ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Longitudinal Study of School Districts' Sustained Improvement
Author: Sampson, Pauline M.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Achievement,School Districts,Educational Improvement,Longitudinal Studies,Effective Schools Research,Achievement Gains,Sustainability,Standardized Tests,Educational History,School Statistics,Educational Indicators,Best Practices,Educational Change,Educational Development,Case Studies,Student Diversity,Demography,Public Policy

In this longitudinal study of one region in the state of Texas, there was an examination of district leadership and the sustaining of high student achievement for their districts. The results of this study suggest that sustained improvement of student achievement is very difficult. The districts that had sustained improvement had stable district leadership as well as stable campus leadership. Further, some practices were common among the high achieving school districts. District leaders provided strong use of the data and a clear focus on pushing for excellence. The district leaders also encouraged a variety of ways to make the gains, but all ways were closely monitored. (Contains 9 tables.)
Bildung in a New Context in Danish University Teaching with Some Remarkable Results
Author: Olesen, Mogens Noergaard
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Instruction,Economics Education,Mathematics Instruction,Introductory Courses,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Philosophy,Educational History,Learner Engagement,Student Motivation,Mathematics Achievement,Scores,College Freshmen

In this paper we will look at the pedagogical and didactic concept of Bildung and how Bildung has been used as an important ingredient of European university teaching during the last 200 years. We will also shortly look at the modern university teaching where Bildung in some important respects has been abandoned and even abolished. This, however, has had many bad consequences such as higher rates of failure. In particular, these bad consequences have been seen very clearly at The Department of Economics of The University of Copenhagen. A reorganization of the teaching of mathematics at this department began during the autumn term of 2007 where some elements of Bildung in a new modern context were included in the lectures. This had a remarkable impact. The students became more interested in the teaching of mathematics and they became more engaged and active. Their study activity improved and the rate of failure began dropping. From 2010 the classes of mathematics were also dramatically reorganized such that Bildung and study techniques were integrated elements of the class teaching. How this was practically done will be the main focus of this paper and it will be shown that Bildung is central and important if we want to develop university teaching to such a level that the enlightenment of the academic world can continue. Furthermore it will be shown that this new way of teaching mathematics at The Department of Economics has had a substantial impact, dropping the rate of failure of the summer exams of mathematics in June 2011 to its lowest level hitherto and also improving the marks of mathematics generally.
High School Graduation Rates of Potential First Generation College Students: A Qualitative Case Study
Author: Dansby, Jacqueline O.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Change,Graduation Rate,Disadvantaged,Dropout Rate,Dropout Prevention,High School Graduates,School Counselors,Enrichment Activities,Acceleration (Education),First Generation College Students,Federal Legislation,Program Effectiveness,Federal Programs,High School Students,Disadvantaged Youth,College Preparation,Attendance

Educational reform in the United States has focused on several factors such as academic achievement, performance on standardized test scores, dropout rates, the mandate of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (Dee and Jacob, 2010) and other changes. A new call for a broader and bolder strategy for educational reform that focused on enrichment programs, workshops for parents and school health services was issued by Steen and Noguera, 2010. They also encouraged school counselors to seek out and connect with programs in the community that offered enrichment activities outside of school hours. Given the importance of out of school enrichment programs, this presentation explores the experiences, practices and perceptions of first generation college students that enhanced their desire to remain in school and graduate. In addition, it will examine the influence of academic factors and practices as well as extracurricular experiences and participation in Upward Bound, a special enrichment program, on their graduation rate.
Disillusionment with Higher Education in the Middle East and the United States
Author: Cochran, Judith A.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Social Status,Foreign Countries,Employment Opportunities,Employment Potential,Employment Problems,Education Work Relationship,Educational Benefits,Public Policy,Comparative Education,Cross Cultural Studies,Structural Unemployment,College Graduates,Social Attitudes

