Current Issues in Education (E-Journal, Arizona State University)
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First Year Teachers: Certification Program and Assigned Subject on Their Self-Efficacy
Get PDFIn the United States, the demands of increased federal accountability have dramatically impacted the field of teaching. Teacher certification programs have been taxed with preparing first year teachers to assist increasingly diverse students to pass high-stakes state assessments. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the influence of teacher certification programs and the assigned subject on the self-efficacy of first year teachers. A purposeful sample of 288 first year teachers employed across 20 southeast Texas public school districts were administered the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale to assess their level of self-efficacy. Results from the independent t-test found insufficient evidence to suggest that teacher certification program and/or the subject matter assigned to teach had any influence on the self-efficacy of first year teachers. Teachers from traditional and alternative certification programs noted the importance of experience and mentoring as being crucial elements necessary to support their self-efficacy
Leading Inquiry in Schools: Examining Mental Models of Data-Informed Practice
Get PDFIn order to learn more about the ways in which educators in various roles construe “data” and “data use,” we conducted a study in a small school district in central Texas, collecting survey data from n=154 educators in August 2012. Analyses revealed that while all educators reported using some form of evidence to inform practice, the terms used to describe that evidence varied. Further, more teacher participants attached mixed connotations to the terms, as compared to district leaders and campus leaders. Teachers whose survey responses suggested broader, more improvement-oriented mental models of data use reported slightly higher levels of commitment to data-informed practice. We review models of data-rich collaborative inquiry that provide approaches similar to “data-driven decision making” but which may avoid accountability- and compliance-laden language that appears to heighten anxiety among some teachers
Communities as Critical Partners in Teacher Education: The Impact of Community Immersion on Teacher Candidatesâ Understanding of Self and Teaching in Urban Schools
Get PDFCommunities play a critical role in helping teacher candidates understand the social and historical aspects of community and their impact on schools, students and families, particularly in urban communities. Communities should be integral and equal partners in preparing teachers for today’s diverse schools. This paper focuses on utilizing the community as a space for preparing urban teachers. It describes a study of an urban community immersion experience in teacher education at a predominantly white institution. This qualitative study was guided by two research questions, “How have these community immersion experiences influenced candidates’ understanding of self?” and “How have these experiences influenced candidates’ identity as a teacher in urban schools?” Findings suggest that carefully designed community experiences can have significant impact on teacher candidates’ understanding of self and their identity as teachers in urban schools
On the Effect of Learning Style on Scholastic Achievement
Get PDFThe present study was designed to explore the influence of learning styles on scholastic achievement levels. The participants in this study were undergraduate students studying social sciences at a Division 1 research university, The frequencies of the participants in the four learning style categories are the following: Convergent (n = 28), Divergent (n = 49), Assimilator (n = 76), and Accommodator (n = 40). The instruments used in the study were the Kolb learning style inventory and a demographic form. The major findings of the study are that the dominant learning style was Assimilator and that learning style and gender influenced academic achievement
Examining the Support of Modern Athletic Reform Proposals Developed by the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics in Response to Higher Education Athletic Reform: A Case Study
Get PDFThis study was conducted to determine the success for the diffusion of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) white paper Framing the Future: Reforming Intercollegiate Athletics. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and personal interviews were utilized to collect data and purposeful sampling was used to identify one NCAA Division I university in the state of Texas. Athletic personnel and faculty senate members were asked to complete the SoCQ and participate in an interview for the study. Findings provide evidence that the participants share common concerns in relation to the adoption of the COIA white paper such as creating a balanced approach to academics and athletics, increasing campus pride, and academic integrity. Participants also felt that meaningful collaboration among faculty and staff members can prove beneficial to helping individuals take ownership in the adoption process.  
Whose Opinions Count in Educational Policymaking?
Get PDFThe success of some advocacy organizations in advancing their preferred policies despite questionable evidence of the effectiveness of these policies raises questions about what contributes to successful policy promotion. We hypothesize that some education-focused organizations are advancing their agendas by engaging media, with individuals who may not possess traditionally defined educational expertise. Using two distinct expert lists, we examined relationships between measures of expertise and educational impact. We found non-significant positive relationships between these measures with a list of experts complied by a conservative think tank, while a second list from a university-based center showed a significant positive relationship. We conclude that media impact is at best loosely coupled to expertise. This issue should be explored in greater depth because deleterious outcomes are more likely if individuals are more successful in shaping policy discussion based on criteria outside of expertise
Best Practices in Recruiting and Retaining International Students in the U.S.
Get PDFThe number of international students on U.S. campuses is steadily increasing, and the prospect of the numbers increasing is in the forecast. According to Open Doors report (2012) the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 5% to 764,495 during the 2011/12 academic year. Altbach (1991) argued that international students are “among the most important and visible elements of internationalism” (p. 305). This research intended to identify the best practices in recruiting and retaining international students through learning the best practices of the select U.S. institutions with the largest number of international students on their campuses. Findings indicated that the key when recruiting and retaining international students is the ability “to relate and communicate effectively when individuals involved in the interaction do not share the same culture, ethnicity, language, or other salient variables” (Hains, Lynch, & Winton, 2000, p. 2). Presence of international students on U.S. campuses is significant and the institutions surveyed are providing the best services that they can to make these students feel welcome. However, international students are not simply recipients of services provided to them by these institutions but rather are partners both benefiting from this exchange
Adjunct Faculty: Who are these Unsung Heroes of Academe?
Get PDFA trend in hiring adjuncts exists. Adjuncts bring real-world perspectives to students, provide scheduling flexibility for department heads, and are a cost savings for colleges and universities. The purpose of this paper was to examine the role of AF within the overall professorate. Who are these part-time instructors? This research study was an archival quantitative, data mining study using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). This study identified full-time and part-time faculty according to gender and race from a total of 4,426 degree-granting universities in the United States. Examination of the data revealed that adjuncts represented 50 percent of the total faculty in degree-granting institutions in the United States for the year 2011. Implications from this study have a bearing on institutional morale, turnover, productivity, student service, community relations, employee relations, and institutional image
Elementary Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge of Equity Pedagogy
Get PDFCurrently, mathematics instruction in U.S. classrooms is far from achieving equity for African American students. This qualitative study reports the results of eight successful elementary mathematics teachers knowledge of equity pedagogy, specifically their knowledge of culturally relevant pedagogy, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. Teachers knowledge of equity pedagogy was examined using interview data. The results of this study revealed that successful mathematics teachers of African American students have knowledge of equity pedagogy. Implications for teacher preparation and professional development programs are discussed
State Assessments: Does a Charter School Truly Demonstrate Higher Proficiency than its Public Counterpart?
Get PDFThis project compared annual mandated assessment results for an urban charter school, two comparable urban schools and the encompassing urban district. Scores in grades three through eight in the target school were analyzed to determine the percentage of students scoring at proficiency levels three and four (scores of one and two are considered failing). These scores were then compared to the surrounding district as well as two other schools with similar demographics using a Z-test for estimation of a proportion. The results indicated although the number of students who performed at proficiency in the target school seemed to be higher, once corrected for the disparity in population size, these students perform the same, or worse than, students in comparable schools. Further, the scores are more inconsistent between grades in the target school than the scores in the lower performing schools. Suggestions for remediating the inconsistency and addressing the problems for consistently low percentage of proficiency scores are provided