Showing papers on "Primary education published in 1996"

Before Writing: Rethinking the Paths to Literacy

Abstract: Gunther Kress argues for a radical reappraisal of the phenomenon of literacy, and hence for a profound shift in educational practice Through close attention to the variety of objects which children constantly produce (drawings, cuttings-out, 'writings' and collages), Kress suggests a set of principles which reveal the underlying coherence of children's actions; actions which allow us to connect them with attempts to make meaning before they acquire language and writing This book provides fundamental challenges to commonly held assumptions about both language and literacy, thought and action It places these challenges within the context of speculation about the abilities and dispositions essential for children as young adults, and calls for the radical decentring of language in educational theory and practice

Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All Children

Abstract: What is Guided Reading? Building on Early Literacy Guided Reading Within a Balanced Literacy Programme Designing and Organizing the Learning Environment for Literacy Managing the Classroom Using Assessment to Inform Teaching Using Running Records Dynamic Grouping Creating Text Gradients Using a Leveled Set of Books Selecting and Introducing Books Teaching for Strategies Learning About Letters and Words Shifts Over Time Good First Teaching with a Second Chance to Learn Appendix A - Keep Books Order Form Appendix B - Work Board Icons Appendix C - Alphabet Chart Appendix D - Management of Guided Reading - Ten-day Plan Appendix E - Guided Reading Record Version One Appendix F - Guided Reading Record Version Two Appendix G - Guided Reading Observation Appendix H - Record of Book-Reading Progress Version One Appendix I - Record of Book-Reading Progress Version Two Appendix J - Fluency Rubric Appendix K - Letter Books Appendix L - Evaluation Response for Text Gradients Appendix M - Guided Reading Self-Assessment Appendix N - Guided Reading Book List Appendix O - Guided Reading Book Publishers/Distributers.

A longitudinal study of learning to use children's thinking in mathematics instruction

Abstract: This study examined changes in the beliefs and instruction of 21 primary grade teachers over a 4-year period in which the teachers participated in a CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) teacher development program that focused on helping the teachers understand the development of children's mathematical thinking by interacting with a specific research-based model. Over the 4 years, there were fundamental changes in the beliefs and instruction of 18 teachers such that the teachers' role evolved from demonstrating procedures to helping children build on their mathematical thinking by engaging them in a variety of problem-solving situations and encouraging them to talk about their mathematical thinking. Changes in the instruction of individual teachers were directly related to changes in their students' achievement. For every teacher, class achievement in concepts and problem solving was higher at the end of the study than at the beginning. In spite of the shift in emphasis from skills to concepts and problem solving, there was no overall change in computational performance. The findings suggest that developing an understanding of children's mathematical thinking can be a productive basis for helping teachers to make the fundamental changes called for in current reform recommendations. Reforming math [teaching] ... at its heart is a problem of [teachers'] learning. [And one of the critical things they must learn is] knowledge of children and their mathematics [which] is crucial to teaching for understanding. (Ball, 1994, p. 1)

School Context, Principal Leadership, and Student Reading Achievement

Abstract: In this article, we explore the nature and extent of the school principal's effects on reading achievement in a sample of 87 U. S. elementary schools. Our study responded to prior critiques of the literature in school administration by formulating and testing a multidimensional model of principal effects on student learning. By using principal and teacher questionnaires and student test scores, we examined relations between selected school context variables (student SES, parental involvement, principal gender, and teaching experience), principal instructional leadership (principal activity in key dimensions of the school's educational program), instructional climate (school mission, opportunity to learn, teacher expectations), and student reading achievement. Results showed no direct effects of principal instructional leadership on student achievement. The results did, however, support the belief that a principal can have an indirect effect on school effectiveness through actions that shape the school's l...

Holding Schools Accountable: Performance-Based Reform in Education.

