bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultural Differences in the Use of Strategies for Self-Regulated Learning
Authors: Purdie Nola , Hattie John
Published: March 2008

This article reports the results of a study that compared the strategies used by three different groups of upper secondary school students to regulate their own learning processes: Australian students, Japanese students at school in Japan, and Japanese students studying in Australian schools. Although students in the three groups used a similar range of strategies, the pattern of use for each cultural group varied. Variations in the pattern of strategy use were also associated with academic achievement. The structuring of the physical environment for study purposes and the checking of one’s work were two of the most important strategies for each of the groups. The Japanese students used memory strategies significantly more than did the Australian students. Furthermore, although Japanese students studying in Australia resembled their Australian counterparts more than their Japanese counterparts on many of the strategies, they still attached significantly greater importance to the use of memorization than did the Australian students. This finding is discussed in the light of cultural and educational differences between the two groups in terms of their beliefs regarding the relationship between memorization and understanding.
Restructuring in Context: A Case Study of Teacher Participation and the Dynamics of Ideology, Race, and Power
Authors: Lipman Pauline
Published: March 2008

Teacher participation is central to many school restructuring projects. This article challenges assumptions regarding the connection between greater teacher empowerment and school-based reform, particularly for students in marginalized groups. The article presents a case study of teacher collaboration and decision making in restructuring a junior high school and the implications for low-achieving African-American students. Using ethnographic methods, the study examines the influence of teachers’ ideologies and the social and political contexts in which the school is embedded. My analysis of the data suggests that, if restructuring is to transform the educational experiences of marginalized students, it will require both personal and social change—challenging educators’ beliefs and assumptions as well as relations of power in schools and communities.
Public Goods, Private Goods: The American Struggle Over Educational Goals
Authors: Labaree David F.
Published: March 2008

This article explores three alternative goals for American education that have been at the root of educational conflicts over the years: democratic equality (schools should focus on preparing citizens), social efficiency (they should focus on training workers), and social mobility (they should prepare individuals to compete for social positions). These goals represent, respectively, the educational perspective of the citizen, the taxpayer, and the consumer. Whereas the first two look on education as a public good, the third sees it as a private good. Historical conflict over these competing visions of education has resulted in a contradictory structure for the educational system that has sharply impaired its effectiveness. More important still has been the growing domination of the social mobility goal, which has reshaped education into a commodity for the purposes of status attainment and has elevated the pursuit of credentials over the acquisition of knowledge.
Enhancing the Validity and Usefulness of Large-Scale Educational Assessments: IV NELS:88 Science Achievement to 12th Grade
Authors: Nussbaum E. Michael , Hamilton Laura S. , Snow Richard E.
Published: March 2008

This study is fourth in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using psychologically meaningful subscores in national education surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. It carries the analysis of the NELS:88 science test through to the 12th grade. The test was subjected to full information item factor analysis. Factors reflecting quantitative science, spatial-mechanical reasoning, and basic knowledge and reasoning were obtained. When compared with previous 8th- and 10th-grade analyses, the factor structure appeared to simplify and stabilize in high school, probably because of greater curriculum standardization in high school as well as changes in the test. Regression analyses showed that different patterns of prior achievement and course taking were associated with each 12th-grade science factor. Being in an advanced track was related to quantitative science. Spatial-mechanical reasoning showed the strongest gender and ethnic effects. Asian-American students on average showed an advantage on quantitative science but a disadvantage on spatial-mechanical reasoning scores. It is recommended that multidimensional achievement scores be used to capture educational effects that total scores used alone miss.
An Empirical Typology of Perfectionism in Academically Talented Children
Authors: Parker Wayne D.
Published: March 2008

A nationally gathered sample of 820 academically talented sixth graders at the Center for Talented Youth of Johns Hopkins University took the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and scores were cluster analyzed using both hierarchical and nonhierarchical cluster analysis with cross-validation. A three-cluster solution was indicated. Students also took the Adjective Check List ( Gough & Heilbrun, 1983 ), the NEO-Five Factor Inventory ( Costa & McCrae, 1992 ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ), and the Brief Symptom Inventory ( Derogatis, 1993 ) to determine characteristics of cluster membership. Results indicated that the cluster groups comprised a nonperfectionistic type (32.8%), a healthy perfectionistic type (41.7%), and a dysfunctional perfectionistic type (25.5%). Parent perceptions of the children were consistent with the students' self-perceptions. The construct of perfectionism was primarily associated with conscientiousness and secondarily with agreeableness and neurosis.
Coursework Selection: Relations to Academic Self-Concept and Achievement
Authors: Marsh Herbert W. , Yeung Alexander Seeshing
Published: March 2008

