bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Instruction Matters: Lessons from a Mixed-Method Evaluation of Out-Of-School Time Tutoring under No Child Left Behind
Authors: Good Annalee B. , Burch Patricia , Stewart Mary S. , Acosta Rudy , Heinrich Carolyn 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Under supplemental educational services (“supplemental services”), a parental choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), schools that have not made adequate yearly progress in increasing student achievement are required to offer low-income families free, afterschool tutoring. Existing research shows low attendance rates among eligible students and little to no aggregate effects on achievement for students who do attend. Focus of study We employ a framework grounded in examining the instructional setting, or “instructional core,” and we draw on the unique contributions of qualitative research to help explain the limited effects of supplemental services on student achievement. Specifically, we address the following research question: How can in-depth examination of the instructional core explain the impact of supplemental services on student learning? Research Design Our findings draw on data from an ongoing mixed-method and multisite study of the implementation and impact of supplemental educational services in five urban school districts located in four states. Although this paper includes quantitative data from this study, analysis focuses on qualitative data, including observations of tutoring sessions using a standardized observation instrument; semistructured interviews with district staff, provider administrators, and tutors; focus groups with parents of eligible students; and document analysis. Findings We identify two primary reasons for a lack of effects. First, there is a “treatment exposure” problem where most students receive far less than 40 hours of tutoring over the course of a school year, a critical threshold for seeing significant effects on achievement. In addition, there are discrepancies between an invoiced hour of tutoring and actual instructional time. Second, supplemental services has an instructional quality problem. Instruction lacks innovation; the curriculum typically does not align to that of the day school; programs do not meet all students’ instructional needs, especially students with disabilities and English language learners; and there can be considerable variation in quality within the same provider. Conclusions Our findings lay the foundations for being able to not only establish best practices for supplemental services, but to suggest policy changes to facilitate these best practices and offer insights to a host of other parental choice, out-of-school time (OST), and accountability-based reforms.
Less Socially Engaged? Participation in Friendship and Extracurricular Activities Among Racial/Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Adolescents
Authors: Cherng Hua-Yu Sebastian , Turney Kristin , Kao Grace 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Prior research has linked social engagement, such as peer interaction and participation in school activities, to a host of positive outcomes for youth and adolescents. However, little research considers patterns of social engagement among racial/ ethnic minority and immigrant adolescents, despite prior research suggesting distinct racial/ethnic and generational differences in social interactions among young people. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This paper examines patterns of social engagement in friendships and extracurricular activities among racial/ethnic minorities and immigrant adolescents. We analyze five measures of social engagement: having any friends, socializing with friends, participating in school sports, participating in school clubs, and participating in activities outside of school. Population/Participants/Subjects This study utilizes the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), a nationally representative sample of high school sophomores. Research Design: Our research design includes statistical analysis of secondary data. Findings/Results: Overall, results show that racial/ethnic minority adolescents, as well as first- and second-generation adolescents, are less engaged in friendships than their third-generation White counterparts. In contrast, there is no clear pattern of advantage or disadvantage in extracurricular activity participation. Conclusions/Recommendations These findings suggest that a disproportionate number of racial/ethnic minority and immigrant adolescents are less engaged in friendships than their peers, and that schools and adults play an important role in facilitating social interactions that may not occur within informal friendship networks.
“They Never Told Me What to Expect, So I Didn't Know What to Do”: Defining and Clarifying the Role of a Community College Student
Authors: Karp Melinda M. , Bork Rachel H. 
