Observed characteristics and teacher quality: Impacts of sample selection on a value added model

We measure the impact of observed teacher characteristics on student math and reading proficiency using a rich dataset from Florida. We expand upon prior work by accounting directly for nonrandom attrition of teachers from the classroom in a sample selection framework. We find evidence that sample selection is present in the estimation of the influence of teacher characteristics, but that failure to account for it does not appear to substantially bias estimation. Further, our procedure produces some evidence that more effective teachers are more likely to exit the classroom.     

Do black women still come first? Examining Essence magazine post Time Warner

Essence magazine is the longest operating magazine catering to a predominately African-American women audience in the US. In 2000, media conglomerate Time Warner purchased 49% of Essence parent company Essence Communications Inc. In 2005, Time Warner purchased the remaining 51% of the black-owned company. As a media conglomerate, Time Warner owns major publishing houses, film, and television production companies, including 130 magazines, New Line Cinema, CNN, and HBO. Essence states it is “the voice and soul of Black women” Collins [Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge] argues that black women must speak in their own voices in order to reject prevailing stereotypes operating on the bodies of black women. The mission statement of Essence aligns itself in what Collins calls “safe spaces” for black women to self-define themselves and articulate their lived realties. A critical theoretical framework allows uneven power relations to be examined and offers emancipatory perspectives. The goal of this study is to examine if Time Warner’s purchase of Essence has caused a shift in the voice and content of this magazine.     

Orthographic knowledge predicts reading and spelling skills over and above general intelligence and phonological awareness

It is widely accepted that general intelligence and phonological awareness contribute to children’s acquisition of reading and spelling skills. A further candidate in this regard is orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about permissible letter patterns). It consists of two components, word-specific (i.e., the knowledge of the spelling of specific words) and general orthographic knowledge (i.e., the knowledge about legal letter patterns of a writing system). Among German students, previous studies have shown that word-specific orthographic knowledge contributes to both reading and spelling. The results regarding general orthographic knowledge and its contribution to reading and spelling are inconsistent. The major goal of the present study was to determine the incremental predictive value of orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling skills among German elementary-school children (N = 66), over and above the contribution of general intelligence and phonological awareness. The second goal was to examine whether there is a difference between the two subtypes of orthographic knowledge in the amount of their respective contribution to reading and spelling performance. The results show that word-specific as well as general orthographic knowledge contribute to both reading and spelling performance, over and above intelligence and phonological awareness. Furthermore, it reveals that both word-specific and general orthographic knowledge explain more variance of spelling compared to reading. Possible explanations for these results, limitations, and implications of the study are being discussed.

     

Investigating Academic Success Factors for Undergraduate Business Students

Student academic performance is of major interest to all stakeholders of higher education institutions. This study questions whether or not statistical analysis of information that is readily available in most universities' official records system can be used to predict overall academic success. In particular, this study is an attempt to understand factors that affect academic success for business students by examining gender, age, ethnicity, and performance in two required core knowledge courses as predictors of academic success for a large sample of undergraduate students at a Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited business school. The results suggest that student performance is significantly related to some basic demographic variables, but the strongest predictors of overall academic success are the grades the students receive in core knowledge courses that are typically taken in the earlier semesters of business students' plans of study.     

Exploring the Potential of Collaboration on Cooperative Learning among Educators from Different Institutions in Sarawak,Malaysia

This article reports on a year‐long project involving the voluntary participation of 26 Mathematics and English teachers from 14 primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. The project had the objective of introducing participants to three important concepts in education: cooperative learning among students, cooperation among teachers and action research by teachers. Components of the ten sessions during which participants met with the project managers were input on cooperative learning and action research, sharing by participants of what they had tried in the classroom, small‐group reflection and planning for future lessons. Data is reported on participants’ responses to the project and on their use of cooperative learning.     

Simulating variation in order to learn classroom management

Classroom management is an important part of learning to be a teacher. The variation theory of learning provides the insight that it is important to vary the critical aspects of any task or subject that is to be learned. Simulation technology is useful in order to provide a controlled environment for that variation, and text as a medium gives the opportunity to control exactly what aspects are presented to the learner. This study shows that text-based simulation has the potential to help the learner discern critical aspects of classroom management.     

Improvement in National Test arithmetic scores at Key Stage 1: Grade inflation or better achievement?

The aim of the National Numeracy Strategy is to raise standards in numeracy. Strong evidence for its success has, however, been lacking: most of the available data come from performance on National Test assessments administered in schools or from Ofsted reports, and is vulnerable to suggestions of bias. An opportunistic analysis of data from a population cohort study extending over three school years compares school‐based scores at school entry and at age 7–8 with clinic‐based scores on similar tests. The results show a small but statistically significant rise between 1998 and 1999 and between 1998 and 2000 in scores on both KS1 arithmetic SATs taken in schools and the arithmetic component of the WISC test taken in an independent research clinic. This is evidence for a real rise in generalised arithmetic ability over this period which may be attributable to the children's experience of the National Numeracy Strategy.     

Making Sense of Uncertainty in the Science Classroom

Science & Education - Uncertainty is ubiquitous in science, but scientific knowledge is often represented to the public and in educational contexts as certain and immutable. This contrast can...