bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Changing the Education Workforce? The Relationships among Teacher Quality, Motivation, and Performance Pay
Authors: Bowen Daniel H. , Mills Jonathan N. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context With a growing body of evidence to support the assertion that teacher quality is vital to producing better student outcomes, policymakers continue to seek solutions to attract and retain the best educators. Performance-based pay is a reform that has become popular in K–12 education over the last decade. This strategy potentially produces positive impacts on student achievement in two ways: better alignment of financial incentives with desired outcomes and improved the composition of the teacher workforce. While evaluations have primarily focused on the former result, there is little research on whether the longer-term implementation of these polices can attract more effective teachers. Purpose In this study we aim to provide evidence for potential long-term impacts that performance-based pay can have on the composition of the teacher workforce by addressing two questions: Does performance-based pay attract fundamentally different individuals, as measured by their risk preferences, to the teaching profession? Are stated preferences for a particular pay format correlated to measures of teacher quality? Research Design We apply methods from experimental economics and conduct surveys with 120 teachers from two school districts who have experienced performance pay. We compare the risk preferences of teachers hired under the two pay formats to test the hypothesis that performance-based pay attracts individuals with different characteristics to the profession. We also analyze teachers’ survey responses on their preferences for performance-based pay to determine their relationships to two measures of teacher quality: student test-score gains and principal evaluations. Conclusions/Recommendations We find mixed results regarding the ability of performance-based pay to alter the composition of the teacher workforce. Teachers hired with performance-based pay in place are no different from their colleagues. However, teachers claiming to seek employment in districts with performance-based pay in place appear significantly less risk averse. Surprisingly, additional analyses indicate that teachers’ value-added scores and performance evaluations do not predict a positive disposition towards merit pay. Thus, while these results indicate the possibility for performance-based pay to attract different individuals to teaching, they do not provide evidence that such change would necessarily improve the composition of the workforce. Policymakers should take this potential tradeoff into consideration when considering the expansion of performance pay policies.
Policy Images of Teachers: How Influential Actors Construct Images of Teachers
Authors: Bulkley Katrina E. , Gottlieb Jessica 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Prior research demonstrates that the policy images of critical target populations, which reflect the ways in which they are socially constructed in the political sphere, have important implications for policy prescriptions and design (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2001; Jansen, 2001; Schneider & Ingram, 1993). In examining the policy images of teachers that have emerged in the 10 years since the passage of No Child Left Behind, we build on Cochran-Smith and Lytle's (2006) work on the policy images of teachers and teaching explicit or implicit in NCLB. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Our goal in this paper is to use the idea of policy images to aid efforts to tease out the subtle distinctions in how people talk and write about specific constructions of teachers and the links between those distinctions and large-scale policy designs. Population/Participants/Subjects We conducted a survey of experts on national educational politics and policy with the intention of eliciting names of influential individuals and organizations. We then gathered qualitative data through interviews and documents for the 23 organizations and individuals identified by the survey as perceived as influential in educational policy discussions. Research Design Qualitative study. Findings/Results Our analysis showed that the various policy images presented by our respondents and organizations could be broadly classified into three archetypal policy images: “Profession of Teaching Struggling Against Difficult Circumstances” (Teachers as Professionals); “Individual Great Teachers can Overcome All Obstacles” (Great Teachers); and “Dysfunctional Structures of Teaching Trump Teacher Quality” (Systemic Dysfunction). Our analysis demonstrates the presence of three notable patterns around teacher policy images, but also the subtleties both within and across these archetypal images. Conclusions/Recommendations Taken together, the three archetypes identified in our analysis enable us to better understand the common ground and differences between the images presented by influential actors, as well as the accompanying policy prescriptions and problem definitions. Our work also provides a model for better understanding the role of policy images in the policy landscape and issues of policy design.