Published: November 2021

Background Low community college completion rates are an area of concern for policymakers and practitioners. Although many students require developmental education upon entry, research suggests that even students who are deemed “college-ready” by virtue of their placement test scores or completion of developmental coursework may not earn a credential, suggesting that college readiness encompasses more than academic skill. Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide an empirically grounded description of the role of the community college student. Drawing on sociological role theory, we articulate the largely unspoken expectations, behaviors, and attitudes to which students must adhere if they are to be successful. In doing so, we begin to clarify a piece of the college success puzzle that has heretofore been underexamined. We also extend current literature on college persistence by integrating theories of psychosocial identity, social roles, and college persistence. Research Design The study uses qualitative data from semistructured interviews conducted with community college students (n = 97) and faculty and staff (n = 72) from a study of student success courses in three community colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). We examined a subset of interview questions investigating the expectations that staff and faculty hold of community college students. We used analytic induction to categorize disparate expectations into discrete components of the community college student role. Findings Relying on sociological conceptions of the role, we find that the demands and expectations placed on community college students are different from other social positions with which individuals are familiar, particularly with regard to the level of fluidity and demands for self-awareness. We also identify four distinct components of the role of community college student: academic habits, cultural know-how, balancing multiple demands, and help seeking. Conclusions Our data clarify the nonacademic components of college success that contribute to academic readiness. We also find agreement between our data and other college persistence literature focused on other student populations. Our findings extend current understandings of the psychosocial transition to college by paying attention to the cultural elements of the community college student role. This paper concludes with suggestions for future research.
“Slaying Ghosts in the Room”: Identity Contingencies, Teacher Licensure Testing Events, and African American Preservice Teachers
Authors: Petchauer Emery 
Published: November 2021

Background In 41 states, students must pass the “basic skills” portion of their licensure exam before they can be admitted into a teacher education program. Because African American test takers are roughly half as likely to pass basic skills exams on their first attempt compared to White test takers, this portion of the licensure exam is a key gatekeeper to the field and directly shapes the racial diversity of the profession. Researchers generally frame this problem in one of two opposing ways: (a) by locating the cause in skill and knowledge deficiencies of test takers or (b) by locating the cause in the cultural bias of standardized test instruments. This study looks beyond these two polarized views to conceptualize the licensure exam as a testing event that includes a nexus of cognitive and affective processes beyond the specific skills the test is designed to measure. Focus of Study The study examined the subjective and social psychological ways African American test takers experience teacher licensure testing events. This study was guided by the following research questions: (a) How do African American preservice teachers experience the licensure testing event? (b) How does race become a salient aspect of the testing event experience for African American preservice teachers? The study drew from the social psychological constructs of identity contingencies and situational cues to analyze students’ experiences in the testing event. Setting and Participants Participants in this study were 22 African American preservice teachers attending a predominantly and historically Black institution in the northeastern United States. Each of the participants took the paper format basic skills exam in either the spring 2009 or spring 2010 national administration. Research Design Drawing from culturally sensitive research practice, this study used a qualitative case study research design to explore test takers’ experiences in the testing event. Findings/Conclusions Findings illustrate how the licensure testing event can become a racialized experience for some participants through (a) interactions with test proctors and site administrators before and during examinations and (b) actions of other test takers that inadvertently signaled racial stereotypes about test preparation, intelligence, and character. Racialized experiences for participants were not based upon any specific test questions or content. Findings are discussed in light of previous research to suggest that these experiences have the capacity to produce a host of cognitive and affective states that undermine performance.
Accessing Capital Resources: Investigating the Effects of Teacher Human and Social Capital on Student Achievement
Authors: Daly Alan J. , Moolenaar Nienke M. , Der-Martirosian Claudia , Liou Yi-Hwa 
Published: November 2021

Background A growing empirical base suggests that there is a positive relationship between teacher social interaction and student achievement. However, much of this research is based on standardized summative assessments, which, while important, may have limited applicability to timely instructional decision making. As such, in this work, we examine the relationship between teacher social interaction and interim benchmark formative assessments, which have been argued to play a more useful role in instructional decision making. Purpose In this study we used a human and social capital framework to explore the relationship between teacher social interaction and student achievement on an interim benchmark formative assessment. We hypothesized that teacher social capital would be positively related with student achievement as measured by an interim assessment, even after controlling for student and teacher demographics as well as proxies for teacher human capital. Population A sample of 63 teachers from five elementary schools in a midsize U.S. district completed a demographic and social network survey, from which we generated our human and social capital measures. For student-level data, we collected current and prior student achievement from 1,196 third to fifth grade students on an English Language Arts Interim Benchmark Assessment. Research Design We used survey data to conduct social network analysis and hierarchical linear modeling to explore the multilevel relationship between human and social capital and student achievement. Results Results indicated that even when controlling for student demographics and prior achievement, teachers’ human and social capital had a significant effect on student achievement as measured by interim assessments. More specifically our results indicated that more teaching experience in the current school was associated with better student performance on the interim assessment. In addition, the act of reaching out to other teachers to share knowledge regarding reading comprehension was associated with higher student scores on the interim assessment even when controlling for demographics and past academic performance. Conclusions This study offers a unique insight into the role of accessing capital resources and student achievement in strengthening schools under increased pressure to improve. Our work adds to the growing empirical base that suggests that teacher social interaction has a relationship with student achievement. To encourage social interaction, creating formal policies and structures for teachers to develop social ties with one another related to content may be a useful strategy in supporting student outcomes.