Theoretical models posit that self-concept as well as prior accomplishments influence choice behavior. Structural equation models were used to examine the paths from school grades and self-concept to subsequent coursework selection (N = 246). Paths from self-concept to wanting to take a particular subject and, to a lesser extent, actually taking it were significant, but school grades did not contribute consistently beyond the effects of self-concept. When general academic self-concept (GASC) was added to these models, paths from GASC to coursework selection were negative, and paths from the specific components of self-concept increased; a positive self-concept in a specific school subject contributes even more to selection of that subject if self-concepts in other school subjects are lower. The major results were consistent across Years 8 and 10 and reasonably consistent across nine school subjects. The finding that specific components of self-concept are more strongly related to subsequent course selection than are school grades is substantively important and provides further support for the need to consider multiple dimensions of academic self-concept.
The Relationship Between Teachers’ Theoretical Orientation Toward Reading and Student Outcomes in Kindergarten Children With Different Initial Reading Abilities
Authors: Sacks Colin H. , Mergendoller John R.
Published: March 2008

We examined the relationships between kindergarten teachers’ theoretical orientations toward reading, classroom process and task assignment, and student outcomes for students who had scored above or below the population median on a standardized test of early reading ability. The reading achievement of lower scoring children improved the most in whole language- oriented classrooms, while higher scoring children in both whole language-and phonics-oriented classrooms and lower scoring children in phonics-oriented classrooms demonstrated lesser reading gains. Whole language-and phonics-oriented teachers emphasized different literacy tasks. Students in whole language-oriented classes spent a greater proportion of class time attending to nonbook print, using invented spelling, and dictating stories. Children in phonics-oriented classes spent a greater proportion of time looking through books on their own; copying letters, words, and sentences; and completing worksheets. Lower scoring students exhibited higher levels of engagement in whole language-oriented classrooms than in phonics-oriented classrooms. Implications for kindergarten instruction with children of differing initial reading abilities are discussed in the context of a stage model of reading development.
The Differences in Theory That Matter in the Practice of School Improvement
Authors: Hatch Thomas
Published: March 2008

School improvement efforts often create controversies and conflicts that can make success difficult if not impossible to achieve. This article suggests that differences in the theories of action held by different people and organizations involved in reform efforts may be a critical source of these conflicts. An analysis of the first 2 years of the ATLAS Communities Project—a collaboration of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Education Development Center, Harvard Project Zero, and the School Development Program—shows how differences in the theories of action of these organizations contributed to significant disagreements over a number of key issues related to the process of change, the nature of the curriculum, and the shape of personal and organizational development. As a result, despite considerable funding, broad initial agreements, and good relationships at the highest levels, it was extremely difficult to make decisions and carry work out in a collaborative and efficient manner.
The Role of Classroom Goal Structure in Students’ Use of Self-Handicapping Strategies
Authors: Urdan Tim , Midgley Carol , Anderman Eric M.
Published: March 2008

Some students purposefully use self-handicapping strategies (e.g., procrastinating, fooling around, getting involved in many activities) so that these circumstances, rather than lack of ability, will be seen as the cause if subsequent performance is low. The aim of the present study was to determine whether we could reliably assess fifth-grade students’ reports of their use of self-handicapping strategies and to examine individual- and classroom-level predictors of self-handicapping. Surveys were given to 646 fifth-grade students. The handicapping items formed a single factor with good internal consistency. Handicapping varied significantly across classrooms. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found that boys used handicapping more than girls did and students’ grade point average and perceived academic competence were negatively related to handicapping. Students’ perceptions of an emphasis on relative ability in the classroom (ability goal structure) as well as teachers’ reported use of instructional practices that highlight relative ability were positively related to handicapping. Implications for practice are discussed.
Parenting and Children’s School Achievement: A Multiethnic Perspective
Authors: Okagaki Lynn , Frensch Peter A.
Published: March 2008