Abstract: "Perhaps the most urgentand complextask facing American education today is to figure out how to hold schools accountable for improved academic achievement. In this important new work, Helen Ladd and her colleagues describe the options available to policymakers, weigh their respective strengths and pitfalls, and lay out principles for creating schools where learning is the number one objective. This book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone seriously interested in transforming the quality of American schools."Edward B. Fiske, Former Education Editor, The New York Times A central theme of current efforts to reform elementary and secondary education in the United States is a more explicit focus on the outcomes of the educational system. This volume examines efforts throughout the country to hold schools accountable for the academic performance of their students. Researchers from various disciplinesmost notably, economics, educational policy and management, and political scienceaddress a range of questions related to performance- based strategies for reforming education. The authors describe and evaluate programs that recognize and reward the most effective schools, discuss the costs of achieving high performance, summarize what is known about parental choice as an accountability mechanism, and provide new evidence on the relationship between school inputs and educational outcomes. Grounded in the actual experiences of various states and school districts, the book provides a wealth of new information and provocative insights. Contributors argue that programs to hold schools accountable for student performance must be carefully designed to assure that schools are treated fairly; that vouchers, if used, should be directed toward low-income families; that resources do indeed matterpoor school districts may well require additional funding to increase student learning. In addition to the editor, the contributors include Charles T. Clotfelter, David K. Cohen, Richard F. Elmore, Ronald F. Ferguson, Susan H. Fuhrman, Eric A. Hanushek, Caroline Minter Hoxby, Richard J. Murnane, John F. Witte, and John McHenry Yinger."

High-Risk Children In Schools: Constructing Sustaining Relationships

Abstract: High Risk Children in Schools offers a way for psychologists and educators to see and talk about the growing population of "at-risk" children--those likely to fail at formal schooling--while helping to redefine the relationship between schools and families. Using systems theory and developmental psychology, the authors present a new framework for the study and education of children who are at-risk. This framework--the Contextual Systems Model--creates a dialogue between the child and schooling through which meaning, goals, and experiences are shared and accepted.

Cognitively Guided Instruction: A Knowledge Base for Reform in Primary Mathematics Instruction

Abstract: In this article we propose that an understanding of students' thinking can provide coherence to teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and their knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, and pedagogy. We describe a research-based model of children's thinking that teachers can use to interpret, transform, and reframe their informal or spontaneous knowledge about students' mathematical thinking. Our major thesis is that children enter school with a great deal of informal or intuitive knowledge of mathematics that can serve as the basis for developing much of the formal mathematics of the primary school curriculum. The development of abstract symbolic procedures is characterized as progressive abstractions of students' attempts to model action and relations depicted in problems. Although we focus on one facet of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, we argue that understanding students' thinking provides a basis for teachers to reconceptualize their own knowledge more broadly.

Creating Classroom Cultures That Foster Reading Motivation.

Abstract: Gambrell discusses what research and theory suggest about the role of motivation in literacy development. She describes six research-based factors that are related to increased motivation to read. W hat can teachers do to motivate students to read? Here are some responses from elementary age children who were asked what teachers should do to get their students more interested and excited about reading: • " Teachers should let us read more. " • " When we have 'Read and Respond Time' the teacher should let us read our own books and tell about them in a group. " • " Let us read more…about 10 more minutes every day. " • " Please make sure you do not interrupt us while we're reading. " • " Read to the class. I always get excited when I hear my favorite book…and my favorite book is Frog and Toad. " • " Do not let DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time end so soon. " • " Make sure there are lots of books. There are not a lot of books in our classroom. " • " My teacher gets me interested in reading. She lets me read to her! She gave me a hug because I did so well…and she said, 'Good job!' " The responses of these children highlight the critical role of the teacher in creating a classroom culture that fosters reading motivation. I have long been convinced that the central and most important goal of reading instruction is to foster the love of reading. My interest in the role of motivation in literacy de

Restructuring in the Classroom: Teaching, Learning, and School Organization

Abstract: 1. Introduction: The Puzzle of Organization and Practice. LAKEVIEW SCHOOL. 2. A Principal Leads the Way. 3. Teams and Themes. 4. Self--Esteem and Self--Expression. 5. Structure and Practice. WEBSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. 6. The Development of a District's Flagship. 7. Active Learning in Mathematics. 8. Developing Teams. 9. A Model of School Restructuring? NORTHEASTERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. 10. An Alternative School is Born. 11. Reading and Writing. 12. Learning Science. 13. Fitting Structure to Practice. 14. Conclusion: Restructuring Teaching.

