bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“That Dog Won't Hunt!”: Exemplary School Change Efforts Within the Kentucky Reform
Authors: Wolf Shelby A. , Borko Hilda , Elliott Rebekah L. , McIver Monette C.
Published: June 2007

This research presents case studies of four exemplary schools as they worked to meet the demands of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) as well as the system designed to assess results—the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). We argue that the teachers' responses to large-scale reform efforts exist in a larger web of connection and are dependent on their collaborative and consistently positive stance toward learning as well as their principal's leadership. Thus, human capital, the knowledge and willingness to learn on the part of individuals, is inextricably linked to social capital, the relationships of trust and willingness to risk among school personnel. The way in which the four schools successfully met the challenge of KERA and KIRIS was unique to each site. Still, there were critical commonalties among the teachers: their regard. for history and heritage; the efficacy of their cooperative leadership; their careful reflection on the reform itself which ultimately allowed them to teach well beyond the KIRIS test (particularly in writing); and, most important, their dedication to students.
Organizational Culture and Its Impact on African American Teachers
Authors: Madsen Jean A. , Mabokela Reitumetse Obakeng
Published: June 2007

This article provides a descriptive analysis of how the organizational culture of schools and the cultural values that African American teachers bring into the school affect the professional experience of these teachers in schools where they are in the minority. The culture within an organization strongly influences how minorities will be treated by their European American counterparts. Because the majority establishes the work norms, there becomes a uniformity of rules and regulations with which people of color are expected to comply. Strong organizational cultures provide cues on how to behave and establish reinforcing expectations to influence organizational members.
Principled Moral Reasoning and Behavior of Preservice Teacher Education Students
Authors: Cummings Rhoda , Dyas Lynn , Maddux Cleborne D , Kochman Art
Published: June 2007

Although teachers have considerable influence on young people’s moral development, results of several studies suggest that preservice education students demonstrate lower principled moral reasoning than college students with other majors. The purpose of this study was to measure the levels of principled moral reasoning of preservice teacher education students and to compare their performance with that of college students with other majors. The study also investigated the relationship between the performance of participants on the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and their self-reported propensity to engage in academic misconduct as measured by the Academic Misconduct Survey (AMS). Results corroborate earlier findings indicating that teacher education students (n = 145) demonstrate significantly lower principled moral reasoning scores than two composite samples of college students with other majors. Results also indicate a weak but significant inverse relationship between P-scores (the Principled Score) and AMS scores, indicating that participants’ levels of moral reasoning may affect ethical behavior.
A Sociocultural Perspective on Children’s Understanding of Historical Change: Comparative Findings From Northern Ireland and the United States
Authors: Barton Keith C
Published: June 2007

This research examines the extent to which specific forms of historical representation in Northern Ireland and the United States serve as “cultural tools” that shape understanding of change over time. On the basis of classroom observations and interviews with children in Northern Ireland, and using comparisons with previous U.S. research, this study found that children in the two locations differed in their explanations of how and why social and material life has changed over time. These distinctions correspond to differing historical representations; children in Northern Ireland are less likely, for both political and pedagogical reasons, to encounter the kinds of national narratives common in the United States. These findings suggest that educators should consider how reliance on a single format for presenting historical information influences and limits children’s historical thinking.
Primary-Grade Students’ Knowledge and Thinking About the Economics of Meeting Families’ Shelter Needs
Authors: Brophy Jere , Alleman Janet
Published: June 2007

The traditional K–3 social studies curriculum has focused on cultural universals, including shelter. To gather information about children’s prior knowledge and thinking (including their misconceptions) about economic aspects of this topic, individual interviews were conducted with 216 K–3 students. Their responses indicated that most of the students understood that people have to pay for shelter and that most people prefer houses to apartments. Some students confused apartments with hotels, and most were vague about what is involved in renting apartments and why some people choose to do so. Only a few understood that renting is a profit-making business or that people can get mortgage loans to allow them to move into a house before they have accumulated its full purchase price. These and other findings are discussed with reference to curriculum and instruction in the primary grades.
Do Asian American Faculty Face a Glass Ceiling in Higher Education?
Authors: Lee Sharon M.
Published: June 2007

