bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Of What Help Is He? A Review of Foucault and Education
Authors: Roth Jeffrey
Published: March 2008

The works of French philosopher-historian Michel Foucault (1926–1984) continue to influence discussions about what it means to be human across an astonishing variety of disciplines, known collectively as the human sciences. Foucault’s efforts to explicate the processes by which historical subjects come to be objects of scrutiny, knowledge, and control have begun to be replicated in education, a social institution he did not study directly. A recent book, Foucault and Education: Disciplines and Knowledge , brings together nine essays by British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealander academics who attempt to apply some of Foucault’s concepts and analytical procedures to school practices, past and present. The results are mixed. The problem is that Foucault’s ideas about the constitution of human subjects have been transferred almost exclusively as negative critique, emphasizing domination, silencing, and categorization. Examples are given of other writers who discern, in Foucault’s elaboration of the cognitive structures underlying specific historical periods, forms of social interaction that leave open the possibility of continually undoing and redoing limits and boundaries. Thus, to follow Foucault’s lead in investigating pedagogical practices and institutions is to risk embracing a state of perpetual uncertainty about the fabrication of knowledge and power.
Are Three Heads Better Than One? Reflections on Doing Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research
Authors: Crow Gary M. , Levine Linda , Nager Nancy
Published: March 2008

This paper, coauthored by an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a sociologist, presents reflections on conducting a collaborative and interdisciplinary in-house study of students who left other occupations for teaching. Data for this account include two jointly constructed interview protocols, memos to students and other faculty members, and field notes taken by all three investigators as participant observers in a variety of contexts at the field site. We describe and analyze four dimensions of our qualitative mode of inquiry: initiation of the internal interdisciplinary collaboration, external collaboration with faculty advisors, external collaboration with students, and internal collaboration in the construction of the research narrative. The paper concludes with observations and recommendations on what facilitates and constrains the successful conduct of collaborative interdisciplinary research.
Social-Cognitive Play Behaviors and Playmate Preferences in Same-Age and Mixed-Age Classrooms Over a 6-Month Period
Authors: Roopnarine Jaipaul L. , Ahmeduzzaman Mohammad , Donnely Seanna , Gill Preeti , Mennis Andrea , Arky Lauren , Dingler Kristen , McLaughlin Mary , Talukder Enayet
Published: March 2008

Social and cognitive modes of play were observed in two mixed-age classrooms of 3- and 4-year-olds, two classrooms of 3-year-olds, and two classrooms of 4-year-olds during the fall and again 6 months later in the spring. Observations were conducted during twelve 5-minute sessions at Times 1 and 2. Analysis revealed that there were significant age differences in the play behaviors of children in the same-age but not in the mixed-age classrooms. Three-year-olds in the two sets of classrooms differed on parallel-dramatic, cooperative-dramatic, solitary-manipulative, and cooperative-constructive play; 4-year-olds in the two classroom arrangements differed on solitary-dramatic, cooperative-dramatic, cooperative-constructive, and parallel-manipulative play. Few significant changes were observed in children’s play in either set of classrooms. There was greater gender segregation in same-age classrooms and little age segregation in mixed-age classrooms. The data are discussed with respect to early childhood education practice.
Power and Caring
Authors: Noblit George W.
Published: March 2008

Caring with respect to teachers and students is usually defined as a reciprocal relationship. The power of the teacher is not always apparent in this definition. This article examines how power, in the caring perspective, can be seen as moral authority. The ethnographic study reported here examines the classroom of a traditional teacher-centered teacher and the way she constructed caring using her power. Her construction implies a critique of our usual ways of thinking about power. Because in this ethnography the researcher was part of the social scene of the classroom and was dramatically affected by the study, this article is written in the “I-witnessing” or “confessional” genre.
Success for All: Longitudinal Effects of a Restructuring Program for Inner-City Elementary Schools
Authors: Madden Nancy A. , Slavin Robert E. , Karweit Nancy L. , Dolan Lawrence J. , Wasik Barbara A.
Published: March 2008

This article presents the effects of variations of a schoolwide restructuring program, Success for All, on student reading achievement and other outcomes in elementary schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students. Success for All uses research-based preschool and kindergarten programs, beginning and intermediate reading programs in Grades 1-3, one-to-one tutoring for low-achieving students, family support programs, and other elements. A total of five Baltimore schools were studied over a period of 3 years (four schools) or 4 years (one school). Comparisons with matched students in matched schools indicated strong positive effects on most individually administered reading measures in most schools for students who have been in the program since first grade. Retentions in grade were also substantially reduced, and attendance increased over time.
In Their Own Words: What Students Learn Outside the Classroom
Authors: Kuh George D.
Published: March 2008