The present study is an examination of the relations between parenting and the school performance of fourth- and fifth-grade children (mean age = 10 years, 2 months) in 75 Asian-American, 109 Latino, and 91 European-American families. Five aspects of parenting were studied: (a) expectations for children’s educational attainment, (b) grade expectations, (c) basic childrearing beliefs (i.e., development of autonomy, development of conformity to external standards, and importance of monitoring children’s activities), (d) self-reported behaviors (i.e., creating an academically enriching environment and helping with homework), and (e) perceptions of parental efficacy. School performance was measured by school grades and achievement test scores. Ethnic group differences emerged in parents’ expectations for children’s educational attainment, grade expectations, childrearing beliefs, perceptions of parental efficacy, and in the relations between these beliefs and children’s school achievement. These results provide further evidence of the importance of considering the constellation of parents’ beliefs, goals for their children, and the type of help parents can offer children when working with parents to facilitate their children’s school experiences.
We’ll Never Turn Back: Adult Education and the Struggle for Citizenship in Mississippi’s Freedom Summer
Authors: Rachal John R.
Published: March 2008

In the summer of 1964, several civil rights organizations, led by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), formed a coalition and conducted a voter registration and educational program in Mississippi which was originally called the Summer Project but became known later as Freedom Summer, Continuing the civil rights work that preceded it, Freedom Summer was distinguished by its organized, state-wide, and highly public attempt to promote its three-pronged educational program of Freedom Schools, community centers, and voter registration and by the recruitment of several hundred out-of-state student volunteers to implement the program. Adult education played a critical role in the schools, the centers, and the voter registration work and included literacy education, practical skills, and political awareness. Paulo Freire’s work in adult education in Brazil and his paradigm of critical consciousness provide an intriguing historical parallel as well as a useful theoretical frame from which to analyze the adult education component of the Summer Project. Confronted with verbal, legal, and sometimes violent hostility, Freedom Summer sought to use education and moral suasion to give democracy and citizenship a more genuine meaning.
Current Self-Regulation Views of Learning and Motivation Viewed Through a Deweyan Lens: The Problems With Dualism
Authors: Prawat Richard S.
Published: March 2008

Self-regulation has emerged as a key construct in learning and motivational theory. From a Deweyan perspective, however, the focus on self-regulation is problematic because it legitimates dualist distinctions within and between the domains of learning and motivation. For example, dualism is evidenced within the learning domain by the distinction between strategy and content; it is evidenced within the motivational domain by the distinction between interest and effort. At a deeper level, these distinctions reflect the longstanding tendency of philosophers and psychologists to ignore the problems associated with the mischievous ontological distinction between mind and world, a practice which has given rise to a number of other false dichotomies—such as that between subject and object and that between child and curriculum, to name two. Problems associated with the adoption of a dualist ontology in the learning and motivational domains are discussed in this article.
Class Consciousness and Its Consequences: The Impact of an Elite Education on Mature, Working-Class Women
Authors: Cohen Rosetta Marantz
Published: March 2008

This article presents the findings from a 2-year study to evaluate the impact of an elite private college education on five mature, returning students ( Adas ). The subjects of the study were enrolled in Smith College’s Ada Comstock Program, a program that draws exceptional female students from community colleges across the country and supports them through scholarships in the completion of a 4-year degree. Using open-ended interviews and participant observation, the study seeks to understand in what ways the economically privileged and intellectual environment of Smith College influences the personal ambitions and career goals of individuals who have lived a good part of their lives in vastly different economic and cultural circumstances. The study finds that most participants evolve counter to expectation, choosing to define success, not in terms of social mobility, but rather in terms of capacity to render service. In this sense, the participants in the study come to embody the Jeffersonian ideal for the “gifted poor,” using their scholarship-assisted education to become social change agents and advocates for the disenfranchised.
Caught in the Paradigm Gap: Qualitative Researchers’ Lived Experience and the Politics of Epistemology
Authors: Miller Suzanne M. , Nelson Marie Wilson , Moore Michael T.
Published: March 2008

For 8 years at national conferences and from academic listserves, we collected qualitative researchers’ narratives about problems encountered and solutions tried while researching. Using an emergent design and analytic induction, and triangulating across researcher perspectives, we produced three successive descriptive-interpretive frameworks for understanding researchers’ lived experience during the shift from single to multiple research paradigms. The data show misunderstanding and resistance affecting these researchers at all levels of practice, suggesting a cumulative effect on knowledge in our field. Despite some positive research contexts, most study participants perceived and internalized conflicted epistemologies. We conclude that our field needs to become more reflective about practice and to develop a more deeply democratic discourse for research, one grounded in principles of academic freedom and supported by the conviction that diversity engenders strength.
Gender Differences by Item Difficulty Interactions in Multiple-Choice Mathematics Items
Authors: Bielinski John , Davison Mark L.
Published: March 2008

