Education Commons^™

Forced Isolation In An Era Of Inclusion Within U.S. K-12 Public School Communities, Cheryl Burleigh, Andrea Wilson

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront disparities and inequities in U.S. K–12 public school systems that affected both educators and the students they served—not only during school closures but also after in-person instruction resumed. The purpose of this scholarly essay is to shed light on the levels of isolation that occurred during the pandemic and still affect educators in K–12 public schools as they seek to foster academically rigorous and inclusive school communities. Recognizing, and then quickly responding to, historic events by implementing strategies that take into account the social determinants of learning and health is the starting point …

The Development Of The Protocol For Advancing Inclusive Teaching Efforts (Paite), Tracie M. Addy, Hamna Younas, Pelin Cetin, Fatimata Cham, Monica Rizk, Chidiebere Nwankpa, Manuela Borzone

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Inclusive teaching is instruction that fosters a sense of belonging, is equitable for a diverse student body, and shows students that they matter. Inclusivity is associated with positive student outcomes and is critical at institutions of higher education given the diversity of student populations. While there are a number of recommended practices for inclusive teaching, valid and reliable classroom observation tools that provide instructors with formative feedback on their instructional efforts are lacking. This article describes the development of the Protocol for Advancing Inclusive Teaching Efforts (PAITE). The PAITE was developed for formative purposes to provide higher education instructors with …

An Analysis Of The Texts In The Life Studies Textbooks In The Context Of The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child, Emrullah Akcan, Kemal Faruk Bakır

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

In this research, we analyzed the life studies lesson textbooks taught in Turkey as of 2019–2020 within the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Considering this purpose, we conducted content analysis using the document analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods. As a result, two themes emerged from life studies textbooks (LSTs), namely “the formation of the perception of children’s rights” and “the basic rights of immigrants and children with special needs,” and we developed a total of 17 codes belonging to these themes. We found that the texts in the LSTs …

Stressors, Coping Strategies, And Achievement During Teaching Practicum In A Nigerian Public University, Mensah Prince Osiesi, Udukhomose Suleiman Omokhabi, Sunday Ade Adeniran, Oluwayemisi Damilola Akomolafe, Oluwatoyin Tolu Obateru, Chigozie Celestina Oke, Adenike Lucia Aruleba

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study assessed pre-service teacher stressors, coping strategies, and achievement during teaching practicum in a Nigerian public university.

Method: The study adopted the quantitative case study approach. The population consisted of all 300-level students in the faculty of education in the university who had completed their teaching practicum for the first semester of the 2020–2021 academic session. The quota sampling technique was used in selecting a sample of 130 pre-service teachers. We analysed data using multiple regression.

Results: Findings revealed the stressors and coping strategies, controlling for gender, did not significantly predict achievement in the teaching practicum. Several coping …

Book Review: Engaging International Alumni As Strategic Partners., Osasohan Agbonlahor

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

About 1.1 million international students were enrolled in U.S. institutions in the 2019–2020 academic year (Institute of International Education, 2021). Given limited work visas and the ever-changing political climates that impact migration, most international students will return to their home countries and will be unable to remain connected with alumni activities in their former host countries. A few institutions have attempted to maintain relationships with these former international students through their alumni relations office. The book Engaging International Alumni as Strategic Partners offers innovative ideas and approaches on how institutions can effectively develop, grow, and sustain such programs of …

In Search Of Belonging Online: Achieving Equity Through Transformative Professional Development, Michelle Pacansky-Brock, Michael Smedshammer, Kimberly Vincent-Layton

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Abstract

Online classes hold the potential to expand college access to Black, Latino/a/x, Indigenous, and other students of color who must be supported to diversify the STEM workforce. Research shows that fostering belonging is key to the academic success of students from minoritized groups. However, online classes often lack interpersonal interactions and are often left out of research about the positive impacts of belonging. This paper summarizes an equity-focused STEM grant project that produced an openly-shared online professional development program, the Humanizing Online STEM Academy. Through the Academy, STEM faculty are introduced to a model of humanized online teaching that …

The Importance Of Digital Learning And Teaching In The Era Of Covid-19, Gary J. Burkholder, Erwin Krauskopf

Higher Learning Research Communications

We are pleased to publish the second regular issue (Volume 12, Issue 2) of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) for 2022. This year, we published two regular issues and a special issue, Education Technologies and COVID-19: Experiences and Lessons Learned. COVID-19 and the implications of the switch to emergency online teaching continue to capture the interest of researchers. In the present issue, some of the manuscripts focus directly on COVID-19; still others examine different aspects of digital teaching and learning. As is typical with the HLRC, articles represent the voices of academics from various parts of the globe, demonstrating …

Community Circles In Response To Restorative Justice Research And Critique, Hannah Edber