In most college impact models, student and institutional characteristics have substantial effects on student learning ( Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991 ). The purpose of this study was to discover the impact of out-of-class experiences on outcomes of college attendance considered important by students. From interviews with 149 seniors at 12 colleges and universities, 14 categories of learning and personal development were distilled. These categories subsequently were reduced to five outcome domains: Personal Competence, Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, Practical Competence, and Altruism and Estheticism. Contrary to the literature on college impact, student background characteristics were not related to differences in outcomes; however, students attending small, private colleges with liberal arts missions more frequently reported changes in Cognitive Complexity, Knowledge and Academic Skills, and Altruism and Estheticism.
The Community of Inquiry as a Basis for Knowledge and Learning: The Case of History
Authors: Seixas Peter
Published: March 2008

Science, social science, literary studies, philosophy, and history have all encountered challenges to the notion of “objectivity” in the wake of the Kuhnian revolution. These challenges, which problematize knowledge itself, have revived interest in the pragmatist notion of knowledge based in a community of inquiry. The related social constructivist recasting of curriculum thought in the past 15 years has been based not so much on the revision in the epistemology of the subject disciplines as in developments in learning theory and psychology. Using the discipline of history as a case study, this paper compares the scholarly community of inquiry with the community of inquiry in the classroom and examines the role of the teacher in negotiating the knowledge generated in each.
Using Children’s Mathematical Knowledge in Instruction
Authors: Fennema Elizabeth , Franke Megan L. , Carpenter Thomas P. , Carey Deborah A.
Published: March 2008

This article describes how knowledge of children’s thinking in mathematics, derived by using a cognitive science research paradigm, was used by a first-grade teacher to make instructional decisions. Children in the classroom learned mathematics to a level that exceeds what is recommended by the NCTM Standards ( NCTM, 1989 ). The study is situated in the Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) project chain of inquiry. We describe the teacher’s knowledge, beliefs, and method for using research-based knowledge of children’s thinking in addition and subtraction in her classroom. We describe her mathematics curriculum, the expectations she had of children, and the way her classroom was structured to enable her to continually assess children’s thinking and knowledge. The article includes statements of the teacher that indicate the importance of the research-based knowledge to her as she taught. The article ends with some speculation about how knowledge of children’s thinking can influence curriculum reform.
Task Engagement and Conceptual Change in Middle School Science Classrooms
Authors: Lee Okhee , Anderson Charles W.
Published: March 2008

Science educators have long been concerned that many students fail to engage in academic tasks with the goal of achieving better understanding of science. This study examined two research questions. First, what patterns of students’ task engagement emerge as they work on science classroom tasks? Second, how are patterns of students’ task engagement related to factors involving their cognition (i.e., knowledge and achievement), motivation (e.g., goals in science class), and affect (i.e., attitudes toward science)? The study involved 12 sixth-grade students in two classrooms where the teachers and instructional materials provided students with extensive support to understand science better. The results indicated that some students recognized the value of science learning and demonstrated high quality of cognitive engagement, whereas others pursued alternative agendas. The results are used to explore two research traditions that offer different explanations for the failure of students’ task engagement: (a) cognitive science or conceptual change research and (b) motivation research.
From Role to Person: The Moral Layeredness of Classroom Teaching
Authors: Hansen David T.
Published: March 2008

In this article, I identify and analyze several layers of moral meaning embedded in classroom teaching. I work along two yardsticks: from actions whose moral import is fairly obvious to those in which it is expressed subtly; and from moral features of the role of teacher to qualities of the individual performing that role. I make use of two senses of the term moral. One has its roots in the notion of mores, or customary ways of regarding roles and their occupants. A second has to do with personal character, disposition, and virtue. I base the inquiry on extensive classroom observation, focusing particularly on everyday practices associated with turn-taking. The article seeks to call attention to the multiple yet often subtle ways in which teachers can have a moral impact on their students.
Contexts for the Use of Classroom Cases
Authors: Kagan Dona M.
Published: March 2008

One can use classroom cases in at least three different ways: as instructional materials; as raw data in research on teacher cognition; and as catalysts that can promote change, particularly among experienced teachers. Each of these uses is based on a different epistemological tradition. Case-based instruction is an old concept in teacher education, the first casebook having been published in 1927. Classroom cases continued to be used to educate teachers over the next 50 years: as critical incidents, vignettes, protocols, and simulations. In contrast, the other two uses of classroom cases appear to be novel concepts in the field of teacher education, suggesting significant changes in the way we perceive classroom teaching and educational research. They appear to mark a growing acceptance of the ‘‘qualitative” in teaching and in research. I use this term as Eisner (1991) does, to include that which is naturalistic, interpretive, expressive, and attentive to the particular.
Wrinkles in Time and Place: Using Performance Assessments to Understand the Knowledge of History Teachers
Authors: Wilson Suzanne M. , Wineburg Samuel S.
Published: March 2008