The term glass ceiling refers to artificial barriers to achievement. Previous research on the subject suggests that, as racial minorities, Asian American faculty in higher education would encounter a glass ceiling. In this article, the glass ceiling hypothesis is evaluated on the basis of data from the 1993 National Study of Post-Secondary Faculty (NSOPF-93). The sample consists of full-time instructional faculty and includes 1,019 Asian Americans and a comparison group of 14,381 non-Hispanic Whites. Faculty salary is the dependent variable. Six models of an earnings function are estimated. Controls are included for the following kinds of differences: demographic, life cycle, human capital, productivity, field of specialization, institutional, and regional. Contrary to expectations, no consistent evidence for a glass ceiling emerged. However, additional evaluation of the effects of independent variables produces a more complex picture. Asian Americans do not derive comparable benefits from several characteristics associated with higher salaries for Whites and appear to have more limited pathways to higher salaries. Data limitations caution against concluding that Asian American faculty either face or do not face a glass ceiling. However, given the lack of research on Asian Americans in academe, this article provides new and important baseline findings to guide future research on the glass ceiling in higher education.
Educational Reform, Personal Practical Theories, and Dissatisfaction: The Anatomy of Change in College Science Teaching
Authors: Gess-Newsome Julie , Southerland Sherry A. , Johnston Adam , Woodbury Sonia
Published: June 2007

The Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model (TCSR) recognizes teaching context, teacher characteristics, teacher thinking, and their interactions as influential factors in attempts to implement classroom reform. Using the TCSR model, teachers’ personal practical theories, and conceptual change as a framework, the authors of this article studied three college science faculty members as they designed and implemented an integrated, inquiry-based science course. The documentation and analysis of context, instructors’ knowledge and beliefs, and teaching episodes allowed the authors to identify and study the interaction of factors, including grant support, that shape reform attempts. The results suggest that grant-supported mitigation of structural barriers is a necessary but insufficient precursor to change and that personal practical theories are the most powerful influence on instructional practice. The findings highlight the critical role of pedagogical and contextual dissatisfaction in creating a context for fundamental change.
Can Anything Good Come From Nazareth? Race, Class, and African American Schooling and Community in the Urban South and Midwest
Authors: Morris Jerome E.
Published: June 2007

The scholarly community has been neglectful in its study of those urban and predominantly African American schools that manifest agency in spite of persistent racial inequalities and poverty. Consequently, we are left to wonder whether anything good can come from urban African American schools, or from the communities where they are located. This article emanates from an investigation of two predominantly African American elementary schools in low-income communities—one in St. Louis, Missouri (1994–1997), and the other in Atlanta, Georgia (1999–2002)—both renowned for successfully educating their students. The author’s findings have implications for educational theory and practice and suggest the need for multifarious studies of urban and predominantly African American schools, families, and communities.
Inequality in Preschool Education and School Readiness
Authors: Magnuson Katherine A. , Meyers Marcia K. , Ruhm Christopher J. , Waldfogel Jane
Published: June 2007

Attendance in U.S. preschools has risen substantially in recent decades, but gaps in enrollment between children from advantaged and disadvantaged families remain. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999, we analyze the effect of participation in child care and early education on children’s school readiness as measured by early reading and math skills in kindergarten and first grade. We find that children who attended a center or school-based preschool program in the year before school entry perform better on assessments of reading and math skills upon beginning kindergarten, after controlling for a host of family background and other factors that might be associated with selection into early education programs and relatively high academic skills. This advantage persists when children’s skills are measured in the spring of kindergarten and first grade, and children who attended early education programs are also less likely to be retained in kindergarten. In most instances, the effects are largest for disadvantaged groups, raising the possibility that policies promoting preschool enrollment of children from disadvantaged families might help to narrow the school readiness gap.
How Including Prior Knowledge As a Subject Variable May Change Outcomes of Learning Research
Authors: Shapiro Amy M.
Published: June 2007

Prior knowledge has a marked effect on learning outcomes. Researchers typically rely on a number of methodologies to control for that factor in learning research, including the use of fictional stimuli and domain-novice subjects. The experiments reported here demonstrate that such methodological controls may be insufficient. In Experiment 1, students read texts about fictional places and events. In Experiment 2, novice students in a cognition course were asked to read several advanced texts. In both experiments, prior knowledge accounted for a large portion of the subjects’ posttest performance. The data demonstrate that methodological approaches intended to control for prior knowledge may be insufficient to prevent that variable from influencing learning outcomes. Thus researchers are urged to include measures of prior knowledge in their analyses.
Effects of Organic Management on Student Achievement
Authors: Miller Robert J. , Rowan Brian
Published: June 2007

