Showing papers in "Review of Educational Research in 1985"

A Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition

Abstract: Older, part-time, and commuter students have composed an increasingly larger portion of college student bodies. The reasons why these students drop out of school are not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rise in nontraditional enrollments, define the nontraditional undergraduate student, and develop a conceptual model of the attrition process for these students. The chief difference between the attrition process of traditional and nontraditional students is that nontraditional students are more affected by the external environment than by the social integration variables affecting traditional student attrition.

A Meta-Analysis of Selected Studies on the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education

Abstract: A meta-analysis of selected studies on the efficacy of bilingual education was conducted and the results were compared with a traditional review of the same literature. When statistical controls for methodological inadequacies were employed, participation in bilingual education programs consistently produced small to moderate differences favoring bilingual education for tests of reading, language skills, mathematics, and total achievement when the tests were in English, and for reading, language, mathematics, writing, social studies, listening comprehension, and attitudes toward school or self when tests were in other languages. The magnitude of effect sizes was influenced by the types of programs compared, language of the criterion instruments, academic domain of the criterion instruments, random versus nonrandom assignment of students to programs, formula used to calculate effect sizes, and types of scores reported in the studies. Programs characterized by instability and/or hostile environments were as...

Toward a Solution of the Learning Paradox

Abstract: Efforts to explain learning as a constructive process run into the paradox of having to attribute to the learner prior knowledge that is at least as complex as the new learning to be explained. Although no full solution of this paradox is in sight, it is argued that progress is possible through examination of the wide range of mental resources available to human learners, only a limited range of which are taken account of in current theories. This paper considers 10 relatively neglected resources for the “bootstrapping” of cognitive growth, including chance plus selection, the affective boosting of relevant schemas, the operation of innate biases, and use of spare mental capacity. Implications for educational research are illustrated with reference to recent work on the development of complex composition strategies.

Does Moral Education Improve Moral Judgment? A Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies Using the Defining Issues Test

Abstract: A review was conducted of 55 studies of education interventions designed to stimulate development in moral judgment. All studies used the Defining Issues Test. Various subject groups were involved (junior and senior high school students, college and graduate students, adults), various types of programs were employed (group discussion of moral dilemmas, psychological development programs, social studies and humanities courses), and the duration of the programs varied (a few hours to a year-long program). The principal findings from meta-analysis indicate that the dilemma discussion and psychological development programs produce modest overall effect sizes, that treatments of about 3 to 12 weeks are optimal, and that programs with adults (24 years and older) produce larger effect sizes than with younger subjects; however, significant effect sizes are obtained with all groups.

Self-Questioning Instructional Research: A Review

Abstract: Studies in self-questioning designed to improve students’ prose processing are reviewed in the context of theoretical issues and instructional implications that stem from three theoretical perspectives: the active processing perspective, metacognitive theory, and schema theory. The review indicates that the effects of self-questioning training on students’ prose processing are successful. Moreover, it indicates the need to consider the issue of constraints in self-questioning. The constraints of content knowledge and metacognitive deficiencies on self-questioning are illustrated. Subsequently, methodological problems underlying instructional failures in self-questioning research are examined. These include level of criterion in training, processing time allowed the subjects, explicitness in instruction, and maintenance and transfer tests. Last, potential directions of future research are discussed.

Implications for Altering the Context in Which Test Items Appear: A Historical Perspective on an Immediate Concern

Abstract: Research into the effects of item arrangement has been motivated by the need to know the potential effects on item statistics of different item arrangement schemes. This review of the literature confirms that many of the salient and common features of the research can be identified as a function of the practical psychometric concerns of the time. The studies are separated into three periods. The earliest studies investigated the simple main effect of item order on test performance; the late 1960s reflected a change in emphasis to a design that included interactions between item order and factors of examinees’ psychological and biological characteristics; current concern with test disclosure and development of individual adaptive testing instruments has shifted the emphasis to the effects of item order on the stability of item parameters. The literature has produced evidence of context effects, but has not demonstrated that the effects are so strong as to invalidate test theory or practice that is dependen...