New forms of assessment are sweeping the country. This article reports findings from one of the first projects to develop and field-test performance-based assessments for teachers, Stanford University’s Teacher Assessment Project. The authors analyze the responses of two high school history teachers on three perfomance assessments of teaching: (a) Evaluation of Student Papers , in which teachers read and responded to a set of student essays; (b) Use of Documentary Materials , in which teachers planned a classroom activity using primary sources; and (c) Textbook Analysis , in which teachers evaluated a selection from a widely used U. S. history textbook. Differences emerged in the teachers’ conceptions of their roles and responsibilities, their images of student ability and motivation, their views on student learning, and their subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge. The authors discuss what performance assessments can tell us about pedagogical knowledge and reasoning, and explore the implications of this work for policy and practice.
“I Want to See Some Kind of Growth out of Them”: What the Service Ethic Means to Teacher-Education Students
Authors: Serow Robert C. , Eaker Deborah J. , Forrest Krista D.
Published: March 2008

The crisis in teacher recruitment has focused attention on the public service ethic of teacher-education students. After reviewing existing conceptions of teacher service, we report findings from a multimethod study of more than 400 candidates for secondary education certification. Survey results show service aims to be potent factors attracting traditional college-age students to teaching, though somewhat less evident among nontraditional students. Interview data suggest that subjects interpret the service ethic chiefly in terms of promoting pupils’ academic and personal development—a relatively new idea best understood in the context of professionalization campaigns in education and other human service fields. However, students’ eagerness to assert teachers’ responsibility was seldom accompanied by serious thought on measurement of teaching outcomes. One challenge will be to encourage students to participate in ongoing discussions of teacher accountability and assessment without dampening the service ideals that have initially drawn them to teaching.
Teachers in Teacher Education: Clinical Faculty Roles and Relationships
Authors: Cornbleth Catherine , Ellsworth Jeanne
Published: March 2008

Among the proposed responses if not solutions to the variously identified problems of U.S. education and teacher education is the creation of clinical faculty positions in teacher-education programs. Clinical faculty are outstanding, experienced elementary and secondary school teachers who work with college and university teacher-education programs. In this article, we examine the roles and relationships of clinical faculty in university teacher-education programs to understand better (a) how clinical faculty might contribute to the improvement of teacher education, and (b) obstacles to clinical faculty becoming a regular part of teacher-education programs.

We begin by surveying the current roles of clinical faculty and their relationships with other players in teacher-education programs. Then we sketch a brief history of clinical faculty to provide perspective on the present. We conclude by critically reexamining roles and relationships and by considering implications for teacher-education reform with emphasis on the obstacles to institutionalization of clinical faculty programs.
Question Asking During Tutoring
Authors: Graesser Arthur C. , Person Natalie K.
Published: March 2008

Whereas it is well documented that student question asking is infrequent in classroom environments, there is little research on questioning processes during tutoring. The present study investigated the questions asked in tutoring sessions on research methods (college students) and algebra (7th graders). Student questions were approximately 240 times as frequent in tutoring settings as classroom settings, whereas tutor questions were only slightly more frequent than teacher questions. Questions were classified by (a) degree of specification, (b) content, and (c) question-generation mechanism to analyze their quality. Student achievement was positively correlated with the quality of student questions after students had some experience with tutoring, but the frequency of questions was not correlated with achievement. Students partially self-regulated their learning by identifying knowledge deficits and asking questions to repair them, but they need training to improve these skills. We identified some ways that tutors and teachers might improve their question-asking skills.
Task Talk and Task Awareness Under Different Cooperative Learning Conditions
Authors: Meloth Michael S. , Deering Paul D.
Published: March 2008

This study examined the effects of two cooperative conditions on group discussions and metacognitive awareness. The reward condition used rewards to encourage group interdependence, whereas the strategic condition more directly emphasized the connection between strategy use and learning. Four 4th- and four 5th-grade classrooms participated. Cooperative discussions were observed over a 2-week period, and awareness was assessed through interviews that followed observations. The form of peer-group talk (e.g., frequency of explanations & questions) in both conditions remained relatively constant during the intervention. However, discussions in the strategic condition were more focused toward substantive task content. Talk from Week 1 to Week 2 was quite stable, although stability appears partially attributable to interaction patterns developed prior to the intervention. Finally, metacognitive awareness improved in both conditions, although between-condition differences favored the strategic condition.
How Subject-Matter Knowledge Affects Recall and Interest
Authors: Alexander Patricia A. , Kulikowich Jonna M. , Schulze Sharon K.
Published: March 2008

