Education Commons^™

Assessment Of Teacher Dispositions With The Etq2: A Guided-Reflection And Rasch Model Analysis, W. Steve Lang, Lasonya L. Moore, Judy Wilkerson

LaSonya Moore

School Choice: Structured Through Markets And Morality, Thomas J. Lasley, Carolyn Ridenour

Carolyn S. Ridenour

School choice is increasingly promulgated as a promising education reform policy for failing urban schools, but no solid evidence has yet shown the promise fulfilled. The authors argue that choice based on market theory without a moral center is insufficient. Without a moral foundation, such market-driven choice programs may actually disadvantage some children further. A market approach, absent a moral perspective, fails to encompass all the necessary dimensions for an educational system that can fulfill the traditional commitment to the common good and effectively serve all urban children, their families, and society. Six moral principles are offered along with examples …

'Divertual' Learning In Education Leadership: Implications Of Teaching Cultural Diversity Online Vs. Face To Face, Carolyn Ridenour, A. Llewellyn Simmons, Timothy J. Ilg, A. William Place

Carolyn S. Ridenour

What are the consequences of this teaching-learning situation when graduate students in a Department of Educational Leadership are enrolled in a course on cultural diversity? Might the words on the computer screen be completely unrelated to the humanity, personality, style, interpersonal behaviors, and dispositions of the student writing them, as Menand suggests? Or, might the detachment provide a security in which the most honest and unadulterated discourse can be shared between teacher and students, as some proponents hope? In this chapter we explore responses to this dilemma. We attempt to capture this situation in our label: "divertual learning," a neologism …

Religious Freedom In A Brave New World: How Leaders In Faith-Based Schools Can Follow Their Beliefs In Hiring, Charles J. Russo

Charles J. Russo

A confluence of litigation at the Supreme Court raises important, yet potentially conflicting, questions about the freedom of employers in religious schools1 to hire teachers and staff members. On the one hand, in Hosanna-Tabor v. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission,2 a unanimous Court reasoned that the ministerial exception granted religious leaders alone the authority to choose who is qualified to teach in their schools. On the other hand, the Court’s rulings on same sex-unions seem to be ushering in a brave new world. For example, in United States v. Windsor,3 the Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act thereby requiring …

Mass Media Created Stereotypes: Influence On Student Learning, Nasser Razek, Ghada M. Awad

Nasser Razek

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the case of Saudi students at Riversdale State University (a pseudonym) with regard to the influence of the stereotype threat (McGlone & Aronson, 2007) created by TV and newspaper coverage when presenting images of Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, or the Muslim world. The study also aims at revealing the effects that the perception of the aforementioned stereotype can have on the academic success, social integration, and persistence of Saudi students. The research follows the qualitative approach to reveal the human aspects of the case and the degree of intensity that …

Friendships And Retention At A Historically Black University: A Quantitative Case Studyno Title, Mondrail Myrick, John Gipson, Donald Mitchell

Youth Participatory Action Research And The Future Of Education Reform, Oiyan Poon, Jacob Cohen

OiYan Poon

This article presents a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study, which was conducted through a theoretical lens incorporating the social justice youth policy framework and Critical Race Theory. Led by youth from the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA), the study explored the impacts of post-Katrina school reforms on student experiences at six New Orleans high schools. The findings from the study exposed troubling educational disparities by race, class, limited English status, and geography. The YPAR project’s results counter neoliberal reform advocates’ narrative of a post-Katrina New Orleans school “miracle.” This article illuminates YPAR as both research method and pathway …

Urban Education Reform- Case Study: North Forest Independent School District, Jay Aiyer, Michael Adams, Subria Lapps

Jay K Aiyer

Education reformers and advocates have conducted extensive studies and produced significant research around various models of school turnaround and reform. As a case study for policy in relation to models for school district turnaround, we will explore Houston’s North Forest Independent School District (NFISD). The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, as a study of policy we will retroactively explore the key factors that led to the proposed closure of NFISD. Second, using existing strategies of school turnaround, we will explore potential models of reform that may be applied to NFISD. Third, we will discuss biases and recommendations concerning …

The Impact Of An Experiential Instructional Design On College Student Development, James Sottile, George Watson

George R Watson

Although there is a lack of research regarding the impact of ropes courses on student development, this paper states that there is significant information on this experiential learning experience contributing to student retention. It describes research designed to study how an experiential ropes course can impact undergraduate male and female (18 to 26 years old) student development among students attending a university in a rural area of a Mideastern state. Along with survey data, observations, and journal writings, the students completed open-ended questions about their experiences on the final paper and were interviewed. When the data was analyzed from a …

Council-Manager Government At 100: Facilitative Governance & Citizenship Ethics In The Administrative State, Vera Vogelsang-Coombs, Lawrence Keller, Sylvester Murray

Sylvester Murray

No abstract provided.