Second Language Learning Through Immersion: A Review of U.S. Programs

Abstract: Second language immersion programs, originally developed in Canada some 20 years ago, have been implemented in a number of U.S. cities. Alternative forms of U.S. programs are described—enriched, magnet, and two-way bilingual—and research findings pertaining to the effectiveness of each are summarized and discussed.

Raising Standards and Retaining Students: The Impact of the Reform Recommendations on Potential Dropouts

Abstract: This paper examines the potential influence of school reform policies on the high school dropout rate. We summarize a diverse set of reports on American education that recommend increasing academic standards in schools as a means for improving secondary school performance. We also describe our understanding of the processes by which youngsters drop out of school. In light of these diverse literatures, we show that raising standards may have both positive and negative consequences for potential dropouts. On the positive side, raising standards may encourage greater student effort and time on schoolwork, and thus lead to higher levels of achievement. On the negative side, raising standards may increase academic stratification in schools and cause more school failure, with no apparent remedies. We propose an agenda for further research designed to clarify the impact of the higher standards.

A Tale of Two Variables: A Review of the Intellectual Consequences of Sibship Size and Birth Order

Abstract: This paper critiques the literature on the relationship between sibling structure and academic abilities and achievement since Cicirelli’s (1978) earlier commentary on this topic. Assessed is the extent to which the confluence model, a theoretical explanation of the influence of sibling structure, fits the empirical observations made recently on the association between sibship structure and intellectual development. Since the studies reviewed in general tend to refute the confluence model, alternative interpretations of the impact of sibling structure on academic consequences are presented. Implications for future research are also provided.

A Framework for the Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Adjunct Questions and Objectives

Abstract: Recent formulations in cognitive psychology have significantly modified our view of the prose learning process. Both the structure of the prose passage and learner characteristics have been shown to consistently influence the learning of prose. Given these recent formulations, a reevaluation of the research on the effectiveness of adjunct aids in a prose learning setting should provide for a better understanding of the usefulness of these aids. The present article evaluates the effectiveness of adjunct questions and objectives in a prose learning setting. A framework that includes the above formulations is used to organize and direct the analysis and discussion of results. The framework proved to be very useful in (a) the identification of processes responsible for the effects of the two adjunct aids, (b) the explanation of unusual and/or discrepant results, and (c) the generation of recommendation for future research

An Evaluation of Group Parent Education: Behavioral, PET, and Adlerian Programs

Abstract: An evaluation of 48 investigations on three parent education programs—behavioral, PET, and Adlerian—indicated that certain changes in parental attitudes and/or child behavior were evident as a result of different educational approaches. These changes were not always consistent and often depended on the type of assessment and educational approach used. Recommendations for future research include determining individual parental goals and existing knowledge and attitudes about child-rearing, considering the impact of parental characteristics and the possible interaction of these characteristics with different program goals and procedures, identifying factors influencing leader or instructor effectiveness, and using appropriate research designs, control groups, and multiple assessment procedures.

The Relations Between Symbolic Play and Literate Behavior: A Review and Critique of the Empirical Literature

Abstract: Recent theoretical and empirical evidence for relations between children’s symbolic play and literate behavior are reviewed. Symbolic play and literate behaviors are said to involve similar mental processes: the production and comprehension of decontextualized language and narrative competence. Studies are classified and discussed according to these similarities. Results of the studies are reviewed and critiqued in terms of methodological and theoretical issues. Observational results suggest that decontextualized language and narrative skills are involved in both symbolic play and school-based literacy events. Experimental results, however, raise a number of problems with the theory that symbolic play is related causally to literate behavior. Suggestions for future research are made

Family Choice Arrangements in Public Schools: A Review of the Literature

Abstract: This paper reviews the history of family choice opportunities in public schools. It looks first at the development of tracking, of individual alternative schools, and of options systems. Then, after exploring the possible targets of choice (curriculum, instructional periods, teachers, schools), it offers detailed examinations of the several choice models that have proved widespread: open enrollment plans, magnet schools, schools within schools, satellites and separate alternatives, and inter-district choice plans.

