Current Issues in Education (E-Journal, Arizona State University)
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The Institutional Cost of Being a Faculty of Color: A Critical Personal Reflection
No full textDrawing on critical race theory, auto-ethnography, and resistant narratives, this article examines systemic forms of oppression that professors of color teaching at predominantly white institutions have been facing. The author incorporates in his analysis his experience as a faculty of color battling multiple forms of micro-aggression (Solórzano, 1998). He situates his professional and lived experiences with institutional racism in a larger educational and political context and goes on to analyze the ways and the degree to which this form of racism has affected other professors of color
Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension Strategies Improves EFL Learners' Writing Ability
Get PDFAlthough the importance of reading in developing writing ability is undeniable, few competent readers in EFL contexts develop into competent writers. Since students are not aware that reading can assist them in writing, this study examined the effect of reciprocal teaching - which focuses on four reading comprehension strategies, namely summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting-on improving EFL students' writing ability. Assessment was made based on an evaluation sheet including five criteria (content, macro structure, micro structure, language range and complexity, and language errors) for evaluating the compositions. In this study, true-experimental design was used to study two classes of 104 randomly selected intermediate learners. The pre-test inter-rater reliability for the two raters who rated the students' compositions was 0.95 and the post-test inter-rater reliability was 0.97. Since this study was conducted under the supervision of a supervisor and an advisor, its validity was taken for granted. The results of the independent samples t-test supported the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching of comprehension strategies in improving the learners' writing ability. Since teaching comprehension strategies seems to have facilitated the process of writing, its application can be suggested to reinforce EFL students' writing ability. The findings of this study imply that students will get motivated to read more if they realize the importance of reading in improving their writing performance.  
Rising College Costs and an Illinois Effort to Control Them: A Preliminary Review
Get PDFRising college costs are of increasing concern. At the 12 public universities in Illinois, average increases in tuition were modest, generally in the 4% range, until 1999 when individual campuses begin to increase tuition at double digit rates. In 2002-2003, the overall average increase in tuition/fees more than doubled at 13.79%. In an effort to provide students/families with a more predictable college education cost and moderate the rising costs of a college education, WIU began a 4-year tuition, student fees, and room/board (all-costs) rate guarantee program in Fall 1999. Following the perceived success of this model, which is ascertained in this study, the State mandated that all public universities in Illinois offer a 4-year guarantee for tuition beginning Fall 2004
Are we Turning our Backs on Teacher Preparation? Lessons from France's System of Teacher Training
Get PDFNot surprisingly, in an increasingly neo-liberal context of international competition for educational prestige, conversations about teaching and teacher preparation have taken hold across the globe. Further complicating these matters is that ideas about teaching, learning, and learning to teach cannot be understood or analyzed in a vacuum; that is, without first exploring the history, evolution, purposes of, and tensions within the system in which they live. In this way, the realities of social change and globalization ensure that debates about what it means to prepare teachers wellin any contextare complex and enduring. In this article, I illuminate some of those complexities specifically as they relate to a comparison of university-based systems of teacher preparation in France and the United States. The issue of what it means to prepare teachers well for an increasingly diverse and global society is a prominent focus of this discussion.