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Zero-tolerance discipline in schools has resulted in disproportionate referrals, suspensions, and expulsions for Black students, students with disabilities, and low-income students of color. Restorative Justice (RJ) seeks to intervene in these patterns by emphasizing community interconnectedness and a discourse of harm, accountability, and repair. Although RJ has been shown to increase school connectedness and decrease suspensions and expulsions, teachers and students using RJ (as a response to discipline issues) report varying degrees of satisfaction with the framework. Frustrations can include limited time and limited depth of conversations with students who have caused harm, so that root causes of behavior are …

A Recovery Pathway After Covid-19 Teacher Burnout, Laura Sokal, Lesley Eblie Trudel

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Burnout in the helping professions, including teaching, has been well documented for over fifty years and has been captured within two seminal models offered by Maslach and her colleagues. For this study we interviewed 22 teachers bi-weekly to determine whether these models captured their COVID-19 pandemic work experiences during the 2020–2021 school year. Only one teacher, however, left work on a medical leave and then returned to work after burning out, and therefore provided a case study of the processes of both teacher burnout and recovery under pandemic conditions. The existing models of burnout were upheld as salient in understanding …

Emergency Remote Teaching Versus Planned Remote Teaching: Narrowing The Gap With Targeted Professional Development, Bonnie J. Covelli, Sudipta Roy

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study reviews faculty members’ comfort level with remote teaching in the Fall 2020 semester to evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development workshops.

Method: Using survey research, we examined professional development activities and subsequent comfort level and ease of adjustment with remote teaching in Fall 2020.

Results: Following the training, faculty reported high planned usage of various online teaching tools and great comfort with using them. The data reveals some differences between part-time and full-time faculty members.

Conclusions: The experience gained in the emergency semester, combined with the targeted professional development workshops offered eased the stress of planned …

Leadership Skill Development In Master’S-Level Counselor Education, Charity A. Godfrey, Richard J. Cicchetti, Craig R. Blum, Gary Michael Szirony, Tamara Harris

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Student leadership identity is fast becoming one of the most critical challenges educational institutions face today. However, mental health counselors may be limited in the amount of education and training received as they become leaders in the field. There is currently no known mandate at the master’s level for leadership embedded within the counseling curriculum in the educational environment, although research suggests otherwise. The purpose of this correlational predictive empirical study was to investigate leadership identity characteristics as measured by the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale, Revision 2 (SLRS-R2), moderated by demographic factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine outcome …

Faculty And Student Online Mentoring Preferences, Lee Stadtlander, Arfe Ozcan, Latoya Johnson, Briana Nicholson, Narjis Hyder

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Isolation of online doctoral students intensifies when they transition from coursework to the dissertation/capstone phase, limiting them to interacting with their mentors. A three-round modified Delphi study was conducted to examine mentoring preferences of online doctoral students and faculty. The first round provided qualitative data regarding the preferred mentoring practices for faculty and alumni. Round 1 qualitative data were organized into Likert questions and used in the second round, which resulted in data about frequency of mentoring practices for the same participants from Round 1. The third round provided data about importance of each preference rated by faculty and current …

Dissertation Writing During Covid-19: Student Anxiety And Productivity, Christy Fraenza, Kimberly Palermo-Kielb

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Many students across all levels of education experienced disruptions due to stay-at-home orders as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of our qualitative study was to specifically explore the doctoral student experience managing the writing of a dissertation amid stay-at-home orders during COVID-19. The majority of participants reported experiencing anxiety more frequently during stay-at-home orders and more productivity before stay-at-home orders. Reasons for decreased productivity during stay-at-home orders included reduced motivation, distractions, and lack of access to outside services and support.

Availability Of Social Support, Coping Strategies, Student Stressors And Wellness Among Older Women Studying Online During The Pandemic, Stamatis Elntib, Lucy Edwards

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to explore the association between older women’s subjective perceptions of available social support, their coping strategies, self-reported wellness, and stressors experienced as online students studying during the pandemic.

Method: A convenience sample of 115 older adult women learners (Mean age = 40.88, SD = 11.27) studying online in March 2021 in one of the world’s largest providers of higher-education distance-learning courses was gathered using a survey methodology.