Working Students’ Perceptions Of Paying For College: Understanding The Connections Between Financial Aid And Work, Mary Ziskin, Mary Ann Fischer, Vasti Torres, Beth Pellicciotti, Jacquelyn Player-Sanders

Mary B. Ziskin

For many students at urban commuter colleges, the process of financial aid is unknown or mysterious; and so they work—often many hours a week—to pay expenses that financial aid might have covered. Missteps, unforeseen events, and limited resources can have severe consequences for the academic progress of these students. The broader study, of which this paper is a part, represents an effort to explore and describe students’ college-going, working, family responsibilities, and academic success at three commuter institutions in a metropolitan region in the Midwest. The encompassing project aims to introduce new qualitative data and situated description into the study …

Institutional Merit-Based Aid And Student Departure: A Longitudinal Analysis, Jacob P. K. Gross, Don Hossler, Mary B. Ziskin, Matthew S. Berry

Mary B. Ziskin

The use of merit criteria in awarding institutional aid has grown considerably and, some argue, is supplanting need as the central factor in awarding aid. Concurrently, the accountability movement in higher education has placed greater emphasis on retention and graduation as indicators of institutional success and quality. In this context, this study explores the relationship between institutional merit aid and student departure from a statewide system of higher education. We found that, once we account for self-selection to the extent possible, there was no significant relationship. By contrast, need-based aid was consistently related to decreased odds of departure.

Mass Media Created Stereotypes: Influence On Student Learning, Nasser Razek, Ghada M. Awad

Nasser A Razek

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the case of Saudi students at Riversdale State University (a pseudonym) with regard to the influence of the stereotype threat (McGlone & Aronson, 2007) created by TV and newspaper coverage when presenting images of Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, or the Muslim world. The study also aims at revealing the effects that the perception of the aforementioned stereotype can have on the academic success, social integration, and persistence of Saudi students. The research follows the qualitative approach to reveal the human aspects of the case and the degree of intensity that …

Success In These Schools? Visual Counternarratives Of Young Men Of Color And Urban High Schools They Attend, Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D.

Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D.

The overwhelming majority of published scholarship on urban high schools in the United States focuses on problems of inadequacy, instability, underperformance, and violence. Similarly, across all schooling contexts, most of what has been written about young men of color continually reinforces deficit narratives about their educational possibility. Taken together, images of Black and Latino male students in inner-city schools often manufacture dark, hopeless visualizations of imperiled youth and educational environments. Using photographic data from a study of 325 college-bound juniors and seniors attending 40 public New York City high schools, this article counterbalances one-sided mischaracterizations of young men of color …

Developing Counselor Self-Efficacy While Supporting At-Risk Youth: Partnership Between Umass Boston, Techboston Academy, And Urban Science Academy, Robert Gracia, Laura A. Hayden, Amy L. Cook, Allie Scherer

Laura A Hayden

Targeted supervision was used to develop counseling trainees’ self-efficacy when working with urban youth. Interview findings suggested that intentional strategies to develop urban self-efficacy were effective. While inferential statistics identified that urban fieldwork contributed to counselors’ self-efficacy, intentional strategies were not necessarily beneficial. This study yields implications for counselor educators who are incorporating field work into their graduate programs.

A Social Justice Approach: Exploring Umass Boston’S Service Learning Partnership With The Boston Public Schools To Develop High School Students’ College And Career Readiness, Laura Hayden, Amy Cook, Robert Gracia, Jason Youmatz, Elizabeth Walsh

Laura A Hayden

Through partnership with two BPS high schools, school counseling graduate students engage in service learning and participate in organized experiences that meet school needs and are coordinated with graduate students' learning goals. School counseling students meet with BPS students individually and through classroom interventions to assist in the college/career process and prepare them for post-secondary educational options. This session will describe the partnership, including direct experiences shared by graduate students.

Urban Education Reform- Case Study: North Forest Independent School District, Jay K. Aiyer, Michael O. Adams, Subria Lapps

Michael O Adams

Education reformers and advocates have conducted extensive studies and produced significant research around various models of school turnaround and reform. As a case study for policy in relation to models for school district turnaround, we will explore Houston’s North Forest Independent School District (NFISD). The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, as a study of policy we will retroactively explore the key factors that led to the proposed closure of NFISD. Second, using existing strategies of school turnaround, we will explore potential models of reform that may be applied to NFISD. Third, we will discuss biases and recommendations concerning …

Examining Media Bias Surrounding Black Higher Education: The Dominant Culture’S Portrayal Of Historically Black Colleges In The Media, Charmaine E. Troy