Universal Design for Learning: University Faculty Stages of Concerns and Levels of Use
Get PDFIncreasingly, students with disabilities are attending postsecondary schools. As with any form of diversity, there are also pedagogical challenges and opportunities that go beyond accommodation and support the goal of learning for all. This paper describes the results of the data collection phase of a faculty action-research project that grew from a core group of university faculty members’ concerns about how best to support students with disabilities on campus. A researcher-developed survey was used to identify faculty members’ stages of concern about and use of nine Universal Design for Learning guidelines in their classes. Findings reveal that the 46 respondents were at the stage of being largely concerned with learning more about the nine guidelines. The results provide a snapshot of initial stages of concern. Recommendations for action are provided
Factors Associated with Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Intellectual Disability
Get PDFBeginning in 1997, federal legislation required schools provide access to academic curricula to students with intellectual disability. The extent of such access for students with significant intellectual disability currently is not known. This study examined access (defined by scope and intensity of content instruction and depth of knowledge) provided to students with significant intellectual disability, and relationship between curriculum access and a set of teacher and student characteristics. A survey of 644 teachers from nine states found that these students, on average, were exposed to 17 out of 27 English language arts strands and 10 out of 16 math strands. Canonical correlation analyses suggested that students’ symbolic communication level had the strongest association with students’ access. Cluster analysis suggested students experience three types of access to English language arts and four types of access to math instruction, and the cluster groups significantly differed by teacher and student variables. These findings suggest several policy and practice actions to better support meaningful participation in the general education curriculum among students with intellectual disabilities
Opting Out: Examining Teacherâs Beliefs When Faced With Core Reading Programs
Get PDFThis qualitative study focused on how teachers in a small, urban elementary school in Pennsylvania negotiate their beliefs and instructional delivery the classroom. In the area of literacy instruction, there has been an increased reliance on Core-reading programs in elementary school. Classroom teachers, caught in the middle, are charged with the responsibility to raise test scores, plan curriculum, motivate students, and provide a welcoming learning environment for all students. In this article, teachers’ beliefs about meeting the needs of urban students amidst NCLB were explored, in relation to curriculum planning. A case study approach guided this research, using interviews, observations, and document analysis. Data from participant statements and researcher observations, illuminate the reasons why teachers “opted-out” of having a sense of fidelity towards the mandated curriculum. According to the researcher opting-out was a means to equalize the discord between meeting student academic needs while adhering to the mandated curriculum and pacing guide
Multicultural Teaching Models to Educate Pre-Service Teachers: Reflections, Service-Learning, and Mentoring
Get PDFThe population of pre-service teachers entering university education programs is becoming more diverse. University education departments have the responsibility to understand and prepare current pre-service teachers, especially regarding multicultural education. The purpose of this paper is to understand the different dynamics of white pre-service teachers and pre-service teachers of color who are entering education departments. It has been found that pre-service teachers have a fear and are silenced during discussions of race. Therefore, university programs and professors have the challenge of opening communication within his/her courses in order to prepare teachers who can have critical multicultural discussions with his/her students. The current trends of preparing pre-service teachers to understand his/her own background and viewpoints include reflecting, service-learning, and mentoring. 
Primary School Attendance and Completion Among Lower Secondary School Age Children in Uganda
Get PDFAt the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, governments pledged to achieve education for all by 2015. However, if current enrollment trends continue, the number of out-of-school children could increase from current levels. Greater focus is needed on lower secondary school age (13 – 16 years) children. These children are not included estimates of the number of out-of-school children. It will be difficult to reduce the number of out-of-school children if we continue to overlook children of lower secondary school age. Therefore, using 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey data this study examined school attendance and Grade 5 completion of lower secondary school age children in Uganda. The study found that poverty, low education among heads of households, and disability continue to limit continued access to and progress through school. 
Predictors of Intent to Pursue a College Health Science Education among High Achieving Minority 10th Graders
Get PDFMinority populations are underrepresented in fields of science, perhaps limiting scientific perspectives. Informed by recent studies using social cognitive career theory, this study examined whether three conceptual constructs: self-efficacy, perceived adult support, and perceived barriers, along with several discrete and immutable variables, were associated with intent to pursue college health science education in a sample (N = 134) of minority youth (67.2% African American). A paper-and-pencil survey about pursuit of college health science was administered to 10th graders with a B- or better grade point average from six high schools in an underserved community. Results indicated that the three conceptual constructs were bivariate correlates of intent to pursue college health science. Only perceived adult support and knowing whether a parent received college education were significant predictors in a multiple regression model. These results build on previous research and provide further insight into youth decision-making regarding pursuit of college health science