Results: Using structural equation modelling, we showed that perceptions of social support were associated with a higher use of positive coping and a lower use of …

Non-Governmental Organization/Non-Profit Organization Impact On Education Policy In Ghana, Sarah Ayikai Okine

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Non-Governmental Organizations/Nonprofit Organizations (NGOs/NPOs) are progressively becoming an essential source for government agencies in education worldwide. Developing countries such as Ghana have opened the way through regulations and policies for NGOs/NPOs to contribute to the educational system. Nevertheless, perceived threats and confrontations hinder their ability to support the Ministry of Education (MoE) and partner leaders to fulfill their duties in assisting the government in realizing comprehensive universal primary education. This qualitative case study responded to stakeholders’ perceptions of NGOs/NPOs influence on Ghana’s educational system to better comprehend the dynamic and power of NGOs/NPOs on education in Ghana’s rural communities. The …

Strategies For Creating Inclusive Learning Environments Through A Social Justice Lens, Beverly Araujo Dawson, Whitney Kilgore, Renee M. Rawcliffe

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Culturally situated and cross-cultural approaches to instructional design and research have become increasingly important in higher education, particularly in online learning environments. As higher education becomes increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, learning environments must be structured and facilitated to meet the learning needs of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) students. Based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) and culturally inclusive pedagogy, this paper provides an overview of inclusive teaching practices and the necessity to take a holistic approach to online teaching with BIPOC students. This paper provides an overview of key instructional design elements to achieve equity-minded instructional design.

Implementing Pbis With Fidelity: Secondary School Staff Members’ Descriptions Of School Climate, Tory Lawrence, Billie Jean Holubz, Michael Hixon, Kelly Paynter

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) is a schoolwide initiative implemented in many schools to address discipline concerns and promote a positive school climate. This phenomenological study examined the school climate perceptions of 12 staff members from three secondary schools in two North Carolina school districts that implemented PBIS with fidelity. All 12 participants favorably described their school climate after PBIS had been implemented with fidelity. Additionally, study participants reported improved discipline practices, as well as improved practices for acknowledging positive student behavior. This study’s findings fill a gap in the existing body of literature, regarding the implementation of PBIS …

Operationalizing Centerness And Measuring It In Professional Development Teams, George M. Nickles, Bruce Herbert

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Centerness is defined as a quality of multi-agent systems (groups) where agents share a common set of system goals and interact so the system will achieve those goals. A pair of measures is identified to capture the two dimensions of centerness: distance-weighted fragmentation and average goal centerness. As a case study, the measures of centerness are applied to six teacher professional development groups within the Information Technology in Science Center for Teaching and Learning. The calculated measures of centerness of these groups generally conform to the expectations. Insights on using this measure of centerness to evaluate centerness in other professional …

Experiences And Lessons Learned From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gary J. Burkholder, Erwin Krauskopf

Higher Learning Research Communications

We are pleased to publish our second special issue (Volume 12, Issue 0) of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first special issue (Volume 11, Issue 0), authors examined the experiences of the transition to emergency remote teaching by institutions of higher education globally. In the current special issue, authors examine, from the perspectives of different countries, the continued impact of the pandemic. Each article provides some indications of how the pandemic can impact higher education as it transitions back to models that include face-to-face learning.

Attitude Toward Physics Teaching Of Science Teachers: A Revised Scale And Analysis, Fikret Korur

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The first aim of the study was to apply the revised version of the Dimensions of Attitudes toward Science Scale, namely Dimension of Attitudes toward Physics Teaching Scale (DAPT) with a sample consisting of 207 in-service science teachers in Turkey. The second was to determine the percentage distributions of in-service science teachers’ attitudes toward physics teaching in the confirmed seven sub-dimensions. The DAPT is a valid and reliable scale to measure Turkish science teachers’ attitudes toward physics teaching. Most of the teachers acknowledge the importance of physics subjects in science lessons and believe that they have self-efficacy in teaching physics …

Book Review Of Rural Education In America: What Works For Our Students, Teachers, And Communities, By Geoff Marietta And Sky Marietta, Clifford Davis Jr.

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Marietta, G., & Marietta, S. (2020). Rural education in America: What works for our students, teachers, and communities. Harvard Education Press.

This review evaluates Geoff and Sky Marietta’s book, Rural Education in America: What Works for Our Students, Teachers, and Communities. As parents, community members, practitioners, and academics, the writers have a unique perspective on rural education. In this book, they seek to dispel the myth of the rural monolith of white poverty and social conservatism, arguing that rural communities and their challenges are far more complex and diverse than is presently reflected in the literature. This review …

Factors Influencing The Development Of Social Change Involvement, Linda Johanson, Patti P. Urso, Kimberly Priode

Journal of Excellence in Nursing and Healthcare Practice

How to cultivate and encourage the motivation to become an agent of positive social change has not been studied to a great degree. For example, what kind of factors influence the development and growth in nurses toward a desire to be involved in changing society for the better? Knowledge of these factors could help educators and nurse leaders provide and encourage those growth opportunities. The purpose of this research was to interview nurses known to be deeply involved in various types of positive social change and discover what factors influenced this development. Three overall themes emerged as influencing factors for …

Improving Computer Programming Competency For First Semester Computer Science Students Through Immersive Project-Based Learning, Ubaidah Ubaidah, Minaldi Loeis

