bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Challenge of Writing Remediation: Can Composition Research Inform Higher Education Policy?
Authors: Relles Stefani R. , Tierney William G. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context This article presents a review of research relevant to postsecondary writing remediation. The purpose of the review is to assess empirical support for policy aimed at improving the degree completion rates of students who arrive at tertiary settings under-prepared to write. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Our purpose is to bridge composition studies for a higher education policy audience. Our agenda is to offer a balanced portrait of disciplinary literature framed for organizational decision-making that can improve graduation rates. The research question that guides inquiry is: How can writing and composition research inform remediation policy to increase college-going success? Research Design This is a critical synthesis of prior conceptual and empirical work. We first provide a historical perspective to explicate important disciplinary issues that may be unfamiliar to a policy audience. We then present a critical synthesis of the disciplinary-based literature from two viewpoints. The first involves rhetorical frames that are related, but have significant conceptual differences. The second considers student achievement, attainment, and developmental outcomes. Findings/Results The review comprehensively demonstrates the seriousness and scope of policy problems perpetuated by two obstacles. The first is a lack of clarity on what constitutes college writing. The second is a dearth of assessment tools with which to measure writing aptitude. The incongruities between standards and assessment of college writing have resulted in a body of research that does not provide the kind of evidentiary support weighted in policy discussions. Both issues require attention if writing remediation policy is to be improved. Conclusions/Recommendations The review suggests that writing remediation policy and programs will remain accountable to the rhetorical and paradigmatic viewpoints that dominate writing assessment and that relegate underprepared students to dubious degree pathways. The negative implications of the review for college writing preparation are discussed in the context of the K–12 Common Core State Standards. Recommendations are tendered for an interdisciplinary agenda to increase the educational opportunities of underprepared writers and decrease the social inequities associated with remediation policies and programs.
The Longitudinal Effects of Kindergarten Enrollment and Relative Age on Children's Academic Achievement
Authors: Dağli ÜmmüHan YeŞİl , Jones Ithel 
Published: November 2021

Background Research findings suggest that there may be some academic benefits for those children whose kindergarten enrollment is delayed, and the risk of underachievement seems to be greater for children who are younger when they first enter kindergarten. Although kindergarten enrollment occurs naturally, certain child, family, and childcare factors will likely influence parents’ decisions concerning when to enroll their children in kindergarten. Age-of entry studies have often neglected assignment bias results from those preenrollment factors. In addition, prior research has defined children's relative age outside of the immediate environment, as opposed to conceptualizing relative age within the context where children actually learn. Purpose This study examined the relationship between early, on-time, or delayed kindergarten enrollment and children's mathematics and reading achievement from kindergarten through third grade. We predicted that the degree to which delayed, on-time, or early enrollment influences children's reading and mathematics achievement depends on those preenrollment factors that potentially create assignment biases and the relative age of each child to his or her classmates. Research Design The study used the Early Childhood Longtudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS:K). A propensity score stratification model was used to adjust for sample assignment bias resulting from the preenrollment factors. Then, a cross-classified random effects model was applied. Results Results showed that certain child and family characteristics and parents’ perceptions about school readiness were related to when children first enter kindergarten. After controlling for demographic characteristics and propensity scores resulting from pre-enrollment factors, on average, at the beginning of kindergarten, children whose kindergarten enrollment was delayed had the highest scores in reading and mathematics, followed by children who entered kindergarten on time. Yet, in third grade, these differences were negligible. However, children in the delayed group who were also relatively older than their peers outperformed the other groups in third-grade mathematics. Conclusions The results suggest that the academic success or failure of children whose kindergarten enrollment is delayed, early, or on time depends on sociodemographic factors as well as the ages of the children in the same class (e.g., child's age relative to his or her classmates). Policy discussions about age of kindergarten entry or changing cutoff dates should include consideration of factors that influence parental decision making, as well as a child's age relative to his or her classmates.
