ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
School Drop-Out in Romania: Impact Assessment of Preventive-Curative Strategies in Children
Author: Buzgar, Ramona
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Dropouts,Dropout Prevention,Remedial Instruction,Intervention,Disadvantaged,Child Behavior,Rating Scales,Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Psychological Testing,COVID-19,Pandemics

Remedial activities are considered by many authors as an effective strategy for preventing and reducing school dropout. In recent years however, numerous studies showed evidence that we cannot point to one factor that influences the decision to leave school and to only one strategy to prevent or reduce it. Meanwhile the results in the field of social and emotional development emphasize the essential role of these skills in school success. This is way more and more researchers and practitioners recommend that school dropout must be looked at and addressed from a more complex perspective. In the present study we aimed to evaluate the impact of a complex intervention program, developed in order to prevent and reduce school dropout for 242 students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Vâlcea County. The children were tested at the beginning and at the end of the program using 6 scales selected from BASC and ASEBA evaluation systems. Due to the pandemic situation, the questionnaires measuring adaptability, social skills, learning abilities, affective problems, anxiety problems and ADHD problems have been completed by teachers, using google forms application. Using ANOVA with repeated measures, the data collected emphasize that the proficiency profile of primary school and secondary-school children, changes significantly between the results obtained in pre- and post-test, for all variables evaluated. The data collected showed that the program increases adaptability to the school environment and learning skills, and anxiety, loneliness and inattention decrease significantly. Even though, we considered it necessary to identify demographic factors that may impact the effectiveness of such an intervention. Practical implications for similar future projects, are further discussed in the article.
Poverty and Middle Level Achievement in a Common Core State: What Are We Missing?
Author: Davis, Lauren
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Poverty,Middle School Students,Common Core State Standards,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gap,Economically Disadvantaged,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,Standardized Tests,Socioeconomic Status,Equal Education,Educational Trends,Trend Analysis,Evidence Based Practice,Best Practices

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant difference exists in academic achievement between all students and economically disadvantaged students when compared by socioeconomic levels in the North Carolina middle grades learner (as measured by reading and mathematics standardized tests). It also sought to determine whether significant differences exist between economically disadvantaged students in the various middle level grades (6-8). This article analyzes proficiency data in state-level standardized assessments from a most recent testing year (2017) with North Carolina middle level students. While student socioeconomic status and its impact on student achievement are the focus of this article, this study also analyzes proficiency trends while delving into inequity implications. A review of the literature establishes a long-term pattern of an achievement gap with disadvantaged students. Recognizing the impact of poverty on student achievement as measured by standardized tests, the author questions the explicit practices of the middle level educator to better support economically disadvantaged middle level students. This study illuminates some evidence-based best practices while also exploring the asset-based learning model and growth mindset as strategies to support adolescent learners experiencing high poverty.
Stimulating a Gradual and Progressive Shift to Personalize Learning for All: There Is Magic in the Middle
Author: Turk, Autumn R.
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle Schools,Middle School Students,School Districts,Individualized Instruction,Educational Practices,Futures (of Society),Coaching (Performance),Communities of Practice,Self Efficacy,Teacher Collaboration,School Culture,Middle School Teachers,Educational Change

This essay contends that personalized professional learning can support the shift towards a culture of personalized learning at the middle school level, with the potential to make a district-wide impact. If you have ever worked in a middle school, you would agree there is a sense magic and contagious energy within middle school students. Middle school is often an overlooked and untapped resource when considering efforts to transform school and district culture. Middle school students start to develop passions and a voice for advocacy, making agency a powerful accelerator when students channel their collective energy towards a shared vision for change. This past year has placed tremendous pressures on our educators, school leaders, students, and parents; yet, it has also offered us a remarkable opportunity to re-imagine our educational system by focusing on a more personalized approach to learning for both our students and adults. Educators have re-entered the learner's seat with an immediate urgency to enhance their instructional practices so they may engage students in learning and manage their classrooms in new and nontraditional learning environments. The result of this shift has yielded many benefits, such as the use of technology for learning and curation of digital curriculum resources; however, it has also created a renewed need to focus on the efficacy and professional learning of educators. Rising concerns with equity, learning loss, and mental health have added additional pressure for school leaders, teachers, and support staff. Therefore, there is a need to reimage our vision for the future of education and strategically plan flexible pathways to make our vision a reality. A vision for embedding ongoing personalized coaching within professional learning communities can improve teacher efficacy, enhance collaborative data analysis and lesson planning, and transform school culture to maximize personalized learning for all students.
Teacher Candidates Collaborate to Create Place-Based Integrated Curriculum
Author: Wall, Amanda
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Place Based Education,Integrated Curriculum,State Standards,National Standards,Curriculum Development,Cooperative Planning,Sustainability

