bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Making Sense of the Links: Professional Development, Teacher Practices, and Student Achievement
Authors: Wallace Marjorie R. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Although there is substantial evidence that high-quality professional development can improve teacher practices, less evidence exists for the effects of teacher professional development on intermediate outcomes, such as teacher practices, and their ultimate effects on K–12 student achievement. This work links professional development through teacher practices to examine their separate and combined effects on student achievement. Research Questions When teacher characteristics and teacher preparation program are controlled, what are the effects of teacher professional development on (1) teacher practices in mathematics and reading, and (2) subsequent student mathematics and reading achievement? Population The study uses students (n = 1,550–6,408) nested within teachers (n = 168–1,029) from six existing databases, two from the 2000 Beginning Teacher Preparation Survey conducted in Connecticut and Tennessee, and four from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP Mathematics 1996, 2000, and NAEP Reading 1998, 2000). Research Design This quantitative study employed a hybrid structural equation model built based on relationships indicated by the literature. Using extant large-scale data sets, the model was first tested using the smallest data set and then confirmed using successively larger state and national data sets. Conclusions Professional development has moderate effects on teacher practice and very small but sometimes significant effects on student achievement when the effects of professional development are mediated by teacher practice. In spite of differences in samples, academic subjects, and assessments, the effects of professional development on teacher practice and student achievement persist and are remarkably similar across analyses.
Bridges to Success in High School for Migrant Youth
Authors: Gibson Margaret A. , Hidalgo Nicole D. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Among the children of immigrants, one of the populations placed at greatest risk of not finishing high school are the children of migrant farmworkers. Although it is difficult to track graduation rates for migrant students because of their mobility, the U.S. Department of Education estimates that only half of all migrant children finish high school. These children face many of the same obstacles as children of immigrants whose families must cope with severe economic hardships, but they also must deal with additional challenges associated with their families’ migratory lifestyles and living situations. Purpose This article offers some background on the barriers that migrant youth face in school; describes the services provided to these young people by the federally funded Migrant Education Program, focusing on the authors’ research on the role of migrant education resource teachers; and discusses the implications of study findings and related research for improving educational opportunities for low-income children of immigrants. Research Design Findings are drawn from 4 years of ethnographic research in one Northern California high school, where 80% of the Mexican-descent migrant students in the Class of 2002 completed 12th grade, and from a set of comparative interviews carried out with migrant education resource teachers in four additional high schools. The analysis centers on the nature of the relationships that develop between migrant students and migrant teachers, including the teachers’ multiple roles as mentors, counselors, advocates, and role models, and on the kinds of support provided to students that help them navigate successfully through high school. Conclusions/Recommendations Study findings suggest that the migrant students’ school persistence and academic success were due at least in part to the supplemental services they received from the Migrant Education Program and, in particular, to the support provided to them by the migrant resource teachers. A key to the teachers’ effectiveness was the holistic nature of their relationships with students and their ability to connect students with the resources and networks needed for school success. In addition, the migrant teachers’ own identities as academically successful Mexican Americans, many of them the children of migrant farmworkers, increased their ability to serve as role models and to help students build bridges between their multiple worlds. Findings support many of those reported in the literature on successful college outreach programs. Unlike these programs, the Migrant Education Program is not selective; it serves all eligible students. Sometimes you're a teacher, sometimes you're a counselor, sometimes you're a social worker, sometimes you're a health consultant. It's so rewarding and the beauty of this job. — Migrant education resource teacher They are like the symbol that you can do it, too. When I see them, I think: “They did it. Why can't I do it?” — Migrant student
Evidence, Interpretation, and Persuasion: Instructional Decision Making at the District Central Office
Authors: Coburn Cynthia E. , Toure Judith , Yamashita Mika 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Calls for evidence-based decision making have become increasingly prominent on the educational landscape. School district central offices increasingly experience these demands. Yet there are few empirical studies of evidence use at the district level. Furthermore, research on evidence use among policy makers in noneducation settings raises questions about the models of decision making promoted by evidence-use policies, suggesting that they do not take into account key features of the interpretive process or the organizational conditions that shape how decision making unfolds. Purpose/Objective/Research Questions/Focus of Study The central premise of this article is that only by understanding the patterns by which personnel in school district central offices actually use information, and the factors that affect this use, can we begin to understand the promise and possibilities of evidence use. We ask: What is the role of evidence in instructional decision making at the central office level? What factors shape how decision processes unfold? Research Design We draw on data from a longitudinal case study of one midsize urban district, which we followed from 2002 to 2005. We relied on in-depth interviewing, sustained observation, and document analysis. We identified 23 decisions related to instruction that were captured in our data over the 3 years and for which we had at least three independent sources of information. We analyzed each decision using a coding scheme that was developed from prior research and theory and elaborated through iterative coding. We then used matrices to compare across decisions and to surface and investigate emerging patterns. Conclusions/Recommendations We argue that decision making in complex organizations like school districts is centrally about interpretation, argumentation, and persuasion. These processes are shaped in crucial ways by preexisting working knowledge and practices that guide how people come to understand the nature of problems and possible avenues for solutions. They are also influenced by organizational and political factors, including the organizational structure of the central office, resource constraints, and leadership turnover. We close by suggesting implications for efforts to foster substantive and productive use of evidence at the central office level.
