bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Designing State-Sponsored Teacher Networks: A Comparison of Two Cases
Authors: Firestone William A. , Pennell James R.
Published: March 2008

Using interviews with teachers, network staff, and state policymakers as well as direct observation, this article compares state-sponsored teacher networks from Vermont and California. We conclude that state-sponsored networks can improve teachers’ knowledge and motivation while empowering them. We offer three recommendations. First, networks should use a loosely coupled, capacity-building strategy to support reform. Second, extrinsic incentives such as policy-based pressure or financial rewards should reduce teachers’ costs of participation and help them take advantage of networks’ intrinsic incentives. Finally, networks ought to offer a mix of activities that vary in their emphasis on delivering knowledge to teachers or helping them to construct it.
Divergent Perspectives on Citizenship Education: A Q-Method Study and Survey of Social Studies Teachers
Authors: Anderson Christopher , Avery Patricia G. , Pederson Patricia V. , Smith Elizabeth S. , Sullivan John L.
Published: March 2008

This study explored the views of contemporary social studies teachers on citizenship education. Q-technique was used to discern the principal conceptions held by teachers in two small samples. Minnesota teachers held three perspectives (cultural pluralism, communitarianism, and legalism) and teachers nationally held four perspectives (critical thinking, legalism, cultural pluralism, and assimilationism). Analysis of a large national sample survey of social studies teachers allows us to ascertain the popularity of each perspective generally and the characteristics of teachers who hold each perspective. Implications for citizenship education in a multicultural society are discussed.
Educational Policy Implementation in a Shifting Political Climate: The California Experience
Authors: Chrispeels Janet Hageman
Published: March 2008

The implementation of new evaluation systems in California to assess students' complex problem-solving and critical-thinking skills aroused political controversy. This study presents a longitudinal and intertextual analysis of policymaking activity over a 10-year period to identify factors that supported local policy implementation in a shifting political climate. Evaluation data from three professional development academies designed to assist teachers and administrators in one region of the state to be leaders for assessment reform were analyzed. By examining the types of policy instruments used, comparing the policy texts, and juxtaposing these to the written and oral texts of educators from this region, the study shows how the enactment of policies over this period created a coherent policy system for California educators, built the capacity of local leaders to shape and interpret these policies, and influenced classroom practices. The analysis made visible how these three factors—coherence, capacity building, and changed practices—sustained local educators in pursuing alternative assessment even when a policy void was created at the state level by the veto of funding for the new assessment system.
A Comparison of Single-Sex and Coeducational Catholic Secondary Schooling: Evidence From the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988
Authors: LePore Paul C. , Warren John Robert
Published: March 2008

Three questions were addressed using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. First, are there differences between single-sex and coeducational Catholic secondary school students in academic and social psychological outcomes? Second, do these differences especially favor young women in single-sex schools? Third, can student pre-enrollment differences account for apparent sector effects? The results indicated that single-sex Catholic secondary schools were not especially favorable academic settings and that any advantages of attending these schools only benefited boys. However, any sector differences in student achievement test scores were explained by pre-enrollment differences in measured background and prior achievement. Recent changes in the demographic make-up of all Catholic high schools may account for the differences between our findings and prior research.
What Makes Schools Effective? A Comparison of the Relationships of Communitarian Climate and Academic Climate to Mathematics Achievement and Attendance During Middle School
Authors: Phillips Meredith
Published: March 2008

Over the past few decades, scholars and policymakers have been perplexed about why students learn so little in some schools. Many researchers and reformers currently claim that school effectiveness hinges on communal organization . They contend that shared values and activities, positive adult social relations, positive teacher–student relations, and democratic governance enhance students’ school engagement and their academic achievement. Yet a competing theory—that of academic press —posits a more direct link between school processes and academic outcomes. This theory suggests that schools are effective when they offer demanding curricula and employ teachers whose educational expectations for their students are high. The present article used hierarchical modeling to compare the merits of these two theories. Analyses of longitudinal data on three cohorts of students (N > 5,600) from 23 middle schools indicated that communal organization was not related to mathematics achievement or attendance. Academic press, on the other hand, was positively related to both mathematics achievement and attendance. These results call for somewhat greater skepticism about the currently popular communitarian solution to school ineffectiveness.
Learning by Understanding: The Role of Multiple Representations in Learning Algebra
Authors: Brenner Mary E. , Mayer Richard E. , Moseley Bryan , Brar Theresa , Durán Richard , Reed Barbara Smith , Webb David
Published: March 2008