Creating Counter-Spaces of Resistance and Sanctuaries of Learning and Teaching: An Analysis of Freedom University
Authors: Muñoz Susana , Espino Michelle M. , Antrop-González René 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context In 2011, the Georgia Board of Regents passed an educational policy that denies qualified students without documentation access to five selective institutions of higher education in the state. As a form of civil disobedience, Freedom University in Athens, Georgia, was founded to cultivate a space where students without documentation can continue their postsecondary educational pursuits. Research Questions The research questions that guided this study are: (a) In what ways does Freedom University serve as a sanctuary of teaching and learning from the perspectives of faculty members? and (b) What challenges and successes have been and continue to be experienced by the faculty of Freedom University in developing sanctuaries of teaching and learning for students without documentation? Research Design This qualitative case study included in-depth interviews with three founding faculty members. It also included document analysis that was based on historical aspects associated with the formation of Freedom Schools during the Civil Rights era and the concept of school as sanctuary to understand the pedagogical and philosophical underpinnings associated with the establishment of Freedom University. Through constant comparative data analysis, the authors uncover how Freedom University operates as a sanctuary for students without documentation. Findings The findings demonstrate that Freedom University is a postsecondary sanctuary school because it centers students’ experiences within the curriculum and embodies transformational resistance by both students and faculty. Conclusions/Recommendations The authors suggest that, by creating sanctuaries at a post-secondary level, students without documentation are afforded a space to continue their education not for a college degree but for the sake of learning.
Deviance as Pedagogy: From Nondominant Cultural Capital to Deviantly Marked Cultural Repertoires
Authors: Dixon-Román Ezekiel J. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital has been employed extensively in sociological, educational, and anthropological research. However, Bourdieu's conceptualization of cultural capital has often been misread to refer only to “high status” or dominant cultural norms and resources at the cost of overlooking the meaningful and productive practices of nondominant and marginalized cultural communities. Focus of Study By reconceptualizing Cohen's politics of deviance, this paper leans on post-structuralist thinkers to develop a conceptualization of the cultural repertoires of marginalized communities, hereafter referred to as deviantly marked cultural repertoires, that places at the center labeled practices of deviance. It is posited that in these labeled deviant cultural practices—which are often overlooked, shunned, and ignored—are valuable and meaningful experiences of learning and development. Research Design Using scenes from the HBO series The Wire as a cultural text, a materialist analysis is conducted to demonstrate empirically the pedagogically rich processes of deviantly marked cultural repertoires. Conclusions This paper argues for a research agenda on the learning and development present in the often overlooked, shunned, ignored, and marked/labeled practices of deviance as a way to explore the transformative pedagogical possibilities in marginalized youth cultures.
Assessment, Autonomy, and Elementary Social Studies Time
Authors: Fitchett Paul G. , Heafner Tina L. , Lambert Richard 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context In an era of accountability and standardization, elementary social studies is consistently losing its curricular foothold to English/language arts, math, and science instruction. Purpose This article examines the relationship between elementary teachers’ perceptions of instructional autonomy, teaching context, state testing policy, and reported social studies instructional time. Research Design Employing secondary data from the National Center for Education Statistics 2007/2008 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), we analyzed the association between elementary (Grades 1–5) teachers’ perceived autonomy, classroom/school contexts, and state testing policies on reported time spent on social studies. We also analyzed the moderating effect of state-level testing policy on teachers’ sense of autonomy in relation to reported social studies instructional time. Data Collection and Analysis We conducted analysis of variance (ANOVA) and hierarchical liner modeling (HLM) to examine the association among multiple levels of teacher, classroom, school, and state policy levels as a function of reported social studies instructional time. Findings/Results Results indicate that elementary teachers’ working in states that require elementary social studies testing spend more time on social studies instruction. Moreover, teachers’ who report greater instructional autonomy and teach intermediate grades (4–5) spend more time on social studies. Finally, elementary teachers working in states with a required social studies test report less instructional autonomy than teachers without a test. Recommendations Findings suggest recommendations for practitioners, school leaders, and educational policy. Social studies teacher educators and practitioners should continue to support ambitious teaching. School leaders who value social studies instruction should foster environments that offer less curricular restrictions, particularly in the later grades. From an organizational perspective, mandatory statewide testing improves the quantity of social studies at the elementary grades. However, policy makers and education advocates should weigh the costs and benefits of increased testing mandates and their possible impact on the quality of social studies teaching and learning.