This research examined the influence of subject-matter knowledge on students’ recall of and interest in scientific exposition. Two forms of subject-matter knowledge were assessed: topic knowledge (i.e., specific subject-matter knowledge referenced in text) and domain knowledge (i.e., knowledge pertinent to a particular field of study). Two hundred and nine college students read two popular-press passages from the domain of physics. Tests of topic knowledge and domain knowledge were administered to students prior to reading the passages. During reading, students rated how interesting they thought each passage and each of its paragraphs were. After reading, students completed a recall measure. Regression analyses showed that subject-matter knowledge, particularly domain knowledge, predicted both recall and interest. Findings tend to support a three-stage model of domain learning that proposes an interactive picture of student knowledge, recall, and interest. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The Institutional Sources of Educational Reform: The Case of School-Based Management
Authors: Ogawa Rodney T.
Published: March 2008

This study describes an aspect of school-based management that previously has been ignored. Drawing on concepts from an institutional theory of organizations, this study describes the actors who shaped and promoted school-based management in the national arena, their interests, and the network that linked them. Three categories of actors are identified: policy actors, teachers union actors, and academic actors. The most prominent actors were often organizations rather than individuals. The actors shared two overarching goals: to improve the effectiveness of public schools and enhance the professional status of teachers. The actors were linked by an informal network; that is, they were loosely organized. These and other findings suggest that school-based management was at least partially the product of the institutional environment in which schools and school districts operated.
Redesigning Teacher Salary Systems for Educational Reform
Authors: Firestone William A.
Published: March 2008

Although recent efforts to reform teacher pay through merit pay and career ladders have not been successful, there are good reasons to consider new approaches. However, such changes should be a part of larger reform. This article assesses how changes in teacher pay can contribute to both systemic reform and restructuring agendas. Three specific alternatives—knowledge-and skill-based pay, job enlargement, and collective incentives—have potential to contribute to the motivation of teachers already on the job and to support these other reforms. These vary in the extent to which they would change the status quo. All of them have promise, but only if they are combined with other changes in working conditions.
Teachers, Computer Tutors, and Teaching: The Artificially Intelligent Tutor as an Agent for Classroom Change
Authors: Schofield Janet Ward , Eurich-Fulcer Rebecca , Britt Chen L.
Published: March 2008

This article documents, explores, and explains a paradox—that students who assert that a teacher provides better help than an artificially intelligent computer-based tutor nonetheless prefer using the tutor to learning in a more traditional manner and appear to learn more while doing so. An intensive qualitative study of eight classrooms using the tutors as well as control and comparison classrooms suggests three factors that account for this seeming inconsistency. First, rather than replacing the teacher, the tutor provided an additional resource for students. Second, using the tutors allowed teachers to provide more individualized help. Third, students using the tutors had more control over the kind and amount of help they received from the teacher, with helping interactions becoming more private and potentially less embarrassing. None of these changes were envisioned by the tutor’s developers, highlighting the importance of exploring the unintended effects of technology on classroom functioning.
Interrupted Lessons: Teacher Views of Transfer Student Education
Authors: Lash Andrea A. , Kirkpatrick Sandra L.
Published: March 2008

This study examines how teachers teach when transfer students enter their classrooms during the school year. Eight schools participated, two from each of four community types: agricultural, military, urban, and stable. According to the teachers, transfer students experience learning problems because schools use different curricula and new students miss instruction while adjusting. However, these beliefs about the impact of transfer did not predict strategies teachers used to identify and address educational needs of transfer students. Most teachers outside agricultural communities planned their teaching as if their entire class remained with them from September to June even though as many as 50% of their students would transfer schools. The inconsistency of teacher beliefs and strategies may be due to teacher goals for integrating new students into classwork, to the limits teachers set to their responsibility for transfer students’ education, and to an assumption of population stability that underlies the educational system.
Teachers and Researchers in Collaboration: Reflections on the Process
Authors: Bickel William E. , Hattrup Rosemary A.
Published: March 2008