Dr. Charmaine E. Troy

In recent years, an examination of the media’s coverage of historically black colleges portrays endless skepticism about the accountability and academic inferiority of HBCUs. Various media outlets have questioned the continued need of HBCUs in post racial society. Gasman (2006) argues that articles in the media have gained national attention, often jeopardizing the recruitment efforts, fundraising success and long term existence of these institutions (p.112). The current study examines the bias evident in the portrayal of historically black colleges in the media. This critical analysis examines the bias evident in the portrayal of historically black colleges in the media. I …

Grow, Inspire, Connect, Nurture, Thrive, Ritai Su, Nancy Valdes, Rosa Berry

Rosa Berry, Nancy Valdes,Ritai Su

Abstract of Study This Participatory Action Research (PAR) Project examines effects of parental/teacher collaboration on parental participation. The study incorporated surveys, interviews, blogs, and focus groups from parents in Miami. This data brought forth important aspects of collaboration parents deemed important. We used data to create workshop style meetings to address these deficits.

Principles Of Leading Change: An Inductive Analysis From Post-Katrina New Orleans, Brian R. Beabout

Brian R. Beabout

Despite over forty years of research on theories of educational change, little is known of the change theories-in-use of school-based administrators, often tasked with implementing externally imposed reform mandates. Capitalizing on the unique case of post-Katrina schooling, this qualitative study examines the ways in which ten principals spoke about leading change in their schools. In a city where the district has been almost wholly decentralized, these principals are not implementing changes decided upon by superiors, but have significant autonomy in their choice of change goals and change processes. Despite rarely finding unitary theories of change in the words of New …

Empty Seats: Addressing The Problem Of Unfair School Discipline For Boys Of Color, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

No abstract provided.

The Promise Of Education: Reversing The High School Dropout Crisis For Boys And Young Men Of Color, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

No abstract provided.

Catholic Schools, Urban Neighborhoods, And Education Reform, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Margaret F Brinig

This Article explores the implications of a dramatic shift in the American educational landscape—the rapid disappearance of Catholic schools from urban neighborhoods. Primarily because of their strong track record of educating disadvantaged children, these school closures are a source of significant concern in education policy circles. While we are inclined to agree that Catholic school closures contribute to a broader educational crisis, this Article does not address well-rehearsed debates about educational outcomes. Rather than focusing on the work done inside the schools, we focus on what goes on outside them. Specifically, using three decades of data from the Project on …

Uneven Ground: Examining Systemic Inequities That Block College Preparation For African American Boys, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

No abstract provided.

Home Gardening: Quick Tips To Efficient Watering, Roslynn Brain

Roslynn Brain

In Utah’s dry climate, water is a gardener’s best friend. Water conservation is an important aspect of the home garden, and understanding efficient water management techniques can save you time and money. Knowing how to water properly will help you to maintain a more productive, sustainable garden and help the environment by reducing your consumption of this precious resource.

Urban Edibles: Weeds, Roslynn Brain

Roslynn Brain

They invade your garden, tap your soil’s precious nutrients and grow quicker than lightning strikes. If you can’t beat them, eat them! Increase your garden’s yield by identifying the edible weeds and adding them to your harvest. *Indicates undergraduate student.

Reconciling Student Outcomes And Community Self-Reliance In Modern School Reform Contexts, Brian Beabout, Andre Perry

Brian R. Beabout

Education for African Americans has historically been linked to the broad movement to improve their lot in life. Ceaselessly, from slavery and Jim Crow, toward full membership in American society, schooling was as much about academic learning as it was for ensuring the sustainability of the community in which the school was situated. This chapter provides a theoretical examination of the impact of these differing sets of values (student outcomes vs. community self-determination) and suggests a conceptual road map for improvement based heavily on our work with public schooling in post-Katrina New Orleans, perhaps the American city where test-based accountability …

The Legal Impact Of Emerging Governance Models On Public Education And Its Office Holders, Robert A. Garda Jr., David Doty

Robert A. Garda

The idea that changing the formal structure of governance can lead to better schools is rooted in American political and intellectual history. Politicians, career educators, parents, business leaders, and investors continue to wrangle over the control of public schools all across the country. With these battles for control have come more lawsuits, more laws, and more administrative regulations dictating the governance structures of educational institutions. Indeed, one could argue that, in recent years, debates over how schools and school districts should be governed have subsumed the curriculum debates over how and what children should be taught. Leadership matters, and therefore …

Tsundoku? Bibliomania? Reading, Writing And How It Changed My Life, Nicholas Daniel Hartlep

Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Women Of African Descent: Persistence In Completing A Doctorate, Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

This study examines the educational persistence of women of African descent (WOAD) in pursuit of a doctorate degree at universities in the southeastern United States. WOAD are women of African ancestry born outside the African continent. These women are heirs to an inner dogged determination and spirit to survive despite all odds (Pulliam, 2003, p. 337).This study used Ellis’s (1997) Three Stages for Graduate Student Development as the conceptual framework to examine the persistent strategies used by these women to persist to the completion of their studies.