From the finding that males are more variable than females on mathematics test scores, it is argued that one might expect a gender-by-item-difficulty interaction such that easy items are easier for females than for males and hard items are harder for females than for males. This prediction was tested in two studies using data from nine forms of a basic skills test in mathematics. The hypothesis was generally supported. For each form, there was a negative correlation between the item difficulty differences (males-females) estimated on males and females separately and the difficulty of the item estimated on the combined sample. Males tended to outperform females on the hardest items; females tended to outperform males on the easiest items. A possible explanation is offered for the finding, one which posits a shift in the ability measured as items become more difficult. Implications for the construction of mathematics tests and the conduct of meta-analyses are discussed.
High School Mathematics Course-Taking by Gender and Ethnicity
Authors: Davenport Ernest C. , Davison Mark L. , Kuang Haijiang , Ding Shuai , Kim Se-Kang , Kwak Nohoon
Published: March 2008

The 1990 NAEP transcript data were used to study the number of Carnegie units (CUs) earned by students in seven categories of mathematics courses plus a miscellaneous category. On average, students earned 3.11 CUs, slightly more than the minimum of 3 suggested in A Nation at Risk ( National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983 ). Fifty-four percent of the CUs were earned in the standard high school sequence (Algebra 1 and 2 and geometry), and 20% were earned in preformal courses (e.g., General Math 1 and 2). Overall, gender and ethnic differences in the total number of mathematics CUs were small, but ethnic differences relative to the type of math course represented by the course categories were large. Gender differences in mathematics course-taking are discussed in light of differences in college attendance patterns and achievement variability. Implications of ethnic differences for school and curriculum reform are discussed.
Dewey, Vygotsky, and the Social Administration of the Individual: Constructivist Pedagogy as Systems of Ideas in Historical Spaces
Authors: Popkewitz Thomas S.
Published: March 2008

Current constructivists’ pedagogies draw on the writings of early 20th century Russian psychologist Vygotsky and the American phhilosopher/psychologist Dewey. This occurs without examining the historical spaces of the past and present in which that knowledge is socially constructed. This emptying of history in systems of knowledge is odd for an intellectual project concerned with cultural-historical theories. To address this omission, the writings of Dewey and Vygotsky are examined as part of the turn-of-the-century human sciences. They functioned to bring the new democratic political rationalities into the governing of individual conduct. Contemporary pedagogical theories that draw on Dewey and Vygotsky maintain this function of governing conduct, but with different narratives and images. The differences are made visible when comparing the “problem-solving individual” in education with the images of the individual inscribed in social theory, state policies, economics, and the military. My moving between the past and the present and between education and other social practices directs attention to the shifting terrain that relates school knowledge, power, and problems of social inclusion/exclusion.
Class Formation and Composition in Elementary Schools
Authors: Burns Robert B. , Mason DeWayne A.
Published: March 2008

This study examined the class formation procedures used in 22 elementary schools from two districts, as well as the influence these procedures had on the class composition of 200 classes, 56 of which were combination classes (classes with students from two grade levels). Principals were interviewed about their procedures for assigning students to classes, and students completed pretest measures. The major finding was that principals, in an effort to ease the burden that combination classes placed on teachers, assigned higher ability and more independent students to these classes, a strategy that raised the ability level of combination classes but lowered it in adjacent single-grade classes. This study suggests that it may be profitable to conceptualize both elementary and secondary school student assignment procedures as the same mechanism, a mechanism that creates particular K–12 curricular paths for students.
The Challenge of Studying Collaboration
Authors: John-Steiner Vera , Weber Robert J. , Minnis Michele
Published: March 2008

This is a response to “Collaboration as Dialogue: Teachers and Researchers Engaged in Conversation and Professional Development” ( Clark et al., 1996 ), a narrative account of teacher-researcher collaborative research presented in Readers Theater format. The authors identified a powerful value tension in collaborative research—the unequal benefits that accrue to classroom teachers and academics engaged in research and publication—and suggested that this inequity could be surmounted by collaboration in the form of dialogue. Although the authors argued against generalizing from their experience or constructing an integrative theory, their observations are concordant with other collaborative situations where inequality exists. Our response proposes ways to address the issues they have identified without losing the power of a theoretical analysis. We contend that, by looking for commonalities and differences across settings, tasks, working methods, goals, and values, a framework for understanding collaboration can be constructed that preserves the benefits of rich descriptive accounts.
Continuing the Dialogue on Collaboration
Authors: Clark Caroline , Herter Roberta J. , Moss Pamela A.
Published: March 2008

