Current Issues in Education (E-Journal, Arizona State University)
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Valuing Children's Voices
Get PDFThis paper explores the voices of elementary children in public schools. Three data bases were used including (a) interviews with 25 elementary students, (b) drawings and writings created by 225 third through sixth-grade students about their high stakes testing experiences, and (c) observations in two first-grade classrooms. The data demonstrate that elementary children have much to say about their overall school experiences, including their worries at school, their feelings of disconnect with their teachers, the lack of meaningful learning experiences, and their desire to be heard as unique individuals. These findings challenge educators to make changes in American classrooms in order to best meet the needs of young children
Rethinking Undergraduate Mathematics Education: The importance of classroom climate and self-efficacy on mathematics achievement
Get PDFGiven the growing societal demand for a more mathematically proficient work force, mathematics proficiency is viewed as a necessary component for success in todayâs world. To ensure proficiency, undergraduate institutions may need to rethink their instructional approaches to teaching mathematics. Understanding the influence of classroom climate and self-efficacy on mathematics achievement may lead to instructional practices that increase the percentage of students choosing to pursue mathematics related majors. This literature review synthesizes research that has empirically examined the influence of classroom climate and self-efficacy on mathematics achievement. This review also offers recommendations for future research and policy in the area of undergraduate mathematics
Parenting Style, Self-Esteem and Student Performance in the United Arab Emirates
Get PDFThe impact of parenting styles on 4-7th grade studentsâ performance and self-esteem was analyzed within a sample of United Arab Emirates (UAE) public school children. A sample of 162 children (50% boys, 50% girls) reported on their parentsâ child-rearing practices. Parenting styles were classified into one of three groups (autonomy granting, demandingness, or responsiveness). The results show that demandingness was found to have a significant impact on GPA scores. Both gender and age were significantly related to parenting styles. Factor analysis results suggested that Family Cohesion and Effort were positively related to school performance and Self-autonomy was negatively related to school performance. Self-esteem was not significantly related to any of the variables studied
Research into Factors Contributing to Discipline Use and Disproportionality in Major Urban Schools
Get PDFMajor urban high poverty schools frequently use exclusionary discipline (i.e., out of school suspensions) and apply these consequences disproportionately to African American students. We explored school demographic variables predicting these two outcomes using data from 433 major urban, high poverty schools. Results suggest a different set of predictors for the overall use of suspensions than for disproportionality. Specifically, four variables significantly predicted overall suspension use (office disciplinary referrals; the proportions of African American teachers, economically disadvantaged students, and African American students) whereas only one variable significantly predicted disproportionality (percentage economically disadvantaged students). Implications, limitations and future directions are provided
College-Readiness and Academic Preparedness: The Same Concepts?
Get PDFThe purpose of this literature review is to examine the issue of college-readiness as it relates to the concept of academic-preparedness. With President Obamaâs emphasis on changing the No Child Left Behind Act to a focus on college- and career-readiness, an examination of college-readiness is merited. Within the last several decades, academically rigorous curriculum and stringent accountability measures have been mandated by state and federal legislation in hopes of increasing the likelihood of students graduating from high school college-ready. A question that remains unanswered is the extent to which high school graduates are more academically prepared based on core curriculum and a one-size-fits-all standardized testing regime rather than being college-ready. The politics of education, including national reports and legislative acts, was examined and discussed to shed light on the issue of college-readiness. In a review of the plethora of college-readiness literature, college-readiness should, in all likelihood, be defined as academic preparedness
Students' First Amendment Rights and Demographics: Gauging School Board Responsiveness to Student Speech Policy
Get PDFThis study examined the degree to which school boards locally modified student speech policy. Using online policy manuals provided by the Texas Association of School Boards, speech policies for 91 school districts were gathered and reviewed. The results of a chi-square statistic indicate geographical location and student enrollment were significantly related to whether school boards made changes to its speech policy. Although not surprising, the more pertinent issue becomes whether student speech should generate greater attention as schools become more diverse
A Comparison of the Academic Performance of College Bound High School Students in Regional vs. Community High Schools in Connecticut
Get PDFConsolidated Regional High Schools (RHSs) have replaced traditional Community High Schools (CHSs) in many nonmetropolitan communities. Consolidation purports to offer cost savings that, in theory, enable nonmetropolitan districts to provide a wider array of instructional opportunities to their students. Nonetheless, critics argue that the benefits of consolidation do not outweigh the costs. This inquiry adds to this discussion an examination of differences in performance on the 2006 - 2008 SAT I between RHS and CHS students in Connecticut. Results suggest that RHS students outperformed their CHS counterparts on 15 of 16 points of comparison. Four of these differences reaching statistical significance
Perceptions of Teacher Planning Time: An Epistemological Challenge
Get PDFThe concept of developing teacher collaboration teams continues to be a prevalent problem for teachers and schools. The results of a Saskatchewan study of beginning teachers (Hellsten et al., 2007) was the finding that first and second year teachers perceived planning and collaboration with other teachers, as well as professional development as the least important support or resource for their induction years. This bears heavy implications for teacher learning and learning improvement in todayâs schools. This paper examines the perceptions that beginning teachers in Saskatchewan have regarding preparation time and planning time, explores the epistemological basis for these findings and the impact of this basis, and discusses the significance of this finding and the potential problems and implications that this realization has for continued theory and practice for teacher education and collaboration in schools
The De-Emphasis on Social Studies in Elementary Schools: Teacher Candidate Perspective
Get PDFThe de-valuing of social studies is becoming prevalent as schools shift emphasis to other subjects addressing national and state accountability. The teacher candidate perspective is presented from an original study regarding the de-emphasis of social studies in elementary schools (Author, et al, 2006). Data were gathered by teacher candidates during their clinical experiences, from five teacher preparation programs in North Carolina. Teacher candidates recognized difficulty in finding instructional time for the entire curriculum, conveyed social studies is de-valued in the elementary curriculum, stated integration is important to social studies instruction, and recognized it is their responsibility social studies is taught
Does it Work? A Guide to Investigating the Efficacy of Interventions in Educational Research
Get PDFThis paper examines types of research questions posed by educational researchers and identifies intervention research as a type of causal question. Next, research designs for answering causal questions are reviewed, paying attention to the application of lesser used designs that may overcome limitations faced when randomized experimental designs are not feasible or appropriate. The role of the designs is discussed as is the role of non-causal research in education. Finally, a graphical organizer to aid in interpreting existing research and planning future research on educational interventions is presented. A design for a sample study to test the effects of a new math program that may be used as a model for participants who may be considering planning their own research is also presented