Prealgebra students learned about functions in a unit that emphasized (a) representing problems in multiple formats, (b) anchoring learning in a meaningful thematic context, and (c) problem-solving processes in cooperative groups. In posttest results, treatment students were more successful in representing and solving a function word problem and were better at problem representation tasks such as translating word problems into tables and graphs than were comparison students. Similar results were found for students who spoke English as a second language.
State Policy and the Non-Monolithic Nature of the Local School District: Organizational and Professional Considerations
Authors: Spillane James P.
Published: March 2008

This article examines how the local school district’s non-monolithic character undermines state level efforts to create more coherent guidance for instruction of teachers. Exploring two school districts’ responses to a state reading policy, the author suggests that what the school district does by way of enacting state policy is not always internally homogenous: The image of the school district that emerges is one of a non-monolithic agency of instructional guidance. Attempting to unravel and explain the internal variation in the school district’s response to state policy, the author considers the school district’s organizational arrangements as well as the professional specializations and associations of district staff.
How Tutors Model Students: A Study of Personal Constructs in Adaptive Tutoring
Authors: Deny Sharon J. , Potts Michael K.
Published: March 2008

Studies of tutoring are producing rich descriptions of tutorial dialogue but have not identified constructs that tutors use to classify and discriminate among students for the purpose of adapting tutoring to student differences. This study investigated five experienced tutors’ personal constructs about students tutored over a significant period of time. Several tutoring settings and domains were represented. Constructs used by tutors to discriminate among tutees were identified with repertory grid interviews and interpreted with the aid of cluster analysis. All tutors judged and classified students in terms of two underlying dimensions that were similarly defined, though not exactly alike, across tutors: motivation and intellectual ability. Tutors’ personal constructs and tutorial decisions informed by those constructs are reported, and implications for programming computer-based tutors are discussed.
Defining Prose Task Characteristics for Use in Computer-Adaptive Testing and Instruction
Authors: Mosenthal Peter B.
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this study was to validate the constructs that define the difficulty levels of prose-task processing. To accomplish this, this study investigated the extent to which variables from a previous study ( Mosenthal, 1996 ) on document processing influenced difficulty on 165 tasks drawn from the prose scales of five national, adult-literacy surveys. It was found that three process variables accounted for 78% of the variance when prose task difficulty was defined using level scores. The constructs within five levels are specified in terms of a hierarchy of processing difficulty and proficiency. The application of these levels for designing computer-adaptive testing and instruction programs is considered, as are applications for conducting prose research and interpreting literacy policy.
Toward Authentic Participation: Deconstructing the Discourses of Participatory Reforms in Education
Authors: Anderson Gary L.
Published: March 2008

Current educational reforms in the U.S. contain a pervasive discourse of participation. Although calls for participation of teachers, students, parents, communities, business, and numerous other stakeholders in schools are central to most reforms, there is increasing evidence that much participatory reform is either bogus, superficial, or ineffective ( Beare, 1993 ; Hargreaves, 1994 ; Malen & Ogawa, 1988 ; Smyth, 1993 ). In this article, I discuss the various influences on the discourse of participation and the ways it is currently being promoted and implemented by diverse constituencies. More specifically, I analyze (a) how participation becomes a form of public relations to create greater institutional legitimacy for current educational practices, (b) how participation mechanisms, viewed as disciplinary practices, become more sophisticated technologies of control, (c) how structures set up for greater participation often become sites for collusion, and (d) how movements promoting parental school choice in an educational marketplace are framed as providing greater parental participation. Finally, in an effort to sort out these issues and move toward more authentic forms of participation, a conceptual framework guided by five fundamental questions that orient participation efforts will be provided.
Research news and Comment: Of Squalls and Fathoms: Navigating the Seas of Educational Innovation
Authors: Alexander Patricia A. , Murphy P. Karen , Woods Bradford S.
Published: March 2008

In this commentary, we outline two responses to the question of why educational innovations come and go with such regularity. The first response we term “Doing What We Know.” This explanation relates to educators’ tendency to focus on issues that are relatively familiar, easier to communicate, and seemingly more controllable than those that are perhaps more fundamental to the difficulties characteristic of teaching and learning. The second response we forward pertains to educators’ rather limited knowledge of the people, movements, and writings that underlie many recurring innovations. It is argued that paucity of knowledge contributes to potentially superficial implementation of highly touted innovations, as well as to a general inability to tap into the roots of these educational innovations. In as much as this is the case, it is much more likely that those responsible for the construction or implementation of such innovations may overlook the rich histories that can inform and enhance current educational practice.
Research news and Comment: Adrift in the Sea of Innovations: A Response to Alexander, Murphy, and Woods
Authors: Morris Don R.
Published: March 2008

