Showing papers in "Educational Policy in 2005"
TL;DR: The authors investigates how principals in two California elementary schools influenced teacher learning about and enactment of changing reading policy, and argues that principals influence teachers' enactment by shaping access to policy ideas, participating in the social process of interpretation and adaptation, and creating substantively different conditions for teacher learning in schools.
Abstract: A growing body of research has emphasized the social processes by which teachers adapt and transform policy as they enact it in their classrooms. Yet little attention has been paid to the role of school leaders in this process. Drawing on sociological theories of sensemaking, this article investigates how principals in two California elementary schools influenced teacher learning about and enactment of changing reading policy. It argues that principals influence teachers’ enactment by shaping access to policy ideas, participating in the social process of interpretation and adaptation, and creating substantively different conditions for teacher learning in schools. These actions, in turn, are influenced by principals’ understandings about reading instruction and teacher learning.
537 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners and concluded that bilingual education is consistently superior to all-English approaches, and that developmental bilingual education programs are superior to transitional bilingual education.
Abstract: This article presents a meta-analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners. The study includes a corpus of 17 studies conducted since Willig’s earlier meta-analysis and uses Glass, McGaw, and Smith’s strategy of including as many studies as possible in the analysis rather than excluding some on the basis of a priori “study quality” criteria. It is shown that bilingual education is consistently superior to all-English approaches, and that developmental bilingual education programs are superior to transitional bilingual education programs. The meta-analysis of studies controlling for English-language-learner status indicates a positive effect for bilingual education of .23 standard deviations, with outcome measures in the native language showing a positive effect of .86 standard deviations. It is concluded that bilingual education programs are effective in promoting academic achievement, and that sound educational policy should permit and even encourage the development and implementation of bilingual education programs.
484 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the emerging social justice discourse in the educational administration field and discusses several challenges that must be considered as universities and others attempt to prepare school leaders for social justice critique and activism.
Abstract: Traditional leadership preparation programs and licensure requirements give only token consideration to social justice concerns. This article examines the emerging social justice discourse in the educational administration field and discusses several challenges that must be considered as universities and others attempt to prepare school leaders for social justice critique and activism. Social justice scholarship in educational leadership emphasizes moral values, justice, respect, care, and equity; always in the forefront is a consciousness about the impact of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability on schools and students’ learning. School leadership programs face the challenge of preparing new leaders to critically inquire into the structures and norms that result in inequitable schooling for many students and to undertake an advocacy role to influence educational policies to achieve social justice.
333 citations
TL;DR: For example, Arizona's Proposition 203 places restrictions on bilingual and English-as-second-language programs and essentiality mandates English-only education for English language learners (ELLs) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Arizona's Proposition 203 places restrictions on bilingual and English-as-asecond-language programs and essentiality mandates English-only education for English language learners (ELLs). This artic...
150 citations
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that access to college-preparation-related policy information follows racial, ethnic, income, and curricular tracking lines with scant differences across racial and ethnic lines.
Abstract: America’s high school students have higher educational aspirations than ever before, yet these aspirations are being undermined by disconnected educational systems and other barriers. These educational aspirations cut across racial and ethnic lines with scant differences. As this study demonstrates, access to college-preparation-related policy information, however, follows racial, ethnic, income, and curricular tracking lines. This article presents findings from Stanford University’s Bridge Project—a national study that examined (a) K-16 policies and practices and (b) student, parent, teacher, counselor, and administrator understandings of those policies and practices in regions in California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas. In addition, it proposes recommendations for K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, state agencies, and the federal government.
134 citations
TL;DR: The authors of as mentioned in this paper argue that the degree of real change depends more on statutory and regulatory change than the emergence of particular new programs, and that both innovative programs and for-profit providers will acclimate themselves to the institutional arrangements in place.
Abstract: Concerns about the effectiveness of traditional preparation programs have yielded a wide-ranging debate about new approaches to recruiting and preparing leaders. The resulting policy debate features two general camps: those who wish to refine and bolster the existing system of preparation and licensure and those who advocate a move away from licensure and the attendant notions of leadership that hold sway today. The proponents of conventional preparation have shown a remarkable willingness to compromise, giving rise to modified training programs and blunting the political appetite for rethinking the gate keeping arrangements that regulate who can become, approve, or train future school leaders. Ultimately, both innovative programs and for-profit providers will acclimate themselves to the institutional arrangements in place, so the degree of real change depends more on statutory and regulatory change than the emergence of particular new programs.
127 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of Structured English Immersion (SEI) on teachers, administrators, and students at an urban school serving a large number of ELLs and found that SEI teachers are largely unaware of the model and unprepared to teach it effectively.
