Education Commons^™

2024 Merc Annual Report, David Naff, Jesse Senechal, Paula L. Ogston-Nobile

MERC Publications

This is the annual report of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University for the 2023-2024 academic year. It includes vignettes depicting MERC activities in the past year that align with each of its five principles: research, relevance, rigor, multiple perspectives, and impact. It concludes with a discussion of MERC's commitment moving forward.

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

Supporting And Sustaining Equitable Steam Activities In High School Classrooms: Understanding Computer Science Teachers’ Needs And Practices When Implementing An E-Textiles Curriculum To Forge Connections Across Communities, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

While the last two decades have seen an increased interest in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) in K-12 schools, few efforts have focused on the teachers and teaching practices necessary to support these interventions. Even fewer have considered the important work that teachers carry out not just inside classrooms but beyond the classroom walls to sustain such STEAM implementation efforts, from interacting with administrators to recruiting students and persuading parents about the importance of arts and computer science. In order to understand teachers’ needs and practices regarding STEAM implementation, in this paper, we focus on eight experienced computer …

Administrator Feedback To Teachers, Regina Frazier, Candace Wilkerson, Jacquie Cioffi, Patrick Simmons, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Thea Racelis, Amanda Simmons, Melissa Yancey, Deanna Fierro, David B. Naff

MERC Publications

This brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) curates peer-reviewed scholarship as well as state and school board policies in Virginia related to administrator feedback to teachers. It explores the following questions: 1) What is the purpose of administrators providing feedback to teachers? 2) How do administrators typically provide feedback to teachers? 3) How do teachers typically receive feedback from administrators? 4) What are research-based strategies for administrators to provide productive feedback to teachers? It concludes with key takeaways and recommendations for how administrators provide feedback to teachers.

Addressing School Bullying Since The Onset Of Covid-19: A Merc Research And Policy Brief, David Naff, Morgan Meadowes, Kim Dupre, Alicia Gaston, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Christina Tillery, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Lauren Powell, Deanna Fierro

MERC Publications

Among the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic is a shift in the nature and intensity of school bullying, perhaps symptomatic of the rapid changes and stressors that PK-12 students have endured since 2020. In this MERC research and policy brief, we explore how school bullying has changed since the onset of COVID-19 as well as research-based strategies for how educators and division leaders can best respond to it. The brief answers the following questions: 1) What is the nature of school bullying since the onset of COVID-19? 2) Which students have been particularly impacted by bullying since the pandemic? …

Strategies For Addressing Chronic Absenteeism In The Post-Pandemic Era, David Naff, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Morgan Meadowes, Kim Dupre, Zehra Sahin Ilkorkor, Jill Flynn, Jean Samuel, Christina Tillery, Meg Sheriff

MERC Publications

Although chronic absenteeism has been an enduring concern in PK-12 schools, it has doubled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To explore strategies for addressing this issue, this MERC research and policy brief answers five questions: 1) What are trends in chronic absenteeism pre and post-pandemic?, 2) What factors contribute to chronic absenteeism and which student groups are particularly vulnerable? 3) What are the connections between chronic absenteeism and other student outcomes? 4) What strategies are effective in reducing chronic absenteeism?, and 5) What are policies at the state and school board level intended to help address chronic absenteeism? …

Balancing The Benefits And Risks Of Ai Large Language Models In K12 Public Schools, Jesse Senechal, Eric Ekholm, Samaher Aljudaibi, Mary Strawderman, Chris Parthemos

MERC Publications

With artificial intelligence (AI) models rapidly emerging, the potential implications for K12 education are imminent. To illuminate the potential impacts on public schools, this MERC research brief answers the following questions: 1) What is AI? What are AI large language models? How do they work?, 2) What are the implications of large language models for teaching and learning?, 3) What are the main concerns with the use of AI large language models? What are the concerns for use within public schools?, 4) What are the considerations for school district policy on AI large language models?, and 5) What are the …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Between-Class Ability Grouping In Australia: Enduring Tensions, New Directions, Olivia Johnston, Becky Taylor