Patterns of Urban Student Mobility and Local School Reform

Abstract: Student mobility is a topic that frequently surfaces in discussions about the problems of urban schooling. Surprisingly, it tends to fade from the agenda as discussion turns toward reform initiatives and school restructuring. Student movement, however, penetrates the essential activity of schools--the interaction of teachers and students around learning. Using data from Chicago public elementary schools, I first describe the extent of urban school instability. Many schools, in fact, do not have a stable cohort of students whose progress they can track over time. Second, I explore the causes of this high level of instability, connected both to residential mobility and to more school-related reasons. Distinctive patterns emerge that reveal clusters of schools that are closely tied by the students they exchange from year to year. Third, given this context, I examine the impact of mobility on students, schools, and urban education more generally. Recent school reform efforts that center on promoting greater l...

Evidence of Student Attendance as an Independent Variable in Education Production Functions.

Abstract: Most studies of student performance that use the production function or input-output approach do not consider student attendance as an independent variable. Data from Baltimore public elementary schools indicate that student attendance is positively and significantly related to standardized achievement test performance. Consistent with other studies, the importance of the socioeconomic status of the students and the lack of a positive influence of school input measures such as the teacher/pupil ratio and expenditure per pupil are apparent.

Children in Motion: School Transfers and Elementary School Performance

Abstract: Moves from one school to another are a common, yet generally neglected, challenge to children's orderly school adjustment over the beginning-school transition. School transfers were traced...

The five to seven year shift : the age of reason and responsibility

Abstract: With increasing numbers of children suffering emotional, educational, and social failure on entering school, the years from five to seven have returned to prominence in developmental psychology. This volume collects current research on child behaviour in the school transition years. Researchers in neurology, sociology, anthropology, education, and psychology assess, in this text, what is now commonly known as the five to seven year shift. They consider how development is influenced by changes in neurobiological subsystems; cognition, emotion, and self-concept; concerns with peers and families; and school and cultural practices.

Every Child, Every School: Success for All

Abstract: Success for All The Promise and the Plan Reading and Writing/Language Arts Programs Tutoring Programs Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Programs Roots and Wings Adding Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics to Success for All Family Support and Integrated Services Facilitators, Professional Development, School Restructuring, and Networking Research on Success for All Success for All, Roots and Wings, and School Reform

Teachers' Experiences with Inclusive Classrooms: Implications for Special Education Reform

Abstract: Teachers completed a survey of attitudes toward several basic assumptions regarding inclusion of children with mild disabilities; perceptions of self-efficacy, competence, and teaching satisfaction; and judgments of the appropriateness of classroom adaptations. Respondents included 185 regular education teachers in traditional classrooms, and 71 regular education and 64 special education teachers who co-taught children in inclusive classrooms. Special education teachers held the most positive views of inclusion, as well as the highest perceptions of self-efficacy, competency, and satisfaction. Regular education teachers in the inclusive classrooms tended to report views similar to those of their special education counterparts. Regular classroom teachers in traditional classrooms held the least positive perceptions in these areas and viewed classroom adaptations as less feasible and less frequently used than did teachers in those classrooms in which the “protected resource” of two teachers was provided. Te...

The road to open and healthy schools : a handbook for change

Abstract: Culture or Climate Openness in Elementary Schools Health in Elementary Schools Openness in Middle Schools Health in Middle Schools Improving School Climate

Teacher and Student Behavior as a Function of Risk for Aggression.