Proponents of school restructuring often promote the purported benefits of professional forms of management that call for staff cooperation and collegiality, teachers’ participation in school decision making, and supportive leadership by school principals. A theoretical perspective on organizations known as contingency theory refers to such management patterns as “organic management.” This study examined the relationships between organic management and growth in student achievement in elementary and secondary schools. Two national databases were used to estimate a series of three-level growth models of student achievement at the elementary and secondary levels. Results suggested that organic forms of management are not a particularly powerful determinant of student achievement at either of these levels of schooling.
Students’ Perceptions of Characteristics of Effective College Teachers: A Validity Study of a Teaching Evaluation Form Using a Mixed-Methods Analysis
Authors: Onwuegbuzie Anthony J. , Witcher Ann E. , Collins Kathleen M. T. , Filer Janet D. , Wiedmaier Cheryl D. , Moore Chris W.
Published: June 2007

This study used a multistage mixed-methods analysis to assess the content-related validity (i.e., item validity, sampling validity) and construct-related validity (i.e., substantive validity, structural validity, outcome validity, generalizability) of a teaching evaluation form (TEF) by examining students’ perceptions of characteristics of effective college teachers. Participants were 912 undergraduate and graduate students (10.7% of student body) from various academic majors enrolled at a public university. A sequential mixed-methods analysis led to the development of the CARE-RESPECTED Model of Teaching Evaluation, which represented characteristics that students considered to reflect effective college teaching—comprising four meta-themes (c ommunicator, a dvocate, r esponsible, e mpowering) and nine themes (r esponsive, e nthusiast, s tudent centered, p rofessional, e xpert, c onnector, t ransmitter, e thical, and d irector). Three of the most prevalent themes were not represented by any of the TEF items; also, endorsement of most themes varied by student attribute (e.g., gender, age), calling into question the content- and construct-related validity of the TEF scores.
Can Comprehension Be Taught?
Authors: Haller Eileen P. , Child David A. , Walberg Herbert J.
Published: June 2007

To assess the effect of “metacognitive” instruction on reading comprehension, 20 studies, with a total student population of 1,553, were compiled and quantitatively synthesized. For 115 effect sizes, or contrasts of experimental and control groups' performance, the mean effect size was .71, which indicates a substantial effect. In this compilation of studies, metacognitive instruction was found particularly effective for junior high students (seventh and eighth grades). Among the metacognitive skills, awareness of textual inconsistency and the use of self-questioning as both a monitoring and a regulating strategy were most effective. Reinforcement was the most effective teaching strategy.
Knowledge or Certainty? A Reply to Cziko
Authors: Lehrer Richard , Serlin Ronald C. , Amundson Ronald
Published: June 2007

In an Educational Researcher article, Cziko (April, 1989) questioned contemporary approaches toward the conduct of educational research, especially those involving experimentation. He justified the need for reform by appealing to the inherent unpredictability and indeterminacy of behavior and went on to suggest greater reliance on descriptive research. Cziko drew unwarranted conclusions about the feasibility of experimentation from his premises about indeterminacy, and he misrepresented some of the implications of quantum mechanics, evolution, chaos theory, and individual differences for the study of behavior. Cziko’s framework leads one to have little reason to conduct any kind of research, descriptive or otherwise. Contrary to Cziko’s view, when used appropriately, contemporary research methods provide the intersubjectively available framework necessary for scientific understanding.
Taking Student Responsibility Seriously
Authors: Ericson David P. , Ellett Frederick S.
Published: June 2007

In the last three decades American educators have been heavily concerned with student rights and equal educational opportunity. These and other concerns have caused educators (and the public) to give teachers the primary responsibility for student learning and have drawn attention away from questions about the student's responsibility for learning. Two recent approaches attribute the ultimate responsibility for learning to the student. These general approaches are constructively criticized so that the key insights can be used to set and articulate a defensible theory of student responsibility. The major conclusion is that high-school students have both aright to an education and aresponsibility to use educational resources sensibly
Enriching Our Views of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education
Authors: Pease-Alvarez Lucinda , Hakuta Kenji
Published: June 2007

The articles for this special issue are introduced. Collectively, they underscore the need to enrich the research perspective on bilingual education by acknowledging its full range of complexities, including the politics, practices, values, and expectations regarding language-minority students. The authors argue for the importance of basic research on bilingualism, of case studies of practice, and of taking into account the reality of practitioners and the ideology that guides work with this population of students.
The Societal Context of Bilingual Education
Authors: McGroarty Mary
Published: June 2007

