Showing papers on "Primary education published in 2000"
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of school reform initiatives on student engagement with the intellectual work of school is investigated. But, the results are generally consistent across grade levels, and the results show that classroom subject matter (mathematics or social studies) differentially affects student engagement.
Abstract: Although student engagement with the intellectual work of school is important to students' achievement and to their social and cognitive development, studies over a span of two decades have documented low levels of engagement, particularly in the classroom. Examining several theoretical perspectives that attempt to explain engagement through comprehensive frameworks, this study evaluates the effect on engagement of school reform initiatives that are consistent with the theories. The study also investigates whether patterns exist in students' engagement, whether the patterns are consistent across grade levels, and whether class subject matter (mathematics or social studies) differentially affects engagement. The sample includes 3,669 students representing 143 social studies and mathematics classrooms in a nationally selected sample of 24 restructuring elementary, middle, and high schools. Because of the nature of the nested data (students nested within classrooms nested within schools), the analysis is conducted using hierarchical linear modeling in its three-level application (HLM3L). The reform initiatives, which are consistent with the theories, eliminate personal background effects. Together with classroom subject matter, they substantially influence engagement. The results are generally consistent across grade levels.
1,488 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of collective teacher efficacy was elaborated for use in schools and an operational measure was developed, tested, and found to have strong reliability and reasonable validity, using the instrument to examine urban elementary schools in one large midwestern district.
Abstract: This article is a theoretical and empirical analysis of the construct of collective teacher efficacy. First, a model of collective efficacy was elaborated for use in schools. Then, an operational measure of collective teacher efficacy was developed, tested, and found to have strong reliability and reasonable validity. Finally, using the instrument to examine urban elementary schools in one large midwestern district, collective teacher efficacy was positively associated with differences between schools in student-level achievement in both reading and mathematics.
1,332 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that professional development should address five aspects of school capacity: teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions; professional community; program coherence; technical resources; and principal leadership.
Abstract: We argue that professional development should address five aspects of school capacity: teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions; professional community; program coherence; technical resources; and principal leadership. A two-year study of nine urban elementary schools in the United States found considerable variation in schools' use of professional development to address capacity. More comprehensive professional development occurred through both externally developed programs and school-based initiatives. Comprehensive professional development was most strongly related to the school's initial level of capacity and principal leadership, less related to per teacher funding, least related to external assistance and district/state policy. Implications are discussed.
547 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed whether data at the elementary school level provide support for the hypothesized biasing effect of parents' gender stereotypes on their impressions of their children's competence in mathematics and found that parents' beliefs about their child relate to their child's self-perceptions of ability in mathematics.
Abstract: This study analyzed whether data at the elementary school level provide support for the hypothesized biasing effect of parents' gender stereotypes on their impressions of their children's competence in mathematics. Approximately 600 German elementary school students in Grades 3 and 4, their teachers, and their parents responded to questionnaires concerning perceptions of ability in mathematics, gender stereotypes in mathematical talent, and future expectations. Path analyses revealed consistent gender stereotypes held by mothers and fathers that interact with the gender of the child and predict the parents' beliefs about their child's abilities. In turn, parents' beliefs about their child relate to their child's self-perceptions of ability in mathematics. A biasing effect of parents' gender stereotypes on present mathematical achievement was not supported.
473 citations
TL;DR: This article investigated school and classroom factors related to primary-grade reading achievement in schools with moderate to high numbers of students on subsidized lunch and found that a combination of school and teacher factors, many of which were intertwined, was important in the most effective schools.
Abstract: We investigated school and classroom factors related to primary-grade reading achievement in schools with moderate to high numbers of students on subsidized lunch. 14 schools across the United States and 2 teachers in each of grades K-3 participated. 2 low and 2 average readers per class were tested individually in the fall and spring on measures of reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. The teachers were observed 5 times by trained observers between December and April during an hour of reading instruction, completed a written survey, completed a weekly log of reading/language arts activities in February and again in April, and were interviewed in May. Each school was identified as most, moderately, or least effective based on several measures of reading achievement in the primary grades. A combination of school and teacher factors, many of which were intertwined, was found to be important in the most effective schools. Statistically significant school factors included strong links to parents, syst...