Leader Succession in School Settings

Abstract: Conventional wisdom maintains that changing administrators will improve school performance. Some research evidence suggests, however, that because leader succession is disruptive to communication, decisionmaking and power processes, it will have either no causal effect or a negative effect on organizational effectiveness. Even if the impacts are modest, leader succession produces a naturally occurring set of events that provides excellent opportunities for researchers to assess administrator effects on school performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is threefold: (a) to construct a model that specifies a number of major school process and outcome variables associated with administrator succession, (b) to review the succession literature for each component, and (c) to suggest a variety of research strategies to examine administrator succession and effects of leaders on school processes and outcomes

The Upgrading and Downgrading of Occupations: Issues, Evidence, and Implications for Education

Abstract: This paper reviews a major debate that has implications for educational research and policy communities. The debate concerns the skill upgrading versus downgrading of occupations in the United States and relationships to schooling and vocational preparation. The review summarizes the major positions in the debate, surveys the evidence on skill changes, including methodological and design issues and concepts and measures for skill, and discusses research and policy implications for general and vocational education.

Construct Validity and Criterion-Referenced Testing:

Abstract: Construct validation is as important for the measurement of school outcomes as of constructs in personality or human abilities. A multifaceted inquiry is called for, bringing both psychological theory and empirical findings to bear upon the meaning of achievement test performance. It is proposed that achievement constructs be described in both psychological and behavioral terms, and this procedure is illustrated for the construct of functional literacy. Psychological models of specific skills taught in school are reviewed, and implications for testing are drawn. Achievement tests can be constructed by sampling a faceted item domain embedded in a broader domain of intended but untested instructional outcomes. Studies probing the relation of test performance to this broader domain are then carried out as part of the construct validation. This strategy can yield tests more closely linked to the curriculum, provide information required for defensible standard setting, and rationalize criterion-referenced inte...

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Type and Combination of Feedback on Children’s Discrimination Learning

Abstract: The incentive model of the effects of reward and punishment on human learning has often been researched. To estimate the relative effects of three types and three combinations of feedback on children’s discrimination learning, a meta-analysis was performed on the findings of 89 studies. In general, reward campared to punishment or to reward plus punishment is the least efficient feedback for teaching children discrimination materials. Reward plus punishment appears to result in the best performance. However, in four comparisons of punishment versus reward plus punishment, punishment is either as effective or more effective than the combination. The data also suggest that these findings are also mediated by the type of feedback used. Punishment also seems to be comparatively more effective when the task is simple rather than complex. Punishment results in the best performance, compared to reward plus punishment, when the child is bright, upper class, and in the fourth or higher grades

The Validity of Direct Observation Measures of Pupil Classroom Behavior

Abstract: An evaluation of the validity of direct observation measures of pupil classroom behaviors is presented. The evaluation is based on a survey of analyses bearing on their construct, criterion-related, and treatment validities. Three types of measures are discussed. These include molar measures, where the focus is on broad dimensions of classroom behavior (e.g., “on-task” vs. “off-task”), molecular measures, where the focus is on more specific dimensions of behavior, and molecular-composite measures, where the data are collected in terms of molecular units but scored in terms of composite categories. Consistent support for the validity of molar and molecular-composite types of measures was revealed, but support for the molecular schedules was less consistent. The paper also contains a set of recommendations for users of these instruments and some suggestions for future research on the measures.