University graduates in the Middle East and the United States of America are disillusioned with their higher education degrees. Youth expect to be well employed upon graduation and to improve their social status. Employment has been guaranteed from the earliest university certificates granted in Middle Eastern yeshivas, Houses of Learning, and universities. Their graduates were employed as rabbis, ulemas and judges. Likewise, the earliest universities in the United States were affiliated with religious orders to educate the elite in legal, religious and military knowledge. Although employment was not guaranteed in the United States, it was not difficult to obtain if one had the very prestigious university degree. Today, employment can no longer be guaranteed in the Middle East, initiating years of waiting for university graduates in order to obtain a low-paying but secure position in the military or as a government employee. While the guarantee remains, the governments of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt can no longer pay the thousands of graduates who lack the skills to enter the private sector marketplace. Only the government will hire them. The social and political mandates of providing education to all youth has overcrowded existing facilities and overwhelmed professors. In the United States, the recession that began in 2008 has exacerbated unemployment or underemployment of recent graduates. Unlike Middle Eastern university students whose education is free through the doctorate, Americans' educational expenses leave them thousands of dollars in debt, which they must begin to repay upon graduation. Universities are beginning to implement reforms to address the disconnect for university graduates between their university education and the marketplace requirements in the United States and throughout the Middle East.
Are College Rankings an Indicator of Quality Education?
Author: Schmidt, William
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Educational Quality,Educational Experience,Cognitive Ability,Classification,Achievement Gains,Achievement Rating,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Mathematics Teachers,Secondary School Mathematics,Outcome Measures,Robustness (Statistics),Educational Indicators,College Outcomes Assessment

Educators need a way of determining how much additional knowledge has been gained by students in a given educational program in comparison with other programs. From the U.S. Teacher Education Study in Mathematics (TEDS), they now have such information. The TEDS yields empirical data on the educational experiences and content knowledge gains of a nationally representative sample of future teachers prepared at a wide variety of institutions. By combining data from the TEDS study with college selectivity measures--specifically the respected Barron's college rankings--it is now possible to estimate the degree to which selective schools provide a superior education, at least in one academic discipline. Other studies, such as that of Arum, Roksa, and Choe (2011), examined learning gains across disciplines using generic measures of cognitive ability such as critical thinking that may or may not be appropriate to specific majors. The virtue of the TEDS study is that it focuses on only one--those preparing to become teachers of primary and early secondary mathematics--which permits specific assessments of content acquisition. In this paper the authors focus on future lower secondary teachers. (Contains 3 tables, 5 figures, and 5 footnotes.)
Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune: A Life Devoted to Service
Author: Long, Kim Cliett
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: African American Leadership,Females,Leadership Qualities,Leadership Styles,Reputation,Role Models,Trust (Psychology),Empathy,Ethics,Social Justice,Social Change,Educational Change,Leadership,Public Speaking,African American Education,Persuasive Discourse,Politics of Education,Educational History

The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze the leadership traits of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an African-American woman of history, using the servant leadership theory developed by Robert K. Greenberg and the ten characteristics of servant leadership as conceived by Larry C. Spears. This exploration seeks to identify the significant factors propelling her to lead and unearth the skills and practices she demonstrated in her roles as an educator, social justice and political leader, and activist. Though many works exist about the life of Bethune, this particular investigation analyzes specifically her leadership traits as she sought to advance racial equality and social justice, while also promoting interracial collaboration. This historical analysis aligned with the contemporary leadership theory of servant leadership is expected to provide a framework of leadership, learning, and service for leaders seeking equitable social change in educational and political systems. Leaders will be able to examine the motivation, performance, sustainability, and legacy of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and relate these traits to their leadership and the influence of learning and service upon their work. (Contains 47 footnotes.)
The Relationship between the Catholic Teacher's Faith and Commitment in the Catholic High School
Author: Cho, Young Kwan
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High Schools,Catholic Schools,Secondary School Teachers,Catholics,Beliefs,Teacher Characteristics,Teacher Motivation,Surveys,Prosocial Behavior,Altruism,Intimacy,Religious Education,Institutional Mission,Spiritual Development