459 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how office discipline referrals might be used as an information source to provide an indicator of the status of school-wide discipline and to improve the precision with which schools manage, monitor, and modify their universal interventions for all students and their targeted interventions for students who exhibit the most severe problem behaviors.
Abstract: Confronted by increasing incidents of violent behavior in schools, educators are being asked to make schools safer. Schools, however, receive little guidance or assistance in their attempts to establish and sustain proactive discipline systems. One area of need lies in directions for use of existing discipline information to improve school-wide behavior support. In this article, we describe how office discipline referrals might be used as an information source to provide an indicator of the status of school-wide discipline and to improve the precision with which schools manage, monitor, and modify their universal interventions for all students and their targeted interventions for students who exhibit the most severe problem behaviors.
456 citations
TL;DR: The involvement of Mexican American parents in their children's education was explored in a year-long case study of an elementary school in Texas as discussed by the authors, which revealed that parent involvement was influenced by several factors, including language, parent cliques, parents' education, attitudes of the school staff, cultural influences, and family issues.
Abstract: The involvement of Mexican American parents in their children's education was explored in a year-long case study of an elementary school in Texas. Interviews, document analysis, and observations of parent activities revealed that parent involvement was influenced by several factors, including language, parent cliques, parents' education, attitudes of the school staff, cultural influences, and family issues. Although the school staff addressed some of the issues, in general, teachers did not recognize the influence that these concerns had on parent involvement. The findings have implications for teachers that affect both the level and areas of Mexican American parent involvement. An understanding of these factors will provide ways to increase and improve parent involvement.
454 citations
Journal Article•
402 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: Ravitch as mentioned in this paper describes the ongoing battle of ideas and explains why school reform has so often failed, and argues that all students have the capacity to learn and that all are equally deserving of a solid liberal arts education.
Abstract: For the past one hundred years, Americans have argued and worried about the quality of their schools. Some have charged that students were not learning enough, while others have complained that the schools were not in the forefront of social progress. In this authoritative history of education in the twentieth century, historian Diane Ravitch describes this ongoing battle of ideas and explains why school reform has so often failed. "Left Back" recounts grandiose efforts by education reformers to use the schools to promote social and political goals, even when they diminished the schools' ability to educate children. It shows how generations of reformers have engaged in social engineering, advocating such innovations as industrial education, intelligence testing, curricular differentiation, and life-adjustment education. These reformers, she demonstrates, simultaneously mounted vigorous campaigns against academic studies. "Left Back" charges that American schools have been damaged by three misconceptions. The first is the belief that the schools can solve any social or political problem. The second is the belief that only a portion of youngsters are capable of benefiting from a high-quality education. The third is that imparting knowledge is relatively unimportant, compared to engaging students in activities and experiences. These grave errors, Ravitch contends, have unnecessarily restricted equality of educational opportunity. They have dumbed down the schools by encouraging a general lowering of academic expectations. They have produced a diluted and bloated curriculum and pressure to enlarge individual schools so that they can offer multiple tracks to children withdifferent occupational goals. As a result, the typical American high school is too big, too anonymous, and lacks intellectual coherence. Ravitch identifies several heroic educators -- such as William T. Harris, William C. Bagley, and Isaac Kandel -- who challenged these dominant and wrong-headed ideas. These men, dissidents in their own times, are usually left out of standard histories of education or treated derisively because they believed that all children deserved the opportunity to meet high standards of learning. In describing the wars between competing traditions of education, Ravitch points the way to reviving American education. She argues that all students have the capacity to learn and that all are equally deserving of a solid liberal arts education. "Left Back" addresses issues of the utmost importance and urgency. It is a large work of history that by recovering the past illuminates a future.
