Education Policy Commons^™

School Library Advocacy: Enhancing Opportunities For All Learners, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

There is a lack of consistency in how school librarians understand and engage in advocacy for their programs and the profession (Burns, 2015; Lance & Kachel, 2018). It is important that school librarians demonstrate the positive impact they contribute to improving instruction for student learners and advancing access so that all learners have equal opportunities. The school library and school librarian should be available to each student (Kachel, 2021). The School Library Manifesto (2021) includes language to support a strong school library with a qualified school librarian. Advocacy goals can be highlighted throughout this critical set of school library guidelines. …

Judith Shakespeare's Problem : Ssing Timss To Examine Contextual Indicators In Girls' Mathematics Achievement, Elizabeth Ann S. Kelly

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Data (TIMSS) 2015 dataset, this study examines 30 different contextual indicators to determine significant predictors of girls’ mathematics achievement globally. The study design employs three nested levels in the hierarchical linear model (individual, classroom, and nation) to analyze cross-national scores and responses to the contextual questionnaires. Additionally, the focus is on girls as a standalone, independent population, not in comparison to boys. This research seeks to understand at which level of society the most variability is found, as well as analyze the comparative effect sizes of various explanatory contextual predictors within …

Examination Of School Value-Added Growth By Student Population, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we assess the relationship between Arkansas’ school-level value-added content growth scores for student racial and programmatic groups. We find that on average, African American students receive lower growth scores than other student groups, and that African American elementary students demonstrated large drops in growth since COVID

Covid-19: A Developing Crisis For Quantitative Reasoning, Nathan D. Grawe

Numeracy

Assessment data show substantial learning losses resulting from pandemic-era teaching and learning. While all learning domains have been affected, mathematics performance shows particularly large losses among elementary and secondary school students. Advocates for quantitative reasoning in high schools and colleges should anticipate weaker levels of basic numeracy among entering cohorts for a decade to come. As a consequence, the urgency to reform curricula and student support has never been greater.

Gender Parity In Science: The Intersection Of The National Education Policy 2020 And The Draft Science, Technology, And Innovation Policy, Jyoti Sharma

Teacher India

With International Women’s Day observed on 8 March, Jyoti Sharma’s review of the National Education Policy 2020 and the draft Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy through the lens of gender parity is a timely reminder of the need to support improved participation of women in science.

Theater Over Textbooks: How A Neuroscience Outreach Group Utilizing Art In S.T.E.M. Provides Cost-Effective Strategies In Tackling The United States Education Gap, Camden Grant Howard, William Griesar

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to summarize the relevant research for the evaluation of a S.T.E.A.M.-based, grassroots, neuroscience outreach group called 'NW Noggin'. This paper discusses the benefits and skills of S.T.E.M. in learning, the benefits and skills of S.T.E.A.M. in learning, educational disparities within the United States, educational outreach groups how they are currently assessed as well as more innovative arts-based and inquiry-based alternative assessments of student knowledge. This paper then focuses on the nonprofit NW Noggin to discuss their goals and activities and possible options for program assessment. This thesis also discusses how they fulfill their civic …

Learning Science: Physical And Life Sciences In Curricula Across U.S. Schools Of Nursing, Valerie C. Sauda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nursing educators are being challenged to provide curriculum that meets the changing healthcare environment and demand for creative, innovative nurses to assist in transforming healthcare into the future (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010; Institute Of Medicine, 2011). The liberal education provided within a baccalaureate of science in nursing (BSN) degree program provides a diversity of courses within the curriculum, including courses in the natural, physical, mathematical, and social sciences (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). Although nursing programs have included science courses in curriculum since the early 1900s (Nutting & Dock, 1907), there is lack of nursing …

Why Domain-Specific Science Knowledge Matters In Teacher Certification: Focusing On Evidence For Effective Science Teaching, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The landscape of teacher preparation is complex. From a research perspective, how to prepare teachers presents as a multilevel, multivariable puzzle. For decades, federal and state policymakers, educational researchers, and administrators, along with teacher education institutions, school districts, and other stakeholders have tried to determine and measure the key malleable factors that result in effective teaching (NRC, 2010).

Periodically, state departments of education review secondary science teaching endorsement policy guidelines. As revisions occur, teacher educators in higher education and district administrators need to engage in a multidisciplinary discussion about:

1. the ways in which strong domain-specific science content knowledge contributes …

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

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

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 …

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

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

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, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Paul Weldon

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

Dr Paul Weldon

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 …

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

Pru Mitchell

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

Pru Mitchell

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 …

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

Dr Michael J Timms

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 …

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

Dr Michael J Timms

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, 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 …

A State-By-State Policy Analysis Of Stem Education For K-12 Public Schools, Courtney C. Carmichael

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

For practitioners and policy makers across the nation, STEM education has a vague definition. This study looks at how all 50 states define STEM education in policy, using four models: (a) Disciplinary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics); (b) Integrated STEM focusing on combining two or more disciplines to produce critical thinking, real world application, and creative problem solving; (c) the Disciplinary and Integrated STEM model that acknowledges both to summarize programs at the state policy level; (d) the model with no definition of STEM education. The final results include 10 percent of states use the first model, 42 percent use …

Opportunity To Learn Mathematics In Low And High Performing Countries : A Cross-National Analysis Of Teachers Enacting The Curriculum And Associated Factors, Treisy Romero Celis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This exploratory study compares the opportunities to learn mathematics intended and enacted between countries with high and low student average performance levels, according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). It analyzes the differences in OTL in relation to some of the factors that influence teachers’ instructional decisions. The analysis contributes to the knowledge about teachers’ role in the enactment of mathematics curricular policy and that of curricular governance.