Tetrahedral and Pyramid Models in Educational Research: A Rejoinder to Fagley and Miller

Abstract: In Fagley's and Miller's critique of my review, they note that I presented a Contexts Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Competence. They compare and contrast this model to earlier models proposed by Jenkins (1979) and Bransford (1979). They proceed to criticize my review on the grounds that I did not compare and contrast my model to Jenkins' and Bransford's. Although I did present a Contexts Pyramid Model in my review that resembled Jenkins' and Bransford's, it was not my intent to compare and contrast this model with theirs. Rather, my intent was to provide a heuristic scheme to illustrate how definitions of writing competence are formulated. My reasons for identifying the Contexts that I did in my model were as follows. First, I found that these Contexts epitomize in the simplest yet most ecologically valid fashion the structure and content of current definitions of writing competence. The second reason was to illustrate in the best possible manner the relationship between "ideologies of writing instruction" and "partially-specified theories" of writing competence. Contrast my reasons for identifying the Contexts that I did to Fagley's and Miller's criticism of my model: "Earlier formulations (i.e., Jenkins' and Bransford's) appear to provide more parsimonious descriptions and more comprehensive frameworks for writing research than the Contexts Pyramid Model." Had I reduced the number of Contexts from five to four, I might have improved the design criterion of simplicity, but the tradeoff of ecological validity would have been made. A related issue here is that whereas Jenkins' and Bransford's models may provide the best underlying representation for the terms "memory" and "cognition," respectively, these models, in my opinion, do not represent in the most valid fashion the structure and content of definitions of writing competence. To criticize my model on the grounds that it is not comprehensive enough, Fagley and Miller need to demonstrate specific instances where my model cannot account for a particular set of definitions of writing competence. Consider Fagley's and Miller's criticisms of my Contexts Model in light of my second criterion for Context selection. As I argued in my review, one can discuss definitions in terms of three levels: the feature-replacement and procedure/criterion level, the design-criterion level, and the ideological level. The point of my review was to illustrate that decisions at the first two levels are contingent on decisions at the ideological level. The Contexts Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Competence suggests that there are many possible features, examples, procedures, and criteria that one can select to define classroom writing. In addition, there are many possible design criteria, besides simplicity, for defining definition adequacy. To

The Context of the Contexts Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Competence

Abstract: Mosenthal (1983) presented the Contexts Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Competence as a paradigm for guiding research on writing. Five factors that impact classroom writing competence were identified, and Mosenthal advised researchers to select a single factor as the focus of research, holding the remaining factors constant. Although the Contexts Pyramid Model may represent a useful means of organizing research, it is argued that the Contexts Pyramid Model can be considered a special case of earlier conceptual frameworks for research on memory and cognition (e.g., Bransford, 1979; Jenkins, 1979). In addition to the superficial resemblance of the geometric representations of the three models (as pyramids), the models proposed by Jenkins, Bransford, and Mosenthal address similar variables, although they differ in comprehensiveness and vary in the organization of primary factors. Earlier formulations appear to provide more parsimonious descriptions and more comprehensive frameworks for writing research than the Contexts Pyramid Model. Because Mosenthal did not relate the Contexts Pyramid Model to the work of Jenkins or Bransford, the rationale for preferring his particular reformulation is not made explicit, and its advantages over the earlier models are not explained. It remains for Mosenthal to demonstrate that the Contexts Pyramid Model offers a superior paradigm to those of Jenkins and Bransford. The Contexts Pyramid Model of Classroom Writing Competence is very similar to the "problem pyramid" or "theorist's tetrahedron" proposed by Jenkins (1979) for classifying memory experiments. Mosenthal's (1983) model was portrayed as a four-sided pyramid on a square base. The five vertices of the pyramid represented the primary factors in writing research and were labeled writer, materials, task, situation organizer, and setting. Jenkins' model appeared as a three-sided pyramid on a triangular base, that is, a tetrahedron. The four vertices represented the primary factors in memory experiments and were labeled subjects, materials, criterial tasks, and orienting tasks. Jenkins noted the "context sensitivity of memory" and argued that memory problems involve all four factors, although most researchers focus on a single factor. Jenkins advised the explicit consideration of all four factors in memory research-regardless of whether each factor was sampled or manipulated. This contrasts with Mosenthal's advice to "simplify" and investigate one factor at a time. The applicability of Jenkins' framework to domains beyond memory research