Bilingual education is a term that draws strong reactions from those inside and outside the educational system. Here I examine social factors that contribute to the tensions surrounding this debate. The most dramatic conflict can be seen in the contemporary English-only movement and the countervailing English-Plus coalition. Despite the public arguments presented by English-only proponents and shrinking federal and state resources to support bilingual education programs, there has been a growing acceptance of the potential benefits of bilingual services among educational practitioners and researchers. Consequently, conflicting views will continue to characterize public discussion of bilingual education.
Compliant Cognition: The Misalliance of Management and Instructional Goals in Current School Reform
Authors: Mccaslin Mary , Good Thoma S L.
Published: June 2007

We examine the social context of current school reform efforts, focusing specifically on the interrelated areas of management and instruction. We maintain that in order to reform schools significantly, we must consider the various constructions of students in the popular culture and educational community and their implication for school management policies. We believe that the intended modern school curriculum, which is designed to produce self-motivated, active learners, is seriously undermined by classroom management policies that encourage, if not demand, simple obedience. We advocate that a curriculum that seeks to promote problem solving and meaningful learning must be aligned with an authoritative management system that increasingly allows students to operate as self-regulated and risk-taking learners. We note, however, that the analysis of management systems is only a small part of a set of complex and interrelated factors (e.g., testing policies, in-service mandates, curriculum content) that should be considered in any attempt to change schools. Our review indicates that too many reforms (e.g., more homework) are undertaken for political rather than educational reasons; hence, most reforms are irrelevant or self-defeating because they are symbolic and expedient.
Coherence, the Rebel Angel
Authors: Buchmann Margret , Floden Robert E.
Published: June 2007

When working against fragmentation in education, we must not confuse coherence with consistency. While consistency implies logical relations and the absence of contradictions, coherence allows for many kinds of connectedness, including associations of ideas and feelings, intimations of resemblance, conflicts and tensions, and imaginative leaps. Coherence–but not consistency–is hospitable to change and imagination, while true to the many facets of concepts and experiences. Educational coherence is found where students and teachers can discover and establish relations among various areas of sensibility, knowledge, and skill, yet where loose ends remain, inviting a reweaving of beliefs and ties to the unknown.
On the Threats That Do Not Face Educational Research
Authors: Amundson Ron , Serlin Ronald C. , Lehrer Richard , professor
Published: June 2007

Gary Cziko's 1992 Educational Researcher article is in large part a revision and extension of the attack on mainstream educational research he began in this journal in 1989, to which we published a rebuttal in 1990. Cziko appears to find our 1990 criticisms of little value, but nevertheless abandons most of his earlier bases for criticism. He presents new reasoning to support his old conclusions that mainstream research is futile. We will argue that his new reasoning is no sounder than his old, and that his conclusions regarding mainstream research stem from misunderstandings and misrepresentations of statistical method, philosophy of science, and other topics, including the opinions of the present authors. Powers's (1973) perceptual control theory may well contribute to educational research, but the need for it does not stem from any of the short-comings alleged by Cziko.
Ignorance in Educational Research Or, How Can You Not Know That?
Authors: Wagner Jon
Published: June 2007

In this article I argue that ignorance is a better criterion than truth for determining the usefulness of knowledge generated through different forms of educational research. This argument has implications for how we conceptualize educational research, how we teach it, and how we frame and support relationships between researchers and their subjects. The argument draws on a distinction between "blind spots" and "blank spots," and it is supported by examples drawn from the literature of educational research. The argument and examples illustrate how greater attention to the ignorance of researchers and subjects can increase our understanding of different disciplinary and organizational models of educational research, including configurations of "practitioner research" and "cooperative research."
The Value of Ideas: Problems Versus Possibilities in Learning
Authors: PRAWAT RICHARD S.
Published: June 2007

The advantages of involving students in authentic problem-solving activity is one thing about which all contemporary learning theorists agree. Such an approach fits well with the strategy-based performance model advanced by information processors, the impasse or perturbation learning model advanced by cognitive constructivists, and the socially mediated apprenticeship model advanced by the cultural anthropologists. Despite its pedagogical popularity, a focus on practical problem solving is subject to criticism because it downplays the transformative role of experience in education; the tendency in this approach is to define the world in negative terms, as a series of obstacles or impediments to be overcome. In the alternative view presented in this article, termed idea-based social constructivism, the focus is less on problems and more on the possibilities inherent in a given situation.
Seductive Texts With Serious Intentions
Authors: Bjerrum Nielsen Harriet
Published: June 2007