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Ability grouping of students into separate classes within a school can be called ‘between-class ability grouping’. This practice has persisted in Australia despite evidence that it is socially inequitable and does not improve academic outcomes. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature about between-class ability grouping in Australia from 2012-2022 reveals only N=28 papers that meet the inclusion criteria. These papers are critiqued and synthesised into four main findings that characterise Australian research about between-class ability grouping from 2012-2022. The findings reveal a lack of substantive inquiry with most studies having limited scope and drawing on outdated or overly generalised data. …

Unpacking "Giftedness": Research And Strategies For Promoting Racial And Socioeconomic Equity, David B. Naff, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Amy Jefferson, Michael Schad, Morgan Saxby, Kathryn Haines, Zoey Lu

MERC Publications

Giftedness as a construct continues to be contested in academia, in the classroom and around kitchen tables. It means different things to different communities and, as a result, acquiring the "gifted" label looks different around the country. Once labeled, student giftedness produces different responses depending on state and district guidelines. A constant among the patchwork of defining, identifying and responding to student giftedness, though, is a serious racial and economic disparity in who is considered gifted and who is not. This report provides key takeaways from research literature on gifted and talented (GT) programs. It is organized according to five …

An International Comparison Of K-12 Computer Science Education Intended And Enacted Curricula, Katrina Falkner, Sue Sentance, Rebecca Vivian, Sarah Barksdale, Leonard Busuttil, Elizabeth Cole, Christine Liebe, Francesco Maiorana, Monica M. Mcgill, Keith Quille

Conference Papers

This paper presents an international study of K-12 Computer Science implementation across Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Scotland and the United States. We present findings from a pilot study, comparing CS curriculum requirements (intended curriculum) captured through country reports, with what surveyed teachers (n=244) identify as enacting in their classroom (the enacted curriculum). We address the extent that teachers are implementing the intended curriculum as enacted curriculum, exploring specifically country differences in terms of programming languages and CS topics implemented. Our findings highlight the similarities and differences of intended and enacted CS curriculum within and across countries and the value …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Policy Insights

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

What Is 'Equity' In Education, Geoff N. Masters Ao, Ray J. Adams

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

Equity in education is often viewed as equivalence or sameness. A more useful way to view equity is through the lens of ‘fairness’.

District Strategic Teaming: Leadership For Systemic And Sustainable Reform, Thomas L. Alsbury, Margaret R. Blanchard, Kristie S. Gutierrez, Chris M. Allred, A. Dell Tolin

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Reform efforts in schools have become increasingly focused on the nature and direction of teamwork in efforts to achieve sustained and systemic districtwide capacity for innovation and needed change. The six-year study reported in this article involved development, implementation, and assessment of a unique collaborative process for districtwide reform in some of the most challenging and fluid educational settings in the United States of America. This reform process, called District Strategic Teaming, involved a representative vertical cross-section of members from the district office to school-based support staff. Participating schools are located in isolated, rural communities in the south-eastern region of …

Low German Mennonite Experiences In Alternative Education Programs In Southwestern Ontario, Cameron Brubacher

Social Justice and Community Engagement

Low German Speaking (LGS) Mennonites have had a tumultuous relationship with Canadian educational institutions in the past, resulting in many from the community migrating to Mexico in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, LGS Mennonites from Mexico and South America have been migrating back to Canada, with over 40,000 making their homes in Ontario. Many in Ontario, however, still have misgivings about public education. With such a large presence in Ontario, Ontario schools need to make sure that they are inclusive places for this minority group. This MRP utilizes open-ended interviews to hear the experiences and views of Low German Speaking …

University Rankings: Evidence And A Conceptual Framework, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Jacob Fowles, H. George Frederickson

