" a research synthesis report of the Connected Learning Research Network " -- Page de titre.

/pdf/connected-learning-an-agenda-for-research-and-design-2mg3baihbq.pdf

Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design

Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics

In the context of a national conversation about exclusionary discipline, we conducted a multilevel examination of the relative contributions of infraction, student, and school characteristics to rates of and racial disparities in out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Type of infraction; race, gender, and to a certain extent socioeconomic status at the individual level; and, at the school level, mean school achievement, percentage Black enrollment, and principal perspectives all contributed to the probability of out-of-school suspension or expulsion. For racial disparities, however, school-level variables, including principal perspectives on discipline, appear to be among the strongest predictors. Such a pattern suggests that schools and districts looking to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in discipline would do well to focus on school- and classroom-based interventions.

Parsing Disciplinary Disproportionality: Contributions of Infraction, Student, and School Characteristics to Out-of-School Suspension and Expulsion

/pdf/the-2017-national-school-climate-survey-the-experiences-of-3k9xm6l4g6.pdf

The 2017 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation's Schools.

The term and construct “school-to-prison” pipeline has been widely used by advocates, researchers, and policymakers to describe the relationship between school disciplinary practices and increased risk of juvenile justice contact. It has been unclear whether the construct is a useful heuristic or a descriptor of empirically validated relationships that establish school disciplinary practices as a risk factor for negative developmental outcomes, including juvenile justice involvement. In this article, we examine the literature surrounding one facet of the pipeline, school exclusion as a disciplinary option, and propose a model for tracing possible pathways of effect from school suspension and expulsion to the ultimate contact point of juvenile justice involvement. Available multivariate analyses suggest that regardless of demographic, achievement, or system status, out-of-school suspension and expulsion are in and of themselves risk factors for a range of negative developmental outcomes. Recommendations ar...

More Than a Metaphor: The Contribution of Exclusionary Discipline to a School-to-Prison Pipeline

Several aspects of the study make it groundbreaking. First, the research team did not rely on a sample of students, but instead examined individual school records and school campus data pertaining to all seventh-grade public school students in Texas in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Second, the analysis of each grade’s student records covered at least a six-year period, creating a statewide longitudinal study. Third, access to the state juvenile justice database allowed the researchers to learn about the school disciplinary history of youth who had juvenile records. Fourth, the study group size and rich datasets from the education and juvenile justice systems made it possible to conduct multivariate analyses. Using this approach, the researchers could control for more than 80 variables, effectively isolating the impact that independent factors had on the likelihood of a student’s being suspended and expelled, and on the relationship between these disciplinary actions and a student’s academic performance or juvenile justice involvement.

Breaking Schools' Rules: A Statewide Study on How School Discipline Relates to Students' Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement

Nearly 15% of students are disciplined in a given year, with 60% of students being disciplined at-least once between grades 7 through 12. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of school discipline contact on students’ risk for grade retention and school dropout using a statewide sample of 7th grade students tracked through their 12th grade year. Results indicate that school discipline is associated with approximately 4,700 grade retentions per year in the state of Texas. The delayed workforce entry related to grade retention has an effect of over $68 million for the state, including $5.6 million in lost tax revenue. Given the higher discipline rate for minorities, these costs disproportionately affect them. Further, the additional year of instruction costs the state nearly $41 million dollars. For each year an individual student is retained the effect on the net social surplus exceeds $23,000. Results also indicate that school discipline relates to a 29% increase in high school dropout. These additional dropouts account for an economic effect of $711 million per year. It is recommended that educational agencies adopt evidenced-based programs that reduce school officials’ use of punitive and exclusionary measures to manage student behavior such as Positive Behavioral Intervention Supports. Further, these results underscore the need for school officials to employ secondary and tertiary dropout prevention programs that are targeted at the most academically and behaviorally at-risk students in schools in addition to primary prevention programs.

https://escholarship.org/content/qt7zc0c135/qt7zc0c135.pdf

The Economic Effects of Exclusionary Discipline on Grade Retention and High School Dropout

There are numerous advantages to institutionalized party systems; yet the instability in post-communist party systems has been well documented. Thus, it is increasingly important to understand how parties become institutionalized. Scholars have examined various dynamics of campaign finance’s effect on politics; however, despite this increased attention, several important theoretical and empirical questions remain. In this article, we investigate campaign finance, institutional, and economic explanations for post-communist party development. We test the impact of campaign finance restrictions and public fund availability on several measures of party institutionalization. The results of our analysis are important for outlining the role of public financing and restrictions on structuring party development.