Abstract: In November 2000, Arizona voters passed Proposition 203, a law that replaced bilingual education with a 1-year program known as Structured English Immersion (SEI). Although SEI has little support in the educational or applied linguistics research literature, all English-language learners (ELLs) in Arizona are automatically placed in SEI classrooms. This article examines the effects of SEI on the teachers, administrators, and students at an urban school serving a large number of ELLs. The study found that SEI teachers are largely unaware of the model and unprepared to teach it effectively, that training in SEI strategies has been haphazard, that interpretation of the law's waiver system by State education officials has seriously reduced the number of students eligible for the school's dual-language program, and that forcing English learners into SEI is traumatizing some of them and distressing their parents. The study raises questions about the civil rights implications of the law.
116 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the Principals Leadership Academy of Nashville (PLAN) to explore the question How do university-community-district partnerships develop as successful cooperative endeavors? Interviews conducted with key stakeholders are analyzed to study critical aspects of the partnership's governance structure, guiding principles and political decision-making processes.
Abstract: This article examines the Principals Leadership Academy of Nashville (PLAN) to explore the question How do university-community-district partnerships develop as successful cooperative endeavors? Interviews conducted with key stakeholders are analyzed to study critical aspects of the partnership’s governance structure, guiding principles, and political decision-making processes. PLAN demonstrates that cooperative interorganizational relationships can take firm root and flourish under an innovative leadership structure that is grounded in principles of shared power and shared learning. Such a partnership requires strong commitment and leadership from three levels of leaders. Top-level leaders (the public school superintendent, the dean of the college of education, and key community leaders) must be highly visible in their support of the partnership. Frontline leaders must design and implement the partnership’s programs and must be champions within their respective organizations. Finally, the critical role o...
95 citations
TL;DR: In the past decade or so, popular rhetoric has shifted away from site-based management and participatory governance as the centerpiece of school reform strategies as accountability and standardization as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: During the past decade or so, popular rhetoric has shifted away from site-based management and participatory governance as the centerpiece of school reform strategies as accountability and standard...
84 citations
TL;DR: Although state attention to teacher preparation and professional development began more than 150 years ago with the provision of teacher education in Massachusetts, the federal government did not allocate any resources to teacher education.
Abstract: Although state attention to teacher preparation and professional development began more than 150 years ago with the provision of teacher education in Massachusetts, the federal government did not g...
61 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that programmatic changes as a result of the new law were primarily limited to elementary-level transitional bilingual education programs, and that key leaders' detailed knowledge of the law and commitment to bilingual education, and the local context, influenced how the state-mandated policy was translated into practice.
Abstract: This article describes three medium-sized districts’responses to the successful passage of an English-only ballot initiative in Massachusetts. Through interviews with bilingual directors and document analysis the study found that programmatic changes as a result of the new law were primarily limited to elementary-level transitional bilingual education programs. Key leaders’detailed knowledge of the law and commitment to bilingual education, and the local context, influenced how the state-mandated policy was translated into practice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on alternative certification and licensure of principals, looking at the historical factors leading up to the introduction of alternative licensure for principals, the challenges to alternative certification programs, and providing a case study of one district's and one state's (Florida) current experimentation.
Abstract: Although some factors seem to be moving to allow greater decertification of the school principal profession, other factors, moving in the opposite direction, call for greater oversight by government. Four factors—perceived shortage of principals, accountability and the changing role of principals, growing influence of the state over school administration, and new conceptualization of good public management—have created a set of challenges to certification that have propelled a renewed analysis of certification and licensure. This article focuses on alternative certification and licensure of principals—looking at the historical factors leading up to the introduction of alternative licensure for principals—the challenges to alternative licensure programs, and provides a case study of one district’s and one state’s (Florida) current experimentation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw from two separate sources: the research literature regarding what are the best practices for ELL students, and a statewide survey of parent public opinion regarding education in Arizona, which passed a voter initiative in 2000 to end bilingual education.
Abstract: This article asks two basic questions about educational policy and practice for English-language-learner (ELL) students: First, antibilingual education initiatives imply a subtractive view of teaching and learning; what are parents' views and/or beliefs regarding these policies? Second, how do these views and/ or beliefs align with research and best practices regarding the education of ELL students? To answer these questions, we draw from two separate sources: the research literature regarding what are the best practices for ELL students, and a statewide survey of parent public opinion regarding education in Arizona, which similar to California, passed a voter initiative in 2000 to end bilingual education By considering parental opinions and the extant research, we might improve our chances of meeting the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students
TL;DR: This article examined a range of fast-track alternative teacher certification programs in 11 sites in three states (Connecticut, Louisiana, and Massachusetts) and found that participants were attracted by the incentives of the fast track programs but also expected to have coursework and student-teaching experiences that would prepare them well to teach in September.
