Can districts keep good teachers in the schools that need them most?

This study investigates how school demographics and their interactions with policies affect the mobility behaviors of public school teachers with various human capital characteristics. Using data from North Carolina from 1995 to 2006, it finds that teachers’ career stage and human capital investments dominate their decisions to leave public school teaching and school demographic characteristics play a dominant role in intra-system sorting. Schools serving at-risk children struggle to attract and retain teachers with desirable observable characteristics. We find evidence to suggest that across-the-board school-based pay-for-performance policies have small but significant associations with mobility decisions and appear to exacerbate inequities in the distribution of teacher qualifications.     

White working class achievement: an ethnographic study of barriers to learning in schools

This study aims to examine the key barriers to learning to raise achievement of White British pupils with low‐income backgrounds. The main findings suggest that the worryingly low‐achievement levels of many White working class pupils have been masked by the middle class success in the English school system and government statistics that fail to distinguish the White British ethnic group by social background. The empirical data confirm that one of the biggest groups of underachievers is the White British working class and their outcomes at each key stage are considerably below those achieved by all other ethnic groups. One of the main reasons for pupil underachievement, identified in the case study schools and focus groups, is parental low aspirations of their children’s education and social deprivation. It is also perpetuated by factors such as low‐literacy levels, feelings of marginalisation within the community exacerbated by housing allocation, a lack of community and school engagement, low levels of parental engagement and lack of targeted support to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage, a legacy of low aspiration that prevents pupils from fulfilling their potential across a range of areas. The study concludes that the main obstacle in raising achievement is the government’s failure to recognise that this group has particular needs that are not being met by the school system. The government needs to recognise that the underachievement of White British working class pupils is not only a problem facing educational services but profoundly a serious challenge. Policy implications and recommendations are discussed in the final section.     

Issues in the development of children’s centres on nursery and primary school sites

This paper explores the development of children’s centres in England between 2004 and 2008, focusing on the newly created centres that have been located on primary and nursery school sites. Using both an analysis of policy documents and interview data from three urban local authorities, we examine the use of premises and the differing priorities of centre staff and school heads, particularly in relation to the balance of services between early years education, childcare and family support. We also explore governance issues, focusing especially on patterns of accountability. In so doing, we also examine the tensions that exist between children’s centres located on primary and on nursery school sites and the schools themselves.     

Professional Development for School Library Media Professionals: Elements for Success

The American Association for School Librarians suggests an important mission for school librarians is to ensure personal growth through ongoing exposure to conferences, journal articles, webinars, presentations, and membership in professional organizations. As professional educators, School Librarians should exemplify the vision for being life-long learners. Methods and means to grow in the profession should be evaluated and examined for elements that lead to success in growth and maturity as professionals in school library media. This article investigates the attributes of successful professional development experiences which include learning environment, characteristics of learners, methodologies, and instructional design of staff development workshops.     

“I Managed It Pretty Good”: Birth Narratives of Adolescent Mothers

The aim of this study was to understand adolescent mothers’ childbirth experiences. Semistructured interviews were conducted with participants recruited from a community-based program for adolescent mothers. Fourteen mothers described their birth experiences. Using a narrative analytic approach, responses were reconstructed into birth stories. Stories, condensed into poetic form, were compared and contrasted. Four unique categories emerged: connected births, surreal births, disconnected births, and disempowered births. Categories differed by agency, support, and emotional tone. Positive support was found in stories that portrayed high agency and positive affect, whereas problematic support was apparent in stories that conveyed passivity, frustration, and disappointment. This study has implications for tailoring childbirth education for adolescent mothers and can inform health-care professionals working with this population.     

Morningness–Eveningness and College Advising: A Road to Student Success?

In addressing the challenges faced by E‐type (evening‐type) students, researchers have pointed to the need for school schedules that reflect chronotypic concerns and the recognition of the importance of sleep for academic achievement and well‐being. One approach to dealing with this issue for adolescent students has been to move the start of the school day later. In college, however, schedules become more varied and the social context in which these challenges occur differs requiring more individualized approaches to scheduling. In spite of this, morningness–eveningness is rarely considered by college administrators, advisors, or individuals involved in student services. It is important that faculty and staff who work with students be aware of chronotypical influences on classroom performance and other aspects of student life so that they can help them succeed in college and beyond.     

A Literature Review of How Videogames Are Assessed in Library and Information Science and Beyond

In this paper the author explores how videogames and gaming are assessed in Library and Information Science (LIS) and in other fields. The author concludes with a discussion of some potential future directions for assessment practices of videogames and gaming in LIS.     

An Experimental Test of Medical Disclosure and Consent Documentation: Assessing Patient Comprehension,Self-Efficacy,and Uncertainty

Effectively conveying risks and hazards in medical disclosure and informed consent documentation is a crucial type of communication. However, existing protocols typically do not meet the needs of patients or practitioners. In the present study, we advance a reconceptualization of obtaining written informed consent by analyzing it as a process of uncertainty management rather than a matter of document readability and recall. Results of this randomized trial indicated that patients who reviewed a simplified consent document reported greater comprehension of medico-legal terminology and lower uncertainty about the document, although they did not evince greater self-efficacy. Health literacy was a significant moderator of the relationship between consent form version and comprehension.