In this article, we seek to establish a dialogue with the authors of “The Challenge of Studying Collaboration” ( John-Steiner, Weber, & Minnis, 1998 ), a piece written in response to our previous AERJ article ( Clark et al., 1996 ). Although we agree with some parts of their critique, we resist some of their suggestions because of our differing sets of assumptions about the appropriate goals and criteria for scholarly inquiry. The dialectic between our differing approaches to studying, theorizing, and representing collaboration illuminates issues that we hope others may find useful in examining their own assumptions about the nature and scope of scholarly inquiry.
Information Technology and Education: Trends in Educational Computing: Decreasing Interest and the Changing Focus of Instruction
Authors: Lockheed Marlaine E. , Mandinach Ellen B.
Published: March 2008

This article presents a rationale for changing the current emphasis of precollege computer courses. It suggests that as an interim approach, to be used before computers are integrated effectively across the curriculum, computer courses deemphasize BASIC programming skills and instead focus on teaching applications software skills. The research evidence regarding the quality of computer literacy courses is reviewed, and the parallel cognitive and affective consequences of programming and applications software are discussed.
The Fate of the Files
Authors: Nespor Jan
Published: March 2008

It is suggested that the raw data of educational research have important uses that are not presently being exploited. Reasons for preserving raw data and opening them to general scrutiny are presented. These include the avoidance of misrepresentation and error, the value of data for secondary analysis, and the potential uses of data as teaching tools. Difficulties with the idea of archiving are also examined: the social problems within the research community that would result from increased scrutiny, the problems involved in maintaining confidentially, and the practical problems of storing the data and making them accessible
Research news and Comment: AERA Editorial Policies Regarding Statistical Significance Testing: Three Suggested Reforms
Authors: Thompson Bruce
Published: March 2008

The present comment reviews practices revolving around tests of statistical significance. First, the logic of statistical significance testing is presented in an accessible manner; many people who use statistical tests might not place such a premium on the tests if these individuals understood what the tests really do, and what the tests do not do. Second, the etiology of decades of misuse of statistical tests is briefly explored; we must understand the bad implicit logic of persons who misuse statistical tests if we are to have any hope of persuading them to alter their practices. Third, three revised editorial policies that would improve conventional practice are highlighted.
Research news and Comment: Reflections on Statistical and Substantive Significance, With a Slice of Replication
Authors: Robinson Daniel H. , Levin Joel R.
Published: March 2008

In this comment, we propose some modifications to Thompson’s (1996) recent suggestions for AERA editorial policy on statistical significance testing. First, we discuss the potential problems, both procedural and conceptual, that could arise from professional journals mandating the addition of the modifier “statistically” to “significant.” If language remains an issue of consequence, however, findings stemming from rejected null hypotheses could be termed “nonchance” to communicate simply and more precisely what it is that a statistical test reveals. Second, although asking authors to provide explicit effect-size information is both sensible and useful, we illustrate how effect sizes (like p values) can be misinterpreted and misused. Finally, in accord with Thompson, we argue that greater attention to replication should be encouraged in educational research. At the same time, we believe that internal replication analyses do not represent adequate substitutes for (or even close approximations to) external replication studies based on new, independent participants. With journals welcoming both constructed and literal replication studies, consumers of the educational research literature can concentrate less on the limited believability of one-time findings and more on the enhanced believability of repeatable and generalizable ones.
Research News And Comment: Deciphering Postmodern Educational Research
Authors: Constas Mark A.
Published: March 2008

Whereas there may be disparate views on the value of adopting a postmodern perspective with in educational research, the increased levels of activity associated with trying to establish a link between postmodernism and educational inquiry remain undeniable. The heightened interest in post modernism, however, has not been accompanied by clear descriptions of the nature of postmodern educational inquiry. In response to this situation, this article sketches a definitional framework for educational inquiry in which postmodern varieties of educational research may be defined. To lay the foundation for this framework, the article describes a selection of interests that may be considered in a given study. It is argued that any one piece of research exhibits, either implicitly or explicitly, a commitment to a particular configuration of interests. By describing three dimensions of inquiry, the article demonstrates how postmodern educational research distinguishes itself by its political aims, its methodological practices, and its representational styles. These three dimensions are integrated to form a three-dimensional model that provides a graphic illustration of how postmodern varieties of educational research may be defined in reference to other approaches to educational inquiry. Brief descriptions of samples of postmodern educational research are provided. The implications of this model are considered in the context of the general debate concerning the sensibility of trying to isolate the elusive nature of postmodernism. Contrary to views expressed by postmodernists, this article argues that postmodern discourse in education exhibits, somewhat paradoxically, a regular set of features suggestive of a metanarrative. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the importance of educational researcher's maintaining a balanced, constructive dialogue about postmodern inquiry.
Research news and Comment: Statistical Significance is not a “Kosher Certificate” for Observed Effects: A Critical Analysis of the Two-Step Approach to the Evaluation of Empirical Results
Authors: Cahan Sorel
Published: March 2008