Predicting Success Of Developmental Math Students, Isaac Martinez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Addressing the needs of developmental math students has been one of the most challenging problems in higher education. Administrators at a private university were concerned about poor academic performance of math-deficient students and sought to identify factors that influenced students' successful progression from developmental to college-level coursework. The purpose of this retrospective prediction study was to determine which of 7 variables (enrollment in a college success course, math placement results, frequency of use of the developmental resource center, source of tuition payment, student's age, gender, and race/ethnicity) would be predictive of success in developmental math as defined by a final …

Star Academics: Do They Garner Increasing Returns?, James Jeffrey Kline

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the criteria which help academics receive National Institute of Health funds (NIH). The study covers 3,092 NIH recipients and non-recipients in the same department or institute at twenty-four universities. The universities are drawn from those below the top twenty in terms of receipt of NIH funds. With regards to performance, non- recipients have lower performance than recipients. A key determinant of the receipt of NIH funds is individual performance, as measured by the number of articles published and average citations per article in the two years immediately prior to the grant application. Professors receive more NIH money …

Why The American Superpower Has Mediocre Educational Rankings, Madeline R. Hays

Undergraduate Research Posters

Although education holds implications for economic growth, scientific progress, and political participation, the United States remains on the lower end of educational quality compared to other industrial and first-world nations. Despite substantial efforts by the American government to mend this issue, reforms have yielded minimal improvement in results. Identifying the reasons for the declining nature of US education is essential in understanding how to improve the current academic state. Why has there been a decline in education quality in America compared to other first-world countries since World War II? In order to distinguish the characteristics correlating with low-achievement in the …

Practitioner Perceptions Of School Library Advocacy, Elizabeth Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

School library advocacy is increasingly important due to decreases in funding and staff. National organizations attempt to engage school librarians in advocacy and have developed resources and tools to assist with this task. However, there is little research examining how practicing school librarians engage in advocacy and how their advocacy efforts impact their library programs. This study explored school librarians’ perceptions of advocacy within the context of their school library setting. Findings suggest school librarians must continue to build relationships with stakeholders and create awareness for the school library position as they define the activities of advocacy unique to their …

An Evaluation Of Math Assessment Policy Process In A Southwestern School District, Alicia O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An Evaluation of Math Assessment Policy Process in a Southwestern School District

by

Alicia Taber O'Brien

EdS, Walden University, 2011

MA, Western Governors University, 2004

BS, New Mexico State University, 1994

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Teacher Leadership

Walden University

September 2015

This project study addressed the lack of evaluation of a math assessment policy in a rural elementary school district in the southwestern United States. This district implemented a math assessment policy in the spring of 2005, yet no evaluation had been conducted to determine whether the policy …

Exploring The Factors That Influence And Motivate Female Students To Enroll And Persist In Collegiate Stem Degree Programs: A Mixed Methods Study, Rosemary L. Edzie

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nationally, the need for an increase in interest, enrollment, and degrees awarded from science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree programs continues to suffer. While students are enrolling in collegiate STEM degree programs, it is not occurring at a rate that meets the workforce demand. In addition to the concern that there is not a sufficient amount of collegiate STEM majors, there is a concern over too few females enrolling and persisting in collegiate STEM degree programs.

This mixed methods sequential exploratory research study considered the factors that influence and motivate undergraduate female students to enroll and persist in collegiate …

Cosee Ocean Inquiry Group Report: Opportunities For Creating Lifelong Ocean Science Literacy, Paul Boyle, Vince Breslin, Lisa Craig Brisson, John Fraser, Alan J. Friedman, Katie Gardner, Sarah Schoedinger, Jerry Schubel, Steve Uzzo, Steven Yalowitz

School for the Environment Publications

This Inquiry Group Report for the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Ocean Communities in Education And Social Networks (COSEE OCEAN) provides a fresh look at how broader ocean science literacy can be developed, especially through less-recognized channels such as opportunistic learning, the private and “third” sectors, and the enormously varied activities under the heading of informal science education. The 10 authors of this report (see Contributors section) have been working together for two years to find and review a range of issues and resources for current and potential ocean science literacy providers, both professional and volunteer.

Several chapters provide …

Curricular Pathways To Algebra I In Eighth Grade, Melinda Rose Griffin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Transfer Of The U.S. National Parasite Collection [Announcement], Eric P. Hoberg, Anna J.. Phillips

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

In 2013, an agreement was articulated between the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Smithsonian Institution to transfer the National Parasite Collection (NPC) in its entirety (fluid specimens, slide specimens, frozen tissues, and reprints) to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. Current collections staff, including senior curator Dr. Eric P. Hoberg and support scientists/managers from the ARS, will be transferred with the collection and, with adjunct appointments in the NMNH, will provide continuity and assistance for curation and accessibility during and after the relocation. New curatorial controls will be established under NMNH …

The Association Between Elementary Teacher Licensure Test Scores And Student Growth In Mathematics: An Analysis Of Massachusetts Mtel And Mcas Tests, Life Legeros

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental value-added study provided evidence for the predictive validity of the Massachusetts MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Subtest by finding an association between the licensure test results of 130 teachers and the growth of their 2640 grade 4 and 5 students. The study took advantage of a natural experiment that arose due to a policy change made by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) in response to the initial administration of a new highly rigorous math-specific licensure subtest for elementary and special education teachers in March, 2008. The emergency amendment allowed test takers to conditionally pass the …