The Learning Consortium: A School‐University Partnership Program. An Introduction

ABSTRACT

Induction experiences of beginning teachers in schools that were classified as more effective or less effective on the basis of student achievement are compared. Classroom observations, interviews, and a “Beginning Teacher Questionnaire” were used to obtain information from teachers in the two groups. Three areas of socialization were examined: assistance, monitoring, and team‐building. Results indicate that historically more effective schools were more supportive of their beginning teachers. In addition, outcome data regarding teacher performance provides evidence of more effective teaching among teachers in more supportive schools, even though initial teacher effectiveness, levels of experience, and educational attainment were not different for the two groups.     

System Level Support for School Effectiveness: A Practitioner Perspective on Work in Progress

The Catholic Education Office of the Diocese of Parramatta administers a system of some 73 Catholic schools, approximately two thirds of which are primary schools. This paper focusses on a series of interrelated initiatives in the system which are aimed at enhancing school effectiveness ‐‐ namely systematic approaches to school development, positive and supportive procedures for principal appraisal, structures to support the professional development of principals and teachers, and emergent practice in the supervision of teachers. These five activites are seen as mutually interdependent in the diocese, with each helping to shape the agenda of the others, while at the same time providing resources which assist in addressing that agenda.

The case study documents the development of the procedures for school development and appraisal by a group which was explicitly charged with the task of exploring the relationship between these two activities at both school and system levels. This led to the development of procedures and support mechanisms which are seen as distinct yet complementary. Principal appraisal contains a strong element of ongoing self appraisal based on performance, while school development procedures have a strong community dimension with the principal in a key role. An outline of these procedures is presented.

Subsequent to the work on school development and appraisal, the Catholic Education Office reviewed its support for professional development. This led to greater clarity about the contribution of various elements of the annual system level professional development program to school development initiatives. A major review of principal professional development was undertaken. The significant elements of the review and the major recommendations to flow from it are discussed.

All the initiatives discussed in this paper are in their early stages, with new procedures for school development and appraisal having been implemented on a working basis for the first time in 1993, and the frameworks for principal professional development being put in place for implementation during 1994.     

Can Schools Change? I. Outcomes at Six London Secondary Schools

Abstract

Much work on school effectiveness has been based on cross‐sectional comparisons between schools. Longitudinal studies of schools over time may complement this approach. Changes in both school practice and pupil outcomes were monitored in a five year study of change in six London secondary schools. This paper reports on changes in outcomes, illustrating marked improvements in some areas. A companion paper (Ouston, Maughan & Rutter, in press) explores associated changes in school practice.     

Primary Contextualization of Science Learning through Immersion in Content-Rich Settings

This paper reports on a study of primary contextualization processes during science immersion trips and the resultant student learning. Four High School Ecology classes (n?=?67) and teachers participated. Through a pre-/post-assessment of science concept knowledge (Pathfinder Network Modeling) and follow-up interviews with students, it was determined that (1) significant learning was associated with these immersion experiences, though overcontextualization was problematic for some, (2) there was a positive interaction between degree of contextualization (primary vs. secondary) and degree of learning, and (3) key primary contextualization processes included the situating of knowledge in time and place as well as the collection of personalized visual or embodied evidence for science concepts. The study contributes to our understanding of contextualization in the learning process and has the potential to inform field, classroom, and virtual learning environments.     

Development and Large-Scale Validation of an Instrument to Assess Arabic-Speaking Students' Attitudes Toward Science

This study is part of a large-scale project focused on ‘Qatari students' Interest in, and Attitudes toward, Science’ (QIAS). QIAS aimed to gauge Qatari student attitudes toward science in grades 3–12, examine factors that impact these attitudes, and assess the relationship between student attitudes and prevailing modes of science teaching in Qatari schools. This report details the development and validation of the ‘Arabic-Speaking Students' Attitudes toward Science Survey’ (ASSASS), which was specifically developed for the purposes of the QIAS project. The theories of reasoned action and planned behavior (TRAPB) [Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2005). The influence of attitudes on behavior. In D. Albarracín, B. T. Johnson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The handbook of attitudes (pp. 173–221). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum] guided the instrument development. Development and validation of the ASSASS proceeded in 3 phases. First, a 10-member expert panel examined an initial pool of 74 items, which were revised and consolidated into a 60-item version of the instrument. This version was piloted with 369 Qatari students from the target schools and grade levels. Analyses of pilot data resulted in a refined version of the ASSASS, which was administered to a national probability sample of 3027 participants representing all students enrolled in grades 3–12 in the various types of schools in Qatar. Of the latter, 1978 students completed the Arabic version of the instrument. Analyses supported a robust, 5-factor model for the instrument, which is consistent with the TRAPB framework. The factors were: Attitudes toward science and school science, unfavorable outlook on science, control beliefs about ability in science, behavioral beliefs about the consequences of engaging with science, and intentions to pursue science.     

‘We’re from the generation that was raised on television’: a qualitative exploration of media imagery in elementary preservice teachers’ video production

In this article the authors present their analysis of preservice teachers’ video production. Twenty‐eight students in the first authors’ Social Foundations of the Elementary Curriculum course produced a 5‐ to 10‐minute video as the major assignment for the class, interviews were conducted with six of the seven video production groups and the videos were analyzed with regard to the interviews and theories of visual culture. The authors suggest that in the video products and in the production process the students exhibited a cultural logic of media imagery. The particular logics of audience and entertainment served as a concealed organizing principle for how the students thought about their videos and the processes involved in making them. Embedded in this logic was an overarching concern that their work occupy a public space, thus troubling the boundaries of consumption and production that frame how we consider the role media culture plays in the processes of human meaning‐making.     

Joining Forces for Families: an embedded response to neighborhood poverty

The authors reflect on how they, as social work practitioners, support the school systems in supporting homeless youth and families. They emphasize the importance of relationships and trust in working with this vulnerable population. The reflexive vignettes highlight the challenges and success of developing community-based programming for homeless and highly mobile students.     

Diet of disparagement: the racial experiences of black students in a predominantly white university

As an unintended consequence of the Civil Rights Movement and the integrationist vocabulary that it engendered, otherwise progressive thinkers have been unable to describe the adverse impact of actions, attitudes and policies that are not necessarily intended as racist, but function that way nonetheless. Because racism has come to be popularly understood as the product of individual irrationality—aberrant behavior that society abhors—supposedly race neutral actions, attitudes and policies that systematically and predictably benefit whites and adversely impact people of color escape effective critique. This has created a problem on college campuses, where many black students continue to feel alienated and mistreated because of their race. This article argues that issues of race and racism remain important considerations in the lives of black students on predominantly white campuses.