Ready to Lead, but How? Teachers’ Experiences in High-Poverty Urban Schools
Authors: Johnson Susan Moore , Reinhorn Stefanie , Charner-Laird Megin , Kraft Matthew , Ng Monica , Papay John P. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Many strategies to improve failing urban schools rest on efforts to improve leadership within the school. Effective school-based leadership depends not only on the activities of the principal, but also on teachers’ efforts to address school-wide challenges. Research has shown that the principal is pivotal in such ventures, but we know little about how teachers conceive of their role in leadership, how they respond to opportunities provided or denied by their principal, or how they initiate leadership on their own. Purpose We studied how teachers in six high-poverty urban schools participate in leadership beyond their classroom. We asked: What role do teachers in high-poverty urban schools play in their school's improvement? How do principals conceive of teachers’ potential for leadership and how do they act on it? How do teachers respond to the opportunities and constrains they encounter as they seek to exercise leadership in their schools? Research Design We interviewed 95 teachers and administrators in six high-poverty schools of one large urban district (two elementary schools, one K–8 school, one middle school, and two high schools). The schools, which served large proportions of low-income and minority students, had varying records of student performance. Data Collection and Analysis In each school, we interviewed the principal, other administrators, and a broad sample of teachers. We reviewed documents and observed day-to-day practices. After writing a structured, thematic summary for each respondent and school, we coded all transcripts and analyzed themes and practices within and across schools. Findings Teachers were willing and ready to address their school's challenges. They conditionally granted their principal discretion in setting the agenda, based on the perceived authority and expertise of the principal and teachers’ opportunities for engagement as partners. When the principal took an instrumental approach to their contributions, teachers resented it, withdrew to their classrooms, and considered leaving the school. When the principal took an inclusive approach, demonstrating genuine interest in their views and contributions, teachers invested in school-wide reforms. Conclusions/Recommendation Although a principal may develop a strategic plan for improvement, that plan cannot simply be “rolled out.” Doing so without teachers’ contributions and endorsement likely means that the plan is incomplete and will be rejected outright or adopted perfunctorily. District administrators should select and develop principals who take an inclusive approach to teacher leadership. Policy makers and researchers should go beyond assessing the success of specific reforms and study the process of change within schools as reforms are developed and implemented.
Context and Perspective: Implications for Assessment in Education
Authors: Gordon Edmund W. , Campbell Emily B. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context This article is a piece of analytic and descriptive commentary based on the work of the Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment of Education. Purpose The purpose of this essay is to advocate for greater attention given to the correlates of human performance in educational measurement. The authors argue the importance of attribution, context, and perspective as factors influencing human performance. Research Design The essay is primarily analytic and historical with respect to the conceptualizations that should guide the contextualization of assessment in education. Conclusions (a) Greater respect for and sensitivity to the fact that adaptive behavior is a function of the integration of affective, cognitive, and situative processes operating in conscious organisms functioning in context. (b) Importance of systems of assessment that produce multiple forms of data that should be combined in different constellations for specific purposes. (c) Explicit recognition that decontextualized and situated probes are in fact distortions and the data from such probes cannot legitimately be used for definitive judgment. (d) Emerging electronic digital technologies may provide opportunities for effective assessments of contexts, as well as assessments of adaptive behaviors in context. (e) The documentation of personal attributions and personal perceptions are problematic, though such data are important and must be subjected to systematicity in programs of assessment in education. (f) Formative assessment, portfolio development, and relational analysis.