A small group of middle level teacher candidates collaborated to create place-based integrated curriculum. These candidates and the authors, two teacher educators, selected two local sites, visited them together, and debriefed these visits. State and national standards as well as guidelines for integrated curriculum (e.g., Beane, 1997; Nesin &amp; Lounsbury, 1999) informed the process. Through interpretive phenomenology analysis (Smith et al., 2009), we analyzed place-based learning as a catalyst for collaboration. Teacher candidates recognized possibilities with place-based learning to draw on local cultural, historical, and natural resources in ways that are relevant to students and their communities. We offer implications for teacher educators and middle level educators invested in place-based pedagogies and curricula.
America&apos;s Middle Schools: Examining Context, Organizational Structures, and Instructional Practices
Author: Alverson, Ryan
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle Schools,Educational History,Educational Practices,Student Development,Student Needs,Middle School Teachers,Principals,Teacher Attitudes,Administrator Attitudes,Educational Strategies,National Surveys

The education of the young adolescent has consistently posed a challenge to the educational community. While the general belief is this age group (10 to 15 year-old children) would benefit from a specialized educational approach. Historically, both the junior high school model of the early 1900s and the more current middle school concept have struggled to be fully implemented and embraced by the educational community. With almost a decade passing since the last national survey focused on middle grades schools (McEwin &amp; Greene, 2010, 2011), researchers seek to reassess the context, organizational structures, and instructional practices of middle schools in the United States. Over 1,600 responses from principals and teachers to the national survey indicate the status of middle schools is largely unchanged since the McEwin and Greene study. Specific recommendations for moving forward are shared.
Overcoming Barriers: De-Tracking to Teach for Social Justice
Author: White, Stephanie J.
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Social Justice,Track System (Education),African American Students,Hispanic American Students,Barriers,Academic Achievement,Outcomes of Education,Educational Change,Equal Education,Program Effectiveness,Mathematics Instruction,Racial Bias,Mathematics Education,Instructional Effectiveness

How do we overcome tracking in mathematics to actualize the goals of teaching for social justice? Tracking is a racist educational structure that puts limits on the effectiveness of teaching for social justice. This essay presents arguments for de-tracking with explanation of how tracking negatively impacts Black and Latinx students. Readers will learn about schools and districts that have de-tracked students juxtaposed with the barriers that keep most schools from dismantling tracking. This essay calls upon schools and researchers to further investigate locally why schools do not work through these barriers to spark action and eliminate tracking.
Teachers&apos; Adaptability to Online Education during COVID-19
Author: Vulpe, Lorena
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adjustment (to Environment),Distance Education,Electronic Learning,COVID-19,Pandemics,Foreign Countries,Rural Urban Differences,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,Individual Differences

Nowadays, the world is facing a pandemic that affects millions of people, leading to serious illness and social dysfunction. This poses a threat not only to the population, but also to the economic and social fields. The negative impact on these sectors is represented by economic instability and restrictions on social activities, in particular by the closure of schools and the launch of online courses that affect the educational environment. Therefore, the central theme of this research is the capacity and level of teachers in Romanian education to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Due to the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus, this has brought changes to the level of the education system, being performed in an online format. The entire education system has faced difficulties such as school dropout, social inequities, lack of access to technology and the internet, lack of digital skills, transition to the online learning system, poor health conditions in school institutions, even the problem of resuming or closing the school year. Thus, in this research we analysed the level of adaptability of teachers, identifying the adaptability differences between urban and rural environments or between the levels of education at which they teach. We also identified the need to readapt the subject to be taught in the virtual environment and how much of the personal time they allocate to prepare the courses taught remotely, but above all we determined the obstacles that teachers encounter in teaching and conducting courses with students during the coronavirus period.
Creating Brave Space: Middle School Students Discuss Race
Author: Beschorner, Beth A.
Date: 2021-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Middle School Students,Discussion,Race,Mentors,White Students,African American Students,Adults,African Americans,Whites,Hispanic Americans,Hispanic American Students,Multiracial Persons,Student Experience,Experience,Racial Identification,Teaching Assistants,Group Discussion

