Success and failure in secondary education: socio‐economic background effects on secondary school outcome in the Netherlands, 1927–1998

In the Netherlands, educational attainment is the result of a sequence of separate educational transitions. Because of the tracked nature of the Dutch educational system, students do not make binary stay‐or‐leave‐decisions at each transition. After having entered one track of secondary education, students can change tracks during the entire secondary course. The initial track and the secondary school outcome therefore are incongruent for a significant proportion of the Dutch students. As social background partly predicts initial track placement, track changes and successful termination of the course, we suggest distinguishing conditional and unconditional effects of family background in the transition to secondary school outcome. This paper complements findings of previous research by taking into account the tracked structure of the Dutch educational system and the entire sequence of transitions in secondary education. For the empirical analysis, repeated cross‐sections from the Family Survey Dutch Population (1992, 1998, 2000 and 2003) are used. Multinomial logistic regressions reveal that inequality in the outcome of secondary education is partly explained by the fact that initial track placement is socially selective and because this initial inequality is even enhanced by track changes during secondary education. The remaining ‘conditional’ effect of parental education, however, indicates that parental education works on top of this selection to prevent drop out. Inequality in secondary school outcome thus is a cumulative result of social background effects in a sequence of educational transitions throughout secondary education. Decreasing inequality over time is entirely explained by decreasing inequality in the transition from primary to secondary education.     

Counselor Trainees’ Experiences in Triadic Supervision: A Qualitative Exploration of Transcendent Themes

Triadic supervision has been considered a credible and effective form of clinical supervision within counselor education programs since being included in the 2001 standards for the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). A phenomenological study was conducted to examine the experiences of masters-level counselor trainees in practicum with triadic supervision. Several transcendent themes emerged, namely: Initial Apprehensions, Shared Developmental Process, Vicarious Learning, Multiple Perspectives, and Safety through Trust and Relationship. The results of this study are discussed as they impact the field of counselor education and supervision.     

Intelligent design: student perceptions of teaching and learning in large social work classes

Research into the effects of large classes demonstrates that students are disadvantaged in terms of higher order learning because interactions between teachers and students occur at lower cognitive levels. This has significance for social work education, with its emphasis on the development of critical thinking and problem solving, both higher order cognitive skills. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative research that explored social work students’ perceptions of different teaching and learning strategies in a large mental health course designed with reference to principles of student‐centred learning and constructive alignment. Findings revealed that well‐integrated design, relevance to the real world and teacher enthusiasm were seen as most useful by students, rather than particular learning strategies per se. Higher satisfaction ratings and grades were also associated with this student‐centred course compared with an earlier traditional lecture‐style course. The paper concludes that design based on the interplay between diverse learning activities, including lecture input, strengthened the student‐centred orientation of learning and recommends further research that compares learning outcomes associated with these contrasting approaches to professional education.     

“Concreteness fading” promotes transfer of mathematical knowledge

Recent studies have suggested that educators should avoid concrete instantiations when the goal is to promote transfer. However, concrete instantiations may benefit transfer in the long run, particularly if they are “faded” into more abstract instantiations. Undergraduates were randomly assigned to learn a mathematical concept in one of three conditions: generic, in which the concept was instantiated using abstract symbols, concrete in which it was instantiated using meaningful images, or fading, in which it was instantiated using meaningful images that were “faded” into abstract symbols. After learning, undergraduates completed a transfer test immediately, one week later, and three weeks later. Undergraduates in the fading condition exhibited the best transfer performance. Additionally, undergraduates in the generic condition exhibited somewhat better transfer than those in the concrete condition, but this advantage was not robust. Results suggest that concrete instantiations should be included in the educator's toolbox.     

Relationality as a response to challenges of participatory action research in indigenous contexts: reflections from the field

ABSTRACT

Three researchers share their reflections on the challenges and goodness of fit of using participatory action research (PAR) in studies with indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada. Three central challenges of participatory methodologies are identified: (1) defining what constitutes participation; (2) the extended time required for a PAR study; and (3) researcher positionality. The authors discuss tensions inherent in the western academy when shifting final decision-making authority over research processes away from the academic institution to the indigenous community. A model situating the principles of PAR alongside perspectives and values congruent with the indigenous concept of relationality is presented as a means of mitigating these challenges. This approach aligns PAR principles within culturally-congruent definitions of relationship and encourages researchers to re-imagine participation as a form of relationship, allowing them to engage more deeply and genuinely with indigenous participants.     

EFFECTS OF PARENTAL DIVORCE OR A FATHER'S DEATH ON HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION

Associations between parental loss and high school (HS) completion were examined in data drawn from 1,761 male and 1,689 female offspring born in wedlock to mothers participating in a nationally representative study. Multiple logistic regression models were conducted predicting HS completion by age 19 among offspring whose parents divorced or father died, compared to offspring of continuously married parents. Models were estimated without and with adjustment for correlated sociodemographic characteristics, including maternal education and age at first childbirth and offspring age at last assessment and race/ethnicity. In unadjusted models, parental divorce predicted a 41% decreased odds of HS completion for males, and paternal death predicted a 79% decreased odds of HS completion for females. In models including sociodemographic risk factors, associations between parental divorce and paternal death reduced slightly. Findings highlight the importance of examining unique risks from paternal death versus parental divorce on educational attainment in male and female offspring.     

Missing the Chalkboard: Using Screencasting in the Online Classroom

This article describes the use of screencasting in online education courses. It defines and explores screencasting and how it can be used in online class environments. It also defines and gives a history of screencasting as well as examines how it can be used in a college online classroom. The article explains the step-by-step process for creating a screencast and the reasons why it would help online educators. Moreover, it presents how screencasting can be applied to various teaching settings and provides links to various free and fee-based online screencasting tools. This hands-on approach to education provides teachers with a creative and timely way to promote 21st-century learning in and out of the classroom.     

Child Care Decision Making: Understanding Priorities and Processes Used by Low-Income Families in Minnesota

Research Findings: Few studies have described parents' child care decision-making process, yet understanding how parents make child care choices is fundamental to developing effective services to promote the selection of high-quality care. This study used latent profile analysis to distinguish subgroups of low-income parents identified as having commonalities in the number of options, duration, and sources of information sought as part of their child care decision-making process. Study participants included 260 parents who participated in the baseline wave of the Minnesota Child Care Choices study, a longitudinal phone survey of welfare applicants. Two subgroups of parents were identified. The majority of parents (82%) made choices within 2 weeks and considered on average 2 arrangements. Fewer than half of these parents considered information from experts, public lists, or family members/friends when making a child care choice. The remaining 18% of the sample took on average 11 weeks to make a child care choice, considered on average 3 options, and relied more heavily on information from experts and family members/friends. Practice or Policy: Findings from this study have implications for the marketing of resource and referral counseling services, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, and consumer education aimed at facilitating the selection of high-quality care.