Abstract: This study investigates the reciprocal relationship between student and teacher behavior by level of risk for aggression. Direct observation of 206 students, above the median on risk for aggression as determined by teacher ratings and peer nominations of aggression was undertaken. This group was divided into two categories: a mid-risk group and a high-risk group. Student behaviors and the teacher behaviors directed toward these students were examined as a function of student's level of risk for aggression. The data were examined to identify differences in the base rates of student and teacher behaviors across risk groups. Lag sequential analyses were calculated for students in the two groups. State transition diagrams were completed to identify differences in the conditional probabilities of target behaviors. RESULTS indicate that the interaction of students and teachers differ significantly on the basis of risk for aggression. Both the base rates for specific student and teacher behaviors, as well as their contingencies in the classroom differ significantly for students in the different groups. These results are discussed in light of their implications for the development of school-based programs designed to prevent the development of serious antisocial behavior in children. Language: en

The Development of Occupational Aspirations and Expectations among Inner‐City Boys

Abstract: The occupational aspirations and expectations of two populations of boys in grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 were examined in order (1) to describe what is unique about the development of job preferences among urban ghetto children who live in settings where many adult males are not well attached to the labor force and (2) to examine 6 reasons for any age- and population-dependent patterns there might be in job aspirations and job expectations. Findings show that boys tend to be more realistic about occupational aspirations and expectations the older they are; that from second grade on the occupational expectations of inner-city boys mirror existing race and class differences in adult job holdings; that the gap between occupational aspirations and expectations is greater for the ghetto boys and remains roughly constant in size across the grades examined; and that the lower occupational expectations of the inner-city boys are strongly related to their lower educational expectations, with these educational expectations being associated with fewer poor boys having a biological father at home and with more of these boys seeing obstacles to success in the local social setting. But, the lower occupational expectations of the ghetto boys are not due to having fewer positive role models or believing that schooling will not pay off for them in the future as it does for others.

Sustained Inquiry in Education: Lessons from Skill Grouping and Class Size

Abstract: In this article, Frederick Mosteller, Richard J. Light and Jason A. Sachs explore the nature of the empirical evidence that can inform school leaders' key decisions about how to organize students within schools: Should students be placed in heterogeneous classes or tracked classes? What is the impact of class size on student learning? How does it vary? Since tracking (or skill grouping, as the authors prefer to call it) is widely used in U.S. schools, the authors expected to find a wealth of evidence to support the efficacy of the practice. Surprisingly, they found only a handful of well-designed studies exploring the academic benefits of tracking, and of these, the results were equivocal. With regard to class size, the authors describe the Tennessee class size study, using it to illustrate that large, long-term, randomized controlled field trials can be carried out successfully in education. The Tennessee study demonstrates convincingly that student achievement continues when the students move to regular...

Social Skills of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Abstract: The social skills of 19 elementary school children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 19 chronological age-matched peers were examined. Children in both groups were selected from those chi...

Assessment and realistic mathematics education

Abstract: This book describes the consequences of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) for assessing students’ understanding of mathematics in primary school. RME is the Dutch answer to the worldwide need to reform mathematics education. Changed ideas about mathematics as a school subject, its goals, ideas about teaching and learning mathematics, require new forms of assessment. Within RME this means a preference for observation and individual interviews. However, written tests have not been abandoned within this approach. As this book makes clear, even written tests can give teachers valuable information concerning the learning processes of their students, if these tests are looked at in a new light. The book has two sections. Part I forms the core of the work. Chapter one retraces the early years of the reform of mathematics education in the Netherlands, and provides a survey of how assessment was regarded at that time. Chapter two concentrates on how the MORE research laid the foundation for further development of primary school mathematics assessment within RME. Originally, this research was a comparative study of the implementation and effects of different approaches to mathematics education. Chapter three provides a general orientation of the present state of affairs within RME and presents a further elaboration of the RME theory for assessment. In the second half of the chapter the RME views on assessment are held up to the mirror of international assessment reform. In chapter four, as a supplement to the general orientation, the focus is shifted to written tests. In particular, paper-and-pencil short-task problems and the potential enrichment of such problems through the application of RME theory are discussed. Part II describes three assessment studies in detail. Chapter five focuses on one of the tests that was developed for the MORE research, namely the test for beginning first grade. It provides background information on the development of the test and describes its unexpected results, including some international findings on the test. Chapter six gives an account of a study into the opportunities for RME in special education. The heart of this study is a written test on ratio, similar to MORE tests. Chapter seven covers a developmental research project on assessment that was conducted within the framework of the “Mathematics in Context” project, an American middle school project. The chapter focuses on one particular assessment problem on percentage. The main issue here is the tension between openness and certainty that one meets if one moves to more open-ended problems in assessment.

