Parents,quality, and school choice: why parents in Nairobi choose low-cost private schools over public schools in Kenya’s free primary education era

Low-cost private schools (LCPS) are widespread in Kenya, particularly in urban areas. This study examines the reasons that parents send children to fee-charging schools in a context of free public primary education. Drawing on parent survey and interview data, as well as interviews with national policy makers, we found that parents who chose LCPS for their children were more driven by quality concerns than were public school parents. We also present data on the costs of the school types, compared to household income. Despite being termed ‘low cost’, the fees charged by schools primarily serving the poor were often a heavy burden on families. We conclude with recommendations for maximising the impact of LCPS on educational access and quality.     

The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: a review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the literature concerning the impact of exposure to domestic violence on the health and developmental well-being of children and young people. Impact is explored across four separate yet inter-related domains (domestic violence exposure and child abuse; impact on parental capacity; impact on child and adolescent development; and exposure to additional adversities), with potential outcomes and key messages concerning best practice responses to children's needs highlighted. METHOD: A comprehensive search of identified databases was conducted within an 11-year framework (1995-2006). This yielded a vast literature which was selectively organized and analyzed according to the four domains identified above. RESULTS: This review finds that children and adolescents living with domestic violence are at increased risk of experiencing emotional, physical and sexual abuse, of developing emotional and behavioral problems and of increased exposure to the presence of other adversities in their lives. It also highlights a range of protective factors that can mitigate against this impact, in particular a strong relationship with and attachment to a caring adult, usually the mother. CONCLUSION: Children and young people may be significantly affected by living with domestic violence, and impact can endure even after measures have been taken to secure their safety. It also concludes that there is rarely a direct causal pathway leading to a particular outcome and that children are active in constructing their own social world. Implications for interventions suggest that timely, appropriate and individually tailored responses need to build on the resilient blocks in the child's life. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study illustrate the links between exposure to domestic violence, various forms of child abuse and other related adversities, concluding that such exposure may have a differential yet potentially deleterious impact for children and young people. From a resilient perspective this review also highlights range of protective factors that influence the extent of the impact of exposure and the subsequent outcomes for the child. This review advocates for a holistic and child-centered approach to service delivery, derived from an informed assessment, designed to capture a picture of the individual child's experience, and responsive to their individual needs.     

Promise and feasibility of teaching expository text structure: a primary grade pilot study

Research to guide text structure interventions for the primary grades is very limited, yet as early as in kindergarten, many state standards increasingly emphasize exposure to challenging expository texts. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility and promise (or the effects) of three brief text structure interventions for kindergarten, first, and second graders who had average to low-average comprehension and relatively weak vocabulary skills. A total of 172 students participated (with 52, 62, and 58 in kindergarten, first and second grades, respectively). Students were randomly assigned within classrooms to one of three conditions: sequencing, compare and contrast, or cause and effect. Interventionists provided the interventions for four weeks to small groups of students. The findings demonstrated significant growth for all conditions on the taught text structure items of a researcher-made measure; significant growth was also reported on standardized measures of comprehension and oral language measures in the compare and contrast and cause and effect conditions, but not for sequencing.     

Evaluating the effects of repeated reading and continuous reading using a standardized dosage of words read

Repeated reading (RR) is a common fluency intervention, but recent studies comparing RR to continuous reading (CR; i.e., wide reading) found no significant differences in effects. This prompts the question of whether the mechanism that improves skills is repeatedly reading portions of connected text, or simply reading connected text. The current study examined the differential effectiveness of RR and CR for increasing oral reading fluency rate (ORF) and comprehension of 40 students in second and third grades, randomly assigned to receive the RR or CR intervention. Students in both conditions received a standardized amount of practice (dosage) in the form of number of words read during each intervention session. All but two participants increased their ORF and there were no significant differences between groups on posttest ORF or broad comprehension. Moreover, students with the highest pretest scores made slightly more growth regardless of condition. Students in the RR group demonstrated significantly higher comprehension of practiced passages and students in the CR condition reported significantly higher levels of intervention acceptability. Implications for reading fluency intervention research and practice are discussed.     

Using the “Indicators of Engaged Learning Online” Framework to Evaluate Online Course Quality

This article is a case study of the use of the Indicators of Engaged Learning Online (IELO) framework (See Appendix 1) as a guide to evaluate the quality of online courses. The framework lends itself well to measures of engagement, particularly, in terms of online course design because of its comprehensiveness. Six online courses were evaluated for quality in terms of engaged learning based on thirty indicators contained within the framework. Results ranged from a score of 21 to 71 out of a potential total score of 90. This 0–90 scale represented a continuum of passive to engaged learning. The purpose of the pilot study was to explore how the Indicators of Engaged Learning Online (IELO) framework could be used as a tool for evaluating the quality of online courses by instructional designers (IDs) and instructors. Insights into the practical use of the IELO framework and the need for improved guidelines for IDs and instructors as they assess the amount of student engagement designed in a course are provided. Recommendations for practice have implications for both aspects of engagement: how a course is designed and how it is delivered.     

Teachers’ and school administrators’ attitudes and beliefs of teacher evaluation: a preliminary investigation of high poverty school districts

This study examined attitudes and beliefs regarding teacher evaluation of teachers and their school administrators in the state of New Jersey, USA. The sample included 33 school administrators and 583 Pre-K through 12th grade teachers from four high-poverty urban school districts (22 schools). Participant attitudes and beliefs were assessed using the Teacher Evaluation Experience Scale (TEES; Reddy et al. in Educational Assessment, 21(2), 120–134, 2016). TEES is a multi-informant assessment designed to measure teachers’ and school administrators’ experiences with teacher evaluation through five scales (i.e., total and subscales of system, feedback, process, and motivation to change) and six open-ended questions. Based on the qualitative analyses, teachers identified collaborative communication and evaluation feedback as the most helpful aspects of their evaluation process. Based on the quantitative analyses, however, their average ratings did not exceed neutral on any of the four subscales. Overall findings suggest that school administrators’ experiences with teacher evaluation are more favorable than teachers’ experiences. Moderate correlations are found between participant characteristics and TEES scales. Implications for teacher evaluation are presented.     

Overlooked aspects in the education of science professionals: Mentoring,ethics, and professional responsibility

Science as profession is generally defined narrowly as research. Science education as preparation for a profession in research is usually perceived as course work and laboratory training, even though the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue a research career are more extensive and diverse and are learned in one-on-one interaction with mentors. A complete education of science professionals includes the values, ethical standards and conventions of the discipline since they are fundamental to the profession. Mentoring and education in the responsible conduct and reporting of research and in the ethical dimensions of science are among the professional responsibilities of scientists and need to be discussed as part of science education. Moreover, science as an enterprise is much more than research and includes a number of other components, including science teaching, science journalism, and science policy. Each of these contributes to the nature of science and its role in society.     

Training Online Technical Communication Educators to Teach with Social Media: Best Practices and Professional Recommendations

ABSTRACT

The author reports on social media research in technical and professional communication (TPC) training through a national survey of 30 professional and technical communication programs asking about their use of social media in technical communication. This research forms the basis of recommendations for training online TPC faculty to teach with social media. The author offer recommendations throughout for those who train online TPC faculty as well as for the teachers themselves.