Data teams for school improvement

The use of data for educational decision making has never been more prevalent. However, teachers and school leaders need support in data use. Support can be provided by means of professional development in the form of “data teams”. This study followed the functioning of 4 data teams over a period of 2 years, applying a qualitative case study design. The findings show that data use is not a linear process, and that teams go through different feedback loops to reach higher levels of depth of inquiry. The data team procedure is a promising way of enhancing data-based decision making in schools.     

Differential Item Functioning Effect Size From the Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis for a Meta-Analysis: A Simulation Study

This study presents a new approach to synthesizing differential item functioning (DIF) effect size: First, using correlation matrices from each study, we perform a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) that examines measurement invariance of a test item between two subgroups (i.e., focal and reference groups). Then we synthesize, across the studies, the differences in the estimated factor loadings between the two subgroups, resulting in a meta-analytic summary of the MGCFA effect sizes (MGCFA-ES). The performance of this new approach was examined using a Monte Carlo simulation, where we created 108 conditions by four factors: (1) three levels of item difficulty, (2) four magnitudes of DIF, (3) three levels of sample size, and (4) three types of correlation matrix (tetrachoric, adjusted Pearson, and Pearson). Results indicate that when MGCFA is fitted to tetrachoric correlation matrices, the meta-analytic summary of the MGCFA-ES performed best in terms of bias and mean square error values, 95% confidence interval coverages, empirical standard errors, Type I error rates, and statistical power; and reasonably well with adjusted Pearson correlation matrices. In addition, when tetrachoric correlation matrices are used, a meta-analytic summary of the MGCFA-ES performed well, particularly, under the condition that a high difficulty item with a large DIF was administered to a large sample size. Our result offers an option for synthesizing the magnitude of DIF on a flagged item across studies in practice.     

Global citizenship education through curriculum-as-relations

PROSPECTS - The Covid-19 pandemic was a reminder of the importance of increasing connectivity amidst the accelerated rate of changes and disruptive events of our era. The need and the rationale for...     

A meta‐analysis of Tier 2 interventions implemented within School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

This meta‐analysis synthesized 26 published single‐case design (SCD) studies on Tier 2 behavior interventions implemented within the educational framework of school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. We used Tau‐U indices to determine the overall magnitudes of effect of the Tier 2 behavior interventions and the potential variables that moderate improved student behavioral outcomes. The 26 studies that were analyzed included a total of 243 student participants. The studies were evaluated to determine whether and to what extent they met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) SCD standards. Of these, 10 studies were confirmed as meeting WWC SCD standards with or without reservations. Notable findings were that outcomes for students in kindergarten and secondary grade levels were limited, and insufficient screening methods were used to identify and select students needing Tier 2 interventions. The results indicate that the literature reports Tier 2 interventions with effect sizes ranging from 0.26 to 0.98. Average effect size for social skills instruction was found to be large, whereas Check‐in/Check‐out, group contingency, and intervention packages had medium effect sizes. Moderator analyses indicated different effect sizes across intervention types, outcomes, and implementers. The results are discussed in relation to implications for practice, limitations, and future research.     

Voting for Change: an International Study of Students’ Willingness to Support Measures to Ameliorate Climate Change

Research in Science Education - Voting for various pro-environmental governmental policies is an indirect, but potentially effective, action that citizens can take to reduce global warming (GW) and...     

Small‐Sample Equating Using a Synthetic Linking Function

This study addressed the sampling error and linking bias that occur with small samples in a nonequivalent groups anchor test design. We proposed a linking method called the synthetic function, which is a weighted average of the identity function and a traditional equating function (in this case, the chained linear equating function). Specifically, we compared the synthetic, identity, and chained linear functions for various‐sized samples from two types of national assessments. One design used a highly reliable test and an external anchor, and the other used a relatively low‐reliability test and an internal anchor. The results from each of these methods were compared to the criterion equating function derived from the total samples with respect to linking bias and error. The study indicated that the synthetic functions might be a better choice than the chained linear equating method when samples are not large and, as a result, unrepresentative.     

The comparative efficacy of two approaches to teaching sixth graders opinion essay writing

Children in sixth grade randomly assigned to a teacher-made writing procedure anchored in the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) model and training procedures were predicted to surpass children assigned to the comparison condition on dependent measures of writing clarity, organization, and cogency. The prediction was generally substantiated. The results suggest that the rate of change among individual children in the SRSD condition was faster than among children in the comparison condition on measures of clarity and organization. On the measure of cogency, findings showed that the rate of change among individuals in the SRSD condition compared to the comparison condition approached but did not reach statistical significance. Variance in growth parameters on the measure of writing clarity was statistically significant; however on the measure of organization, there was no substantive variation in individual growth parameters. Social validity data from all the children and teachers indicated the training was well received. The results are taken to support the efficacy of the SRSD model and training procedures.     

A methodological framework for understanding and describing discipline‐based scholarship of teaching in higher education through design‐based research

Since their inception in 1993 at an Australian university, the workshop tutorials in physics have evolved and grown beyond the initiating department. In this paper, we adopt an interpretive perspective to: (i) reflect on why the tutorials continue to be successful; (ii) use models from literature to understand that success; and (iii) abstract key features that can inform scholarly inquiry into teaching and learning in higher education in other contexts and discipline areas. Practitioner (action) research and design‐based research not only provide useful methodological frameworks that support the success of the workshop tutorials, but they also offer a worthwhile methodological strategy for fostering scholarly inquiry into university teaching and student learning.     

Race/ethnicity and the start of child care: A multi-level analysis of factors influencing first child care experiences

Early childhood education and care experiences play an important role in children's development and school readiness with, in general, sustained exposure to high quality, center-based care leading to positive outcomes. Hispanic parents have been shown to be less likely than others to place their children in center-based care, particularly when children are very young—a pattern that contrasts African American parents’ tendency for earlier use of center-based care. This paper examines child care choice from a contextual perspective. Using a multi-level modeling approach, we consider ethnicity and race, at the individual and neighborhood levels, in relation to the age at which children first participate in non-parental care and the type of care they first experience. Using data from the ECLS-K, the 1990 Census and other contextual sources, we demonstrate that Hispanic parents’ later use of care is explainable by economic and work participation factors at the family level, while neighborhood proportion of Hispanic individuals is associated with delayed entry into child care. In contrast, the observed early use of care among African American families persists after accounting for economic and work factors, and appears independent of differences in neighborhood context. Limitations and implications for policy and practice are discussed.