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The objective of this research is to describe the implementation of project-based learning (PJBL) in improving computer programming competency in a higher education setting. The method applied in this study is action research with a one-cycle framework with four phases of development: a) planning, b) action, c) observing, and d) reflection phases. This research tries to answer two questions: how to implement PJBL in a programming course to improve programming competency and how to ensure students’ satisfaction in the learning process. The PJBL applied in this research consists of seven steps, including a) a challenging problem or question; b) sustained …

Effective Teaching Of Literature-In-English In Nigerian Secondary Schools: The Persistent Problems, Eucharia Okwudilichukwu Ugwu

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Literature-in-English is a major school subject that equips students with language and other soft skills needed for entry into the workforce. For students to acquire the skills, effective teaching, which is dependent on the availability of basic teaching–learning resources, is essential. Education is underfunded in Nigeria. This affects the quality of teaching and impedes learning. The rate at which students fail Literature-in-English, which is getting worse each year, indicates that there is a problem in the teaching–learning process. Using a mixed-method research design, this study investigated the problems of teaching Literature-in-English in 51 public senior secondary school in Ibadan metropolis, …

Class Size And Self-Esteem As Determinants Of Student Learning Outcomes In Essay Writing, Kehinde Olufemi Ogunyemi

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This study was carried out mainly to investigate the effects of class size and self-esteem on student achievement in—and attitude toward—English essay writing. The study was influenced by earlier research reports indicating that the large class sizes prevalent in Nigerian schools may be detrimental to student academic and emotional well-being. The study employed an ex post facto research design, as no attempt was made to alter the pre-existing conditions in the schools. Three hundred and thirty-five (335) Senior Secondary School 2 students from nine purposively selected schools participated in the study. An achievement test in essay writing (r = …

Assessing Companion Animal Attachment Among Future Latino Human Services Professionals, Yuleinys A. Castillo, Roy K. Chen

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

As the population of individuals from minoritized ethnic background continues to grow in the United States, the relationship between humans and their companion animals can provide valuable information for human services professionals. Attachment to companion animals can play a significant part in clients’ emotional well-being, family dynamics, and quality of life. This study aimed to examine the associations between human attachment with companion animals and their educational training and attitudes about animals. Analysis revealed that relational attachment was significant among Latino students in the study, and particpants’ positive attitudes and beliefs about animals significantly predicted their level of attachment to …

How The “Lessons Learned” From Emergency Remote Teaching Can Enrich European Higher Education In The Post-Covid-19 Era, Dimitrios Vlachopoulos

Higher Learning Research Communications

More than 2.5 years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lessons learned from the implementation of emergency remote teaching in (European) higher education, this essay reflects on how universities, governments, and policy makers can re-imagine higher education in the post-COVID-19 era. It envisions universities as inclusive, student-centered, and accessible organizations capable of meeting diverse learning needs through technology-enhanced high-quality academic programs. This can be achieved through wide-scale uptake of blended learning in higher education; capacity building for stakeholders on online/blended learning; consideration of the unique needs of its stakeholders; and a holistic quality assurance framework. The author’s …

Experiential Learning Of School Counselors-In-Training To Work With English Learners, Qi Shi, Cielo Cournoyer, Ashlei Randolph, Matthew Scheffenacker, Jasmine Brown

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

While the need for school counselors to support ELs is prominent, school counselors believed they were not well prepared to effectively work with EL students. To inform and strengthen our practice, we engaged in a practitioner inquiry study to understand the lived experiences of school counselors-in-training (SCITs) in an experiential learning activity to work with English Learners. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of classroom observations, SCITs’ reflection journal entries, and transcripts of a focus group: (a) SCITs’ perceived challenges, (b) strategies used to overcome challenges and (c) how this experiential training benefited their future work as a school …

Reflections On Inclusive Teaching, Michelle Pacansky-Brock

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The COVID-era has left a lasting impression on each of us. How are college educators applying the full complexity of these experiences to their work to make teaching and learning in all modalities more welcoming, meaningful, and fulfilling for everyone? This reflection opens a conversation about inclusive teaching and invites you to be part of it.

A Winning Approach: Teaching Science Communication Skills Through Small-Group Workshops, Serena B. Gumusoglu, Maria Noterman Soulinthavong, Jennifer Barr

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Research almost always culminates in the communication of findings. Despite the necessity of grant and manuscript writing throughout academic careers, scientific trainees often receive little guided practice in written communication. To fill this gap, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a voluntary writing initiative for biomedical students at a research-intensive (R1) university in the midwestern United States called Writing Initiative in Neuroscience (WIN).

Method: WIN consisted of didactic and workshop components. The didactic component included discussions with topic-specific experts on writing grants and manuscripts for the public and for non-academic scientific careers. The workshop component consisted of small group-based peer …