388 citations
Book•
08 Feb 2000TL;DR: Recommendations to policy makers are that summer programs contain substantial components aimed at teaching math and reading and include rigorous evaluations, but also permit local control of curricula and delivery systems.
Abstract: Summer schools serve multiple purposes for students, families, educators, and communities. The current need for summer programs is driven by changes in American families and by calls for an educational system that is competitive globally and embodies higher academic standards. A research synthesis is reported that used both meta-analytic and narrative procedures to integrate the results of 93 evaluations of summer school. Results revealed that summer programs focusing on remedial or accelerated learning or other goals have a positive impact on the knowledge and skills of participants. Although all students benefit from summer school, students from middle-class homes show larger positive effects than students from disadvantaged homes. Remedial programs have larger effects when the program is relatively small and when instruction is individualized. Remedial programs may have more positive effects on math than on reading. Requiring parent involvement also appears related to more effective programs. Students at all grade levels benefit from remedial summer school, but students in the earliest grades and in secondary school may benefit most. These and other findings are examined for their implications for future research, public policy, and the implementation of summer programs. Based on these results, our recommendations to policy makers are that summer programs (a) contain substantial components aimed at teaching math and reading and (b) include rigorous evaluations, but also (c) permit local control of curricula and delivery systems. Funds should be set aside to foster participation in summer programs, especially among disadvantaged youth. Program implementers should (a) begin summer program planning earlier in the year, (b) strive for continuity of staffing and programs across years, (c) use summer school in conjunction with summer staff development opportunities, and (d) begin integrating summer school experiences with those that occur during the regular school year.
TL;DR: This article explored whether teachers and students are influenced by the size of the inner-city elementary school to which they belong and found that teachers have a more positive attitude about their responsibility for students' learning and students learn more in small schools.
Abstract: This study explores whether teachers and students are influenced by the size of the inner-city elementary school to which they belong. Focusing on teachers' attitudes about their responsibility for student learning and students' 1-year gains in mathematics achievement scores, we used data from almost 5,000 teachers and 23,000 sixth and eighth-grade students in 264 K-8 Chicago schools. The data were collected through 1997 surveys and annual standardized tests. We employed hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to estimate school effects. On both outcomes, small schools (enrolling fewer than 400 students) are favored compared with medium-sized or larger schools. In small schools, teachers have a more positive attitude about their responsibility for students' learning and students learn more. Even after taking size into account, learning is also higher in schools with higher levels of collective responsibility. Thus, we conclude that school size influences student achievement directly and indirectly, through its effect on teachers' attitudes.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of two workplace conditions, autonomy and collegiality, on elementary school teachers' professional development is analysed, and the qualitative research reported makes clear that this influence should be thought of in a balanced way.
TL;DR: The authors found that teachers fall into four distinct categories ranging from strong support for SFA to resistance, and that teachers' levels of support for the reform did not directly correlate with teachers' personal characteristics such as experience level, gender, or ethnic background.
Abstract: Success for All (SFA) is a whole-school reform model that organizes resources to focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure that students succeed in reading throughout the elementary grades. In this article we use qualitative data gathered in extensive interviews and observations in two SFA schools to examine how teachers respond to SFA and how their beliefs, experiences, and programmatic adaptations influence implementation. We found that teachers fell into four distinct categories ranging from strong support for SFA to resistance. Support for the reform did not directly correlate with teachers' personal characteristics such as experience level, gender, or ethnic background. Moreover, teachers' levels of support for SFA did not necessarily predict the degree of fidelity with which they implemented it. Almost all teachers made adaptations to the program, in spite of the developers' demands to closely follow the model. Teachers supported the continued implementation of SFA because they believed i...
TL;DR: In this paper, a combination of visual supports for two elementary-age boys with autism was evaluated, and the visual supports were used to aid transitions from one activity to another in community and home settings.