Racial disparities must be addressed in every sector in the United States (e.g., healthcare, education, incarceration, etc.) (Skiba et al., 2001). Mary, a middle school principal, created a series of conversations designed to help a small group of students begin to have more productive conversations about race. The purpose of the current study was to explore how educators create a space for middle school students to have inter- and intra- racial dialogues. Results suggest: (1) a demonstrated need and demand for spaces that support inter- and intra-racial dialogues; (2) the importance of strategic planning; and (3) the vital nature of developing relationships.
The Role of Movement and Sensorial Stimuli for Therapy and Education. A Comparative Study
Author: Gnaoré, Karin
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Movement Education,Sensory Experience,Stimulation,Stimuli,Montessori Method,Therapy,Psychomotor Skills,Sensory Integration

The following article looks at the role movement and sensorial stimuli do play in the educational approaches of Dr. Maria Montessori and Dr. Emmi Pikler as well as the Sensorial Integration and Psychomotor Therapy. The author of this paper has been studying, applying, and teaching all four approaches for many years and used her expertise in all four approaches to look at whether independent scientific research proves the effectiveness of movement and sensorial stimuli for reaching therapeutic as well as educational goals and to also provide scientific evidence for the fact that all four approaches focus on the role of these two factors, which means that this is a comparative study utilizing existing research papers. The methods of applying movement and sensorial stimuli in the four approaches mentioned above are being compared and linked to recent scientific findings concerning the role of movement and sensorial stimuli for the efficacy of education and therapy. This article compares the four approaches based on scientific research on the various methods as well as independent research which looks and the impact of movement and sensorial stimuli as well as a method of application and its effectiveness. It has been found that sensorial stimulation and movement are closely connected and that these play a major role in all four approaches although the methods of application are quite different. One example might be that the Montessori method purposefully teaches specific movements in specific ways while only Sensory integration therapy also utilizes passive movement as a sensorial stimulation. All four approaches rely on the self-motivation of the child and do not apply any kind of pressure.
The Role of Education in the Social Reintegration of Young Offenders and the Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic Period
Author: Tomita, Mihaela
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Role of Education,Delinquency,Institutionalized Persons,Delinquent Rehabilitation,Foreign Countries,COVID-19,Pandemics,Correctional Institutions,Inclusion,Public Health

The number of young people around the world, sanctioned with an educational measure depriving them of their liberty is increasing, which is also found in the statistics of educational centers in Romania. Custodial measures are those which punish juvenile offenders by depriving them of their liberty after they have been convicted of an offense. By being internment in the center, they are prevented from committing new offenses and, at least in theory, are allowed to be rehabilitated during the period of internment. In the custodial environment, education for minors and young people has been and remains different in many ways from that in the community. In this, beyond the architecture of the custodial environment, the profile of this type of criminals obviously has a significant role. In this paper, we aimed to highlight the particularities of education for minors and young people in the custody environment in general and in educational centers in Romania in particular, and how the pandemic period COVID-19 influences programs in educational centers. 27 interviews were applied to professionals from two educational centers in Romania (Buzias Educational Center and Târgu Ocna Educational Center). The interview guide for professionals and management staff totaled 22 questions. In this paper we have focused only on the questions that refer to the social reintegration of minors and young people interned in the centers. Our analysis shows us that young offenders faces several issues specific to custodial environments to which are added the restrictions imposed by the pandemic period. This restriction takes on specific forms, adapted to the custodial environment. Educators, psychologists, and schoolteachers can play an important role together with parents in social reintegration and defining and establishing their life projects.
Research Report - Alternative Public Policies in Providing Integrated Specialized Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and for Their Families
Author: Raiu, Sergiu-Lucian
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Autism,Pervasive Developmental Disorders,Advocacy,Foreign Countries,Public Policy,Services,Children,Childrens Rights,Policy Formation,Agency Cooperation,Clinical Diagnosis,Early Intervention,Access to Health Care,Access to Education

