ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Digital Divides: K-12 Student Profiles and Online Learning
Author: Mann, Bryan
Date: 2021-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Profiles,Electronic Learning,Distance Education,Student Characteristics,COVID-19,Pandemics,Virtual Schools,Rural Urban Differences,Students with Disabilities,Academic Achievement

Online learning for primary and secondary students has expanded significantly in the United States during the last two decades. In addition to the sustained growth of online learning, many schools and districts used online learning to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. As school leaders and policymakers move more students into online courses, they need information about which students succeed and struggle online. We examine the relationship between student traits and academic success in a statewide online learning program. We find that students identified with specific exceptionalities, students who identify as male, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, and students from cities or fringe rural areas were more likely to struggle in their online courses. This information comes at a vital time as school leaders seek to determine the effects of widespread online learning, make decisions about the support students will need after the pandemic ends, and develop the best online learning approaches when in-person schooling returns.
Political Appointees vs. Elected Officials: Examining How the Selection Mechanism for State Governing Agency Board Members Influences Responsiveness to Stakeholders in Higher Education Policy-Making
Author: Rubin, Paul G.
Date: 2021-09-13
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: State Boards of Education,State Agencies,Personnel Selection,Stakeholders,Higher Education,Educational Policy,Policy Formation,Decision Making,State Policy,Administrator Role

Through an exploratory comparative case study of two U.S. states (Georgia and Nevada), this study investigates how the selection mechanism to state higher education governing agency boards influences the responsiveness of board members to stakeholders and their role in the policy-making process. Framed around the recent national policy agenda to improve postsecondary degree attainment and college completion, findings suggest that state agency board members in both states prioritized the opinions, insights, and goals of the state governor and governing agency staff, regardless of selection mechanism. However, for more localized issues and on-the-ground decision-making, stakeholders formally involved in the day-to-day operation of higher education, such as administrators, faculty, and students, serve a larger role, though this influence can be mediated by the selection mechanism of board members.
Changes in the Perception of School Climate and Self-Identified Race in Two Toronto Cohorts
Author: George, Rhonda C.
Date: 2021-09-20
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Race,Racial Identification,Self Concept,Educational Environment,Policy Analysis,Latin Americans,Blacks,Educational Experience,Outcomes of Education,Foreign Countries,School Districts,Inclusion,Equal Education,Educational Policy,High School Students,Census Figures,Educational Change,Student Attitudes

Drawing on Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Student Census data (2006 and 2011), we examine if there have been changes in the perceptions of school climate between two cohorts of high school students. First, we contextualize our study and review relevant policy changes to student inclusion and equity to set the stages for examining, by way of a sort of &quot;natural experiment&quot;, to see if there was a change in the perception of school climate by students after these policy changes occurred. We then review the scholarship on school climate, its relationship to race, and its relationships to educational experiences and outcomes. We then examine how self-identified race is associated with students' perceptions of school climate in both cohorts, interpreting our results within a Critical Policy Analysis framework. We find evidence of improved school climate from 2003 to 2008, although the changes have not been uniform by self-identified race, and in some cases have worsened, particularly for self-identified Black and Latin American students.
Unsustainable Measures? Assessing Global Competence in PISA 2018
Author: Chandir, Harsha
Date: 2021-09-27
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Secondary School Students,Achievement Tests,International Assessment,Sustainable Development,Global Approach,Cultural Awareness,Competence,Citizenship Education,Best Practices

In the context of rising fundamentalism, urgent threats to the environment, and the persistence of poverty and deep inequities in the world, 193 nations have pledged to work towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) crafted by UNESCO in 2015. Education is seen as key to attaining all the other SDGs. Within the 'education goal' (Goal #4), there is an explicit target, SDG 4.7, which focuses on 'sustainable development and global citizenship'. Nations are expected to incorporate a focus on SDG 4.7 into their curricula, policies, teacher education programs, and student assessment. PISA has now developed an assessment of 'global competence,' which is presented as a way to assess SDG 4.7. Through this assessment, it seeks to inform policy, curricula, and pedagogies and catalogue 'best practices' for developing students' 'global competence'. Given this ambition and the centrality of 'sustainable development and global citizenship' within the globally endorsed SDGs, it is important to analyze the extent to which the PISA assessment of global competence is usefully able to inform policy and practice and contribute to fulfilling SDG 4.7. We build upon the work of other scholars examining this question, taking a material-semiotic approach inspired by Science and Technology Studies. Empirically, our study is based on documentary analysis, interviews, and 'survey encounters' in which we administered a curated part of the assessment to 15-year-olds and followed this exercise with interviews. We explore how the hard-won stability gained around the notion of 'global competence' through its inscription into the standardized survey instruments is again threatened when the survey instrument encounters diverse 15-year-olds. The survey encounters provide an opportunity to 'test the test', and we conclude that the PISA test of global competence is not as yet in a position to provide useful direction to policy or practice in the promotion of SDG 4.7.
Failing the Test or the Failure of the Test: The Case of Environmental Education in Israel
Author: Zuzovsky, Ruth
Date: 2021-09-27
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Environmental Education,Sustainability,Trend Analysis,Achievement Tests,Elementary Secondary Education,Mathematics Achievement,Science Achievement,Foreign Countries,Science Tests,International Assessment,Mathematics Tests,Technological Advancement,Conservation (Environment),Scientific Literacy,Grade 8,National Curriculum,Educational Change,Curriculum Development