Every text aims to seduce its reader. If the text at the same time lays claim to having scientific value, we readers must ask whether seduction stands in the way of truth. As a concept, seduction lies halfway between an assault and conversation. As opposed to assault, seduction conveys a dimension of voluntarily being swept off one's feet. As opposed to conversation, seduction implies that one loses one's senses for a moment. Who, then, is really subject and who is object in seduction? The thesis I will argue here is that the readership's or audience's only chance of taking on the role of subjects, in a textual seduction, is to lose their senses first. Rather than being an assault against scientific ethics, seduction is a necessary premise for a sensible conversation to take place.
A Prototype View of Expert Teaching
Authors: Sternberg Robert J. , Horvath Joseph A.
Published: June 2007

We call for a reconceptualization of teaching expertise, one grounded in a psychological understanding of how (a) experts differ from nonexperts, and (b) people think about expertise as they encounter it in real-world settings. To this end, we propose that teaching expertise be viewed as a category that is structured by the similarity of expert teachers to one another rather than by a set of necessary and sufficient features. A convenient way of thinking about such categories is in terms of a central exemplar or prototype ( Rosch, 1978 ), and we believe that a prototype view can contribute in important ways to a dialogue on expert teaching. Most importantly, a prototype view provides a way of thinking about expertise that incorporates standards (such that not every experienced practitioner is an expert) but also allows for variability in the profiles of individual experts. In this article, we outline a rudimentary model of prototype-based categorization and identify possible features, drawn from psychological research, on which the family resemblance among expert teachers may be founded. We discuss several implications of the prototype view for understanding and fostering expertise among teachers.
Creating Lifelong Science Learners: What Models Form a Firm Foundation?
Authors: Linn Marcia C. , Muilenburg Lawrence
Published: June 2007

Recently published standards for science, mathematics, history, and other fields challenge educators to design instruction that sets in motion a lifelong habit of learning. Creating lifelong learners requires the redesign of instruction to ensure that students have a generative understanding and an inclination to progressively refine their ideas. We discuss research on middle-school science learning and instruction that suggests how generative models of scientific phenomena can be developed, and we offer a framework for curriculum reform.
A Developmental Model of Critical Thinking
Authors: Kuhn Deanna
Published: June 2007

The critical thinking movement, it is suggested, has much to gain from conceptualizing its subject matter in a developmental framework. Most instructional programs designed to teach critical thinking do not draw on contemporary empirical research in cognitive development as a potential resource. The developmental model of critical thinking outlined here derives from contemporary empirical research on directions and processes of intellectual development in children and adolescents. It identifies three forms of second-order cognition (meta-knowing)—metacognitive, metastrategic, and epistemological—that constitute an essential part of what develops cognitively to make critical thinking possible.
Preparing Students for Competent Scientific Practice: Implications of Recent Research in Science and Technology Studies
Authors: McGinn Michelle K. , Roth Wolff-Michael
Published: June 2007

Current empirical research in science and technology studies provides new and different views of science and scientists that contrast markedly with the mythical views that underlie many curricular efforts geared toward increasing scientific literacy. If descriptions of science and scientists that emerge from science and technology studies are legitimate, considerable implications arise for educational aims guiding science instruction, learning experiences directed toward those educational aims, and resources that support those learning experiences and educational aims. In this paper, we (a) briefly review some of the diverse scholarship within science and technology studies, and (b) discuss associated curricular implications in terms of educational aims, learning experiences, and resources. These implications are directed toward a vision of scientific literacy as preparation for competent participation in scientific laboratories, activist movements, the judicial system, or other locations/communities where science is created and used. This vision implies a reformulation of what can be considered "authentic" science (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989) and provides a natural continuity from participating in science in schools to participating in science in professional practice or activist movements. We argue for science education as a starting point for trajectories of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in science-related discourses and practices.
Poor School Funding, Child Poverty, and Mathematics Achievement
Authors: Payne Kevin J. , Biddle Bruce J.
Published: June 2007

This article concerns the effects of poor school funding and child poverty on mathematics achievement in American schools. A good deal of research and a lot of confusion have surrounded these topics. We begin by first reviewing these traditions of effort. Next, we present information about a new study of these effects, including the rationale for our research, our methods, and our findings. We close by discussing the implications of our results.
Intellectual Border Crossing in Graduate Education: A Report From the Field
Authors: Metz Mary Haywood
Published: June 2007

