Can educational engagement prevent Early School Leaving? Unpacking the school’s effect on educational success

There is growing evidence that school engagement, or more specifically disengagement, is a key indicator for predicting Early School Leaving. The aim of this article is to explore the impact of secondary schools in student (dis)engagement and subsequent opportunities to succeed in school. Drawing on data from a qualitative study in five secondary schools in Barcelona, the article discusses the role of school context in inhibiting or facilitating school engagement by exploring compositional effects, organisational and pedagogical practices, and teachers’ expectations. To do so a twofold perspective is adopted: firstly, we look at the main school features and their impact on students’ educational opportunities; and secondly, a systematic analysis of the dimensions of school engagement (behavioural, emotional and cognitive) is carried out. As a result, the article contributes to the identification of the most significant variables at school level that influence student engagement and their opportunities for school success.     

Contextually Based Professional Development

In this article, the authors detail a study of a three-year professional development project designed to increase in-service teachers’ classroom technology integration. Participants engaged in learning activities that modeled technology integration from a contextually based perspective that included technology, and pedagogical and content knowledge. Although participants reported having very limited technology skills before professional development began, after two years they reported a significant increase in using technology skills. In addition, participants reported increased comfort and confidence in using technology to the level where they changed their teaching practice to integrate technology. Indeed, between years two and three, participants reported a significant increase in technology use for learning by their students.     

Evaluations, attributions, affect, and disciplinary choices in mothers at high and low risk for child physical abuse

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated several components of a social information-processing model of child physical abuse. The main objective was to examine the extent to which high-risk, relative to low-risk, mothers differed in their evaluations, attributions, negative affect, and disciplinary choices for children's behavior, and to explore whether these differences may be expressed in interactions between risk status and mitigating information. METHOD: Nineteen high- and 19 matched low-risk mothers' evaluations of children transgressions, attributions, affect, and choices of disciplinary techniques were examined using six vignettes depicting a child engaging in moral, conventional, and personal transgressions. One-half of the vignettes contained mitigating information and one-half did not. High- and low-risk mothers were chosen based on their potential for physical child abuse. A three-factor (2 x 3 x 2) design was used to assess the dependent variables. RESULTS: As expected, high-risk, relative to low-risk, mothers reported more hostile intent, stable and global attributions, aversiveness, annoyance, and use of power-assertion discipline. A risk group by type of transgression interaction was found for evaluation and indifference and a risk group by mitigating information interaction was found for evaluation of wrongness, internal attributions, and aversiveness. A risk by type of transgression by mitigating information interaction was found for global/specific attributions, aversiveness, and indifference toward child transgressions. CONCLUSIONS: Results support a social information processing model of child physical abuse, which suggests that high-risk, compared to low-risk, mothers process child-related information differently and use more power-assertive disciplinary techniques.     

The politics of educational success: a realist evaluation of early school leaving policies in Catalonia (Spain)

The objective of the article is to examine what is ‘taken for granted’ in the policies designed to combat Early School Leaving (ESL) in Catalonia, identifying their implicit ontologies, causal assumptions and logics of action. In order to do so, the realist evaluation is applied. Specifically, this methodology has been applied to compare the discourses, priorities and policies of two key agents in defining and implementing policies to combat ESL in Catalonia: the Catalan Department for Education (Regional Government body) and the Barcelona Education Consortium (Local Government body). In each case, systematic documentary analysis has been conducted as well as in-depth interviews with educational experts and policymakers. The results of the analysis allows opening up the black box of the political priorities defined by this two political agents, identifying two highly controversial logics to understand educational success and to consequently address ESL     

On metaphors in thinking about preparing mathematics for teaching

Educational Studies in Mathematics - This paper explores how different schools of thought in mathematics education think and speak about preparing mathematics for teaching by introducing and...     

Self-fulfilling prophecy not: using cultural assets to beat the odds

In this study, the pedagogies of the home used by Latinos as they attend schools in the USA are highlighted. We hope to use the stories of Arturo and Ruben, successful Latinos, as a means to show that Latinos are developing strategies that can be shared through the telling of their stories and to claim the value of voicing the difficult realities of Latinos as they resist falling victim to anticipated self-fulfilling prophecies and move creatively through the educational pipeline to reach their best defined possible selves.