Abstract: The prospect of overseeing the rapid preparation of many participants in fast-track alternative certification programs presents several challenges for state education officials who seek to maintain, or even enhance, the quality of the state’s teaching force. This study examined a range of fast-track alternative teacher certification programs in 11 sites in three states—Connecticut, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. We found that participants were attracted by the incentives of the fast-track programs but also expected to have coursework and student-teaching experiences that would prepare them well to teach in September. Overall, candidates were satisfied with what the programs offered, though many wanted more preparation in content-based pedagogy and better student-teaching placements. There were advantages and disadvantages to centralized and decentralized approaches by the states to ensure quality of participants.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how Proposition 209 has altered access to University of California (UC), as represented by the changing profiles of admitted undergraduate students at three UC campuses, including UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Riverside.
Abstract: This research addresses how Proposition 209 has altered access to University of California (UC), as represented by the changing profiles of admitted undergraduate students at three UC campuses. This research provides an analysis of changes that have occurred in undergraduate applicant and admit characteristics based on individual data from UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Riverside postaffirmative action. This study utilizes logistic regression to assess the likelihood of admission and employs temporal interactions across a consistent set of academic achievement and socioeconomic predictors. The quantitative findings illustrate admission based almost entirely on academic index, despite nominal changes and expansion of admissions criteria. Although the concepts of merit and equity remain loosely defined in public policy arenas, this research further examines the key admission factors that constitute merit in a post-209 environment and the implications of these altered standards for contributing to the soci...
TL;DR: This paper found that admission rates for California high schools are grossly unequal between the public and private sectors and within each sector and suggested the need for both high school outreach to increase applications and contextual review of applications to reduce inequalities in the admission of applicants.
Abstract: Using institutional data on fall 1999 freshman admissions, we document the existence and magnitude of inequalities among California high schools in the access they provide to the University of California (UC). Because high schools are segregated by socioeconomic status and race, we examine how schools that differ on these dimensions also differ in their rates of admission to UC. We find that UC admission rates are grossly unequal between the public and private sectors and within each sector. Different groups, however, face different barriers. Schools where the student body is heavily Latino tend to have low per capita admissions because fewer students apply; schools where the student body is heavily African American tend to have low per capita admissions because fewer applicants are admitted. Our research suggests the need for both high school outreach to increase applications and contextual review of applications to reduce inequalities in the admission of applicants.
TL;DR: The authors examined how five urban high schools with virtually all low-income, minority, and immigrant students have arranged for students to take algebra I, and examined the course enrollments and grades of these student in the core college prep courses.
Abstract: A key element in educational reform has been to increase mathematical proficiency. We look at how five urban high schools with virtually all low-income, minority, and immigrant students have arranged for students to take algebra I, and we examine the course enrollments and grades of these student in the core college prep courses. Both preparation and these arrangements matter. We raise three questions: First, can algebra group be considered a key variable? Second, is it associated with a chain of events that are interrelated in shaping educational outcomes? Third, was value added through grouping options within algebra I? Our findings suggest that algebra group is a key variable and that options offered within algebra I were not associated with value added. The policy implications may be that for all practical purposes, resources and responsibility for preparing students for algebra should be directed primarily to the K-8 schools.
TL;DR: For instance, this article argued that public education in America is undergoing a slow, steady transformation and the changes on the basis of the market and its logic are worthy of nearly religious fervor (see, e.g., Chomsky, 1999; Chubb & Moe, 1990).
Abstract: Educators are constantly bombarded with arguments that choice, marketization, and competition will provide the answer to most of our problems. Such claims have taken on a global importance, as nation after nation follows the leadership of globally powerful countries in seeing the market and its accompanying logic as worthy of nearly religious fervor (see, e.g., Chomsky, 1999; Chubb & Moe, 1990). It is always interesting to juxtapose the affirmative tone adopted by neoliberal educational policy advocates with the voices of those on the “receiving end” of global market schemes. Nearly a decade after the publication of Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools (Chubb & Moe, 1990), Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti (1997) argued that “public education in America is undergoing a slow, steady transformation and the changes on the
TL;DR: This article examined terms such as geometry, number patterns, and ordering fractions for rates of agreement and disagreement between teachers and observers participating in a field pilot of an elementary mathematics daily log, using interviews, written observations, and reflections on disagreements.