A Framework for the Initiation of Networked Improvement Communities
Authors: Russell Jennifer Lin , Bryk Anthony S. , Dolle Jonathan R. , Gomez Louis M. , Lemahieu Paul G. , Grunow Alicia 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Educators around the country are working individually and collectively to improve teaching and learning. Despite marked progress in some places driven by these improvement efforts, overall progress in the education field has been slow and outcomes remain highly variable. This is partly because the field is not organized to learn systematically, accumulate, and disseminate the practical knowledge needed for the improvement of teaching and learning. Purpose/Objective This paper explores the initiation of a social structure to organize collaborative improvement work: the networked improvement community (or NIC). NICs are highly structured, intentionally formed collaborations among education professionals, researchers, and designers that aim to address a high leverage practical problem. We focus on NIC initiation, because of the challenges associated with launching improvement networks. Research Design Drawing on analysis of case studies of network initiation and theory on network initiation and the NIC concept, we posit an organizing framework for describing the process of NIC initiation. Findings/Results The NIC initiation framework specifies five domains of activity that we hypothesize are critical to launching a NIC. These domains attend to: developing a theory of practice improvement; building a measurement and analytics infrastructure; learning and using improvement research methods; leading, organizing, and operating the network; and fostering the emergence of culture, norms, and identity consistent with network aims. We illustrate these five domains with examples from a set of case studies of network initiation that we utilized as a way to test and further elaborate the framework. Conclusions/Recommendations A firm foundation for network initiation is laid through the strategic actions of a network initiation team. By attending to the five domains of activity specified in our framework, initiation teams can catalyze the development of an organizational structure that allows educators to accelerate learning from practice and building a professional knowledge base that enables the field to tackle complex educational problems.
Finding a Voice in Predominantly White Institutions: A Longitudinal Study of Black Women Faculty Members’ Journeys toward Tenure
Authors: Kelly Bridget Turner , Winkle-Wagner Rachelle 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Amidst scholarship that underscores the importance of Black women faculty in higher education, Black women are often not being retained in faculty positions at research universities. There is a gap in the research relative to how Black women experience the tenure process at predominantly White institutions, and this may have important implications for both recruitment and retention of Black women faculty. Purpose This analysis attempts to fill a gap in the literature on the recruitment and retention of faculty of color by asking: What are the experiences of Black women faculty on the tenure track at PWIs who are the only woman of color faculty member in their academic program? Drawing on data from qualitative longitudinal research with Black women faculty who were on the tenure track at PWIs, the primary purpose of this analysis was to understand four Black women's longitudinal reflections on their journey toward tenure at PWIs where they are “othered” by gender and race. Setting and Participants This project was part of a larger study of 22 women faculty who were on tenure-lines in two predominantly White research universities. This study focused on four Black women from this larger study. Research Design This study employed a qualitative longitudinal research design. Data Collection and Analysis: As part of the qualitative longitudinal research design, interviews were conducted each year for five years with each participant. Findings The findings of this analysis with Black women faculty on the tenure-line suggests that despite being the only person of color in their academic programs, they found ways to use their voice in and outside the academy. Finding and using their voices in the academy became a way to push back and resist some of the isolation and racism that the women experienced in the academy, and often the women did so in collectivist spaces with other Black women. Conclusions/Recommendations These findings of this study call into question predominantly White and male spaces in academia and ways that these spaces should be challenged to change. The Black women in this study coped by creating collectivist spaces and finding/ using their voices. Rather than focusing on how to encourage Black women to cope and survive in academia, there should be more emphasis on how to change institutional and departmental structures to make these spaces more inclusive and collectivist.