This research describes a 54-month National Science Foundation-supported collaboration, the Thinking Mathematics Project, between the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) of the University of Pittsburgh wherein expert teachers and cognitive researchers sought to codify the best of clinical and research knowledge on student learning and instruction for mathematics in the early grades. The authors draw on their documentation of the development of the collaboration between these two organizations and the teachers and researchers involved to provide highlights of participants’ reflections of the collaborative experience. Lessons about what works and what doesn’t when teachers and researchers attempt to build a common learning community are described.
Producing Equal-Status Interaction in the Heterogeneous Classroom
Authors: Cohen Elizabeth G. , Lotan Rachel A.
Published: March 2008

Emphasis on tracking and ability grouping as sources of inequality and as goals for reform ignores processes of stratification within heterogeneous classrooms. Research literature on effects of classroom status inequality is reviewed. The article presents a test of two interventions derived from expectation states theory and designed to counteract the process of stratification in classrooms using academically heterogeneous small groups. The design focuses on variation in the frequency with which teachers carried out status treatments in 13 elementary school classrooms, all of which were using the same curriculum and the same system of classroom management. There was good support for the hypotheses that the use of status treatments would be associated with higher rates of participation of low-status students and would have no effect on the participation of high-status students. Analysis at the classroom level revealed that more frequent use of these treatments was associated with more equal-status interaction.
Success and Failure in Junior High School: A Critical Incident Approach to Understanding Students’ Attributional Beliefs
Authors: Vispoel Walter P. , Austin James R.
Published: March 2008

Attribution theory, which focuses on students’ beliefs about why they succeed or fail, has served as the interpretative framework for numerous studies of student motivation. Yet, the relevance of this research to educational practice has been questioned because most studies focus on college students’ reactions to hypothetical scenarios or contrived laboratory tasks. To address this problem, we employed a critical incident methodology in which junior high school students recalled naturally occurring successes and failures in four subject areas (English, math, general music, and physical education) and rated the relevance of eight causal attributions in explaining each outcome. We explored the effects of situational context (subject area, activity) on attributional beliefs, the relations between attributional beliefs and reported grades, and the dimensionality of attributional beliefs. Our results highlighted the context-specific nature of causal beliefs and their strong linkages to reported classroom achievement. Our factor analyses of attributional ratings did not yield dimensions of locus, stability, and controllability but instead showed a systematic trend for external attributions to generalize across subject areas and for internal attributions to remain subject-area specific. We discuss implications for teachers and researchers.
Conceptions of Knowledge and Beliefs: A Comparison Across Varying Cultural and Educational Communities
Authors: Alexander Patricia A. , Dochy Filip J. R. C.
Published: March 2008

In this study, we asked adults in the United States (n = 54) and Europe (n = 66), primarily the Netherlands, to share their views on the concepts of knowledge and beliefs. Among the 120 participants, there were three levels of expertise represented. Specifically, there were (a) adults seeking postsecondary degrees, (b) those completing graduate degrees or holding terminal degrees, and (c) those considered experts in the area of either knowledge or beliefs. While there were some similarities in the conceptions of knowing and believing within both cultural groups, differences related to the definition of and relationship between knowledge and beliefs were identified. For example, it was found that the European respondents tended to be more diverse in their viewpoints than the Americans, particularly those enrolled in undergraduate programs. However, the experts, particularly those from the United States, were more diverse and more cautious in their views than those in the other two educational groups. The implications of such findings for educational practice and future research are then discussed.
Brief Note: A Comparison of How Textbooks Teach Mathematical Problem Solving in Japan and the United States
Authors: Mayer Richard E. , Sims Valerie , Tajika Hidetsugu
Published: March 2008

This brief report compared the lesson on addition and subtraction of signed whole numbers in three seventh-grade Japanese mathematics textbooks with the corresponding lesson in four U.S. mathematics textbooks. The results indicated that Japanese books contained many more worked-out examples and relevant illustrations than did the U.S. books, whereas the U.S. books contained roughly as many exercises and many more irrelevant illustrations than did the Japanese books. The Japanese books devoted 81% of their space to explaining the solution procedure for worked-out examples compared to 36% in U.S. books; in contrast, the U.S. books devoted more space to unsolved exercises (45%) and interest-grabbing illustrations that are irrelevant to the lesson (19%) than did the Japanese books (19% and 0%, respectively). Finally, one of the four U.S. books and all three Japanese books used meaningful instructional methods emphasizing (a) multiple representations of how to solve worked-out examples using words, symbols, and pictures and (b) inductive organization of material beginning with familiar situations and ending with formal statements of the solution rule. The results are consistent with classroom observations showing that Japanese mathematics instruction tends to emphasize the process of problem solving more effectively than does U.S. mathematics instruction ( Stevenson and Stigler, 1992 ).
In Dedication: Leigh Burstein
Authors: Kupermintz Haggai , Ennis Michele M. , Hamilton Laura S. , Talbert Joan E. , Snow Richard E.
Published: March 2008