This article reflects on the author’s experience in leading an interdisciplinary seminar that draws together doctoral students who are preparing for careers in educational research in diverse departments across a large School of Education. The article details the work of the seminar and changes in its design as the faculty gained experience. The seminar presents a common underlying structure in a broad range of social scientific educational research, while also exploring very different tacit assumptions brought to that model by different research traditions. The author explores the faculty’s intentions, the students’ responses, and pedagogical lessons about education for interdisciplinary fluency that may be drawn from three years of experience with the seminar.
TIMSS Primary and Middle School Data: Some Technical Concerns
Authors: Wang Jianjun
Published: June 2007

Student scores from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have been employed as a benchmark to measure school effectiveness in many districts across the United States. Bracey (2000) discussed the TIMSS results at the high school level. This article focuses on an in-depth examination of student performance from the TIMSS primary and middle school studies. The data analyses show substantial uncertainty of the country rankings from the released TIMSS reports. Other technical issues hinge on the instrument construction, curricular inequivalency, and statistical outliers. These analyses raise concerns about the use of the TIMSS benchmark for school reforms in the U.S. Taken together, these concerns have important implications for the interpretation and use of the TIMSS results.
Piaget’s Early Theory of the Role of Language in Intellectual Development: A Comment on DeVries’s Account of Piaget’s Social Theory
Authors: Becker Joe , Varelas Maria
Published: June 2007

In the March 1997 Educational Researcher, Rheta DeVries presented a thought-provoking account of the social factors in Piaget’s conceptualization of intellectual development, primarily in his early works. However, DeVries ignored the fact that in these early writings Piaget made language an integral part of his ideas on intellectual development. DeVries’s elision is unfortunate for two reasons. First, it raises an issue of validity: Are we justified in simply discarding the linguistic element of these writings? Second, DeVries missed the opportunity to show how Piaget’s early ideas on the role of language might be relevant to contemporary interest in socio- cultural aspects of development.
Reflections on Higher Education Within the Beltway: An Outsider’s Point of View
Authors: Stage Frances K.
Published: June 2007

As a result of a year that I spent as a senior fellow at the National Science Foundation, I learned much about the workings of this agency in relation to education and educational research.--In this commentary I describe my work at the agency and present eight observations that might be useful to those in the educational community who interact with colleagues at major federal agencies.
Cultural Diversity Research on Learning and Development: Conceptual, Methodological, and Strategic Considerations
Authors: Orellana Marjorie Faulstich , Bowman Phillip
Published: June 2007

In this article we identify two major conceptual and methodological limitations to current treatments of cultural diversity in social science research: (a) the tendency to treat race, ethnicity, culture, and social class as fixed and often essentialized categories rather than as multi-faceted, situated, and socially constructed processes; and (b) the tendency to focus on single levels of analysis rather than to look across levels, especially by linking individual and community-based experiences to larger structural, institutional, discursive, and ideological practices. We propose a set of strategic guidelines for mitigating these limitations, and illustrate them with examples from our ongoing research on two projects: (a) a qualitative-centered research program on Latina/o bilingual children’s work as translators, interpreters, or para-phrasers;1 and (b) quantitative-centered research on African-American culture retainers.
Reflections on History and Quality Education
Authors: Kantor Harvey , Lowe Robert
Published: June 2007

This essay questions the commonly held assumption that schools today are worse academically than they were in the past. It argues that schools have seldom been chiefly interested in intellectual inquiry. Nor have they ever been committed to providing a quality intellectual education to all students. We argue that if history has anything to tell us about quality education today, it is not that we must try to recapture a lost age of academic excellence but that we cannot create truly excellent schools without addressing the inequities that have long been embedded in them or without understanding how those marginalized by the educational system have struggled to confront inequities.
Designing New Media Education Research: The Materiality of Data, Representation, and Dissemination
Authors: Voithofer Rick
Published: June 2007

The current historical moment is marked by the gradual transition from a print culture to a digital new media culture, and this shift carries material effects for how education research contexts are perceived and represented. This discussion uses the concept of materiality to demonstrate how the conceptualization of inquiry through digital representations can be theorized through the histories and discourses of multiple media, computer technologies, research methodologies, epistemological positions, new literacies, and current social and cultural contexts to highlight emerging concerns in education research. Paying attention to the design of materiality encourages scholars to reflect on how inscription technologies influence the ways in which research is conducted and communicated.
The Effect of Schooling on Students’ Out-of-School Experience
Authors: Pugh Kevin J. , Bergin David A.
Published: June 2007

