Education Research Report:
This Week's Education Research Report
This Week's Education Research Report
Counseling program reduces youth violence, improves school engagement
Study estimates program's benefits to society at 3 to 31 times its cost A new study by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools and local nonprofits Youth Guidance and World Sport Chicago, provides rigorous scientific evidence that a violence reduction program succeeded in creating a sizable decline in violent crime arrests among youth who participated in group counseling and mentoring. The Crime Lab study—by far the largest of its kind ever conducted—is unique in that it was structured like a randomized clinical trial of the sort regula... more »
Distribution of Teacher Quality Among Grades in Elementary Schools
The authors of this study, School Based Accountability and the Distribution of Teacher Quality Among Grades in Elementary Schools use North Carolina data to explore the extent to which teachers in the lower grades (K-2) of elementary school are lower quality than in the upper grades (3-5) and to examine the hypothesis that accountability contributes to a shortfall in teacher quality in the lower grades. Their concern with early elementary grades arises from recent studies that have highlighted that children’s experiences in the early school years have long lasting effects on their... more »
New Standards Could Impact Adult Education
State education departments throughout the country are, for the first time, in the process of agreeing on and establishing new and more demanding educational standards for kindergarten through high school. The nationwide trends and factors prompting this coordinated rise in education standards and accountability affect adult education as much as they will K-12, according to a recently published McGraw-Hill Research Foundation report, "Common Core State Standards: What Effect Could They Have on Adult Education and High School Equivalency Programs in the U.S.?" To date, 46 states, t... more »
Study on media violence and kids could have applications on school bullying
The April suicide of 14-year-old Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. -- a South O'Brien High School (Paulina, Iowa) student who was reportedly teased and bullied by classmates -- had Iowa lawmakers questioning the effectiveness of the state's five-year-old anti-bullying law. School officials can't always identify the bullies until it's too late. But a new study led by Douglas Gentile, an Iowa State University associate professor of psychology, may provide schools with a new tool to help them profile students who are more likely to commit aggressive acts against other students. Published in the ... more »
Postsecondary Tuition, Fees and Degrees
Between 2009-10 and 2011-12, the average tuition and required fees at 4-year public institutions (after adjusting for inflation) increased more for in-state students (9 percent increase) than for out-of-state students (6 percent increase). During that same time period, 4-year nonprofit institutions increased overall at 4 percent . However, for-profit institutions reported no increase. Findings are from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) fall 2011 data collection, which included three survey components: institutional characteristics for 2011-12 -- such as de... more »
Want to Get Teens Interested in Math and Science? Target Their Parents
Increasing the number of students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math – otherwise known as the STEM disciplines – is considered to be vital to national competitiveness in the global economy and to the development of a strong 21st century workforce. But the pipeline leading toward STEM careers begins leaking in high school, when students choose not to take advanced courses in science and math. Experts in research and policy have examined different ways to enhance and promote STEM education, but most of these efforts are focused within the four walls of the clas... more »
Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program Working Well
In 2007, the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to implement reforms designed to improve school leadership in the district. A major component of these reforms was the Pittsburgh Principal Incentive Program (PPIP). PPIP provided principals with support, such as professional development focused on leadership, feedback and coaching from their supervisors, and directed professional growth projects focusing on a topic of the principal's choice. The program also provided two types of monetary compensation: (1) an annual opportunity f... more »
Do Schools Challenge Our Students? What Student Surveys Tell Us About the State of Education in the United States
You might think that the nation’s teenagers are drowning in schoolwork. Images of sullen students buried in textbooks often grace the covers of popular parenting magazines, while well-heeled suburban teenagers often complain they have to work the hours of a corporate lawyer in order to finish their school projects and homework assignments. But when researchers recently examined a federal survey of students in elementary and high schools around the country, they found the opposite: Many students are not being challenged in school. Consider, for instance, that 37 percent of fourth-g... more »
Transferable knowledge and skills key to success in education and work
*Report calls for efforts to incorporate 'deeper learning' into curriculum* Educational and business leaders want today's students both to master school subjects and to excel in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, and communication -- abilities often referred to by such labels as "deeper learning" and "21st-century skills." In contrast to the view that these are general skills that can be applied across a range of tasks in academic, workplace, or family settings, a new report, Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Centur... more »
DEEP CONCEPTUAL LEARNING IN U.S. SCHOOLS
According to a new study examining deep conceptual learning (DCL) in middle and high school education, teachers and administrators believe that DCL is very important for preparing students for careers and college. However, many report that time pressures, curricula that are too broad, standardized testing, student attitudes, and lack of resources make it challenging to support DCL in their schools. These findings are part of a study, titled “Deep Conceptual Learning in Science and Mathematics: Perspectives of Educators and Educational Administrators,” released by Arizona State Uni... more »
Girls' mathematics performance more likely to suffer than boys' as a result of mathematics anxiety
If a train is travelling a distance of 55 miles at 150mph, how long will it take to reach its destination? If the thought of having to answer this question makes you apprehensive, then you may have mathematics anxiety. A new study published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions reports that a number of school-age children suffer from mathematics anxiety and, although both genders' performance is likely to be affected as a result, girls' maths performance is more likely to suffer than boys'. Mathematics anxiety is a state of discomfort associa... more »
This Week's Education Research Report 7-7-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Education Research Report: This Week's Education Research Report Study: physical education mandates not enough in most states Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 19 hours ago Children need quality physical education to combat obesity and lead healthy lives. Georgia elementary schools make the grade when it comes to providing that education, but middle and high schools in the state don't even come close, according to a University of Georgia study. A study by UGA kinesiology professor Bryan McCullick examined the mandates for school-based physical education in all 50 U... more »