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

University ranking has high public visibility, the ranking business has flourished, and institutions of higher education have not been able to ignore it. This study of university ranking presents general considerations of ranking and institutional responses to it, particularly considering reactions to ranking, ranking as a self-fulfilling prophecy, and ranking as a means of transforming qualities into quantities. The authors present a conceptual framework of university ranking based on three propositions and carry out a descriptive statistical analysis of U.S. and international ranking data to evaluate those propositions. The first proposition of university ranking is that ranking systems are demarcated …

Examining The Relationship Between School Climate And Peer Victimization Among Students In Military-Connected Public Schools, Kris T. De Pedro, Ron Avi Astor, Tamika D. Gilreath, Rami Benbenishty, Ruth Berkowitz

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In the Iraq and Afghanistan war context, studies have found that military-connected youth—youth with parents and/or siblings serving in the military—have higher rates of school victimization than their nonmilitary-connected peers. A positive school climate—where students perceive high levels of school connectedness, caring relationships and high expectations from adults, and meaningful participation—is associated with lower rates of victimization in secondary public schools. Based on a survey of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students (n=14,493) enrolled in six military-connected school districts (districts that have a significant proportion of military-connected students), this study explores victimization rates and the role of school climate, deployment, …

Icils International Computer And Information Literacy Study 2013: At A Glance: Highlights From The Full Australian Report – Australian Students’ Readiness For Study, Work And Life In The Digital Age, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley, Catherine Underwood, Elizabeth O'Grady, Eveline Gebhardt

ICT - Digital Literacy

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) is the first international comparative study that examines students’ acquisition of computer and information literacy: ‘the ability to use computers to investigate, create and communicate in order to participate effectively at home, at school, in the workplace and in society'. This publication includes highlights from the full Australian report called ICILS 2013: Australian students’ readiness for study, work and life in the digital age which is available for download from http://research.acer.edu.au/ict_literacy/6/

Snapshot Of School–Community Partnerships In Australian Schools, Sharon Clerke

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

Schools across Australia are increasingly connecting and engaging with community groups to create opportunities for their students. From marine parks to art galleries, radio stations to local councils, aged care to football clubs, neighbourhood houses to garden centres, the possibilities for collaboration are endless. Schools are reaching out into the broader community to build exciting and innovative relationships that are designed to have a positive impact on student learning.

This report describes some of the ways that schools and community groups are collaborating using information contained in Impact Award applications submitted by schools in 2010 and 2011. The NAB Schools …

Partnering For Success, Sharon Clerke

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

The NAB Schools First Awards are the result of a partnership between two not-for-profits, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), and a large banking corporation, the National Australia Bank (NAB). The Awards project is a national criteria-based awards program which has been rewarding outstanding school–community partnerships since 2009. These Awards reflect a significant investment in education and by 2013, the fifth year of the Awards, will have awarded over $18 million to support more than 500 school–community partnerships around Australia.

This report presents a snapshot of the impact the Awards program is …

Assessing Intern Impact Factors For Program Evaluation And Improvement, John Brady, Randy T. Busse, Jeanne Anne Carriere, Michael Hass, Kelly S. Kennedy

Education Faculty Articles and Research

We present the results of a program evaluation system for examining school psychology interns' impact on the academic and behavioral functioning of children. Outcome data from a variety of single-case problem-solving interventions conducted from 2008-2012 indicated overall moderate, positive effects. Global supervisor ratings indicated strong perceptions of the interns' positive impact on the children they served.

Phase One Of The Demonstration Project On Course Redesign And Academic Productivity : Final Report, Peter Bentley, Hamish Bennett Coates, Leo Goedegebuure

Higher education research

The objectives of the Demonstration Project on Course Redesign and Academic Productivity (the ‘Demonstration Redesign Project’) are to improve academic productivity and student learning. The project originated out of a series of executive seminars organised by the LH Martin Institute (LHMI) and led by Professor Bill Massy. These seminars highlighted successful academic productivity and student learning improvements achieved through course redesigns led by the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) in the USA. Building on early 2010 foundation meetings with NCAT in Washington DC, the Demonstration Redesign Project is a partnership between the two participating universities, James Cook University (JCU) …

Dispositions In The Twenty First Century School Library Profession, Sue C. Kimmel, Gail K. Dickinson, Carol A. Doll

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Within the school library profession there is an emerging focus on dispositions, defined as "a tendency to exhibit frequently, consciously, and voluntarily a pattern of behavior that is directed to a broad goal" (Katz, 1993). Directed focus groups of practicing school librarians were asked to articulate their vision for school libraries of the future. Data from these groups informed development of six dispositional continua to guide both school library education and school librarianship in the 21st century. This study clarifies the dispositions needed by school librarians in the future.