This study demonstrates that the validity and usefulness of mathematics achievement tests can be improved by defining psychologically meaningful subscores that yield differential relations with student, teacher, and school variables. The NELS:88 8th- and 10th-grade math tests were subjected to full information item factor analysis. Math knowledge and math reasoning factors were distinguished at both grade levels. Regression analyses showed that student attitudes, instructional variables, course, and program experiences related more to knowledge, whereas gender, SES, and some ethnic differences related more to reasoning. Teacher emphasis on higher order thinking, student use of home computers, and early experience with advanced math courses related to both dimensions. It is recommended that national educational surveys use multidimensional achievement scores, not total scores alone.
Enhancing the Validity and Usefulness of Large-Scale Educational Assessments: II. NELS:88 Science Achievement
Authors: Hamilton Laura S. , Nussbaum E. Michael , Kupermintz Haggai , Kerkhoven Joannes I. M. , Snow Richard E.
Published: March 2008

This study is second in a series demonstrating that achievement tests are multidimensional and that using psychologically meaningful subscores in national educational surveys can enhance test validity and usefulness. NELS:88 8th- and l0th-grade science tests were subjected to full information item factor analysis. Factors reflecting everyday knowledge, scientific reasoning, chemistry knowledge, and reasoning with knowledge were obtained in 8th grade. Quantitative science, spatial-mechanical, and basic knowledge and reasoning were distinguishable factors in 10th grade. Regression analyses showed that different patterns of prior math and science achievement, and of course taking, were associated with each l0th-grade science factor. Teacher emphasis on problem solving and understanding related more to quantitative science, and basic knowledge and reasoning. Spatial-mechanical reasoning showed the strongest gender and ethnicity effects; it related also to science museum visits but not to instructional variables. It is recommended that multidimensional achievement scores be used to capture student and teacher effects that total scores used alone miss.
Dropping Out of Middle School: A Multilevel Analysis of Students and Schools
Authors: Rumberger Russell W.
Published: March 2008

Prior research on dropouts has often focused on high schools and examined the issue from either the individual perspective or the institutional perspective. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 and a new form of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), this study focuses on dropouts from middle school and examines the issue from both individual and institutional perspectives. At the individual level, the results identified a number of family and school experience factors that influence the decision to leave school, with grade retention being the single most powerful predictor. But disaggregating the analysis also revealed that there are widespread differences in the effects of these factors on White, Black, and Hispanic students. At the institutional level, the results revealed that mean dropout rates vary widely between schools and that most of the variation can be explained by differences in the background characteristics of students. But restricting the analysis to lower SES schools shows widespread differences in both mean dropout rates and social class differentiation among such schools. Moreover, much of the variation among those schools can be explained by social composition of students and by several structural features of schools and school climate.
Schools as Communities, Poverty Levels of Student Populations, and Students’ Attitudes, Motives, and Performance: A Multilevel Analysis
Authors: Battistich Victor , Solomon Daniel , Kim Dong-il , Watson Marilyn , Schaps Eric
Published: March 2008

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine relationships between students’ sense of school community, poverty level, and student attitudes, motives, beliefs, and behavior among a diverse sample of 24 elementary schools. Major findings were that: (a) within schools, individual students’ sense of school community was significantly associated with almost all of the student outcome measures, (b) Between schools, school-level community and poverty were both significantly related to many of the student outcomes (the former positively, the latter negatively), (c) Most of the relationships between school community and student measures held for schools at different poverty levels, (d) Several significant interactions between school community and poverty level indicated that some of the strongest positive effects of school community occurred among schools with the most disadvantaged student populations.
Deweyan Pragmatism and the Epistemology of Contemporary Social Constructivism
Authors: Garrison Jim
Published: March 2008

In the quest for an epistemology that supports theories of situated cognition and social constructivism, educational theorists and researchers have overlooked one of the most familiar figures in the modern history of educational inquiry—John Dewey. Perhaps one reason for this oversight is that if we adopted Deweyan social epistemology and constructivism we would have to come to grips with his social behaviorism as well. Besides advocating Deweyan epistemological behaviorism, the other purpose for writing this article is to urge the field of education to seriously consider behaviorism as one way of understanding social constructivism and situated cognition.
Cognitive and School Outcomes for High-Risk African-American Students at Middle Adolescence: Positive Effects of Early Intervention
Authors: Campbell Frances A. , Ramey Craig T.
Published: March 2008

