Predicting African American Parents' and Guardians' Satisfaction With Teachers and Public Schools

Abstract

The author used regression analyses to examine variables that predicted how African American parents and guardians rated their children's teachers and the public school system. The results indicated that although several variables were significant, parents' and guardians' satisfaction with their children's elementary school teachers was the strongest predictor of how they rated high school teachers and the public school system. The need for educators and policy-makers to improve their relations with African American parents and guardians is underscored.     

Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement Among African American Students

Abstract

The authors of this cross-sectional study used surveys based on the noncognitive model of W. E. Sedlacek and C. G. Brooks (1976) to determine psychosocial factors associated with African American students' high school achievement Psychosocial variables explored included community service, academic motivation, social support, and students' methods of handling unfair treatment. Results showed that after gender and absenteeism were controlled for, only the method of handling unfair treatment was positively associated with grade point average (GPA), p < .05. Those findings suggest that students who talk to others about being treated unfairly instead of keeping it to themselves are more likely to have higher GPAs; the findings also have important implications for individuals involved in the counseling and education of high school students. Sedlacek and Brooks's model provides an effective guide for predicting academic achievement and for developing programs to improve academic achievement among students of color. Further research is needed into psychosocial factors and their effects on academic achievement.     

Nonstandard maternal work schedules: Implications for African American children's early language outcomes

In this study, observed maternal positive engagement and perception of work–family spillover were examined as mediators of the association between maternal nonstandard work schedules and children's expressive language outcomes in 231 African American families living in rural households. Mothers reported their work schedules when their child was 24 months of age and children's expressive language development was assessed during a picture book task at 24 months and with a standardized assessment at 36 months. After controlling for family demographics, child, and maternal characteristics, maternal employment in nonstandard schedules at the 24-month timepoint was associated with lower expressive language ability among African American children concurrently and at 36 months of age. Importantly, the negative association between nonstandard schedules and children's expressive language ability at 24 months of age was mediated by maternal positive engagement and negative work–family spillover, while at 36 months of age, the association was mediated only by negative work–family spillover. These findings suggest complex links between mothers’ work environments and African American children's developmental outcomes.     

Collaborative team ethnography and the paradoxes of interpretation

In this article, the authors examine the paradoxical process of interpretation in collaborative team ethnography. They use examples from their work on a collaborative team evaluation of the North Carolina A+ Schools Program. The differing perspectives and experiences of the researchers entangled their ability to form an "interpretive zone." This reflexive examination addresses conflicting epistemological assumptions, research paradigms, races, genders, class backgrounds, and research interests. The authors address three paradoxes: interpretive differences on the research team, representation of diverse voices in the research process, and the conflicting roles as evaluators and critical researchers. The multiple layers of collaboration led to greater understanding through multiple meanings but, paradoxically, greater fragmentation and uncertainty.     

Why context matters: understanding the material conditions of school‐based caring in Zambia

This study utilized in‐depth interviewing, participant observation, and student diaries completed by participants to examine the quality of teacher–student relationships at a low‐cost private school in the townships of Ndola, Zambia. Amidst economic decline and the HIV/AIDS epidemic facing Zambia today, teachers and students developed strong relationships that differed from those found in government secondary schools and were shaped by the economic and social realities in the larger society. These caring relationships were facilitated by official school policy, deliberative spaces created for caring such as longer school hours and smaller class sizes, and strict oversight of teachers by the school administration. Teachers’ efforts to provide students advice and resources related to the economic and health crises affecting their community resulted in the development of caring relationships that students noted were unique given their experiences in and exposure to government secondary schools. The findings of this study suggest that scholars of caring in the US and internationally should consider the material conditions of both students’ and teachers’ lives beyond the school environment in order to understand how caring relationships are structured, limited, and enabled in distinct moments by larger socioeconomic and political realities.     

Higher Education,Ancient and Medieval

The article reviews the roles played by the Department of Education and the National Research Foundation in South Africa in defining the meaning of scholarship and in evaluating and funding it. The ideas that inform policy and practice include: the view that scholarship must serve the requirements of the national economy in becoming more globally competitive; attempts to manage and direct knowledge production; redressing apartheid’s legacies; and a positivist discourse. I argue in favour of diversity in the pursuit of knowledge and greater consistency with national historical development. The tensions between science and technology and the humanities, and between disciplinary-based and applied scholarship are also highlighted. They lie at the heart of the status of ‘other knowledges’ in relation to more ‘traditional’ scholarship. The political and practical implications of these analyses are raised for debate.     

Communities,Pollution, and Fight for Survival

Abstract

This study examines differences between university students and permanent residents of an Appalachian community in their attitudes toward the environment and toward proposed local energy related developments. Survey data showed that townspeople (non-student residents) were somewhat more supportive of the proposed energy developments than were students, however students were typified more by detachment from the issues than by opposition to them. It is suggested that differences between students and townspeople in support for local energy developments is not due to environmental attitudes but may be due to economic ties to the local area.     

艾丽丝·沃克的非洲文化情结

艾丽丝·沃克是蜚声世界文坛的美国当代非裔小说家。在创作中,她认识到惟有汲取根源于非洲的优秀价值观念、生活模式和风俗习惯,传承黑人民族文化,才能提高民族的自尊、自信和自强,才能在势头强劲的白人主流文化中立于不败之地。她的非洲文化情结在其代表作《紫色》中得到了淋漓尽致的发挥,生动地体现出作者对非洲文化遗产的热爱和民族自豪感。     

世界银行对非洲的高等教育政策及其影响

对援助的依赖是非洲高等教育发展的显著特征。世界银行作为非洲最大的多边教育援助机构,其教育政策影响了非洲高等教育的兴衰。非洲高等教育的衰退与世界银行不断变化的政策密切相关,既有直接的影响,也有间接的影响。影响路径多样,包括附加贷款条件、提供发展建议、影响其他援助机构、参与决策、召开国际会议、招募非洲专业人员等。21世纪非洲高等教育的复兴需要在外部依赖与自主发展之间寻求适当的平衡。     

A longitudinal analysis of the impact of child custody loss on drug use and crime among a sample of African American mothers

This study examines the influence of child custody loss on drug use and crime among a sample of African American mothers. Two types of custody loss are examined: informal custody loss (child living apart from mother but courts not involved), and official loss (child removed from mother’s care by authorities).MethodsUsing data from 339 African American women, longitudinal random coefficient models analyzed the effects of each type of custody loss on subsequent drug use and crime.Resultsindicated that both informal and official custody loss predicted increased drug use, and informal loss predicted increased criminal involvement. Findings demonstrate that child custody loss has negative health implications for African American mothers, potentially reducing their likelihood of regaining or retaining custody of their children.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need to integrate drug treatment and other types of assistance into family case plans to improve reunification rates and outcomes among mothers, children, and families. Additionally, the finding that informal loss predicts increased drug use suggests that community-based efforts within the mother’s social network could be implemented to intervene before child welfare system involvement becomes necessary.