This study investigates the relationship between Catholic teachers' faith and their school commitment in Catholic high schools. A national sample of 751 teachers from 39 Catholic high schools in 15 archdioceses in the United States participated in a self-administered website survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation. The findings of this study show that there are significant relationships between the four dimensions of Catholic teachers' faith (belief, intimacy with God, action, and a living faith) and the four dimensions of school commitment (commitment to mission, commitment to the school, commitment to teaching, and commitment to students). Among the four dimensions of Catholic faith, a living faith was most influential in all the four dimensions of teacher commitment. Among the four dimensions of teacher commitment, commitment to mission was most strongly connected with all four dimensions of faith. The findings of this study strongly suggest that Catholic teachers' living faith, placed in the center of intrinsic motivation for their school lives and activities, needs to be acknowledged as a critical predictor of teacher commitment within Catholic high schools. (Contains 7 tables.)
Building the Capacity for Mission through Use of the Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities: A Survey of Presidents and Senior Student Affairs Officers
Author: James, Michael J.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Higher Education,Catholics,Universities,Foreign Countries,Student Personnel Workers,Presidents,Religious Education,Surveys,Professional Development,Church Related Colleges,Electronic Learning,Research

Dialogue about Catholic identity has been taking place at American Catholic colleges and universities since the publication of Ex Corde Ecclesiae in 1990. That student affairs professionals do their work within the context of the mission of the university is a concept that has been accepted from the earliest stages of the establishment of student affairs as an independent profession in the beginning of the twentieth century. For the past 20 years, student affairs professionals at Catholic colleges and universities have been building their capacity for mission integration in a variety of professional development seminars and institutes, largely supported by the work of Catholic higher education associations and sponsoring religious communities, with the intention of increasing the presence and integration of the Catholic mission and religious charism at the institutions in which they work. The Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (The Principles) are the latest mission-driven resource to be developed at a national level in support of the continuing efforts by student affairs professionals and others working at Catholic colleges and universities to build capacity for mission-driven work. This article describes the development of The Principles as a mission-centered resource for student affairs professionals at Catholic colleges and universities. This article further presents the findings of a survey of presidents and senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) at Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and Canada regarding how The Principles are being utilized at their institutions to create mission-driven practices in student affairs work and to form mission-knowledgeable student affairs professionals. This article concludes with a discussion about the efficacy of The Principles to be used in continuing efforts across the diversity of institutions that constitute Catholic higher education in productive and meaningful ways to build a culture of mission integrated institutions.
That Your Education May Be Complete: Implementing the Bishops' Curriculum Framework in  Continuity with the Christian Teaching Tradition
Author: Manning, Patrick R.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Religious Education,Christianity,High Schools,Secondary School Curriculum,Faculty Development,Teaching Methods,Spiritual Development,Religion,Teacher Competencies,Holistic Approach,Student Centered Curriculum

While the U.S. Bishops' Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework provides robust content guidelines for a national high school Religion curriculum, its successful implementation will depend largely on concurrent development of, and training in, pedagogy suited to Christian education. This paper directs educators to existing catechetical documents that provide some general methodological guidance as well as to several time-tested pedagogical insights gleaned from the writings of ancient and modern Christian educators. The final section applies these insights from the tradition to current efforts to implement the bishops' Framework in order to provide educators with a starting point for the elaboration of pedagogical methods called for by the bishops.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in U.S. Catholic High Schools: An Answer to the Church's Call to Global Solidarity
Author: White, John
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High Schools,Catholic Schools,Catholics,Humanities,Religion,Global Approach,World Problems,Advanced Placement Programs,College Preparation,Educational History,Student Recruitment,Marketing,Urban Schools

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme provides an academically challenging curriculum that when combined with moral and religious formation prepares graduates of Catholic secondary schools to succeed in college and to live as Christian citizens in an interconnected global society. Although the financial cost of the program is high, this paper will argue that the adoption of the International Baccalaureate Diploma increases academic rigor at the high school level and serves as an effective marketing tool to attract students to Catholic schools. Using examples from several Catholic high schools, this paper will also examine how the International Baccalaureate can help schools deepen the realization of Catholic identity and provide educators with an ordered, humanities-based curriculum that although secular in origin draws on Catholic intellectual tradition.
Going against the Grain: Gender-Specific Media Education in Catholic High Schools
Author: Lapayese, Yvette V.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Catholic Schools,Catholics,Females,Media Literacy,Gender Issues,Mass Media Effects,Women Faculty,Journalism Education,High School Students,Critical Literacy,Inquiry,Feminism,Secondary School Teachers,Graduate Students