Smuggling Authentic Learning into the School Context: Transitioning from an Innovative Elementary to a Conventional High School
Authors: Depalma Renée , Matusov Eugene , Smith Mark 
Published: November 2021

Context What Varenne and McDermott described as “conventional schooling” is characterized by underlying values of competition and credentialism implicit in an unconscious, cultural framework for U.S. institutional schooling. Schools that define themselves in opposition to this cultural heritage consider themselves innovative schools and tend to explicitly reject conventional practice in favor of a collaborative “free-choice learning environment.” Focus of Study We analyze the institution of conventional U.S. schooling through the interpretive lens of students who were experiencing it for the first time in their first year of high school. We were interested in how students who had attended an innovative collaborative elementary school interpreted their former innovative and current conventional schools and how they used these interpretations to form coping strategies for success in the new environment. Setting The study was based at the Newark Center for Creative Learning (NCCL). Founded in 1971, the school terminates after the eighth grade. Participants We followed a cohort of 13 ninth-grade NCCL “graduates” through their first year of conventional high school. We also solicited views from their parents and former (NCCL) teachers. Research Design We employed a qualitative case study approach designed in collaboration with teachers. Data Collection and Analysis We conducted four focus-group interviews with NCCL alumni and analyzed their postings to a private asynchronous Web discussion set up exclusively for them to discuss their experiences. We also surveyed their parents, invited parents, staff, and students to a videotaped discussion of our emerging results, and invited personal e-mail feedback on our emerging interpretations. Findings The students in our study were generally academically successful in their new high schools yet clearly expressed a distinction between what they considered authentic learning and what they considered strategies for academic success in their new conventional schooling environments. Analysis of their discourse revealed distinct response patterns characterizing concurrent (sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory) projects of self-actualization and institutional achievement. Recommendations Our analysis suggests that a certain critical ambivalence toward credentialism and competition can be part of a healthy strategy for school success and that efforts to improve minority school performance should be modified to take into account the effect of the institution of conventional schooling itself, an aspect that has, to date, been underanalyzed.
Creating Epistemological Pathways to a Critical Citizenry: Examination of a Fifth-Grade Discussion of Freedom
Authors: Damico James S. , Rosaen Cheryl L. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Research has demonstrated that moving from traditional teacher-directed, monologic practices to dialogic discussions remains a daunting challenge. The reasons for this staying power are multiple: Teachers often stick with familiar canonical texts; districts often mandate the literature teachers must use; standardized tests emphasize discrete skills, strategies, and bits of knowledge rather than open-ended interpretations and responses; and many new teachers either continue to be trained with a monologic framework or have had few experiences with classroom discussions in their own education. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Although literature curricula and instructional goals get increasingly framed reductively in the form of mandated curricula and basal readers, and student achievement is measured through batteries of tests, findings from this study show how dialogic literature discussions and the forging of epistemological pathways can help us see children and teachers as intimately involved in the exploration and coconstruction of knowledge and ways of knowing fundamental to developing an informed, critical citizenry. The research question is, How do a group of fifth-grade students and their teacher cocreate and navigate an epistemological pathway during a whole-class literature discussion? Subquestions are, (1) What ideas are introduced, explored, and examined during the discussion? (2) What practices do students engage in during the discussion? (3) What practices does the teacher engage in during the discussion? Setting The study took place in a multiracial fifth-grade classroom in an urban elementary school. Research Design This is a qualitative case study of how the examination of a key idea— freedom—unfolds during one literature-based discussion. Data Collection and Analysis The primary data sources for this study were a videotape and transcript of one class discussion. The ideas that were explored in the discussion and the questions asked by the students and teacher were identified. Then the specific practices of the teacher and the students as the discussion ensued were noted, which led to analytic categories associated with the content of the discussion (the nature of knowledge) and the practices (nature of knowing) that the participants engaged in. Conclusions/Recommendations This study demonstrates how an epistemological pathway metaphor offers a way to understand the complex and fluid web of meaning that students and their teacher coconstruct and the navigation practices that the participants enacted as they engaged in a dialogic discussion that explored students’ questions and probed the meaning of the concept of freedom. Conclusions point to the importance of creating classroom spaces for dialogue, and investigating what ideas get explored and the practices that teachers and students engage in. This leads to implications for preparing teachers to facilitate dialogic discussions.
