Giving Till it Helps? Alumnae Giving and Children’s College Options

This paper examines whether donations to colleges and universities are partly motivated by the desire of alumni to increase their children’s admissions probabilities. The paper uses data from a single-sex college, so that only alums with a daughter would evince this motive. We find that alums with a teenage daughter, as opposed to a teenage son, are more likely to make donations of at least $5,000. The same relationship is not evident for smaller donations, or when children are older than 18. Further, we find evidence that this difference in the probability of a donation by alums with teenage daughters and teenage sons does not exist when acceptance rates are higher in an earlier period.     

Constraints to Implementing Educational Innovations: The Case of Multigrade Schools

Studies suggest that multigrade schools, i.e. those with classes that are mixed in age and ability, can be a cost-effective means of raising student achievement and expanding access to education in poor countries. Development institutions often recommend them for countries struggling to raise educational quality and coverage in rural areas. However, the literature advocating the adoption of multigrade schools avoids discussing the potential difficulties in implementing the system. This paper analyses the conditons under which implementation might be successful, focusing on the oft-cited case of the Colombian Escuela Nuela programme. The authors conclude that capacity-building through in-service training is an important determinant of the way teachers approach their task. However, a great deal of variance in teacher practices is left unexplained. The article suggests that teacher will (that is, motivation and commitment) might explain much of the remaining variation in the adoption of the new pedagogies. The authors explore several conditions under which teacher will could be lacking.     

The achievement of indigenous students in Guatemalan primary schools

This paper analyses the difference in academic achievement between indigenous and nonindigenous children that attend rural primary schools in Guatemala. The gap ranges between 0.8 and 1 standard deviation in Spanish, and approximately half that in Mathematics. A decomposition procedure suggests that a relatively small portion of the achievement gap is explained by differences in the socioeconomic status of indigenous and nonindigenous families. Other results are consistent with the notion that school attributes play an important role in explaining the achievement gap. The paper discusses several explanations—such as the lack of bilingual education—that are consistent with the empirical findings.     

Attitudes Toward Overweight Individuals Among Fitness Center Employees

Our study assessed implicit and explicit evaluations of overweight individuals among a sample of fitness center employees (N = 70). Participants completed a general demographics questionnaire and an explicit, self-report Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT). Participants also completed two Implicit Association Tests (IATs) to measure implicit attitudes toward overweight individuals. In one IAT, participants responded to pictures of overweight and thin individuals in a neutral context. A second IAT required participants to respond to pictures of the same individuals exercising on a treadmill. Consistent with hypotheses, average scores fell below the midpoint on the AFAT subscales, suggesting an absence of a significant explicit bias. The sample exhibited moderately strong implicit weight biases, however, in both the neutral (IAT D = .39) and exercise contexts (IAT D = .39). The findings do not support the premise that implicit biases against overweight individuals vary according to the context in which the judgments are made.     

Recruitment of rural teachers in developing countries: an economic analysis

Monetary and non-monetary incentives for rural teacher recruitment are a prominent feature of developing-country education systems. Despite the widespread use of incentives, there is little theoretical or empirical evidence on their effectiveness. This paper interprets incentive policies within the framework of the economic theory of compensating differentials. The discussion clarifies the implicit assumptions of incentive policies and aids in organizing further empirical work on their effectiveness. Existing evidence on compensating differentials, mainly in the United States, shows that teachers tend to trade off monetary wages against non-monetary aspects of their jobs, such as geographic location and class size.     

“Standing in Terri Schiavo's Shoes”: The Role of Genre in End-of-Life Decision Making

This article reports the findings from analysis of end-of-life court cases and case files from one state public guardianship administrator as well as interviews with guardians or surrogates to identify how language and principles of the courts are operationalized in end-of-life decisions for those who are unable to make decisions for themselves. We found that physicians and guardians worked well within the requirements of the genre to ensure the best interests for those whom they represent.     

The effectiveness of multigrade schools in Colombia

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Colombian New School (Escuela Nueva) program in raising student achievement in Spanish and mathematics. Typical program strategies include multigrade instruction, flexible student promotion, and community involvement. The paper finds that New Schools are better endowed with inputs like textbooks and place greater emphasis on active learning than traditional rural schools. Nevertheless, many New Schools have not implemented all the reforms. New Schools are found to have positive and statistically significant effects on Spanish and mathematics achievement in third grade and Spanish in fifth grade. Findings replicate previous evaluations.     

Constraints to Implementing Educational Innovations: The Case of Multigrade Schools

Studies suggest that multigrade schools, i.e. those with classes that are mixed in age and ability, can be a cost-effective means of raising student achievement and expanding access to education in poor countries. Development institutions often recommend them for countries struggling to raise educational quality and coverage in rural areas. However, the literature advocating the adoption of multigrade schools avoids discussing the potential difficulties in implementing the system. This paper analyses the conditons under which implementation might be successful, focusing on the oft-cited case of the Colombian Escuela Nuela programme. The authors conclude that capacity-building through in-service training is an important determinant of the way teachers approach their task. However, a great deal of variance in teacher practices is left unexplained. The article suggests that teacher will (that is, motivation and commitment) might explain much of the remaining variation in the adoption of the new pedagogies. The authors explore several conditions under which teacher will could be lacking.