Cognitive and family-support mediators of preschool effectiveness: a confirmatory analysis.

Abstract: Investigated in this study were the mediators of the effects of preschool intervention on children's school achievement in sixth grade. A confirmatory structural model developed in a previous study of third graders was tested with 360 low-income, mostly black children who were available at the 3-year follow-up. The model incorporated cognitive readiness at kindergarten entry and parent involvement in school (rated by teachers and parents) as primary mediators of preschool effectiveness. In sixth grade (age 12), preschool participation at ages 3 or 4 was significantly associated with higher reading achievement, higher math achievement, and with lower incidence of grade retention. Cognitive readiness and parent involvement in school significantly mediated the estimated effects of preschool participation on school achievement and grade retention 7 years postprogram. Teacher ratings of school adjustment, school mobility, and grade retention also contributed to the transmission of effects. This integrated model fit the data better than several alternative models, including those based on the cognitive-advantage and family-support hypotheses.

Designing Schools to Meet the Needs of Students Who Exhibit Disruptive Behavior

Abstract: This article offers an evaluation of a school-wide program designed to increase the institutional capacity of elementary schools to educate students who exhibit disruptive or externalizing behavior. The project included four elements: school organizational practices, a school-wide classroom management intervention, individual behavioral programs, and an advisory board. Two elementary schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students were studied over a period of 2 years. Comparisons with two matched elementary schools indicated strong positive effects on the disciplinary actions of the schools and on the teachers' perceptions of their ability to work with children who exhibit disruptive behavior as well as the extent of shared goals among staff for working with disruptive behavior. Additionally, comparisons between target students (i.e., those who exhibited disruptive behavior), and criterion students indicated positive effects on the social adjustment, academic performance, and school survival skills of target students. T HE HARSH TRUTH IS THAT

Giving Kids The Business: The Commercialization Of America's Schools

Abstract: Marching As If to War And Now a Word from Our Sponsor High-Tech Hucksters Go to School Schools for Profit: Follow the Yellow Brick Road Private School Vouchers: A False Choice Charter Schools: The Smiling Face of Disinvestment What the Market Cant Provide.

The Rise of the New Professionals? The restructuring of primary teachers’ work and professionalism

Abstract: This article explores teachers’ reactions to changing management cultures and argues for a complex reading of their responses. Data from an ethnographic study of a primary school are used to illust...

Wanted: Teachers with Knowledge of Language.

Abstract: Research on the nature of reading and spelling disability (dyslexia) indicates unequivocally that most dyslexic individuals do not process language accurately or fluently at the level of phonology and that they may experience disorders in syntax and semantics as well. Simultaneously, intervention re

Effectiveness of Special Education: Is Placement the Critical Factor?.

Abstract: Research indicates that various program models, implemented both in special education and general education, can have moderately positive academic and social impacts for students with disabilities. However, no intervention has been designed that eliminates the impact of having a disability. With few exceptions, students with disabilities have not achieved commensurately with their nondisabled peers; even students with learning disabilities as a group have not been able to achieve at the level of low-achieving nondisabled students. In general, the most effective interventions for students with disabilities, whether in special education or general education settings, have employed intensive and reasonably individualized instruction, combined with careful, frequent monitoring of student progress. There is no compelling evidence that placement rather than instruction is the critical factor in student academic or social success. Further, studies have indicated that typical practice in general education is substantially different from practice in the model programs that showed greatest success for students with disabilities. The interventions that were effective in improving academic outcomes for students with disabilities required a considerable investment of resources, including time and effort, as well as extensive support for teachers. The research does not support full-time inclusion for all students with disabilities. On the contrary, it appears that there is a clear need for special education. At the same time, given adequate resources, schools should be able to assist more students to be more successful in general education settings.