With the premise that schooling should make a difference in students’ everyday experience, the authors synthesize research on the influence of school learning on students’ out-of-school experience by addressing the contributions and shortcomings of four research areas: (a) transfer, (b) out-of-school learning environments, (c) school-prompted interest, and (d) transformative education. They conclude the following: (a) Little research investigates the influence of school learning on out-of-school experience; (b) the existing research suggests that school learning has less of an influence on out-of-school experience than one would hope for and expect; and (c) under the right conditions, school learning can enrich students’ out-of-school experience.
Developing Interdisciplinary Researchers: What Ever Happened to the Humanities in Education?
Authors: Bullough Robert V.
Published: June 2007

In response to changing federal priorities, much discussion has taken place recently about the need for graduate education programs to firmly embrace interdisciplinary research, or “interdisciplinary integration across related fields” ( National Research Council, 2004 , p. 6). The related fields usually are understood to be certain social and behavioral sciences. From the perspective of the humanities, the author challenges an emerging view, widely regarded as commonsensical, about the proper nature of interdisciplinarity in education and what counts as good education research ( Hostetler, 2005 ). He devotes particular attention to the problem of determining and distinguishing ends and means and the dangers of narrowness, and provides examples of the value of the humanities to education research.
The Transformative Power of Reviewing
Authors: Graue Beth
Published: June 2007

Peer review is one of the most pervasive tasks in research. It shapes opportunities and the knowledge available for practice, and it strongly influences careers. Although researchers spend much time in the review process, it is rarely formally taught in our professional preparation. This article explores the roles served by the peer review process. Using the metaphor of publishing as a playground, I argue that peer review is at its most powerful when it merges the gatekeeping and developmental functions and reflectively considers the social practices represented by peer review.
Students’ Motivation for Standardized Math Exams
Authors: Ryan Katherine E. , Ryan Allison M. , Arbuthnot Keena , Samuels Maurice
Published: June 2007

The recent No Child Left Behind legislation has defined a vital role for large-scale assessment in determining whether students are learning. Given this increased role of standardized testing as a means of accountability, the purpose of this article is to consider how individual differences in motivational and psychological processes may contribute to performance on high-stakes math assessments. The authors consider individual differences in processes that prior research has found to be important to achievement: achievement goals, value, self-concept, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and cognitive processes. The authors present excerpts from interviews with eighth-grade test takers to illustrate these different achievement-related motivational beliefs, affect, and cognitive processing. Implications for future research studying the situational pressures involved in high-stakes assessments are discussed.
Discourse, Rationality, and Educational Research: A Historical Perspective of RER1
Authors: Franklin Barry M.
Published: June 2007

In this essay I explore the relationship between research reviews and the fields of study to which they pertain. Using the curriculum field as an example, I argue that such reviews are venues where fields of inquiry are constituted, reproduced, and over time changed. This construction occurs, I suggest, as the discursive practices or rules of reasoning embedded in the language in which these reviews are framed are transformed into curriculum policies or programs through a process that I liken to state building. Both these discursive practices and the policies which they allow constitute the regulative mechanisms of the curriculum. I use the issues of the Review of Educational Research devoted to curriculum from 1931 through 1969 to explore this topic. Undertaking a genealogical examination, I explore the lineage of these discursive practices, paying particular attention to their patterns of discontinuity over time. I use this genealogy to suggest how the curriculum field was constructed and to identify its regulative impact. In doing so, I look at how curriculum discourse works as an instrument of power. I conclude the essay by considering what this exploration tells us in general about the relationship between reviews and fields of inquiry.
Testing Accommodations for Examinees With Disabilities: A Review of Psychometric, Legal, and Social Policy Issues
Authors: Pitoniak Mary J. , Royer James M.
Published: June 2007

The provision of testing accommodations for examinees with disabling conditions has become an important topic in recent years. This review presents a summary of the relevant issues. The first section traces the history of legislation related to the testing of individuals with disabilities and presents a brief summary of guidelines issued by relevant testing organizations. The second section provides a description of disabilities typically accommodated in large-scale examinations and highlights the ever-increasing role of learning disabilities in testing practice. Summaries of legal cases concerning testing accommodations are then presented. Next, psychometric issues are described, and results and ideas for future research are presented. The review also examines the emerging role of learning disabilities in the area of testing accommodations and addresses the intensely debated social policy questions related to equity and fairness in educational assessment.
Examining Key Concepts in Research on Teachers’ Use of Mathematics Curricula
Authors: Remillard Janine T.
Published: June 2007