The Mean is Not Enough: Using Quantile Regression to Examine Trends in Asian–White Differences Across the Entire Achievement Distribution
Authors: Konstantopoulos Spyros 
Published: November 2021

Background In recent years, Asian Americans have been consistently described as a model minority. The high levels of educational achievement and educational attainment are the main determinants for identifying Asian Americans as a model minority. Nonetheless, only a few studies have examined empirically the accomplishments of Asian Americans, and even fewer studies have compared their achievement with other important societal groups such as Whites. In addition, differences in academic achievement between Asian Americans and Whites across the entire achievement distribution, or differences in the variability of the achievement distribution, have not been documented. However, this is an important task because it provides information about the achievement gap for lower, average, and higher achieving students. Purpose The present study examines differences in academic achievement between Asian American and White students in average scores (e.g., middle of the achievement distribution), in extreme scores (e.g., the upper and the lower tails of the achievement distribution), and in the variability of the achievement distribution. The main objective of this study is to determine the achievement gap between Asian American and White students in the lower and upper tails of the achievement distribution to shed some light on whether the achievement gap between the two groups varies by achievement level. Participants I use data from four national probability samples of high school seniors to examine Asian American–White differences in achievement from 1972 to 1992. Specifically, I used data from the base year of the NLS (NLS:72), the base year of the High School and Beyond (HSB) survey of 1980, the first follow-up of the HSB survey in 1982 (that is HSB:80, HSB:82), and the second follow-up of NELS (NELS:92). Research Design The study is correlational and uses quantile regression to analyze observational data from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Findings The findings indicate that the Asian American–White gap is more pronounced in mathematics than in reading. In 1992, the gap in the middle and the upper tail of the mathematics distribution is greater than one third of a SD, which is not a trivial gap in education. In reading, the gap is overall smaller, and nearly one third of a SD in 1992 in the upper tail (favoring Asian students). Conclusions It appears that Asian American students are indeed a model minority group that performs not only at similar levels but also at higher levels than the majority group, especially among high achievers in mathematics (and reading in the 1990s).
Children of Immigrants in Schools in New York and Amsterdam: The Factors Shaping Attainment
Authors: Crul Maurice , Holdaway Jennifer 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context This article considers the ways in which school systems in New York City and Amsterdam have shaped the educational trajectories of two groups of relatively dis-advantaged immigrant youth: the children of Dominican immigrants in New York and the children of Moroccan immigrants in Amsterdam. It describes the salient features of the two educational systems and the ways in which they structure opportunity for children of immigrants. In terms of public policy, the United States and the Netherlands have taken quite different approaches toward the integration of immigrant students: The Netherlands actively seeks to integrate students and provides additional funds and special programs, whereas the United States has taken a more laissez-faire approach. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The article analyses available data on young second-generation Moroccan and Dominican youth and their school careers in two cities: New York and Amsterdam. It aims to look at the influence of institutional arrangements and the way that the educational system facilitates or hampers the educational integration of two highly disadvantaged groups. Research Design The article is based on available data on the Moroccan population in Amsterdam and the Dominican population in New York. This includes primarily the Dutch SPVA surveys and other local Amsterdam studies, and the Immigrant Second-Generation in Metropolitan New York (ISGMNY) study. Conclusions/Recommendations Both Moroccans in Amsterdam and Dominicans in New York show relatively low levels of educational attainment. Drawing on data from a number of studies of Moroccans in Amsterdam and on the ISGMNY study, the article shows that although differently structured, neither school system does an adequate job of serving disadvantaged immigrant students. It is interesting, however, that opportunities and impediments for the two groups are shaped differently and appear at different times in the school career. Successful practices in both countries show how extra investment of resources can increase equality of opportunity.