Mapping Literacy-Rich Environments: Geospatial Perspectives on Literacy and Education
Authors: Jocson Korina M. , Thorne-Wallington Elizabeth 
Published: November 2021

Background Literacy-rich environments (LREs) reflect characteristics such as abundance of materials, daily literacy routine, and layout conducive for reading and writing. Shifting from previous conceptualizations, LREs are not confined to schools but are ubiquitous in formal and informal educational settings; they include libraries, museums, bookstores, and community-based organizations. An ecological approach is important for understanding how literacy is embedded in social life and everyday practice, particularly in relation to literacy learning and development. It recognizes the multitude of practices in various communities and accounts for institutional and social structures that shape everyday practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose of the study is to examine LREs as part of a broader ecology of literacy and to identify the factors that may influence proximity and accessibility to LREs. An ecological approach paired with geographic information systems (GIS) can yield various types of data visualization about spatial context. St. Louis metropolitan area serves as a viable example in the study. Research Design The authors employed a mixed methods approach and collected data from several sources. Purposeful sampling was used to identify a number of educational and cultural institutions. GIS tools were central to the creation of maps. Using spatial analysis and data visualization, the authors paid attention to the emerging relationships between spatial patterns and represented demographics, evident on the maps as distance and clustering. Findings/Results Findings indicate that an uneven geography of opportunity among underserved student populations is further compounded by a fragmented ecology of literacy. The spatial arrangements of LREs suggest an uneven distribution of resources, particularly educational and cultural institutions that shape everyday life. Findings suggest that factors such as race, median household income, and transportation routes influence proximity and accessibility to LREs. Conclusions/Recommendations This investigation of LREs extends current conversations about literacy and various ecologies of literacy. GIS tools provided a means to examine the geospatial relationships between LREs, schools, and neighborhoods in a particular metropolitan area. Focusing on St. Louis was key not only because of the researchers’ growing knowledge of the place but also because there are good reasons to believe that St. Louis, with its uneven and fragmented geography, may exemplify similar phenomena taking place in other metropolitan areas.
Orientations for the Teaching of Writing: A Legacy of the National Writing Project
Authors: Whitney Anne Elrod , Friedrich Linda 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Founded in 1974 by James Gray and a group of teacher colleagues who came together as the Bay Area Writing Project in California, the National Writing Project is a professional development network that has spread from one site to 197 university-based sites across the US. After such a long period of time in operation, it becomes possible to talk about the organization's legacy—not legacy as in something one leaves behind after death, for NWP surely has not died, but one's contribution, that which extends beyond its immediate tangible effects and resonates in a wider sphere. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Focusing on the broader orientations (Friedrichsen, Van Driel, & Abell, 2011) developed within the NWP network rather than solely on the transmission of specific teaching strategies, we ask specifically, “How do teachers describe the influence of NWP on their teaching?” Research Design This qualitative study uses interview data from NWP teacher-consultants whose involvement in NWP began between 1974 and 1994. Conclusions/Recommendations The legacy of the National Writing Project for the teaching of writing is a set of orientations that guide teachers in making decisions about their work and learning about and from that work. First, they clarified or revised their sense of the purposes for writing, primarily as a tool for learning and for developing ideas. Second, participants used writing processes as an organizing idea by which to scaffold students’ writing practices. Finally, participants linked their teaching of writing to their own experience as writers. These findings resonate with Friedriechsen, Van Driel, and Abell's (2011) sense of orientations in science teaching as a set of beliefs that influence practice along the dimensions of goals or purposes of writing, the nature of writing, and writing teaching and learning. If we conceptualize professional development not as merely discrete events that have a linear and concrete impact, but as a decades-long series of encounters with ideas and strategies, then orientations help the field envision how individual teachers, as well as networks such as NWP, can bring coherence to a fragmented and changing landscape. We also offer this study's design and analysis as a possible approach for long-term influence of conceptually based interventions.