Preparing Students for a Diverse, Deliberative Democracy: College Diversity Experiences and Informed Citizenship after College
Authors: Denson Nida , Bowman Nicholas A. , Park Julie J. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context The role of race in the university continues to be a contentious issue. Proponents of college diversity often cite the importance of fostering a diverse and deliberative democratic society, but the link between student experiences and postcollege citizenship has received limited attention. Purpose/Objective This study explores the extent to which two types of college diversity experiences (cross-racial interaction and curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement) predict aspects of informed citizenship associated with supporting a deliberative democracy six years after graduation (i.e., following the news, discussion of racial issues, and importance of keeping up to date with politics). Participants The dataset for this study came from UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. We utilized the 1994–1998–2004 cohort of students/alumni, which included a postcollege survey administered six years after graduation. The total sample consisted of 8,634 alumni from 229 institutions. Research Design This study utilized secondary data analysis of the 1994–1998–2004 CIRP dataset. Data Collection and Analysis Path analysis was particularly useful for this study to examine the direct and indirect effects of the college diversity experiences on senior-year and longer-term outcomes. Results College diversity experiences have direct effects on postcollege discussions of racial issues, which suggests that these forms of engagement may have long-lasting effects on college graduates. Moreover, curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement also has positive, indirect effects on keeping up to date with politics, news consumption, and discussing racial issues well after graduation. The pattern of findings differed when analyzed separately by racial/ethnic group (i.e., Whites/Caucasians, Asian Americans, and underrepresented students of color). Conclusions/Recommendations This study adds to the existing knowledge base by making a key contribution to the limited research on the long-term benefits of diversity experiences as well as the dimensions of higher education that inform active citizenship in a deliberative democracy. This study examined the complex relationships—both direct and indirect effects—associated with these college diversity experiences and outcomes after college and how these relationships vary by racial/ethnic group. The current findings point to the particular importance of maximizing opportunities for cross-racial interaction and curricular/co-curricular diversity engagement for all students regardless of their race/ethnicity.
Who Wants to Learn More Science? The Role of Elementary School Science Experiences and Science Self-Perceptions
Authors: Aschbacher Pamela R. , Ing Marsha 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Much science education reform has been directed at middle and high school students; however, earlier experiences in elementary school may well have an important impact on young people's future science literacy and preparation for possible STEM careers. Purpose/Objective This study explores the relationships among fifth-graders’ perceived learning opportunities in school science, their perceptions of self in science, and their desire to take more science courses in middle and high school. Research Design To directly address concerns about the reproducibility of results of small educational studies, this study explores whether results from one sample are replicated in a second, different sample. The fifth-grade students from two different samples of public elementary students in California (Sample 1: n = 363; Sample 2: n = 327) completed surveys about students’ perceived school science experiences, sense of themselves as science learners, and aspirations to learn more science in the future. The analyses of both samples included regression analyses to explore the relationship between science self-perceptions and wanting to take future science classes, as well as whether students’ perceived opportunities to participate in science activities might influence the relationship between self-perceptions and wanting to take more science in the future. Findings/Results There were positive and significant relationships between both school science learning opportunities and wanting to take more science courses, and science self-perceptions and wanting to take more science courses. Analyses indicate that both factors need to be considered when predicting who is eager to learn more science. These findings were consistent across both samples and were robust even after including student-level and school-level and controlling for the nested structure of the data. Conclusions/Recommendations Findings highlight the importance of fifth-graders’ self-perceptions in understanding the effects of science learning opportunities on their desire to learn more science. Thus, school science opportunities may be necessary but not sufficient for increasing student interest in learning more science. Since teachers have influence on both learning activities and a student's sense of self as a science learner, the results underscore the importance of preparing elementary teachers to foster student desire to learn more science in the future.
Making the Body Ready for School: ADHD and Early Schooling in the Era of Accountability
Authors: Lee Kyunghwa 
Published: November 2021

Background Although concerns about unintended negative consequences of standards-based accountability (SBA) reform for children's socioemotional development have been raised, few studies have systematically examined early childhood teachers’ perceptions of and practices for children's behavior and bodies under such policy. This study was conducted against the backdrop of the intersection of the accountability policy and the increasing prevalence of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among children, including preschoolers. Purpose The study investigated how early childhood teachers’ perspectives of and practices for the behavior and bodies of children considered at risk of being identified with ADHD later in schooling were related to the increasing concern over school readiness under SBA reform. Research Design Data for a qualitative case study were generated through multiple methods, including video-recorded observations in two African-American children's pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, interviews with their teachers, and artifact collection. Results The focal children's teachers appropriated the authoritative discourses of ADHD and readiness for school to perceive the children's bodies as uncontrollable and unready for school. The teachers taught the children a variety of bodily techniques to enculturate them in public school and to develop docile student bodies. Keeping their authoritative practices intact, the teachers hardly incorporated the children's areas of strengths into the curriculum and instruction. School was introduced to the children as a carnivalesqueless place, and both SBA reform and ADHD contributed to disembodiment in the public early childhood education settings. Conclusions This study suggests the need for reframing the notion of school readiness; bringing teachers’ folk theories about children's behavior and bodies to their critical awareness; and intentionally balancing serious, rigid parts of the daily classroom routine with relaxed, pleasurable moments.
