The incidence and wage effects of overeducation

Data gathered from a recent national sample of workers on educational requirements and attainments are used to examine the extent and economic effects of overeducation. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. work force-and about 50 percent of black males-have more education than their jobs require. But we also find that “surplus” education does have economic value. The individual return to an additional year of surplus education was positive and significant for all major demographic groups. The estimated return is, however, only about half the size of the return to an additional year of required education.     

Giving priority to evidence in science teaching: A first‐year elementary teacher's specialized practices and knowledge

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the nature of a first‐year elementary teacher's specialized practices and knowledge for giving priority to evidence in science teaching and to explore the possible sources from which this knowledge was generated. Data included three audiotaped interviews, six videotaped classroom observations, lesson plans, and samples of students' work. The findings of this study reveal that the teacher gave priority to evidence by frequently engaging students in collecting evidence through observations and investigations, recording and representing evidence, and using that evidence to construct explanations. The findings of this study also illustrate that critical experiences during preparation to teach and specific university coursework acted as sources through which the teacher's specialized knowledge for giving priority to evidence was generated. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 965–986, 2005     

Not with a bang but a whisper: Mental health consultation with a selectively mute child

This article describes the role of the mental health and educational consultant in the case of a 5-year-old selectively mute child in Head Start. The syndrome of selective mutism is defined as well as the challenges of the consultant in preschool. Strategies implemented in the interdisciplinary work with the teachers, parent, speech therapist and child are described in detail. The implications suggest that the more flexible and adaptive the consultant, the more accepted he or she will be within the school environment.     

Considering science and language arts connections: A study of teacher cognition

The Elementary Science Integration Project (ESIP) brought together teachers knowledgeable about, and committed to, whole-language instruction with their science-oriented counterparts to explore connections between the disciplines and build from teachers' strengths. By recognizing commonalities, that both hands-on science and whole language center on inquiry and focus on children's learning processes, ESIP was designed to reveal the issues both groups of teachers see as important as they go about making classroom decisions. The ultimate goal of the project was to promote science as central to cross-curricular study, thus increasing the comfort level of teachers, the amount of time devoted to science in the classroom, and an interest in inquiry. This article described the project and identified the considerations teachers used to evaluate science–language-arts connections. Twenty expert and 7 novice teachers worked together over a 2-year period to construct and elaborate their own understandings of curricular integrátion, designing action research projects to explore their newfound understandings. Teachers kept journals and participated in extensive group discussions and interviews that provided the data sources for this article. Results revealed the influence of teachers' scholarly and pedagogical orientations on the way they think about science–language-arts connections and the influence of personal experiences in convincing teachers that science–language-arts connections are worth fostering in the classroom.