Different approaches are employed when teaching environmental issues. One approach, termed the &quot;environmental scientific approach,&quot; perceives environmental education as part of life or earth sciences, providing factual, scientific knowledge. Another approach, termed the &quot;environmental sustainability citizenry approach&quot;, emphasizes sustainability and balancing between the need to move forward technologically and economically and the need to protect the environments in which we and others live. A synthesis of the two approaches encompasses both environmental scientific literacy and environmental sustainability citizenry. This article examines the degree to which changes in the emphasis given to the two approaches worldwide and in Israel impacted the achievements of Israeli eighth graders in this field. Based primarily on data from the Third Mathematics and Science Study-(TIMSS), the findings indicate that the TIMSS tests were biased toward the &quot;environmental scientific&quot; approach, in contrast to the more recent and accepted trends of the &quot;environmental sustainability citizenry approach&quot; embedded in Israeli curriculum. The assessment of environmental achievements in Israel, that was based on the biased test of the TIMSS study, fails to accurately reflect both the curricular changes that have taken place in Israel in this field and students' achievements, thus rendering this assessment inappropriate for this purpose.
Challenges of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme: Insights for School Leaders and Policy Makers
Author: Dickson, Anisah
Date: 2021-10-25
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Advanced Placement Programs,Middle School Students,National Curriculum,Foreign Countries,Curriculum Implementation,Program Implementation,Educational Improvement,Educational Change,Stress Variables,Faculty Mobility,Faculty Development,Faculty Workload

Policy makers in the US and several other countries are recommending that more schools offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. However, little is known about the challenges that IB programmes present for teaching and learning particularly those meeting national curriculum. In this study, we examined the challenges of the IB's Middle Years Programme (MYP), the least understood and researched of the IB programmes. Using a qualitative case study design, we conducted in-depth and semi-structured interviews with school leaders (n=7) and teachers (n=10) from three schools in Australia that previously offered the MYP. We used thematic analysis to generate the findings and the IB's Standards and Practice framework to organize the reporting of findings. Participants shared perceived challenges related to philosophical factors, organizational dilemmas and complexities with integrating the MYP with Australia's national curriculum. Understanding the organizational and leadership challenges that schools may face when offering the MYP can help policy makers promote the necessary conditions for successful program implementation.
&quot;All Kids Matter&quot;? Catholic Institutional Advocacy for Federal COVID Relief Funding for Non-Public Schools
Author: Sellers, Kathleen M.
Date: 2021-10-11
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Catholic Schools,Advocacy,Federal Aid,Federal Legislation,COVID-19,Pandemics,Educational Finance,Private Schools,Language Usage,Minority Group Students,Low Income Students,Communication Strategies

This article explores the policy interests expressed by the largest private educational system in the United States, American Catholic schools, during the first four months of the COVID-19 crisis. Critical discourse analysis is applied to public texts produced by the Catholic Church between March 1 and July 1, 2020, in order to understand the discursive strategies through which this institution constructs meaning in the policy arena. This analysis illustrates how Catholic leaders use language to make racialized and low-income students &quot;discursively invisible.&quot; The author documents a significant change in policy discourse, from neoconservative logics to neoliberal ones, which corresponds directly to political signaling from the Trump Administration. Drawing on critical race theory, the author suggests implications for policymakers and stakeholders.
Is Youth Pessimism Good for the Environment? Insights from PISA 2015
Author: Pivovarova, Margarita
Date: 2021-09-27
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Negative Attitudes,Self Efficacy,Foreign Countries,Achievement Tests,International Assessment,Secondary School Students,Environment,Knowledge Level,Conservation (Environment),Science Activities,Correlation,Student Attitudes,Cross Cultural Studies,Futures (of Society),Learner Engagement,Student Behavior,Environmental Education,Educational Policy,International Organizations