In order to prevent misleading conclusions based on spurious observed effects—especially seductively large ones—Robinson and Levin (1997) suggested a two step approach to the reporting and evaluation of empirical results. According to the two-step model, the evaluation of the magnitude and substantive significance of obtained effects should be conditional upon their statistical significance: Author should first indicate whether the observed effect is statistically improbable, and only if it is should they then indicate how large or important it is. The purpose of their paper is (a) to show that even through the underlying intention—to prevent unwarranted evaluation of spurious observed effects—is a laudable one, the two-step approach is inappropriate for this purpose, and (b) to reiterate the preferred approach, namely increased sample size and computation of confidence intervals.
CHAT-IT: Toward Conceptualizing Learning in the Context of Formal Organizations
Authors: Ogawa Rodney T. , Crain Rhiannon , Loomis Molly , Ball Tamara
Published: March 2008

This article is intended to spark a discussion between two research communities—scholars who study learning and scholars who study educational organizations. A secondary purpose is to encourage researchers to look beyond schools to examine learning in other types of educational organizations. The authors outline a framework to guide research on the relationship between learning and the social contexts afforded by formal organizations. The framework combines elements of cultural historical activity theory, a sociocultural theory of learning, and institutional theory, which is a constructivist theory of organization. The authors employ preliminary findings from research and secondary historical accounts to illustrate the potential of the framework for guiding research that ties learning to contexts in formal organizations.
Methodological Concerns About the Education Value-Added Assessment System
Authors: Amrein-Beardsley Audrey
Published: March 2008

Value-added models help to evaluate the knowledge that school districts, schools, and teachers add to student learning as students progress through school. In this article, the well-known Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) is examined. The author presents a practical investigation of the methodological issues associated with the model. Specifically, she argues that, although EVAAS is probably the most sophisticated value-added model, it has flaws that must be addressed before widespread adoption. She explores in depth the shortage of external reviews and validity studies of the model, its insufficient user-friendliness, and methodological issues about missing data, regression to the mean, and student background variables. She also examines a paradigm case in which the model was used to advance unfounded assertions.
Adjunct Postquestions in Text: A Critical Review of Methods and Processes
Authors: Rickards John P.
Published: March 2008

Four overall methods have been developed for assessing prose processes produced by adjunct postquestions and collectively four processes have been found operating in such situations. The four processes are: 1) a specific backward process—mental review of questioned material; 2) a general backward process—mental review of information adjacent to and/or topically related to the material questioned; 3) specific forward process—set to focus on specific kinds of information in text segments following inserted postquestions; and 4) general forward process—increased attention to text segments following adjunct postquestions. The methods for assessing these processes are reviewed, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Home-based Reinforcement of School Behavior: A Review and Analysis
Authors: Barth Richard
Published: March 2008

Home-based reinforcement of school behavior is proving to be an efficient method for motivating behavioral change. It has been used successfully with children in group homes, with children in special classes, and with entire mainstream and special classrooms. Twenty-four studies are reviewed with particular attention given to types of consequences employed and methods of gaining parental involvement. Consumable reinforcers, earned privileges, verbal praise, and response costs were all effectively administered by parents who were informed of their children’s performance via daily or weekly school notes. Parents were instructed in their role in several ways, including group and individual conferences as well as simple letters sent home. A wide range of behaviors and academic problems were remedied rapidly and with a modicum of response costs to counselors, teachers, and parents. Implications for further research are considered.
The American School in the Political Socialization Process
Authors: Ehman Lee H.
Published: March 2008

This review addresses the question: What is known from empirical studies about the effects of schooling on the political socialization of American youth? School-level and classroom-level attributes are related to four political socialization outcomes: political knowledge, political attitudes and values toward society and politics, attitudes toward political participation, and participation in political or quasi-political affairs. The school curriculum is found to be effective in transmitting knowledge but not in influencing attitudes; social status of students influences these relationships. Classroom climate and student participation in school activities, and the school organizational climate were main factors found related to student political attitudes.
Organization Development in Schools: The State of the Art
Authors: Fullan Michael , Miles Matthew B. , Taylor Gib
Published: March 2008