Ensuring Proper Competency in the Host Language: Contrasting Formula and the Place of Heritage Languages
Authors: Andrew Marie Mc 
Published: November 2021

Background Context In most immigrant-receiving societies, an important question, both for researchers and policy makers, has been the weighing of the relative efficiency of different formulas in the learning of the host language by immigrant students, especially the potential impact of specific services on social integration and the role of heritage languages. Purpose Objectives Research Question Focus of Study This article tries to go beyond the most conspicuous elements of these controversies to look at the variety of practices that different societies have adopted. Given the questions just raised, a specific focus is given to the degree to which such endeavors follow an immersion or specific services formula on the one hand, and to the role that they grant to heritage languages on the other. Five major immigrant-receiving societies have been chosen, and their choices regarding either issue are contrasted: Britain, two Canadian provinces (Quebec and Ontario), the United States, and Belgium (Flemish Brussels). Research Design To ascertain the extent to which transferable conclusions about best models and practices can be drawn from international comparison, evaluation research on the strengths and weaknesses of each of these formulas is reviewed, with a focus on their short and middle-term linguistic outcomes given the paucity of data on their long-term educational and social outcomes. In conclusion, we identify the minimum threshold of consensus regarding the policy and program conditions that foster a proper mastery of the host language by immigrant students without jeopardizing other dimensions of their school or social integration. Conclusion/Recommendations Three recommendations for policy makers can be drawn. First, flexibility and diversity of formula, both regarding the specific-services-versus-quick-integration dilemma and the place of heritage languages, seems a much better option than the one-size-fits-all model given the great variety found within the immigrant student population. Second, regardless of the model adopted, a fundamental winning condition lies in the recognition that the linguistic integration of newcomers is a collective responsibility and thus necessitates the establishment of close links between specific services, whenever they exist, and regular classrooms. Finally, research points to the necessity of focusing attention on schools and classrooms, especially pedagogical practices and teaching strategies, instead of being obsessed with models and formula.
Teaching the Nation: Religious and Ethnic Diversity at State Schools in Britain and the Netherlands
Authors: Sunier Thijl 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context The article presents the outcomes of international comparative anthropological (qualitative) research on multiculturalism, citizenship, and nation building in schools in Paris, Berlin, London, and Rotterdam. The findings presented here are based on fieldwork carried out over a period of 1 year at secondary schools in the Dutch city of Rotterdam and in London. The project has demonstrated a close relationship between national specific modes and trajectories of integration and the ways in which the schools deal with diversity. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article addresses the growing diversity in religious and ethnic backgrounds among students at primary and secondary schools in Western Europe. The debate about the place of religion in school has gained momentum after the arrival of large numbers of migrants, especially those with a “new” religious background, such as Islam. Their presence challenges existing arrangements and privileges and puts matters that were previously taken for granted back on the agenda. Religion and ethnicity at school touch on a fundamental issue, namely the place of state schooling in the making of modern nation-states. Several issues need to be taken into account: To what extent is religion a legitimate moral resource? Why should one learn about religion, and who should teach it to whom? Is it more important to get religious nurturing or to study the plurality of different belief systems? Should the school accommodate religious and cultural diversity, or should it rather be a neutral arena that deliberately disregards this diversity? These questions do not arise together in one package but present themselves in fragmented, occasional, and contingent ways. Setting The data were collected during intensive ethnographic fieldwork in four secondary schools in Neuköln (Berlin), Saint Denis (Paris), Crooswijk (Rotterdam), and Haringey (London). Research Design Qualitative fieldwork, case study in secondary schools. Conclusions/Recommendations The outcomes of the study demonstrate that although schools are, to a large extent, unique settings that cannot be lumped together, they are crucial sites where principles of national civil incorporation are transmitted to pupils. Although the two schools described in this article resemble each other to a large degree in terms of ethnic composition of the neighborhood, problems faced, and policies adopted by the school board, they each have their specific way of dealing with ethnic and religious diversity. These ways reflect national specific political culture in each of the two countries.