In this study, we explore the potential of data from large-scale assessments to provide insights into how students' environmental knowledge could address the global challenge of environmental threats to humanity and the transition to sustainable development. We analyze data from the 2015 PISA survey to understand the extent to which 15-year old students in 54 countries are aware of these challenges. We find that students' science activities, self-efficacy and environmental knowledge are positively associated with their awareness about environmental challenges. Students' environmental awareness, in turn, is associated with environmental pessimism, or their outlook on the future of environmental issues. Students who are more engaged with environmental science are more aware about environmental issues and feel less optimistic that environmental issues will improve in the future. Such pessimistic attitudes about the future may be a precursor to pro-environmental behavior. Our results provide a cross-national picture of students' engagement with environmental issues and insight into the potential of large-scale assessment data to inform environmental education policies promoted by individual countries and international organizations.
More Is Not Always Better: A Study of Country-Level Factors Associated with Adolescents&apos; Environmental Attitudes Using a Multilevel Analysis of PISA 2006
Author: Gong, Byoung-gyu
Date: 2021-09-27
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Cross Cultural Studies,Environmental Education,Futures (of Society),Income,Conservation (Concept),Climate,Ecology,Knowledge Level,Correlation,Energy Conservation,Educational Trends,Achievement Tests,Foreign Countries,International Assessment,Secondary School Students

In recent decades, environmental problems have rapidly worsened to become a planetary crisis, and mounting scientific evidence supports that this crisis is anthropogenic. With the growing concern over the anthropogenic ecological crisis, there has been more attention to the factors influencing people's pro-environmental attitudes. However, limited research on the adolescent population exists, and country-level factors were rarely explored with mixed findings. This study examines whether and how three country-level factors of national consumption, national average environmental knowledge, and national income level significantly impact students' environmental attitudes, using multilevel modeling methods. The analysis results show that adolescents' environmental attitudes are negatively related to the national consumption and environmental knowledge level after controlling for important individual-level factors while having no significant relationship with the national income level. This study concludes with a discussion on the future direction of environmental education and studies.
Phonological Awareness Intervention Using a Standard Treatment Protocol for Individuals with Down Syndrome
Author: Hessling Prahl, Alison
Date: 2022-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Phonological Awareness,Intervention,Down Syndrome,Case Studies,Peer Relationship,Teaching Methods,Instructional Effectiveness,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Reading Tests,Receptive Language,Expressive Language,Elementary School Students,Comparative Analysis,Lesson Plans

This multiple baseline across-participants single case desgin study examined the effect of small group, phonological awareness intervention on the phonological awareness skills of three school-age children with Down syndrome. Each child with Down syndrome was paired with a typical peer to participate in small group intervention, three sessions per week for seven weeks. Lessons from a single unit in the Intensive Phonological Awareness Program were adapted to incorporate repeated exposure to the curriculum and increased opportunities for practice. A functional relation between the intervention and improved phonological awareness skills was not established based on visual analysis of the probe data across the three participants. However, an increasing therapeutic trend following delayed treatment effects as well as an increase in phase means from baseline to intervention was observed for each participant. This investigation provides preliminary guidance for adapting phonological awareness standard treatment protocols for children with Down syndrome by providing repeated opportunities for practice and including peers in small group intervention.
Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to Effective Teachers?
Author: Isenberg, Eric
Date: 2022-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Low Income Students,Teacher Effectiveness,Value Added Models,Language Arts,Mathematics,Minority Group Students,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,White Students,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,Achievement Gap,Mathematics Teachers,English Teachers,Equal Education,Educational Quality,Socioeconomic Status,Beginning Teachers,Poverty,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Grade 3

We examine access to effective teachers for low-income students in 26 geographically dispersed school districts over a 5-year period. We measure teacher effectiveness using a value-added model that accounts for measurement error in prior test scores and peer effects. Differences between the average value added of teachers of high- and low-income students are 0.005 standard deviations in English/language arts and 0.004 standard deviations in math. Differences between teachers of Black, Hispanic, and White students are also small. Rearranging teachers to obtain perfect equity would do little to narrow the sizable student achievement gap between low- and high-income students. We also show that a higher proportion of novice teachers in high-poverty schools contributes negligibly to differences in access to effective teachers.
When the Walls Come Down: Evidence on Charter Schools&apos; Ability to Keep Their Best Teachers without Unions and Certification Rules
Author: Barrett, Nathan
Date: 2022-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Charter Schools,Teacher Persistence,Faculty Mobility,Unions,Teacher Certification,Job Performance,Teacher Salaries,Labor Market,Teacher Effectiveness