This commentary—a response to an earlier comment by Alexander, Murphy, and Woods in this journal—considers the question of the high turnover in educational innovations. Rather than seeking answers in the preferences and preparations of educators, it is argued that the high mortality rate of innovations is a function of their operation within an environment of institutionalized organizations. It is suggested that improving the performance of innovations will require understanding education as a dynamic system.
Rejoinder: Editorial Policies Regarding Statistical Significance Tests: Further Comments
Authors: Thompson Bruce
Published: March 2008

In this response to Robinson and Levin’s comments on Thompson (1996) , it is argued that describing results as “significant” rather than “statistically significant” is confusing to those persons most susceptible to misinterpreting this telegraphic wording. Contrary to Robinson and Levin’s view, it is noted that the utility of the characterization of results as being due to “nonchance” is limited by the nature of the null hypothesis assumed to be true. It is suggested that effect sizes are important to interpret, even though they too can be misinterpreted; recent empirical studies of publications indicate that effect sizes are still too rarely reported. Finally, the value of “external” replicability analyses is acknowledged, but it is argued that “internal” replicability analyses can also be useful, and certainly are superior to statistical significance tests regarding evaluating result replicability, because statistical significance tests do not evaluate replicability.
Research news and Comment: Rejoinder: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Effect-Size Estimation, and the Conclusion Coherence of Primary Research Studies
Authors: Levin Joel R. , Robinson Daniel H.
Published: March 2008

Support, in the form of both a fable and a framework, is provided for a two-step approach to the estimation and discussion of effect sizes. A distinction is made between single-study decision-oriented research and multiple-study syntheses. The concept of “conclusion coherence” (the consistency between statistical and verbal inference is introduced and illustrated within each investigative context.
Terminology, Emphasis, and Utility in Validation
Authors: Kane Michael T.
Published: March 2008

Lissitz and Samuelsen (2007) have proposed an operational definition of validity that shifts many of the questions traditionally considered under validity to a separate category associated with the utility of test use. Operational definitions support inferences about how well people perform some kind of task or how they respond to some kind of stimulus. Such interpretations can be useful for some purposes, but they do not support any richer interpretations of scores. The author argues that validation should involve an evaluation of the proposed interpretations and uses of test scores. Test developers may choose to adopt a narrow operational interpretation of test scores, but if they do so, they should label the test accordingly.
Pygmalion Grows Up: A Model for Teacher Expectation Communication and Performance Influence
Authors: Cooper Harris M.
Published: March 2008

Much research has examined the effects teacher expectations have on student performance. While evidence indicating that expectations bias student performance is scant, a substantial literature suggests expectations can sustain performance at undesirable levels. Classroom observation reveals consistent patterns of differential teacher behavior toward high-and low-expectation students. No model has yet emerged, however, which integrates particular treatment findings into an influence sequence. Such a model is presented, outlining the cognitive processes through which teacher expectations can sustain a given level of achievement. The model suggests that teachers frequently give affectively valanced feedback to low-expectation students as a mechanism for interaction control. High-expectation students more frequently receive feedback based on their effort expenditure. These different evaluation contingencies may lead lows to believe less strongly than highs that effort will influence academic outcomes. Differences in effort-outcome covariation perceptions may lead to less persistence and more failure on the part of lows than highs, thus sustaining poorer performance. Possible means for identifying Pygmalion-prone teachers and research needed to validate the model are discussed.
Effects of Type and Combination of Feedback upon Conceptual Learning by Children: Implications for Research in Academic Learning
Authors: Barringer Craig , Gholson Barry
Published: March 2008

Laboratory research was reviewed that compared the effects of various types (verbal, symbolic, tangible) and combinations (right-wrong, right-blank, wrong-blank) of feedback upon children’s conceptual learning. This research was evaluated in terms of theories involving reinforcement, motivation, and information-processing interpretations. In general, the findings have been consistent in two respects: (1) Verbal and symbolic feedback produce more rapid acquisition than does tangible feedback. (2) The wrong-blank combination produces faster acquisition and more resistance to extinction than does the right-blank condition. Results yielded by the right-wrong combination have been inconsistent. Several variables which interact with the type and combination of feedback children receive have not been systematically evaluated (e.g., incentive value, instructions, feedback accumulation, mode of delivery). Implications of laboratory research findings were then considered in relation to prototypic research designed to modify and improve children’s academic learning. The general conclusion was that those concerned with applied research have overlooked some important findings, implications, and issues derived from laboratory research.
Predicting Academic Achievement from Classroom Behavior
Authors: Hoge Robert D. , Luce Sally
Published: March 2008