The Politics of Testing When Measures “Go Public”
Authors: Henig Jeffrey R. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Validity issues are often discussed in technical terms, but the context changes when measures enter broad public debate, and a wider range of interests come into play. Purpose This article, part of a special section of TCR, considers the political dimensions of validity questions as raised by a keynote address and panel discussion originally held at Teachers College in March 2012. Research Design This is an analytical and reflective piece, based on the author's participation in the panel and drawing on his experience and writing on the broad issue of politics and research. Conclusions Technical expertise in the construction and interpretation of measurements is important in the new world of high-stakes and “evidence-based” education policy, but the political realities, when measures go public, make the exclusive reliance on such expertise problematic.
Reforming Again: Now Teachers
Authors: Marx Ronald W. 
Published: November 2021

Background Educational reform responds to local and national pressures to improve educational outcomes, and reform efforts cycle as similar pressures recur. Currently, reform efforts focus on teachers, even though confidence in a host of American social institutions is dropping. One of the most widespread reforms regarding teachers is the creation of state laws and regulations that require high-stakes evaluation, often using value-added models or related approaches to measuring growth in student learning. Purpose This article discusses the papers in this special issue of Teachers College Record, drawing implications for teacher evaluation practice and policy, along with possible changes in the demand for teacher education and the teacher labor market. Conclusions The articles in this special issue of Teachers College Record address the use of emerging high-stakes teacher evaluation regulations and draw implications for policy and practice. All papers address limitations in the reliability and validity of these systems and the impacts that such shortcoming might have on teachers and students. In addition, there could be major impacts on the teacher labor market with implications for the sustained effectiveness of America's schools.
Class Size Effects on Reading Achievement Using PIRLS Data: Evidence from Greece
Authors: Konstantopoulos Spyros , Traynor Anne 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context The effects of class size on student achievement have gained considerable attention in education research and policy, especially over the last 30 years. Perhaps the best evidence about the effects of class size thus far has been produced from analyses of Project STAR data, a large-scale experiment where students and teachers were randomly assigned to smaller or larger classes within schools. Researchers have also analyzed observational data to examine the effects of class size, but the results have been mixed. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study It is generally difficult to draw causal inferences about class size effects with observational data because of the omitted variables problem. This shortcoming can be overcome with instrumental variables (IV) methods that are designed to facilitate causal inferences. The present study uses IV methods to examine the effects of class size on reading achievement using data from the 2001 fourth-grade sample of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in Greece. We took advantage of Greece's nationwide rule about maximum class size in elementary schools to construct IV estimates of class size. Population PIRLS was designed to monitor children's achievement levels in fourth grade worldwide. We used reading achievement data from 2001 in Greece. The sample was a national probability sample of fourth graders. The use of appropriate weights helped us make projections to the fourth-grade student population in Greece in 2001. Research Design The research design was secondary analysis. We examined whether class size predicts reading achievement for fourth graders in Greece net of student, teacher/classroom, and school characteristics. We used multilevel models to capture the dependency in the data (i.e., students nested within schools). We also used instrumental variables methods to facilitate causal inferences about class size effects. Conclusions We investigated the effects of class size on reading achievement for fourth graders in Greece in 2001 using rich data from PIRLS. The results produced from the multilevel and the IV analyses were overall similar. Generally, the results indicated a positive association between class size and achievement. However, the association was typically statistically insignificant, especially when teacher/classroom and school variables were taken into account.
Juggling Our Mindsets: Learning from Success as a Complementary Instructional Framework in Teacher Education
Authors: Schechter Chen , Michalsky Tova 
Published: November 2021

Background Collective learning in teacher education has primarily focused on learning from problematic practices/approaches, depriving preservice teachers of learning opportunities embedded in professional successes. Purpose The goal of the present study was to explore the value of systematic learning from success as a complementary reflective framework during the practicum phase in teacher preparatory programs. Research Design We developed four distinct reflective methods to examine the effect of integrating systematic learning from problematic as well as successful experiences in preparatory programs on physics student teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and sense of teaching efficacy. Data Collection and Analysis Participants were 124 second-year preservice physics teachers at four major research universities. One-way within-subjects analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were conducted, with post-test performance as the dependent variable and with treatment (four reflective groups) as the independent variable. Findings Results indicated greater performance improvement on pedagogical content knowledge measures and on sense of self-efficacy measures when contemplating both problematic and successful experiences than when focusing solely on problematic experiences. Recommendations The current study may reinterpret the instructional framework of teacher education programs to include learning from successes too as a means of nurturing the practical wisdom necessary for teaching in dynamic school contexts.