Abstract: A combination of visual supports for two elementary-age boys with autism was evaluated. The visual supports were used to aid transitions from one activity to another in community and home settings....
TL;DR: The authors investigated teachers and students perceptions about characteristics which either stimulate or inhibit the development of creativity in the classroom environment, and found that both teachers and children believe that a classroom environment which enhances creativity provides students with choices, accepts different ideas, boosts self-confidence, and focuses on students' strengths and interests.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers and students perceptions about characteristics which either stimulate or inhibit the development of creativity in the classroom environment. Interviews were conducted with seven Connecticut public school teachers and 31 students (grades 3 and 4). The findings suggest that both teachers and students believe that a classroom environment which enhances creativity provides students with choices, accepts different ideas, boosts self‐confidence, and focuses on students’ strengths and interests. On the other hand, in an environment which inhibits creativity, ideas are ignored, teachers are controlling, and excessive structure exists.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the effects of principals' efforts to empower teachers and their effects on teacher motivation and job satisfaction and stress on teachers. But they focus on the negative effects of teachers' empowerment on teachers' motivation and stress.
Abstract: (2000). Principals' Efforts to Empower Teachers: Effects on Teacher Motivation and Job Satisfaction and Stress. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 349-353.
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of a school climate characterized by high levels of academic emphasis was examined and a conceptual model undergirding the measurement of academic importance was developed. But, the authors did not consider the effect of academic focus on student achievement.
Abstract: This research examines the importance of a school climate characterized by high levels of academic emphasis. Effective schools research is reviewed to develop a conceptual model undergirding the measurement of academic emphasis. In addition, social cognitive theory is employed as a theoretical framework explaining the development and effect of academic emphasis on student achievement. With the use of hierarchical linear modeling, the authors show that academic emphasis is important to differences among urban elementary schools in student mathematics and reading achievement. The relationship between current academic achievement and students’ prior achievement and demo- graphic characteristics is also modeled in this study.
Book•
14 Feb 2000
TL;DR: Charter schools are the most vibrant force in education today as discussed by the authors, and their legacy will consist not only of helping millions of families obtain a better education for their children but also in renewing American public education itself.
Abstract: Can charter schools save public education? This radical question has unleashed a flood of opinions from Americans struggling with the contentious challenges of education reform. There has been plenty of heat over charter schools and their implications, but, until now, not much light. This important new book supplies plenty of illumination.Charter schools--independently operated public schools of choice--have existed in the United States only since 1992, yet there are already over 1,500 of them. How are they doing? Here prominent education analysts Chester Finn, Bruno Manno, and Gregg Vanourek offer the richest data available on the successes and failures of this exciting but controversial approach to education reform. After studying one hundred schools, interviewing hundreds of participants, surveying thousands more, and analyzing the most current data, they have compiled today's most authoritative, comprehensive explanation and appraisal of the charter phenomenon. Fact-filled, clear-eyed, and hard-hitting, this is the book for anyone concerned about public education and interested in the role of charter schools in its renewal.Can charter schools boost student achievement, drive educational innovation, and develop a new model of accountability for public schools? Where did the idea of charter schools come from? What would the future hold if this phenomenon spreads? These are some of the questions that this book answers. It addresses pupil performance, enrollment patterns, school start-up problems, charges of inequity, and smoldering political battles. It features close-up looks at five real--and very different--charter schools and two school districts that have been deeply affected by the charter movement, including their setbacks and triumphs. After outlining a new model of education accountability and describing how charter schools often lead to community renewal, the authors take the reader on an imaginary tour of a charter-based school system.Charter schools are the most vibrant force in education today. This book suggests that their legacy will consist not only of helping millions of families obtain a better education for their children but also in renewing American public education itself.
TL;DR: In this article, an investigative world-widesurvey of the state and status of physical education in schools funded by the International Olympic Committee was carried out in 1998-9.