This review focuses on a set of studies in which data are presented on the classroom behavior-academic achievement relation. Three criteria were used in selecting studies for review: (a) the study employed observational measures of classroom behavior; (b) direct links were established between behavioral measures and some index of academic achievement; and (c) the pupil was employed as the unit of analysis. Following a summary of statistically significant behavior-achievement relations, an assessment of the research is presented in terms of concepts from the testing model. Thus, questions are raised regarding the reliability of the behavioral categories, their validity, and the nature of the relation that exists between behaviors and achievement. The review concludes with a summary of recommendations for future research on the issue.
On the Effectiveness of Students’ Evaluative Feedback to University Instructors
Authors: Rotem Arie , Glasman Naftaly S.
Published: March 2008

This review deals with the use of student ratings as feedback to teachers. Evidence suggests that differences in the source and nature of the feedback and in the attributes of feedback recipients partly explain the differential effect which feedback has on teachers. Issues associated with the research design of feedback studies are also surveyed. The review suggests the existence of a minimal effect at best of feedback on instructional improvement at the university level. Suggestions are offered for improving the nature of the feedback.
The Physical Environment of the School: A Review of the Research
Authors: Weinstein Carol S.
Published: March 2008

This paper reviews research on the impact of classroom environments on student behavior, attitudes, and achievement. The first section examines studies of six environmental variables: seating position, classroom design, density, privacy, noise, and the presence or absence of windows. In the second part of the paper, research conducted from an “ecological” perspective is considered. A third section focuses on the effects of open space school designs. Finally, some future directions for research are discussed, and the advantages and limitations of various research designs are summarized.
Cooperative Learning in Small Groups: Recent Methods and Effects on Achievement, Attitudes, and Ethnic Relations
Authors: Sharan Shlomo
Published: March 2008

Five recently published methods for conducting cooperative small-group learning in the classroom, and the experimental studies conducted by the authors of these methods are examined, evaluated, and compared in this study. The five methods are: Aronson’s Jigsaw classroom, DeVries’ Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT), Slavin’s Student Teams and Academic Divisions (STAD), the Johnsons’ cooperative learning approach, and the Sharans’ Small-group Teaching method. The former three methods are categorized as Peer-Tutoring methods, while the latter two are classified as examples of a Group-Investigation (G-I) approach. Findings are considered from experimental studies with these five methods, in terms of their differential effects on academic achievement, students’ attitudes, and on ethnic relations in desegregated classrooms. The implications of the distinction between Peer-Tutoring and G-I methods are explored. New directions for research are suggested with these cooperative small-group techniques which appear to exert noteworthy effects on a variety of cognitive and social-affective variables.
The Measurement and Treatment of Test Anxiety
Authors: Tryon Georgiana Shick
Published: March 2008

A review of the literature concerning the self-report test anxiety scales and treatment of test anxiety was conducted. The various popular self-report test anxiety instruments were examined with attention given to the reliability and validity status of the scales. Treatment studies were reviewed, with attention being paid to both the outcomes presented and the designs used. Treatments directed toward test worry were more effective in reducing self-reported test anxiety and increasing grades than treatments directed toward test emotionality. Self-reported test anxiety was found to decrease as a result of most treatment including pseudotherapy.
Effectiveness of Computer-based College Teaching: A Meta-analysis of Findings
Authors: Kulik James A. , Kulik Chen-Lin C. , Cohen Peter A.
Published: March 2008

This review used Glass’ (1976) meta-analytic techniques to integrate findings from 59 independent evaluations of computer-based college teaching. The meta-analysis showed that computer-based instruction made small but significant contributions to the course achievement of college students and also produced positive, but again small, effects on the attitudes of students toward instruction and toward the subject matter they were studying. Computer-assisted instruction also reduced substantially the amount of time needed for instruction. In general, the meta-analysis found little relationship between study findings and design features of the experiments, settings for the studies, or manner and date of publication of the findings.
Social Role-taking: A Review of the Constructs, Measures, and Measurement Properties
Authors: Enright Robert D. , Lapsley Daniel K.
Published: March 2008