The Catholic Church has addressed the power of media, as well as the critical importance of understanding and educating Catholic youth on the media's role and place in modern culture. In this article, the narratives of female Catholic teachers are prioritized to illustrate how gender-specific media education influences the schooling experiences of female high school youth. Eleven Catholic teachers participated in critical media literacy workshops to address the need to both understand and counter the powerful and often dangerous media messages targeted at girls. This is an exploratory study attempting to understand the possibilities of gender-specific education for our Catholic youth. A media literacy framework provides the lens through which the researcher analyzes the data and asserts that gender-specific media education provides a space for Catholic girls to engage in academic and faith-based acts of inquiry in innovative and relevant ways. As a result, gender-specific media education sets the stage for the development of female Catholic voices.
Utilizing Participatory Action Research to Foster Effective Family/School Collaboration at an Urban PreK-8 Catholic School
Author: Shriberg, David
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Catholic Schools,Catholics,Action Research,Cooperation,Participatory Research,Family School Relationship,College Faculty,Psychology,Departments,Data Analysis,Data Collection,Urban Schools,Undergraduate Students,Culturally Relevant Education

This paper describes a study focused on promoting culturally responsive collaboration practices at an urban preK-8 Catholic school. Using participatory action research (PAR) as its framework, a team of school stakeholders and university faculty and students from the psychology department partnered to create a participant-driven data collection and analysis procedure that culminated in the implementation of a new communication protocol judged by educators and parents to have led to significant improvements in family-school communications. Lessons learned from this experience, particularly as they relate to the use of PAR principles in an urban Catholic school, will be shared. (Contains 2 tables.)
Mission Driven and Data Informed Leadership
Author: Holter, Anthony C.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Catholic Schools,Action Research,Learning Strategies,Problem Based Learning,Leadership,Institutional Mission,Teaching Methods,Principals,Administrator Role,Administrator Education

The contemporary challenges facing Catholic schools and Catholic school leaders are widely known. Effective and systemic solutions to these mounting challenges are less widely known or discussed. This article highlights the skills, knowledge, and dispositions associated with mission driven and data informed leadership--an orientation to school level leadership that we believe holds great promise for the renewal and revitalization of Catholic schools. The conceptual framework developed in this article takes specific shape through an examination of the problem-based learning strategies embedded in the curriculum of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program in the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, and three exemplary action research projects completed by program graduates and current leaders in Catholic schools. (Contains 1 table.)
Sustaining the Heart: Attracting Latino Families to Inner-City Catholic Schools
Author: Suhy, Thomas M.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Catholic Schools,Private Schools,Catholics,Action Research,Marketing,Religious Education,Hispanic Americans,Interviews,Churches,Religious Factors,Educational Quality,Parent Attitudes,Urban Schools,Immigrants,Barriers,Costs,College Preparation

Like many urban Catholic schools, St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School in Dallas, Texas, is faced with many challenges: filling empty seats; supporting increased costs; and, possible closure. The small parish is primarily Latino, but few parish families are enrolled in the school. This action research project used in-depth interviews to examine parishioner-parent perspectives on the importance of Catholic education in the Latino community. Understanding the perspectives of parishioner-parents is a key step toward the ultimate goal of developing a marketing plan that attracts and engages Latino families. Participant interviews show that Latino parents believe Catholic schools are better than area Dallas Independent School District (DISD) schools in academics and preparing students for high school, and better than other religious education programs in teaching the Catholic faith. Ultimately, the study showed that these Latino parents strongly desire to send their children to Catholic schools.
Response to Student Literacy Needs at Mother of Sorrows Catholic School
Author: Beltramo, Jennifer A.
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Comprehension,Quasiexperimental Design,Catholic Schools,Intervention,Low Income,Mothers,Action Research,Program Effectiveness,Scores,Literacy Education,Standardized Tests,Pretests Posttests,Reading Fluency,Word Recognition,Student Attitudes,Middle School Students,Intermediate Grades,Urban Schools

Nearly 90% of intermediate and middle school students from low-income families in the United States are not proficient in reading. This action research project used a quasi-experimental design to determine the effectiveness of a multi-component reading intervention program for students in grades four through eight at Mother of Sorrows Catholic School in Los Angeles, California. The study analyzed standardized measures for fluency, word study, and reading comprehension. It also examined the program's influence on student perceptions of reading. Data analysis indicated that all five grades achieved a statistically significant increase between pretest and posttest scores for all three areas of reading. In addition, students were able to make comparable gains regardless of their initial performance above or below grade level. (Contains 8 tables.)