Abstract: In recent years, scholars have problematized terms used to describe instruction on teacher survey instruments. When scholars, observers, and teachers employ terms like discuss and investigate, they often mean to describe quite different events. This article problematizes another set of terms often found on survey instruments, those describing mathematical content. To do so, it examines terms such as geometry, number patterns, and ordering fractions for rates of agreement and disagreement between teachers and observers participating in a field pilot of an elementary mathematics daily log. Using interviews, written observations, and reflections on disagreements, this article also asks why disagreements occurred. Sources of disagreement included problems with instrument design, memory/perception, and, notably, differences in the way subject matter terms are used in different communities—university mathematicians, elementary teachers, and mathematics educators. Finally, implications of these sources of disagr...
TL;DR: The authors argue that the environment in which teacher-principal interactions occur is shaped by union contracts, state and district personnel policies, and precedents set by local experiences with teacher dismissals.
Abstract: Teacher supervision and evaluation are fundamental responsibilities of the principal. Yet principals and teachers find their supervisory interactions to be difficult and unsatisfying experiences. This article explores the micropolitical context in which supervision and evaluation take place. Highlighting specific examples in New York City, the article argues that the environment in which teacher-principal interactions occur is shaped by union contracts, state and district personnel policies, and precedents set by local experiences with teacher dismissals. These historical and structural factors and others converge to create three traps of supervision.
TL;DR: The notion that teacher unions are interested only in improving salary levels belies an emerging truth in some school district-union partnerships as mentioned in this paper, where union and management are creating a new text about labor-management relations.
Abstract: Conventional wisdom has it that teacher unions are singularly concerned with enhancing the compensation packages of those whom they represent. Issues central to educational quality, from better teacher preparation to more rigorous professional evaluation, play second fiddle to the primary union focus on wages and benefits, according to conventional wisdom. However, the notion that teacher unions are interested only in improving salary levels belies an emerging truth in some school district-union partnerships. In the locales that are the subject of this article, union and management are creating a new text about labor-management relations. Minneapolis’s Achievement of Tenure process, Denver’s Professional Compensation system, and Montgomery County, Maryland’s Professional Growth System reflect very different kinds of labor-management agreements than are the usual subject of discourse and critique. In these places, labor-management agreements form the foundation of programs designed to improve the quality o...
TL;DR: In this article, voter representation and school decision making in consolidated and special school elections in four Michigan cities were analyzed and it was shown that consolidating elections may lead to increased voter turnout and to changes in the composition of the voting population.
Abstract: Policies governing the organization and timing of school elections affect democratic representation in school decision making. Some argue that school board elections should be consolidated with general municipal elections on the grounds that this will increase participation and representation, but little empirical work addresses the consequences of policy change. This article presents analyses of voter representation and school decision making in consolidated and special school elections in four Michigan cities. These analyses indicate that consolidating elections may lead to increased voter turnout and to changes in the composition of the voting population.
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between cultural nationalist ideology and language policy development in the Crystal City Independent School District is explored. But the analysis supports the conclusion that the school district as an institution has limitations in promoting cultural and linguistic maintenance.
Abstract: Language policy development connects a school district's educational philosophy and the day-to-day practice of educators. An educational philosophy elaborates the aims a school district has for its students; language policy, on the other hand, engages day-to-day practice because it is concerned with how students are going to achieve the aims through language. Moreover, administrators and teachers, in their educational practice, participate in an ongoing process of language planning, a process linked to power and social justice issues. This article maps out the relationship between cultural nationalist ideology and language policy development in the Crystal City Independent School District. Using qualitative data and teacher narratives, it analyzes how language planning unfolds at the level of the school site and the effects this has on teachers and instruction. The analysis supports the conclusion that the school district as an institution has limitations in promoting cultural and linguistic maintenance i...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that administrators normally do a serious wrong when they contract with companies that market to children within schools, because in doing so, they violate the anti-commercial principle, which, in turn, is justified by the obligation schools have to facilitate the autonomy of their students.
Abstract: This article argues that administrators normally do a serious wrong when they contract with companies that market to children within schools. This is because in doing so, they violate the anti-commercial principle, which, in turn, is justified by the obligation schools have to facilitate the autonomy of their students. The author focuses particularly on Channel One but argues that numerous other standard features of school life are similarly problematic in the light of the values that justify the anti-commercial principle.
TL;DR: The 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education promised all students a chance to pursue a baccalaureate degree by guaranteeing a place at one of the public 4-year institutions for all students as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education promised all students a chance to pursue a baccalaureate degree by guaranteeing a place at one of the public 4-year institutions for all students ...
