 nationally representative samples of German 7th-grade students (Study 1: N = 5,649, M age = 13.4; Study 2: N = 2,264, M age = 13.7 years), prior self-concept significantly affected subsequent math interest, school grades, and standardized test scores, whereas prior math interest had only a small effect on subsequent math self-concept. Despite stereotypic gender differences in means, linkages relating these constructs were invariant over gender. These results demonstrate the positive effects of academic self-concept on a variety of academic outcomes and integrate self-concept with the developmental motivation literature.     

Psychological sequelae of childhood sexual abuse: abuse-related characteristics, coping strategies, and attributional style

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test a model predicting the contribution of abuse-related characteristics and mediating variables such as coping and attributional style in the development of psychological sequelae in adults reporting a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). METHODOLOGY: Two hundred and eighty-five males and females from three settings (a nonpatient, psychiatric outpatient, and psychiatric inpatient) completed a battery of questionnaires that included a (1) Sexual History Questionnaire, (2) Ways of Coping Questionnaire, (3) Attributional Style Questionnaire, and (4) the SCL-90-R. RESULTS: Of the 285 participants, 33% reported unwanted or forced sexual contact before the age of 18 years. Participants who reported a history of CSA also reported higher levels of psychological distress when compared to those who did not report a history of abuse. In testing the model concerning the relationship between victim-offender characteristics, mediating variables and psychological distress in adulthood; two abuse-related characteristics (number of offenders and duration of abuse) were found to be directly associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Other abuse-related variables (i.e., relation with offender, force, resistance, age of onset, participation, and frequency of abuse) were found to be related to psychological distress in adulthood through the mediation of various coping strategies (i.e., Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping) and attributions (i.e., internalization of the abuse). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study further our understanding regarding the relationship between abuse-related characteristics, mediating factors such as coping and attributional style and psychological distress in adults with a history of CSA. Future research should focus on the development of interventions that focus on variables amenable to psychotherapy to ameliorate the psychological sequelae of CSA.     

Leveraging feminism at Barnard

In addition to being editor ofAcademic Questions