Social role-taking is examined psychometrically through a review of the constructs, measures developed to represent the constructs, and the reliability and validity of the measures. The construct is described in several different ways in the literature. Most measures show adequate interrater reliabilities, but there is less evidence regarding temporal stability or internal consistency of the scales. The validation efforts have primarily been on the age-stage relationship rather than on other aspects of the construct, although a more expanded focus has begun within the last few years. The review shows that Chandler’s cognitive, Selman’s sociomoral, and Flavell’s nickel-dime tasks possess the best psychometric properties. Recommendations for improving measurement in the social role-taking area are discussed.
Mnemonic Devices: Classification, Characteristics, and Criteria
Authors: Bellezza Francis S.
Published: March 2008

In recent years the importance of mnemonic strategies in learning has been recognized. Through the use of special mnemonic devices some spectacular results in recall performance have been obtained. However, systematic research on mnemonic devices is only now starting to be done. Consequently, not much is known about techniques for optimizing recall performance with mnemonic devices or the suitability of using mnemonic devices in educational settings. To help remedy this situation four aspects of the study of mnemonic devices are discussed: (1) Reasons are given why research on mnemonic devices should be performed. (2) A system is outlined by which common mnemonic devices can be classified. (3) Because recall with mnemonic devices is mediated by cognitive cuing structures created by the user, properties are described which these cognitive cuing structures must have to be effective. The criteria of constructibility, discriminability, associability, and invertibility are discussed as important properties of cognitive cuing structures. The characterization of mnemonic devices as cognitive cuing structures possessing these properties is proposed as a step forward in the development of a theory of mnemonic devices. (4) Certain methodological problems are discussed which make some of the past research on mnemonic devices inconclusive with respect to questions concerning their effectiveness.
Input-Output Analyses of Schools
Authors: Glasman Naftaly S. , Biniaminov Israel
Published: March 2008

This paper reviews the literature of input-output analyses of schools. Outputs are surveyed first, with a differentiation between cognitive and noncognitive ones. The effects of inputs on outputs are surveyed next, with a differentiation between student inputs and school inputs. Groups of student inputs include student background characteristics, school-related student characteristics, and student attitudes. Groups of school inputs include school conditions and instructional personnel. The literature is surveyed next by population samples, data aggregation, and statistical analyses. A structural causal model is offered at the end of the paper on the basis of the results of the survey.
Problems of Reliability and Validity in Ethnographic Research
Authors: LeCompte Margaret D. , Goetz Judith Preissle
Published: March 2008

Although problems of reliability and validity have been explored thoroughly by experimenters and other quantitative researchers, their treatment by ethnographers has been sporadic and haphazard. This article analyzes these constructs as defined and addressed by ethnographers. Issues of reliability and validity in ethnographic design are compared to their counterparts in experimental design. Threats to the credibility of ethnographic research are summarized and categorized from field study methodology. Strategies intended to enhance credibility are incorporated throughout the investigative process: study design, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of findings. Common approaches to resolving various categories of contamination are illustrated from the current literature in educational ethnography.
Scientific Guidelines for Conducting Integrative Research Reviews
Authors: Cooper Harris M.
Published: March 2008

The inferences made in integrative research reviews are as central to the validity of behavioral science knowledge as those made in primary research. Therefore, research reviewers must pay the same attention to rigorous methodology that is required of primary researchers. This article conceptualizes the research review as a scientific inquiry involving five stages that parallel those of primary research. The functions, sources of variance, and potential threats to validity associated with each stage are described.
Boards of Trustees and Academic Decisionmaking: A Review of Literature and Research
Authors: Engel Robert E. , Achola Paul P.W.
Published: March 2008

The literature reviewed for this paper was placed in three categories. The categories emerged from the scope of the literature base, which ranged from official documents, through impressions by participants in the governance process, to reports of systematic observations of what trustees do. The trustee activity that was the focus for the review was academic affairs. Academic affairs are those that have an obvious and direct relationship to curriculum and instruction and to faculty and students in their scholarly role.

Specifically, the three types of literature include: (1) studies with quasi-legalistic assertions for and against board involvement in decisions about academic matters; (2) studies that offer surveys of the perceptions and opinions of trustees, administrators, and faculty about board responsibilities for decisions regarding academic matters; and (3) studies that address what boards of trustees actually decide about academic affairs.

The authors apply two ideological assumptions to their review which are drawn from political science. They are the expectation in a democratic society that its leaders should be held accountable for their decisions, and the recognition that elitism is fostered by the specialized knowledge of faculty, the control of information by administrators, and the use of complex committee structure by boards and institutions. In this context elites are those who exercise power out of proportion to the size of their group, and whose power is usually related to authority.