TL;DR: The authors examined trends in University of California (UC) "no-show" admissions before and after the elimination of affirmative action at UC in 1998, and found that top underrepresented minority applicants enroll at UC at considerably lower rates than other students.
Abstract: This study examines trends in University of California (UC) “no shows”—students who applied and were admitted to UC but enrolled elsewhere—before and after the elimination of affirmative action at UC in 1998. Two main findings emerge from the data. Overall, UC continues to be successful in attracting and enrolling a majority of high-achieving students from California high schools. However, overall enrollment patterns mask substantial variations across different racial and ethnic groups. Top underrepresented minority applicants enroll at UC at considerably lower rates than other students, and the gap has widened noticeably in the 5 years since the elimination of affirmative action in UC admissions, as many of these students are now choosing to attend selective private colleges and universities. The policy implications of these trends are considered.
TL;DR: The authors provides a brief history of the politics surrounding teacher and administrator preparation, unpacks the arguments behind the two national reform agendas for America's teachers (professionalization and deregulation), and parses out a quality problem within a political discourse that stresses teacher shortages.
Abstract: Debates over the quality of the nation’s teaching force extend at least as far back as the early 1900s. Today, teacher quality is again at the top of the reform agenda for America’s public schools. Consensus over the substance of reform, however, has not yet been achieved. Before introducing the articles in this double issue and discussing their individual and combined value for the study of educational politics, this article provides a brief history of the politics surrounding teacher and administrator preparation, unpacks the arguments behind the two national reform agendas for America’s teachers (professionalization and deregulation), and parses out a quality problem within a political discourse that stresses teacher shortages.
TL;DR: In assessing the strengths and limitations of increasingly test-defined efforts to improve K-12 education and, ultimately, to expand diversity on college campuses through such a purely merit-based system, the authors seeks to lay out key considerations that ought to be examined.
Abstract: For many, merit, defined by test scores, is a readily accessible representation of academic ability, and both the K-12 and postsecondary systems have used such scores as a guide at multiple levels of decision making and accountability. In assessing the strengths and limitations of increasingly test-defined efforts to improve K-12 education and, ultimately, to expand diversity on college campuses through such a purely merit-based system, this article seeks to lay out key considerations that ought to be examined. Acknowledging that many confounding influences, including housing and school segregation, resource inequities, support services, and social factors outside the walls of the school impact those who ultimately flow through the pipeline to the college admission process, this article also focuses on how testing influences that pipeline.
TL;DR: This paper examined the racial and ethnic distribution of the costs and benefits of higher education in California, using data from a variety of sources, including the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the California Student Aid Commission, EdFund of California, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other agencies and departments in California.
Abstract: This study examines the racial and ethnic distribution of the costs and benefits of higher education in California. This exploratory work documents the racial and ethnic distribution of these benefits, in the form of enrollments in different sectors and different types of institutions, as well as on the costs, in the form of the share borne by families versus the state. The study builds on the work of Hansen and Weisbrod, who examined the distribution of costs and benefits for higher education in California for students from different income groups. This study utilizes data from a variety of sources, including the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the California Student Aid Commission, EdFund of California, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other agencies and departments in California.
TL;DR: In the United States, a shrinking share of state resources are going to higher education, and what federal college aid and subsidies do exist are shifting from students who are low income to middle class as socalled merit scholarships take a larger portion of the funds that used to be reserved for the poor.
Abstract: PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION in the United States has emerged as a force for expanding postsecondary opportunity beyond a small elite to one that develops communities and society more broadly. Beginning with the G.I. Bill after World War II and expanding greatly with the 1965 Higher Education Act, the creation of college access programs, the initiation of affirmative action, and the creation and expansion of colleges across the United States in the l960s and 1970s, access to college has increased dramatically. Moreover, the structure of the American economy has changed such that is increasingly dependent on college-educated workers. The expectation that a larger and larger percentage of young people will go on to college has risen in all sectors of society. However, the children of the baby boomers (who filled the colleges in the 1960s and 1970s) are now hitting college age at the same time that the United States is burdened with taxation policies that have drained state and federal funds needed to adequately support these young people’s aspirations to go to college. A shrinking share of state resources is going to higher education, and what federal college aid and subsidies do exist are shifting from students who are low income to students who are middle class as socalled merit scholarships take a larger portion of the funds that used to be reserved for the poor. Skyrocketing tuition, shrinking capacity, and the demise of affirmative action in some states have all taken a toll on the hopes and dreams of many youth who are low income and minority. The higher education system that was built to accommodate the parents of this generation of college students is inadequate to meet the expanding need for postsecondary education in the 21st century.