When New Relationships Meet Old Narratives: The Journey towards Improving Parent-School Relations in a District-Community Organizing Collaboration
Authors: Ishimaru Ann M. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Faced with rapidly changing demographics, districts are increasingly looking to partner with parents to support and improve student learning. Community organizing holds promise for pursuing educational equity through the development of low-income parent participation and leadership, but previous research has focused primarily on the use of structural social capital theory in qualitative studies to understand school-based organizing mechanisms and impacts in traditional urban centers. Focus of Study The aim of this study was to examine whether district-level organizing efforts might be associated with improved parent-school relations in schools and how such efforts to build a new relationship may be enacted and negotiated at the school level within the context of a district-organizing group collaboration in a “new immigrant” destination. Research Design This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study used social capital and the concept of institutional scripts to quantitatively investigate the relationship between Latino parent organizing and parent-school relations across a district, then qualitatively explore the dynamics of parent-school social capital in a nested case study of one school. Data Collection and Analysis Using teacher-survey data from a stratified random sample of teachers in schools across the district, I fit multilevel regression models to examine whether schools with more organizing engagement had greater structural and functional parent-school social capital. I subsequently analyzed interview, observation, and document data to examine how organizing efforts sought to build positive parent-school relations at an elementary school that represented a key focal point for the district-organizing group collaboration. Findings/Results Schools with high organizing had greater structural social capital than schools with little or no organizing, but high organizing schools did not have greater functional social capital in the form of teacher-parent trust. The case study findings suggested that the dominant institutional scripts about the role of parents were simultaneously rewritten and reinforced even as organizing approaches worked to foster a new relationship between parents and educators. Conclusions/Recommendations Districts and schools that collaborate with community organizing groups can augment their social resources and expertise, particularly in reaching out to low-income Latino parents and effectively educating their children. Yet, the dominant institutional scripts in schools – about the role of parents, professional authority, and control – suggest the complexity of efforts to improve parent-school relations. Those seeking to build meaningful parent and community participation in schools would do well to move beyond traditional forms of parent involvement in the journey toward deeper engagement and collaboration.
The Influence of School Leadership on Classroom Participation: Examining Configurations of Organizational Supports
Authors: Sebastian James , Allensworth Elaine , Stevens David 
Published: November 2021

Background In this paper we call for studying school leadership and its relationship to instruction and learning through approaches that highlight the role of configurations of multiple organizational supports. A configuration-focused approach to studying leadership and other essential supports provides a valuable addition to existing tools in school organizational analysis and is particularly useful in examining equifinality and causal asymmetry. Equifinality is the idea that more than one pathway can result in a desired outcome whereas causal asymmetry suggests that the set of conditions that lead to the presence of an outcome need not be the same as the conditions that lead to its absence. Focus of Study This study uses a configurational approach to examine how school leadership and other organizational supports are related to an important aspect of instruction—students’ classroom participation. Research Design We apply fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to administrative and survey data of high schools from a large urban school district to examine combinations of organizational supports that are associated with classroom participation. Conclusions The study draws attention to the utility of applying configurational approaches to investigate the influence of complex combinations of organizational supports on school outcomes. We compare this approach to more traditional methods that focus on the effects of isolated factors, controlling for each other. Our results show that leadership is associated with students’ classroom participation via multiple configurations of organizational supports. These configurations are different from the set of organizational supports that are related to an absence of classroom participation.