The paucity of empirical and analytical studies of board decisionmaking is noted.
Academic Work
Authors: Doyle Walter
Published: March 2008

This review focuses on the intrinsic character of academic work in elementary and secondry schools and the way that work is experienced by teachers and students in classrooms. The first section contains a review of recent research in cognitive psychology on the intellectual demands of the tasks contained in the school curriculum, with particular attention to the inherent complexity of most of the tasks students encounter. The findings of this research are brought to bear on the issue of direct versus indirect instruction. The second section is directed to studies of how academic work is accomplished in classroom environments. Classrooms appear to shape the content of the curriculum in fundamental ways for all students and especially those who find academic work difficult. In addition, the processes that are likely to have the greatest long-term consequences are the most difficult to teach in classrooms. The paper concludes with an analysis of issues related to improving instruction and extending current directions in research on teaching.
Issues Concerning the Acquisition of Knowledge: Effects of Vocabulary Training on Reading Comprehension
Authors: Mezynski Karen
Published: March 2008

A strong psychometric relationship has consistently been reported between measures of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. This finding could imply that one way to improve children’s reading performance is to increase their vocabulary. Eight studies are reviewed that attempted to do this. Although all eight studies reported increases in students’ word knowledge, many failed to facilitate reading comprehension. Methodological and instructional differences across studies are examined in an attempt to account for the different results. The major goal of this paper is to discuss methodological and theoretical issues that arise from a review of the studies and to suggest implications for future research.
College Programs for High-risk and Disadvantaged Students: A Meta-analysis of Findings
Authors: Kulik Chen-Lin C. , Kulik James A. , Shwalb Barbara J.
Published: March 2008

This meta-analytic synthesis of findings from 60 evaluation studies showed that special college programs for high-risk students have had basically positive effects on students. High-risk students who enrolled in such programs stayed in college somewhat longer than control students did, and they received somewhat better grades in regular college work. Although such program effects were statistically reliable, they were fairly small in size in the typical study. Size of effect varied, however, as a function of the type and the age of the program being evaluated. Size of effect was also a function of document type; effects reported in clearing-house documents were smaller than those in published articles and dissertations.
The Impact of Elementary Children’s School Roles and Sex Roles on Teacher Attitudes: An Interactional Analysis
Authors: Kedar-Voivodas Gita
Published: March 2008

In this paper, teachers' attitudes toward children are examined from the perspective of role theory. Based on existing analyses of the school as a social system, three school roles for children are formulated: Pupil, receptive learner, and active learner. Their relationship to the hidden and academic curricula of the school is discussed. The extant literature in three major areas of research on teacher attitudes is analyzed in terms of their interactions with each of the three children's school roles and with children's sex roles. The implications of these interactions for the differential educational experiences of boys and girls are considered. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.
Effects of Activity-based Elementary Science on Student Outcomes: A Quantitative Synthesis
Authors: Bredderman Ted
Published: March 2008

In this study, meta-analysis techniques were used to synthesize research on the effectiveness of three major activity-based elementary science programs (ESS, SAPA, and SCIS), which were developed with federal support. In 57 controlled studies, outcomes were measured in over 900 classrooms; the overall mean effect size for all outcome areas was .35. The mean effect size was .52 for science process tests, .16 for science content, and .28 for affective outcomes. On the average, gains also were realized in creativity, intelligence, language, and mathematics. Only 3 of 14 coded study features were related to reported effects: Disadvantaged students derived greater benefits than other students; tests not biased in favor of the activity-based programs resulted in positive but lower effects than those favoring the activity-based approach; and published reports had higher effects than unpublished reports. The effects of particular programs reflect their relative curricular emphases. In three followup studies, student groups that had had activity-based programs in elementary school and had later experienced traditional science programs during middle school years could not be consistently distinguished from control groups.
Effects of Coaching Programs on Achievement Test Performance
Authors: Bangert-Drowns Robert L. , Kulik James A. , Kulik Chen-Lin C.
Published: March 2008

This article presents results from a meta-analysis of findings on the effectiveness of coaching for achievement tests. The data for the meta-analysis came from 30 controlled studies of coaching programs. In the typical study, the effect of coaching was to raise achievement test scores by .25 standard deviations. Effects varied, however, with the level of the training intervention. They were smaller for short test-taking orientation sessions, larger for more extensive programs of drill and practice, and largest in a single lengthy program designed to improve broad cognitive skills. Effects also were related directly to the number of contact hours in the coaching program.
Dropping Out Among Language Minority Youth
Authors: Steinberg Laurence , Blinde Patricia Lin , Chan Kenyon S.
Published: March 2008