Abstract: Against a background of perceived threats to physical education, an investigative world-widesurvey of the state and status of physical education in schools funded by the International Olympic Committee was carried out in 1998–9. The survey findings, based on data collated from a globally administered semi-structured questionnaire and an extensive literature survey, reveal that school physical education is in a perilous position in all continental regions of the world. Specifically, the article addresses issues of legal status and actual implementation, restricted or decreasing curriculum time allocation, subject status and attitudes of headteachers, other teachers and parents, inadequacies in financial, material and human resources and teacher preparation, curriculum trends, as well as scepticism about the subject’s future. Concluding comments allude to the main sources of concern and international efforts to sustain physical education in schools in the next millennium.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present case study data on Mexican and Central American immigrant families residing in the greater Los Angeles area, focusing on parents' cultural models and practices of early literacy development of children.
Abstract: Parents' views of what literacy is and how it develops affect their structuring of everyday activities for children. This article presents case study data on Mexican and Central American immigrant families residing in the greater Los Angeles area, focusing on parents' cultural models and practices of early literacy development of children. The study has two general aims: (1) to describe immigrant Latinos' cultural model of literacy, its origin, and changes in this model associated with immigration and experiences with U. S. schools; and (2) to present a more nuanced perspective on home-school discontinuities that allows for within-group variation and dynamic change across time. Findings indicate that changes in home literacy practices, such as reading aloud to children in the preschool years, carried out in response to school expectations, were associated with parents' own schooling and literacy experiences in their countries of origin.
TL;DR: This paper examined variation in parents' management of their children's education within the home, at school, and in the community as a function of whether their children were experiencing academic success or academic problems.
Abstract: Using parents' answers to open-ended questions, we examine variation in parents' management of their children's education within the home, at school, and in the community as a function of whether their children were experiencing academic success or academic problems. Within the home, parents of high achievers used more specific strategies to help their children with their schoolwork and had more supportive conversations with their children than parents of low achievers. At their children's school, parents of high achievers not only were more involved but had different reasons for their involvement than parents of low achievers. In the community, more parents of high achievers explicitly engaged their children in activities to support their achievement than parents of low achievers. Implications for parents, schools, and communities are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper examined teachers' attitudes toward their included students with disabilities and found that they were significantly underrepresented in attachment categories and significantly overrepresented in concern and rejection categories, while greater experience teaching in inclusive classes was associated with higher rates of concern nominations for included students.
Abstract: This investigation examines teachers' attitudes toward their included students with disabilities. Seventy general education teachers of inclusive elementary classrooms nominated three of their students to prompts corresponding with the attitudinal categories of attachment, concern, indifference, and rejection. Consistent with predictions based on a theory of instructional tolerance, chi-square analyses indicated that included students with disabilities were significantly underrepresented in the attachment category, and significantly overrepresented in the concern and rejection categories. Greater experience teaching in inclusive classes was also associated with higher rates of concern nominations for included students with disabilities. Results are discussed in regard to their implications for inclusive policies and practice.
01 Dec 2000
TL;DR: Place-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Outdoor and Environmental Education Approaches as mentioned in this paper, is a place-based curriculum and instruction approach for out-of-distribution education.
Abstract: Place-Based Curriculum and Instruction: Outdoor and Environmental Education Approaches. ERIC Digest..................................... 2 OUTDOOR EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND PLACE-BASED EDUCATION:.......................................... 2 WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLACE-BASED EDUCATION?......................................... 3 WHY IS PLACE-BASED EDUCATION IMPORTANT?................... 4 WHAT ARE SOME SOURCES OF PLACE-BASED CURRICULUM? 4 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE DIRECTIONS.............................................................. 6 REFERENCES.................................................................. 7
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the characteristics of teachers (e.g., ethnicity, gender, relationship history) and children and found that the perceived attachment history was a significant predictor of the quality of child-teacher relationships.