Racing against Yourself: High Stakes for Adolescent English Language Learners with Disabilities
Authors: Bondie Rhonda , Zusho Akane 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Achieving academic readiness is difficult in high-stakes testing environments (HSTEs) and even more challenging for English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities (ELLD). Transforming classroom cultures to emphasize the development of competence and motivationally supportive practices could moderate some of the potentially deleterious effects of a HSTE on ELLD. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This qualitative case study explored the impact of All Learners Learning Every Day (ALL-ED)—a mastery-oriented teacher professional development (PD) program—on ELLD's readiness to tackle challenges in HSTEs. Setting The study was conducted at an international high school in the south Bronx, NY. Participants Participants included three classroom teachers (one general education English teacher, one general education math teacher, and one special education teacher) and 13 students. Intervention This study examines the impact of instructional routines (small group discussions and self-regulation) on ELLD in a HSTE. Research Design A qualitative case study was used to examine the impact of instructional routines in a specific context from multiple perspectives. Data Collection and Analysis Data were collected throughout the school year including student drawings, student and teacher interviews, and researcher memos. A protocol for analysis and interpretation was used to explore student conceptualization through drawing. Using constant comparison analysis, in-vivo codes were organized into meaningful themes and then sorted into two perspectives of self-reflection called “student experiences” and communication to others called “student advice to teachers.” Paralleling the student interviews, in-vivo codes were used to determine key words and phrases for each teacher and common across teachers. Findings/Results The first research question investigated the impact of HSTE on ELLD's motivation to learn. The following themes emerged; student feelings relate to perception of understanding, classroom conversation and confidence, individual teacher conferences, curriculum clarity (goals, activities, quality), comparisons to other students, and expectations of progress are success. The second research question investigated the impact of ALL-ED routines in HSTE. Five key practices were identified that aided in establishing a mastery-oriented and supportive learning environment. Conclusions/Recommendations This study elucidates tensions among limited time, the complexity of coordinating effective instructional practices across teacher teams, and spe-cific instructional needs of ELLD in HSTE. Perspectives from the students challenge our understanding of the finish line in the race to acquire language, content knowledge, and skills in school by suggesting that all assessments be placed within a cycle of learning and feedback that together along with many other experiences provide evidence of growth and academic competence.
Response to Intervention: Instructional Challenges for Teachers in High Need Contexts
Authors: Nichols Sharon L. , Castro-Villarreal Felicia , Ramirez Amanda 
Published: November 2021

Background This study adds to our understanding of how elementary school teachers in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts think about the implementation and impact of Response-to-Intervention practices. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to understand elementary school teachers’ beliefs about the challenges associated with RTI implementation with high need, high risk student populations. Research Design This was a semi-structured interview study with eight elementary school teachers. Findings/Results Interview data indicate that while teachers noted the potential of RTI systems and processes, most expressed dissatisfaction with implementation variability, inadequate training, slow matriculation through the tiers, and widely diverse student learning needs. Teachers also noted challenges associated with having to differentiate instruction and management with widely diverse learners while at the same time being pressured to meet accountability targets. Conclusions We conclude that although RTI has become more widely understood and recognized, there remain serious implementation challenges and confusion in contexts that serve culturally and linguistically diverse students. We recommend improved training at the university and preservice level to prepare teachers for work in tiered problem-solving frameworks and to help teachers better understand the academic, social, and affective needs of our increasingly diverse student population.