Long-term intellectual and academic benefits related to early childhood educational intervention were found in a sample of students from low-income families (98% African American). The subjects were randomly assigned to preschool and school-age treatment conditions in a study design that permits a comparison of outcomes in students with preschool treatment followed by early elementary treatment (infancy–8 years), preschool treatment only (infancy–5 years), early elementary school treatment only (5 years–8 years), and untreated controls. At age 15, seven to ten years after any treatment was provided, those students who had preschool treatment scored significantly higher on individually administered tests of reading and mathematics and had fewer instances of grade retention and assignments to special education. The results support the relative efficacy of preschool treatment over that given in early elementary school. Policy implications stress the importance of providing high quality early childhood environments for impoverished children.
The Impact of Peer Mediation Training on the Management of School and Home Conflicts
Authors: Johnson David W. , Johnson Roger , Dudley Bruce , Ward Marty , Magnuson Douglas
Published: March 2008

A peer mediation program in a midwestern, suburban school was examined to determine the types of conflicts that occurred, the strategies students used to resolve their conflicts, and the types of resolutions in both school and home settings. The impact of the peer mediation program on the strategies used to manage conflicts and the resolutions of conflicts was also examined. Six classes (one combination second/third grade, one third grade, two fourth grades, and two fifth grades) containing 144 students received 9 hours of training in how to negotiate integrative agreements to their conflicts and how to mediate the conflicts of their classmates. A random sample of 83 students was selected from the untrained students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades as a control group. A peer mediation program was implemented. The role of mediator was rotated equally among all class members. Data were gathered over a 9-week period before, during, and after the peer mediation training. Seven hundred eighty-three conflicts were reported (209 at school, 574 at home). A significant difference between the types of conflict occurring in the school and in the home was found. The training had significant impact on the strategies students used and the resulting resolutions.
Incompatible Goals: Narratives of Graduate Women in the Mathematics Pipeline
Authors: Stage Frances K. , Maple Sue A.
Published: March 2008

Despite 2 decades of research and attention directed at enhancing their participation, the number of women earning a PhD in science and mathematics remains low. This article presents the results of an interpretive study of the educational and career paths of female students who have successfully completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in mathematics and have chosen to leave the mathematics/science pipeline to research scientist in order to pursue a doctorate in education. The women’s narratives portray the difference between their views of themselves and the nature of their chosen discipline. The emergent themes are examined against the conceptual framework of women’s participation in the mathematics/science pipeline and women and their relationship to mathematics.
An Analysis of the Concept and Uses of Systemic Educational Reform
Authors: Vinovskis Mans A.
Published: March 2008

The concept of systemic reform has become one of the centerpieces of the Clinton administration’s educational policies. In order to clarify the current discussion about systemic reform in education as well as to stimulate additional discourse about its advantages and disadvantages, this article will trace the origin of the idea of systemic reform, place the concept within the context of educational developments in the 1980s and 1990s, and consider how systemic reform is being interpreted and applied by analysts and policymakers today.
Creating the Conditions for Scientific Literacy: A Re-Examination
Authors: Eisenhart Margaret , Finkel Elizabeth , Marion Scott F.
Published: March 2008

This article explores the way in which scientific literacy has been defined, justified, and operationalized in current proposals for science education reform. We argue that, although the vision of scientific literacy reflected in reform proposals is broad, progressive, and inclusive, it is being implemented in narrow and conventional ways. As a consequence, we are not optimistic that current proposals will lead to a significant increase in the scientific literacy of the U. S. population. In the article, we discuss limitations in the current direction of science education reform and examine some alternate ways of thinking about it.
Goal and Self-Evaluative Influences During Children’s Cognitive Skill Learning
Authors: Schunk Dale H.
Published: March 2008

Two studies investigated how goals and self-evaluation affect motivation and achievement outcomes. In both studies, fourth-grade students received instruction and practice on fractions over sessions. Students worked under conditions involving either a goal of learning how to solve problems (learning goal) or a goal of merely solving them (performance goal). In Study 1, half of the students in each goal condition evaluated their problem-solving capabilities. The learning goal with or without self-evaluation and the performance goal with self-evaluation led to higher self-efficacy, skill, motivation, and task orientation than did the performance goal without self-evaluation. In Study 2, all students in each goal condition evaluated their progress in skill acquisition. The learning goal led to higher motivation and achievement outcomes than did the performance goal. Research suggestions and implications for educational practice are discussed.
Culture and Self in Multicultural Education: Reflections on Discourse, Text, and Practice
Authors: Hoffman Diane M.
Published: March 2008

