THE RACIAL STRESS OF MEMBERSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACULTY INVENTORY OF RACIALIZED EXPERIENCES IN SCHOOLS

Research on the experience of faculty of color in predominately White independent schools (PWIS) is limited. This study explored faculty of varying racial backgrounds and their initiation of, interactions with, and stress reactions to racial conflicts within the school settings using an online survey. Several measures were developed according to the Racial/Ethnic Coping Appraisal and Socialization Theory (recast) model and administered to 339 faculty participants. Using factor analytic and correlational analyses, results from the highly reliable measures found that Black faculty show significantly less trust in schools to manage racial conflict, lower sense of school membership, greater racial stress, and more racial socialization than their White counterparts do. With reliable and valid measures on the racialized experiences of faculty in PWIS, future research can ask better questions on how much racial politics influence diversity initiatives, including faculty and student recruitment and retention, supportive racial and intellectual climate, and organizational mission and professional development. Implications for the development of racially relevant measures in schools are discussed.     

A data generating review that bops,twists and pulls at misconceptions

Statistics is an integral part of the K–12 mathematics curriculum (age 5–18). Naturally, students construct misconceptions of what they learn. This article discusses The Bop It^© Challenge, a review activity assesses student understanding and reveals their misundertandings of statistical concepts.     

Longitudinal Associations Between Executive Control and Developing Mathematical Competence in Preschool Boys and Girls

Executive control (EC) is related to mathematics performance in middle childhood. However, little is known regarding how EC and informal numeracy differentially support mathematics skill acquisition in preschoolers. A sample of preschoolers (115 girls, 113 boys), stratified by social risk, completed an EC task battery at 3 years, informal numeracy assessments at 3.75 and 4.5 years, and a broad mathematics assessment during kindergarten. Strong associations were observed between latent EC at age 3 and mathematics achievement in kindergarten, which remained robust after accounting for earlier informal numeracy, socioeconomic status, language and processing speed. Relations between EC and mathematics achievement were stronger in girls than in boys. Findings highlight the unique role of EC in predicting which children may have difficulty transitioning to formal mathematics instruction.     

Consolidation and Transfer of Learning After Observing Hand Gesture

Children who observe gesture while learning mathematics perform better than children who do not, when tested immediately after training. How does observing gesture influence learning over time? Children (n = 184, ages = 7–10) were instructed with a videotaped lesson on mathematical equivalence and tested immediately after training and 24 hr later. The lesson either included speech and gesture or only speech. Children who saw gesture performed better overall and performance improved after 24 hr. Children who only heard speech did not improve after the delay. The gesture group also showed stronger transfer to different problem types. These findings suggest that gesture enhances learning of abstract concepts and affects how learning is consolidated over time.     

Barriers to career progress for women in education: the perceptions of female headteachers

The number of women who achieve senior posts in educational management is disproportionate to the number of women employed. This is particularly true for women in secondary education, where only about 20 per cent of headships are held by women. All the female headteachers of one English shire county were interviewed about their own experiences and views on barriers to women's progress. The interview schedule was based on the author's classification of the theories of Shakeshaft and Schmuck. The data are analysed under the headings of: overt and covert discrimination; constraints experienced within the work situation; and constraints experienced through roles outside the work situation and early career influences. The headteachers had experienced both overt discrimination and more subtle sexism and tended to meet both with pragmatism, rather than confrontation. They had avoided gender‐stereotyped roles within the work situation, and were generally free of the major responsibility for domestic affairs. As children, they had been aware of high educational expectations held of them by their parents. Supportive partnerships and minimal career breaks had been important in their progress.     

PUSH(ing) Limits: Using Fiction in the Classroom for Human Behavior and the Social Environment

The use of fiction and autobiography in social science course work has been shown to enhance students' learning experience. Using the novel PUSH, by Sapphire, we designed a curriculum supplement for the social work course, human behavior and the social environment (HBSE) that encourages students to integrate course content in an innovative way and enables them to apply the material to life-like situations. The HBSE supplement allows students to explore poignant and problematic issues that push them past intrapersonal and interpersonal limits. Classes are infused with energy and the critical consciousness of the students. Final projects are a systematic case study of a chosen character (or characters) in the book and are a testament to student critical thinking and creativity. Methods, assignments, and student experiences in an introductory BSW course are described.     

Dribble files: Methodologies to evaluate learning and performance in complex environments

Research in the area of technology learning environments is tremendously complex. Tasks performed in these contexts are highly cognitive and mostly invisible to the observer. The nature of performance in these contexts is explained not only by the outcome but also by the process. However, evaluating the learning process with respect to tasks involving technology is difficult to measure objectively. As a result, audit trails (also called log or dribble files) are becoming extremely valuable tools in evaluating learning and performance in complex environments. This article reviews efforts of researchers in various areas, describes the nature of research using dribble files, and provides a framework on which investigators might build evaluations.