The article is a research report that briefly describes the stages of an advocacy process and the results of the project: &quot;Increasing the involvement of NGOs and social partners in promoting alternative public policies for children with ASD&quot;, an initiative of Help Autism Association which took place in 2019. Was used a mixed research methodology. In-depth interviews were collected from 134 specialists from institutions, NGO practitioners and parents of children with ASD. Focus-group were organized in 8 regions of Romania with participation of 139 representatives of the target group of the project. Through the method of the self-administered questionnaire, opinions from 47 specialists and 303 relatives/guardians of people with ASD were collected in order to identify the needs and to propose solutions in the field of providing integrated specialized services for people with ASD. Also 8 working meetings took place in all 8 development regions of Romania with participation of 151 specialists who were informed about the method of Assessing the Impact of Legislative Regulation and 96 representatives of the non-governmental sector were trained in the advocacy process. Following the project, a coalition of 80 non-governmental organizations was formed, reunited in the RO TSA Network. Through this project, the civil society, represented by this network of NGOs participated in the elaboration of the first National Plan on Autism in Romania. [Note: The issue number (42) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct issue number is 44.]
A Smart-Merging Facilitation Model (SMFM) of Meaningful Learning for Life and Work in the Digital Era
Author: Maslo, Irina
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Philosophy,Educational Change,Educational Technology,Learning Analytics,Foreign Countries,Preservice Teacher Education,Models,Technology Uses in Education,Student Attitudes,Graduate Students,Diversity

In the context of the smart specialization of national economies and the creation of smart societies in the digital age, general, vocational, adult, and higher education reforms have a decisive horizontal effect on the transition to smart education. A smart pedagogical approach that has evolved in recent years is frequently seen as merely focused on using new technologies in changing learning environments, nor on implementing the new smart educational philosophy on smart human learning for smart economies and societies of the digital era. Principally, new pedagogical approaches that &quot;will undergo drastic changes and create new pathways for learners of all ages&quot; (Scott, 2015, p. 16) are necessary. To supply this demand, pedagogy has to address meaningful learning, bringing it to life and work. Therefore, the question is &quot;What does smart pedagogy imply in the digital age?&quot; An exploratory research design of this paper simply ascertains the research question, leaving room for further research. To discuss this question, the concept of smart pedagogy has been argued in this paper. The evidence on the efficiency of smart learning facilitation has been explored through the learning analytics and students' self-evaluation statements in the framework of the 2015-2020 case study of the master's degree programme &quot;Educational Treatment of Diversity&quot; of the University of Latvia, as one of the best practice cases on preparing teachers for diversity in initial teacher education. (European Commission, 2017). The theoretically-founded and empirically-based authored smart learning facilitation model has been discussed and conclusions drafted for an international audience.
Becoming Proficient through Profile Classes: A Longitudinal Study on the Development of Scientific Competencies
Author: Schulte, Alena
Date: 2021-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Students,Scientific Literacy,Science Process Skills,Multiple Choice Tests,Science Tests,Inquiry,Interdisciplinary Approach,Foreign Countries,Profiles

The first educational goal within scientific subjects is to acquire a sense of scientific literacy. In science lessons, methods of scientific inquiry provide the tools to achieve this. In this study, we based scientific inquiry on the SDDS-Model according to Klahr (2002). It is divided into three subareas: Search Hypothesis Space, Test Hypothesis, and Evaluate Hypothesis. A multiple-choice test, the NAW-test, was used to examine the extent to which the acquisition of competencies is promoted by attending Profile Classes. In contrast to common practice in Germany, scientific Profile Classes take an interdisciplinary approach to scientific subjects, with the aim to promote the acquisition of scientific competencies. For this purpose, Profile Class students (N=84) at two schools were questioned over the course of a school year at three different test times. Results show that competencies increase over time. A gender difference was not observed.
Technical Adequacy of a Spelling Curriculum-Based Measure for English Language Learners in the First through Third Grades
Author: Smith, R. Alex
Date: 2022-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English Language Learners,Language Proficiency,Language Tests,Curriculum Based Assessment,School Districts,Verbal Communication,Identification,At Risk Students,Writing Evaluation,Reliability,Validity,Elementary School Students,Grade 1,Grade 2,Grade 3,Screening Tests

This study represents an initial examination of the potential of word dictation (WD), a form of curriculum-based measure, to identify risk in writing for young English language learners (ELs). The sample included 73 ELs with beginning to advanced English language proficiency in the first to third grades attending schools in one U.S. Midwestern school district. This district used an English-only model of instruction and students completed two forms of WD in the fall, winter, and spring. The criterion measure, a common English language proficiency assessment, was administered in the winter. Results indicated that WD maintained similar reliability and validity coefficients between the ELs in this study and previous studies with the general population. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.