Evidence For Practice: Whole-School Strategies To Enhance Students' Social Skills And Reduce Bullying In Schools, Donna Cross (Ed.)

Research outputs 2012

While bullying behaviour is widespread and harmful in schools, research conducted at the Child Health Promotion Research Centre (CHPRC) at Edith Cowan University and elsewhere11 - 31 suggests bullying behaviour can be reduced. The CHPRC research team's ongoing empirical research, conducted since 1999, has focused primarily on what schools can do to effectively prevent and reduce bullying behaviour.

One of the most effective means to reduce bullying among young people is to enhance their social and emotional understandings and competencies, in developmentally appropriate ways throughout their schooling, using a whole-school approach. Friendly Schools Plus addresses the social and emotional learning …

Improving Educational Outcomes In The Northern Territory : Preliminary Advice To The Northern Territory Department Of Education And Training, With A Particular Focus On The Ongoing Improvement Of Students’ Literacy And Numeracy Achievements, Geoff N. Masters

School and system improvement

The primary focus of this review is on strategies for improving literacy and numeracy outcomes in the Northern Territory. Clearly, the role of school education is much broader than the development of students literacy and numeracy skills, but these are foundational skills on which almost all other school learning is based. It is also clear from research that low levels of literacy and numeracy by the middle years of school are associated with lower school completion rates and a range of post-school outcomes, including higher levels of unemployment, lower lifetime earnings, and poorer health outcomes. Although the primary focus of …

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

Irvine, M. Loula (Sc 1739), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1739. Teacher's grade book kept by M. Loula Irvine from September 1889 to January 1890 for an unidentified Kentucky school. Also includes some notes on elocution.

Civics And Citizenship Education In Schools In Afghanistan, Mohammad Tariq Habibyar

Master's Capstone Projects

This thesis focuses on the status of civics and citizenship education in schools in Afghanistan. My purpose for this study was (a) to understand what is taught about civics education in classrooms, (b) what concepts of civics education are addressed in the national curriculum and the text books, and (c) what role civics education plays in Afghan schools to produce productive citizens. My assumption is that schools have direct impact on civics understanding of the students and how they use their civics knowledge in everyday life. Civics education raises students’ political, governance, and social awareness and informs them about their …

Examining The Invisibility Of Girl-To-Girl Bullying In The Schools: A Call To Action, Suzanne Soohoo

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"It does not matter whether one is 13, 33, or 53 years old, but if you are female, chances are that other girls have bullied you sometime in your lifetime. Bullying is not the kind of abuse that leaves broken bones; rather, it is a dehumanizing experience that manifests itself in the form of rumor spreading, name calling, psychological manipulation, character assassination, and social exclusion. Female teachers who are former victims of girl bullies or who themselves have been complicit with girl-to-girl bullying, consistently casting a blind eye to this ritualized social degradation, allowing it to continue generation after generation. …

Comparison Of Grade Point Average Of Honor Senior Students And College Of Liberal Arts Senior Students At A Florida University, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Attrition rates in theHonor College program division of Florida Atlantic University have risen in recent years. It has been determined that even though a higher high school grade point average is required for admission into the honor program of the university, many applicants to the program were under-prepared to asumme the workload demanded of the students by the Honor College. The requirements for admission into the honor program of the Florida Atlantic University is an overall high school grade point average of 3.5 and a score of 1000 points on the SAT examination while the requirement into the College of …