Theories of market-based school reform suggest that teacher labor markets may be inefficient because schools lack autonomy to incentivize performance in hiring, retention, and compensation. We test this empirically by comparing teacher exits in the deregulated market of New Orleans with neighboring traditional school districts. We find that the relationship between teacher performance and retention is stronger in the deregulated market. We also find positive associations between salary and performance, but only when teachers transfer from one charter school to another. While teacher retention is more closely tied to performance in New Orleans, this did not yield a net gain in teacher quality, because new teachers in New Orleans were of lower average quality than their peers in neighboring districts. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED610202.]
Conceptual Understanding of 8th Grade Students Based on Big Ideas: The Case of Measurement
Author: Kalayci Eyeoglu, Özlem
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle School Students,Grade 8,Concept Formation,Measurement,Knowledge Level,Computation,Rote Learning,Geometric Concepts,Foreign Countries

This study aims to examine the conceptual understanding of middle-school 8th graders on measurement based on big ideas. To this aim, a case study was carried out with six students from a state middle school. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the instrument developed by the researchers and consisting of seven open-ended questions. Both descriptive and content analysis were performed to analyze the data. Descriptive analyses were conducted considering the framework of two big ideas in the area of measurement identified by the NCTM (2000). Content analysis using NVivo was employed in analysing the audio-recorded interviews and written responses. The results revealed students had a limited understanding of measurement. It was also determined that the majority of the students made dimensional estimations, showed a rote-based approach in calculating the perimeter, area and volume, and had difficulties in making sense of these concepts. In addition, the understanding of students regarding the volume was found to be limited to interior volume. Finally, some recommendations were made to develop understanding of measurement of students.
Who Leads Turnaround Schools? Characteristics of Principals in Tennessee&apos;s Achievement School District and Innovation Zones
Author: Dixon, LaTanya L.
Date: 2022-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Principals,Administrator Role,School Turnaround,School Districts,Educational Improvement,Labor Turnover,Academic Achievement,Administrator Characteristics

Purpose: While previous research has examined the impact of school turnaround models, less is known about the principals who lead these turnaround schools. This study examines the personal demographics, experience, educational background, prior school performance, salaries, and turnover of principals who led two turnaround models in Tennessee's lowest performing schools: a state-run Achievement School District (ASD) that has not yielded positive nor negative effects and local Innovation Zones (iZones) that averaged positive effects on student achievement over six years. Methods: We analyze longitudinal, administrative data from the Tennessee Department of Education from 2006-2007 to 2017-2018 to compare pre- and post-reform means and trends in principal characteristics between ASD, iZone, and similarly low-performing comparison schools. Results: ASD schools had higher principal turnover rates and lost principals whose schools performed higher while iZone schools retained more principals and lost principals whose schools performed lower. Moreover, iZone schools employed more experienced principals, more Black principals, and principals with higher graduate degree attainment and paid their principals more than ASD schools. Salary differences between ASD and iZone schools were not explained by principals' characteristics, such as years of experience. Implications: Our findings reveal differences in leadership characteristics between iZone and ASD schools that were consistent with differences in the effectiveness of the two turnaround approaches.
Challenges Faced by Classroom Teachers in Multigrade Classrooms: A Case Study
Author: Kalender, Baris
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Barriers,Multigraded Classes,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Planning,Classroom Techniques,Elementary School Teachers,Team Teaching

The aim of this study is to identify the main problems that arise in multigrade classrooms. This research was designed as a case study. The data were obtained through interviews and observations. Participants of the study consist of 10 teachers working in multigrade classrooms in a district in the Mediterranean region in Turkey. The data were analyzed by using thematic analysis. As a result of the research, it was found out that the teachers were left alone in the multigrade classrooms and had difficult times. It was determined that they had problems in planning and executing the learning-teaching process, as well as ensuring classroom management. It was also revealed that having the duty of a principal teacher was a heavy burden for teachers and this duty led them to do all kinds of work at schools. It was discovered that the inspections made by the Ministry of National Education did not contribute greatly to teachers. However, parental assistance to teachers in non-educational matters appeared to be the only support for them within their daily workload.