Assessing the Impact of Campaign Finance on Party System Institutionalization

Recommended Citation Marchbanks, Miner P. III; Blake, Jamilia J.; Smith, Danielle; Seibert, Allison L.; Carmichael, Dottie; Booth, Eric A.; and Fabelo, Tony (2014) \"More than a Drop in the Bucket: The Social and Economic Costs of Dropouts and Grade Retentions Associated With Exclusionary Discipline,\" Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 5 : Iss. 2 , Article 17. Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol5/iss2/17

/pdf/more-than-a-drop-in-the-bucket-the-social-and-economic-costs-18xq2qg1cd.pdf

More than a Drop in the Bucket: The Social and Economic Costs of Dropouts and Grade Retentions Associated with Exclusionary Discipline.

This article frames the issues facing developmental education (DE) in Texas where it has been placed front and center with extensive state-level grant funding and program development. In this study, we assessed DE components through a 2-year cross-site evaluation ofTexas institutions of higher education that participated in a state funded DE program built on existing, best-practices research. The funding has resulted in a combined effort at four universities and five community colleges impacting more than 4,000 students. The intent is to bring the identified scalable components to the entire state as a model and offer a state model nationally. Funded sites that participated in the cross-site evaluation reported here were asked to respond and to provide specific context to the broad findings.The term "developmental education" refers to a field of practice and research within higher education with a theoretical foundation in developmental psychology and learning theory. It promotes the cognitive and affective growth of all postsecondary learners at all levels of the learning continuum (Arendale et al" 2007). Developmental education (DE) in Texas is primarily composed of incremental courses designed to bring underprepared students to the level of skill competency expected of entering college freshmen; DE is an increasingly important and utilized component of higher education in the United States (Boylan, Bonham, & Rodriquez, 2000; Calcagno & Long, 2008; Kozeracki 8c Brooks, 2006). Although some extant research on the effectiveness of DE programs has found that they help students to persist and succeed in DE and credit-bearing courses (Boylan, 2002; Brothen 8c Wambach, 2004; Grubb et al., 2011), other research has found that DE coursework itself can be a significant barrier or that the impact of DE courses or supports is short-term and does not translate into success in credit-bearing courses (Deil-Amen 8c Rosenbaum, 2002; Levin 8c Calcagno, 2008; Rosenbaum, Stephan, 8c Rosenbaum, 2010).A common finding in the literature is that DE programs are hard to assess due to, among other things, differences in program components and implementation, a lack of comprehensive evaluation, and data limitations (Boylan, Bonham, 8c Tafari, 2005; Calcagno 8c Long, 2008). Thus, our goal is to help fill a gap in the literature by describing which components were considered to be most successful for helping students with developmental needs and DE faculty development across various higher education contexts. This cross-site study also contextualizes the rest of the articles in this special edition of the Journal of Developmental Education because they all originate from Texas higher education institutions implementing DE programs.Developmental Education InterventionsFor many years, institutions have supplanted the "remediation-only" DE approach with an assort- ment ofstudent supports, Supplemental Instruction, and course innovations. The goal of these various components was to improve upon student success rates via diverse services and programs as compared to remediation that was designed and focused on gaps in student learning for prerequisite mastery. Therefore, the move to a components driven DE program was to build student skills and connec- tions that increase the chances of moving students to credit-bearing courses and eventual degree completion (Brothen & Wambach, 2004; Levin & Calcagno, 2008; Tinto, 2003). Koski and Levin (1998) developed a conceptual framework of interventions that scaffold students with developmental needs into becoming successful in DE and credit-bearing courses. These concepts include improving instruction and instructional supports, fostering student connectedness through an array of personal and interpersonal supports, and skill building.Several factors have influenced DE student outcomes. Students with developmental needs have been shown to benefit from student and instructor learning communities (Tinto, 2003) as well as interventions that enhance communication among students, instructors, and advisors (Boylan, Bliss, & Bonham, 1997). …

/pdf/innovative-developmental-education-programs-a-texas-model-3edmp88633.pdf

Eric Booth

Papers

Breaking Schools' Rules: A Statewide Study on How School Discipline Relates to Students' Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement

The Economic Effects of Exclusionary Discipline on Grade Retention and High School Dropout

Assessing the Impact of Campaign Finance on Party System Institutionalization

More than a Drop in the Bucket: The Social and Economic Costs of Dropouts and Grade Retentions Associated with Exclusionary Discipline.

Innovative Developmental Education Programs: A Texas Model.