Organization Development (OD) is a change strategy for organizational self development and renewal. Adapted from business settings, it has been used in schools over the past 15 years. There are widely different images of what OD is, and widely different claims made for its value or worthlessness. The field of OD in education is badly in need of stock taking. In this review we assess the state of the art of OD in four respects: (1) critiquing and clarifying the values, goals, and assumptions of OD in general and as applied to education; (2) identifying and analyzing the various models and operating characteristics of OD in practice (conditions and strategies affecting its initiation, implementation, and continuation); (3) assessing the impact or outcomes of OD on achievement, productivity, and attitudes; and (4) reconsidering OD’s future, and suggesting policy implications for educational agencies at different levels.
School and Teacher Effects: An Interrelational Model
Authors: Centra John A. , Potter David A.
Published: March 2008

This review examines a model for investigating school and teacher variables which influence student achievement. The structural model, presented in the first part of the review, includes examples of variables and their expected relationships to each other and to student learning outcomes. Variables are grouped as: (1) school or school district conditions, (2) within school conditions, (3) teacher characteristics, (4) teaching behavior, (5) student characteristics, (6) student behavior, and (7) student learning outcomes. A summary of some of the school effects and teacher behavior research, presented in the second and third section of the review, generally supports the expected relationships among variables in the model.
The Emergence of an Item-writing Technology
Authors: Roid Gale , Haladyna Tom
Published: March 2008

The emerging technology of item writing for achievement tests is reviewed. Several different approaches to item development are discussed. A continuum of item-writing methods is proposed ranging from informal-subjective methods to algorithmic-objective methods. Examples of techniques include objective-based item writing, amplified objectives, item forms, facet design, domain-referenced concept testing, and computerized techniques. Each item-writing technique is critically reviewed, and empirical studies of methods are described. Recommendations for further research and for applications to achievement testing are presented.
Cooperative Learning
Authors: Slavin Robert E.
Published: March 2008

Research on classroom cooperative learning techniques, in which students work in small groups and receive rewards or recognition based on their group performance, has been increasing in the past few years. This review summarizes the results of 28 primary field projects lasting at least 2 weeks, in which cooperative learning methods were used in elementary or secondary classrooms. The pattern of research findings supports the utility of cooperative learning methods in general for increasing student achievement, positive race relations in desegregated schools, mutual concern among students, student self-esteem, and other positive outcomes. The various cooperative learning methods are contrasted in terms of characteristics and outcomes, and the next steps for research in this area are outlined.
Modeling and Measuring Educational Treatment in Evaluation
Authors: Leinhardt Gaea
Published: March 2008

The growth of educational evaluation has brought with it a corresponding increase in the desire and need to include information on the nature of the educational treatment that is to be evaluated. However, to date, there has been no systematic review of how this might be accomplished. This paper explores ways in which treatment can be described: either by means of estimating degree of implementation, or by modeling the instructional domain. The paper also reviews approaches to measuring aspects of the instructional environment that are suggested by the various models and methods for combining and analyzing those measures.
Methods for Integrative Reviews
Authors: Jackson Gregg B.
Published: March 2008

This study examined methods for reviews of research that focus on inferring generalizations about substantive issues from a set of studies directly bearing on those issues. The purposes were to: (1) develop a conceptualization of the various methodological tasks of integrative reviews and of the alternative approaches to each task, (2) estimate the frequency with which current reviews published in high quality social science journals use each of the alternative approaches, (3) evaluate critically the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative approaches, and (4) suggest some ways in which more powerful and valid integrative reviews might be done. The primary source of data was a content analysis of two samples of such reviews.
Distinguishing the Many Varieties of Criterion-referenced Tests
Authors: Nitko Anthony J.
Published: March 2008

This paper provides a framework for integrating the many conceptions of criterion-referenced testing. The categories of the scheme are illustrated by examples of criterion-referenced tests that have been developed between the years 1864 and 1978. The scheme provides one way to show how various conceptualizations of criterion-referenced testing are both similar to and different from each other.
Growth Groups: Do the Outcomes Really Last?
Authors: Bennan J Jason , Zimpfer David G.
Published: March 2008