TL;DR: The Comer School Development Program was evaluated in 10 inner city Chicago schools over four years, contrasting them with nine randomly selected no-treatment comparison schools as discussed by the authors, and the Comer schools implemented more program details than the controls but were not faithful to all program particulars.
Abstract: Using fifth through eighth-grade students, the Comer School Development Program was evaluated in 10 inner city Chicago schools over 4 years, contrasting them with nine randomly selected no-treatment comparison schools. Comer schools implemented more program details than the controls but were not faithful to all program particulars. Students' ratings of the school's social climate improved soon after the program began. By the last 2 study years, both the students' and teachers' perceptions of the school's academic climate had also improved relative to the control schools. By these last years, Comer schools had gained about 3 percentile points more than the controls in both reading and math and students reported less acting out on a scale whose items are correlated with more serious offending in later life. Students in Comer schools also endorsed more conventional norms about misbehaving and reported greater ability to control their anger. However, the Comer program did not benefit either students' mental h...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how dominant notions of heterosexuality underscore much of children's identity work and peer relationships and illustrate how boys and girls are each subject to the pressures of compulsory heterosexuality.
Abstract: Foregrounding the primary school as a key cultural arena for the production and reproduction of sexuality and sexual identities, this article goes some way to addressing what are absent from many sociological portrayals of young children and schooling. Drawing on data derived from an ethnographic exploration into children's gender and sexual identities during their final year of primary school, the article examines how dominant notions of heterosexuality underscore much of children's identity work and peer relationships. The article further illustrates how boys and girls are each subject to the pressures of compulsory heterosexuality, where to be a 'normal' girl or boy involves the projection of a coherent and abiding heterosexual self. The implications of recognising children's sexual cultures and the pressures to conform to a heterosexual culture are discussed briefly in the concluding section.
TL;DR: This article found evidence that the integrated series of post-visit activities resulted in students constructing and reconstructing their personal knowledge of science concepts and principles represented in the science museum exhibits, sometimes toward the accepted scientific understanding and sometimes in different and surprising ways.
Abstract: This article reports on part of a larger study of how 11- and 12-year-old students construct knowledge about electricity and magnetism by drawing on aspects of their experiences during the course of a school visit to an interactive science museum and subsequent classroom activities linked to the science museum exhibits. The significance of this study is that it focuses on an aspect of school visits to informal learning centers that has been neglected by researchers in the past, namely the influence of post-visit activities in the classroom on subsequent learning and knowledge construction. This study provides evidence that the integrated series of post-visit activities resulted in students constructing and reconstructing their personal knowledge of science concepts and principles represented in the science museum exhibits, sometimes toward the accepted scientific understanding and sometimes in different and surprising ways. A descriptive interpretive approach was adopted, with principal data sources comprising student-generated concept maps and semistructured interviews at three stages of the study. Findings demonstrate the interrelationships between learning that occurs at school, home, and in informal learning settings. The study also underscores for classroom teachers and staff of science museums and similar centers the importance of planning pre- and post-visit activities. The importance of this planning is not only to support the development of scientific conceptions, but also to detect and respond to alternative conceptions that may be produced or strengthened during a visit to an informal learning center. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed84:658–679, 2000.
TL;DR: This paper examined the beliefs of preservice elementary teachers toward science and science teaching, and found that negative feelings overshadow achievement in science as an influence on science teaching self-efficacy.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs of preservice elementary teachers toward science and science teaching. By examining prior experiences in science courses, as well as achievement in such courses, the impact of requiring preservice teachers to continue pursuing science course work could be better defined. An analysis of such beliefs may contribute important information and direction for preservice teacher education reform. An analysis of the interview responses yielded both interesting and, at times, predictable patterns. Descriptors used by study participants were overwhelmingly negative, suggesting that negative feelings overshadow achievement in science as an influence on science teaching self-efficacy.