Studies of teachers’ use of mathematics curriculum materials are particularly timely given the current availability of reform-inspired curriculum materials and the increasingly widespread practice of mandating the use of a single curriculum to regulate mathematics teaching. A review of the research on mathematics curriculum use over the last 25 years reveals significant variation in findings and in theoretical foundations. The aim of this review is to examine the ways that central constructs of this body of research—such as curriculum use, teaching, and curriculum materials—are conceptualized and to consider the impact of various conceptualizations on knowledge in the field. Drawing on the literature, the author offers a framework for characterizing and studying teachers’ interactions with curriculum materials.
Unveiling Professional Development: A Critical Review of Stage Models
Authors: Dall’Alba Gloria , Sandberg Jörgen
Published: June 2007

In research across professions, the development of professional skill traditionally was seen as a process of accumulation of knowledge and skills, promoted by practical experience. More recently, this view has been modified to incorporate skillful know-how that is progressively acquired by passing through developmental stages, such as novice, competent, and expert. The authors of this article critically review contemporary stage models that are typically applied across professions. Their principal critique is that a focus on stages veils or conceals more fundamental aspects of professional skill development. On the basis of their critique, the authors propose an alternative model that builds on the strengths of previous models while seeking to overcome their main limitations. Finally, the authors outline the implications of their alternative model for professional education, workplace practices, and research on professional development.
The Political and Institutional Origins of a Randomized Controlled Trial on Elementary School Class Size: Tennessee's Project STAR
Authors: Ritter Gary W. , Boruch Robert F.
Published: June 2007

The randomized experiment known as Project STAR exemplifies the type of high quality research needed to systematically evaluate programs and reforms in education. As a result, it is instructive to examine the origins of Tennessee's STAR and derive lessons for educational research. This article explores the initiation of Project STAR and asks what was unique about Tennessee in the mid-1980s that fostered the development of this exemplary educational experiment. After investigating the story of STAR by analyzing the legal proceedings and conducting interviews with key actors, we found that this groundbreaking project resulted from the serendipitous connection between the research world and the political world.
Estimating the Cost of National Class Size Reductions Under Different Policy Alternatives
Authors: Brewer Dominic J. , Krop Cathy , Gill Brian P. , Reichardt Robert
Published: June 2007

We estimate the operational costs of nationwide class size reduction (CSR) programs under various policy alternatives, including the specified class size, flexibility in implementation, and whether the policy is targeted toward at-risk students. Depending on the specific options chosen, the estimated costs vary from about $2 billion per year to over $11 billion per year. These estimates could be further increased by teacher salary hikes necessitated by the rapid increase in the demand for teachers that results from CSR. Policymakers considering such a policy on a large scale should question whether it is the most cost-effective way of boosting student achievement.
Teacher-Reported Effects of New American School Designs: Exploring Relationships to Teacher Background and School Context
Authors: Berends Mark
Published: June 2007

Getting teachers within schools to support, substantively engage in, and sustain the implementation of whole-school designs is critical to the success of the design-based assistance providers, such as New American Schools (NAS). As policymakers make decisions about reauthorizing Title I this year, and as they consider alternatives to previous shortcomings of Title I spending, it is important to understand the factors related to implementing whole-school restructuring efforts and early indications of their effects. The purposes and approaches of NAS and its design teams are the same as those of "schoolwide" Title I programs and the Comprehensive School Reform Development program. Each intends to improve student and school performance through schools adopting a unified, coherent approach rather than adding fragmented programs or investing in personnel dedicated to a small group of students in pull-out programs. It is uncertain whether the designs have positive effects on teachers' professional lives and, more importantly, the educational experiences of students. This is especially true for schools in the first few years of implementing whole-school reforms. This paper attempts to shed light on these issues with analyses of survey data from teachers and principals in 130 implementing NAS sites in eight jurisdictions. Findings reveal that teacher views of resource adequacy and communication by designs to further implementation are related to teacher support for the design and implementation. The paper ends with a discussion of the policy implications of the analyses reported here and of the need to better understand the process of schoolwide change
Teaching Mathematics and Language Arts in Reduced Size and Non-Reduced Size Classrooms
Authors: Stasz Cathleen , Stecher Brian M.
Published: June 2007

The California Class Size Reduction initiative, adopted in 1996, reduced all K-3 classes to a maximum of 20 students. Despite the political and research support for reducing class size, relatively little is known about how class size affects instructional practices. This paper draws on data from a statewide survey of Grade 3 teachers and from case studies of 16 teachers. Although teaching practices in reduced and non- reduced classes were quite similar, the analysis identified a few important differences. Teachers in reduced size classes spent more individual time with students they had identified as poor readers and more time discussing students 'personal concerns; they spent less time disciplining students.