Drawing principally from anthropological critiques of contemporary American multiculturalism, this interpretive analysis of multicultural education in the United States suggests that discourse, text, and practice in the multicultural domain are imbued with unexamined assumptions concerning such basic concepts as culture, self, and individual identity. The article provides a critical analysis of these ideas and their presentation in multicultural discourses and illustrates how they are shaped by dominant core American cultural frames of reference. It argues that a more reflexive multicultural discourse is needed, both to advance research on the implementation of multicultural education, as well as to promote more genuine forms of multicultural teaching and learning. Furthermore, a reflexive or self-aware multiculturalism would allow us to focus on developing models for learning culture that can promote real transformation in the way we conceptualize and practice education in plural societies.
The Relation Between Student Ability and the Quality and Effectiveness of Explanations
Authors: Fuchs Lynn S. , Fuchs Douglas , Karns Kathy , Hamlett Carol L. , Dutka Suzanne , Katzaroff Michelle
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality and effectiveness of students’ mathematical explanations as a function of the ability of the tutor. We videotaped dyads from 20 classrooms in which all students had been trained in constructive peer-tutoring interactions and had practiced those methods twice weekly for 23 weeks. From each classroom, one dyad incorporated a high-achieving tutor; the other, a medium-achieving tutor; both tutored the same classmate with a learning disability in the area of mathematics. Results indicated that high-achieving tutors’ explanations were rated higher on conceptual, procedural, and overall quality; incorporated a greater variety of explanatory strategies; earned higher conceptual orientation scores; and resulted in better performances among tutees. Implications are discussed in terms of optimizing grouping arrangements during collaborative learning activities and related concerns about mainstreaming students with learning disabilities for academic instruction.
The Distinctiveness of Affects in Specific School Subjects: An Application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis With the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988
Authors: Marsh Herbert W. , Yeung Alexander Seeshing
Published: March 2008

Does academic affect generalize across different school subjects, or is it specific to particular subjects? Substantively, this study considers the distinctiveness of affects associated with different school subjects and critically evaluates this distinctiveness in relation to school grades and standardized test scores. Methodologically, the study describes problems related to combining responses to single-item self-rating scales, adapts confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models of multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data to address this problem, and provides guidelines for more effective use of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS88) data. A large, nationally representative sample of eighth-grade students (N = 24,599) rated three affects (looking forward to, perceived usefulness, anxiety) in each of four school subjects (mathematics, science, social studies, English). The CFA models showed that simple scale scores were inappropriate. MTMM models indicated that ratings in different school subjects were very distinct, and extended models incorporating school grades and test scores supported this subject specificity of academic affect.
The Effects of Social Relationships, Writing Media, and Microgenetic Development on First-Grade Students’ Written Narratives
Authors: Jones Ithel , Pellegrini A. D.
Published: March 2008

This study examined the effects of social relationships, writing media, and microgenetic development on first-grade students’ written narratives. In the within-subjects design, children’s written products and verbalizations were compared across different writing contexts, computer-supported writing and pencil-and-paper writing. Participant relationships were also manipulated to determine the influence of friendship on the outcome measures in the two writing contexts. At the same time, a microgenetic approach was adopted to examine temporal changes in students’ written texts. The results indicated that students’ narratives composed with a word processor were lexically denser and more cohesive than their narratives composed with pencil and paper. Students’ talk during computer-supported writing episodes included more metacognitive terms than their talk during pencil-and-paper writing. Similarly, the relative frequencies of metacognitive talk of friends and nonfriends differed. Results are discussed in terms of the facilitative effects of computer-supported writing and close relationships on metacognitive processes.
A Cognitive Theory of Orthographic Transitioning: Predictable Errors in How Spanish-Speaking Children Spell English Words
Authors: Fashola Olatokunbo S. , Drum Priscilla A. , Mayer Richard E. , Kang Sang-Jin
Published: March 2008

Schools in the United States serve a large and increasing number of Spanish-speaking students who are making the transition to English language literacy. This study examines one aspect of the transition to English literacy, namely, how Spanish-speaking students spell English words. Samples of 38 students who speak Spanish at home (Spanish-speaking group) and 34 students who speak English at home (English-speaking group) listened to a list of 40 common English words dictated to them by the teacher and wrote down each word one at a time. Spanish-speaking students produced more errors that were consistent with the correct application of Spanish phonological and orthographical rules (i.e., predicted errors) than did English-speaking students, and the groups generally did not differ in their production of other kinds of spelling errors (i.e., nonpredicted errors). Theoretical and practical implications for bilingual education are discussed.