Outcome studies of encounter groups, marathons, sensitivity training, human potential, and other growth-oriented, group-based interventions generally emphasize immediate posttest results. Relatively few investigators assess the durability of changes experienced by participants or examine delayed or cumulative effects. In this review, 26 controlled studies of growth group outcomes were used to evaluate the effectiveness of growth groups in facilitating enduring changes in the domain of interpersonal relationships. Each study (1) had a repeated measures design, (2) involved 10 or more hours of group intervention, and (3) included follow-up data collected at least 1 month after the completion of the group experience. Outcomes are assessed in the categories of self-actualization, interpersonal orientation, attitudes, interpersonal dimensions of personality, and behavior. Despite the low frequency of enduring positive changes, evidence supports the contention that some lasting positive effects are potentially available to growth group participants. Critical elements of the group process are identified that may relate the treatments themselves to the reported outcomes. Membership and leadership considerations mediating positive lasting effects are inferred from the data.
Teacher Praise: A Functional Analysis
Authors: Brophy Jere
Published: March 2008

Classroom-process data indicate that teachers’ verbal praise cannot be equated with reinforcement. Typically, such praise is used infrequently, without contingency, specificity, or credibility. Often it is not even intended as reinforcement, and even when it is, it frequently has some other function. The meanings and functions of behaviors typically included under the category of teacher praise are determined by the degree of congruence between verbal and nonverbal components and by the context in which the interaction occurs. Much teacher praise is determined more by teachers’ perceptions of student needs than by the quality of student conduct or performance. Considerations of classroom feasibility and probable student response to teachers’ attempts at social reinforcement suggest that teacher praise should remain infrequent, but that it could be made much more effective. Attribution theory is an important supplement to social learning/reinforcement theory for suggesting guidelines for praising effectively.
Health Education for Children and Adolescents
Authors: Rothman A. I. , Byrne N.
Published: March 2008

Health education in one form or another has been a traditional part of public education at the primary and secondary school level. Common approaches have attempted to teach sound habits related to, for example, nutrition, safety, hygiene, physical activity, and more recently, smoking and the use of drugs. These approaches have been justified with reference to a generally accepted belief in the “desirability” of such teaching. More recently, additional emphasis has been directed at health education for children as the links between behavior and health have become more obvious and as the rapidly accelerating costs of treating rather than preventing sickness have been experienced. The objective of the paper is to examine the responses of the research community to the apparent need for more effective health education for children.
Perceived Personal Control and Academic Achievement
Authors: Stipek Deborah J. , Weisz John R.
Published: March 2008

Perceived control of events is one motivational variable that appears to affect children’s academic achievement. In this review the conceptualization and measurement of the control dimension is discussed from three theoretical perspectives: social learning theory, attribution theory, and intrinsic motivation theories. For each of these three perspectives evidence on the relationship between achievement and perceptions of control is summarized, and possible explanations for the relationship are discussed. Throughout this review similarities and differences among these orientations are pointed out. Specific recommendations are made for research which will advance our understanding of this relationship and which will provide the most useful information to educators.
Social Skills Training with Handicapped Children: A Review
Authors: Gresham Frank M.
Published: March 2008

Behavioral techniques derived from social learning theory to training social skills are reviewed. Studies using both handicapped and nonhandicapped populations are included. The literature is divided into four broad areas for review purposes: (1) manipulation of antecedents, (2) manipulation of consequences, (3) modeling, and (4) cognitive-behavioral techniques. Issues such as conceptualization and definition of social skills, social skills assessment, and components of social skills are also considered. It is concluded that social skills training represents a potentially effective approach to successful mainstreaming of handicapped children. More research using between-groups designs, technique comparisons, discriminant analysis, and social validation of behavior changes is needed. The issues of generalization and maintenance are also discussed.
Out-of-School Television and Schooling: Hypotheses and Methods
Authors: Hornik Robert
Published: March 2008

The paper categorizes the hypotheses that have related home television use to schooling—hypotheses of time and energy displacement, of interest stimulation, of learning of school-equivalent content, of acquisition of novel intellectual skills, of development of intolerance for the slow pace of class activities, and of learning expectations with regard to what schooling is about and what it is for. Available evidence about overall effects suggests a small effect on reading growth, hints at a tendency for socially advantaged children to be most vulnerable to effects, generally, and is largely uninformative as to the validity of particular explanatory hypotheses. The utility of alternative research approaches, cross-sectional and panel surveys, laboratory and field experiments, and quasi-experiments are examined.