Dropping out of high school among language minority youngsters, a group characterized by an extremely high dropout rate, has seldom been examined. In this review, direct and indirect evidence concerning school-leaving among language minority youth is discussed. Generally speaking, it appears that the combination of socioeconomic disadvantage and early academic failure—a combination known to be predictive of dropping out—contributes to the higher dropout rate of language minority youngsters. Interestingly, however, although the evidence is by no means unequivocal, studies conducted to date suggest that dropping out is more prevalent among language minority youngsters from Hispanic backgrounds than among other non-English-speaking youngsters. Four hypotheses concerning the higher dropout rate of language minority Hispanics are discussed: (a) It is a socioeconomic artifact; (b) there exist ethnic group differences in the pressure parents place on youngsters to learn and use English; (c) school personnel interact more negatively with Spanish-speaking youngsters than with other language minority youth; and (d) differences in dropout rates are attributable to differences in the circumstances surrounding youngsters’ immigration to the United States.
Three Ideological Orientations in School Vandalism Research
Authors: Zwier Gerard , Vaughan Graham M.
Published: March 2008

School vandalism is one of the major problems threatening the educational system of various western countries. We review the literature on this topic and point out some of the difficulties that hamper a thorough understanding of this social phenomenon. We emphasize those strategies that have been found to be successful in reducing the incidence of this offence. We interpret the available information in terms of three ideological orientations: conservative, liberal, and radical, each of which can be shown to result in effective policies. The choice as to which strategy to employ on a national basis thus depends less on its proven efficacy than on the values and attitudes of those concerned with the problem. Hence, we argue that future investigations into school vandalism must adopt an “action research” approach, that is, research that continually assesses the effect that certain manipulations have on a specific school system. Representatives of all interested parties (teachers, parents, and students) must decide with the principal which particular strategy changes the existing conditions most favorably for all concerned.
Effects of Accelerated Instruction on Students
Authors: Kulik James A. , Kulik Chen-Lin C.
Published: March 2008

This article presents results from a meta-analysis of findings on the effects of accelerated instruction on elementary and secondary school students. The data for the meta-analysis came from 26 controlled studies. The analysis showed that examination performance of accelerates surpassed by nearly one grade level the performance of nonaccelerates of equivalent age and intelligence. Examination scores of accelerates were equivalent to those of same-grade but older, talented nonaccelerates. Nonintellective outcomes were investigated relatively infrequently in the 26 studies and were not consistent from study to study.
Construct Validity and Criterion-Referenced Testing
Authors: Haertel Edward
Published: March 2008

Construct validation is as important for the measurement of school outcomes as of constructs in personality or human abilities. A multifaceted inquiry is called for, bringing both psychological theory and empirical findings to bear upon the meaning of achievement test performance. It is proposed that achievement constructs be described in both psychological and behavioral terms, and this procedure is illustrated for the construct of functional literacy. Psychological models of specific skills taught in school are reviewed, and implications for testing are drawn. Achievement tests can be constructed by sampling a faceted item domain embedded in a broader domain of intended but untested instructional outcomes. Studies probing the relation of test performance to this broader domain are then carried out as part of the construct validation. This strategy can yield tests more closely linked to the curriculum, provide information required for defensible standard setting, and rationalize criterion-referenced interpretations for sound research and wise educational policy
Leader Succession in School Settings
Authors: Miskel Cecil , Cosgrove Dorothy
Published: March 2008

Conventional wisdom maintains that changing administrators will improve school performance. Some research evidence suggests, however, that because leader succession is disruptive to communication, decisionmaking and power processes, it will have either no causal effect or a negative effect on organizational effectiveness. Even if the impacts are modest, leader succession produces a naturally occurring set of events that provides excellent opportunities for researchers to assess administrator effects on school performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is threefold: (a) to construct a model that specifies a number of major school process and outcome variables associated with administrator succession, (b) to review the succession literature for each component, and (c) to suggest a variety of research strategies to examine administrator succession and effects of leaders on school processes and outcomes
An Evaluation of Group Parent Education: Behavioral, PET, and Adlerian Programs
Authors: Dembo Myron H. , Sweitzer Melissa , Lauritzen Phyllis
Published: March 2008

