Race,Choice and Richmond Public Schools: New Possibilities and Ongoing Challenges for Diversity in Urban Districts

Several contemporary demographic trends suggest that school systems in America’s central cities, typically characterized by high levels of racial and economic isolation, are being presented with new opportunities to create quality, diverse schools. Still, numerous obstacles linger. Using multiple sources of data and innovative mapping tools, this case study explores an urban district experiencing population growth and change and several different manifestations of school choice. Analyses indicate that levels of black-white elementary school segregation have risen rapidly over the past two decades, and now surpass residential segregation levels. The increase in school segregation has occurred alongside a district policy emphasis on both choice and neighborhood schools. While the current elementary school zones present a number of opportunities for further racial and economic diversity, high shares of students transferring out of their zone—either to another setting in the district or to a private school—undermine those possibilities. The example of Richmond, Virginia has important policy implications for countless other urban districts grappling with demographic shifts and the growth and popularity of school choice. Both trends offer crucial possibilities for central city school systems, but without careful attention to policy, will likely result in further stratification.     

Use of Social Emotional Learning Skills to Predict Future Academic Success and Progress Toward Graduation

This study evaluated the degree to which a range of social emotional learning skills—academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, social connections, importance of school, and managing psychological and emotional distress and academic stress— could be used as an indicator of future academic outcomes. Using a sample of 4,797 from a large urban school district, we found that high school students classified as performing in the lowest 25% of their grade reported lower social emotional skills than students classified in the top 25% of academic performers by the end of the 8th grade. Two variables, perceived importance of attending college and psychological and physical stress, accounted for nearly 26% of the variance in cumulative high school GPA after controlling for 9th-grade GPA. Finally, the results indicated that a combination of 5 social emotional learning subscales effectively discriminated between students making positive progress towards high school graduation and those identified as having dropped out of or failed more than 14% of their courses.     

Predicting Meaningful Employment for Refugees: The Influence of Personal Characteristics and Developmental Factors on Employment Status and Hourly Wages

Refugee demographic and developmental variables were evaluated as predictors of employment outcomes following a six-month non-governmental organization (NGO) directed resettlement period. The sample consisted of 85 refugee adults (18 to 54 years) who were resettling in a medium sized urban setting in the western United States. Demographics included sex, age, education level, and English proficiency. Developmental factors included number of years spent as a refugee. Results suggested that for each year spent as a refugee there was a corresponding decrease in the ability to secure meaningful employment. Implications for vocational interventions with refugees are discussed within the framework of Social Cognitive Career Theory.     

Introduction to the special issue: an international partnership in vocational psychology and career guidance practice

This thematic issue of the International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance includes a selection of papers presented at the IAEVG-SVP-NCDA Symposium, entitled “Vocational Psychology and Career Guidance Practice: An International Partnership”. The articles in this special issue deal with topics that highlight the interconnection between vocational psychology and career guidance. The authors, because of their different geographical and cultural backgrounds, address these points from their own perspectives. The outcome of the general discussion that centred on these topics at the International Symposium is jointly published in a special issue of the Career Development Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 4.     

Oral traditions: An aid to implementation of mother tongue-based multilingual education in the Philippines’ basic education programme

English and Filipino (Tagalog) are the official languages of the Philippines. English is taught in schools and used as a medium of instruction as early as kindergarten. Because it was originally imposed by Western colonialism, its use in academia has been criticised as discriminatory to regional and indigenous languages other than Tagalog, which are not generally used in higher education and have therefore not been allowed to develop as academic languages. In 2012, the Filipino Department of Education issued Order No. 16, series of 2012, also known as the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) order. Following its recent adoption in public schools, the MTB-MLE policy has already run into some difficulties that challenge its output. Among these is a lack of instructional materials, as most available textbooks are written in English or Filipino. This article explores the potential of oral traditions as instructional tools in basic education. There have been extensive efforts by folklorists to collect, record and publish folk epics, myths, legends and tales. An essential aspect of this research is the recording and publication of materials in the original versions or languages used by native informants from indigenous communities. For the past ten years, the author has conducted field research with indigenous communities in the southern regions of Mindanao. This has yielded a collection of folk literature recorded in the languages of the indigenous communities studied. This collection has been translated into Bisaya, one of the major regional languages of the Philippines, and into English. These texts have considerable potential as classroom learning materials. The publication of these indigenous literature texts makes knowledge of indigenous language and culture available to basic education learners, as well as to the general public. The publication of mother tongue reading materials will also help promote knowledge of, appreciation for, and proficiency in the use of these languages.