An evaluation of 48 investigations on three parent education programs—behavioral, PET, and Adlerian—indicated that certain changes in parental attitudes and/or child behavior were evident as a result of different educational approaches. These changes were not always consistent and often depended on the type of assessment and educational approach used. Recommendations for future research include determining individual parental goals and existing knowledge and attitudes about child-rearing, considering the impact of parental characteristics and the possible interaction of these characteristics with different program goals and procedures, identifying factors influencing leader or instructor effectiveness, and using appropriate research designs, control groups, and multiple assessment procedures.
Does Moral Education Improve Moral Judgment? A Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies Using the Defining Issues Test
Authors: Schlaefli Andre , Rest James R. , Thoma Stephen J.
Published: March 2008

A review was conducted of 55 studies of education interventions designed to stimulate development in moral judgment. All studies used the Defining Issues Test. Various subject groups were involved (junior and senior high school students, college and graduate students, adults), various types of programs were employed (group discussion of moral dilemmas, psychological development programs, social studies and humanities courses), and the duration of the programs varied (a few hours to a year-long program). The principal findings from meta-analysis indicate that the dilemma discussion and psychological development programs produce modest overall effect sizes, that treatments of about 3 to 12 weeks are optimal, and that programs with adults (24 years and older) produce larger effect sizes than with younger subjects; however, significant effect sizes are obtained with all groups.
Second Language Learning Through Immersion: A Review of U.S. Programs
Authors: Genesee Fred
Published: March 2008

Second language immersion programs, originally developed in Canada some 20 years ago, have been implemented in a number of U.S. cities. Alternative forms of U.S. programs are described—enriched, magnet, and two-way bilingual—and research findings pertaining to the effectiveness of each are summarized and discussed.
An Empirically Based Instructional Design Theory for Teaching Concepts
Authors: Tennyson Robert D. , Cocchiarella Martin J.
Published: March 2008

An instructional design theory for concept teaching is presented. The theory is based on direct empirical validation from a programmatic line of instructional systems research. Concept learning is viewed as a two-phase process: (a) formation of conceptual knowledge and (b) development of procedural knowledge. Two fundamental components of the proposed theoretical model are content structure variables and instructional design variables. A rational combination of these components, based on a content analysis that takes into account the learning model, provides the means for the selection of one of four basic instructional design strategies. Research studies that contribute to the model are reviewed, and the model is described with reference to instructional methods and cognitive processes.
The Effects of Vocabulary Instruction: A Model-Based Meta-Analysis
Authors: Stahl Steven A. , Fairbanks Marilyn M.
Published: March 2008

This paper reports a meta-analysis of studies concerned with the effects of vocabulary instruction on the learning of word meanings and on comprehension. This analysis was used to examine two questions: Does vocabulary instruction have a significant effect on children’s comprehension of text? What types of vocabulary instruction are most effective? In response to the first question, a mean effect size of .97 could be attributed to vocabulary instruction for comprehension of passages containing taught words and of .30 for global measures of comprehension, both of which are significantly different from zero. For the second question, it was suggested that the most effective vocabulary teaching methods included both definitional and contextual information in their programs, involved the students in deeper processing, and gave the students more than one or two exposures to the to-be-learned words. In addition, the mnemonic keyword method was found to have reliable effects on recall of definitions and sentence comprehension.
Reading Disability Research: An Interactionist Perspective
Authors: Lipson Marjorie Youmans , Wixson Karen K.
Published: March 2008

In this paper we examine reading (dis)ability from an interactionist perspective, and discuss the implications of this view for research on reading disability. The paper is divided into three sections as follows. The first section provides a brief historical perspective of the events leading to current views of reading disability and research practices in this area. The second section presents a review of selected literature that provides an interactionist perspective on reading (dis)ability. The final section provides a discussion of the implications of this perspective for future research on reading disability and presents examples of “interactive” research. Our general thesis in this paper is that research on reading disability must move away from the search for causative factors within the reader and toward the specification of the conditions under which different readers can and will learn.
A Consumer’s Guide to Setting Performance Standards on Criterion-Referenced Tests
Authors: Berk Ronald A.
Published: March 2008

This review identifies 38 methods for either setting standards or adjusting them based on an analysis of classification error rates. A trilevel classification scheme is used to categorize the methods, and 10 criteria of technical adequacy and practicability are proposed to evaluate them. The salient characteristics of 23 continuum standard-setting methods are described and evaluated in the form of a “consumer’s guide.” Specific recommendations are offered for classroom teachers, educational certification test specialists, licensing and certification boards, and test publishers and independent test contractors.