THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK 

Education Research Report

Urban Adolescents’ Engagement and Disengagement in School

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1h

This study examines influences on urban adolescents’ engagement and disengagement in school by first interviewing 22 middle and high school students who varied in their level of engagement and disengagement. Support from adults and peers, opportunities to make choices, and external incentives aligned with greater engagement. In contrast, a strict disciplinary structure, an irrelevant and boring c

YESTERDAY

Head Start Teachers’ Professional Development, Well‐being, Attitudes, and Practices

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 19h

Early care and education (ECE) teachers shape children's daily experiences in many ways. Specifically, teachers’ well‐being, attitudes about child development, and teaching practices are central influences on children's learning. One crucial way ECE programs support teachers to enhance children's learning environments is through the provision of professional development (PD), but little research

Easing Fears About Shift to Middle School Can Pay Off in Behavior, Grades

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 23h

New sixth grade students who participate in a social intervention designed to relieve their transition-related fears are more likely to have better grades and attendance and fewer behavioral problems throughout middle school, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The interventions, taught in the form of reading and writing exercises, are targeted to ease sixth graders

AUG 01

Black male educators sound alarm regarding lack of diversity in P-12 classrooms

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

A diverse and inclusive education workforce can play a critical role in ensuring that students receive a robust, quality educational experience. While students of color comprise more than half of P-12 classroom populations in the United States, overcoming the shortage of educators of color has been a decades-long dilemma for U.S. schools. The shortage is especially alarming among Black male educa

School Segregation Worsens for Latino Children Compared with a Generation Ago

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

At the Same Time, Economic Integration of Poor Students across Races Improves Unexpectedly Latino children are likely to enter elementary schools this year with fewer white peers than a generation ago, judging by data reported in a new study published today in Educational Researcher , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association. However, as racial segregation has inte

Perry Preschool Project Outcomes in the Next Generation

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

Children of the low-income African Americans who participated in the 1960s program are more likely to have a high school degree and to be employed, and less likely to have been arrested. For several years in the 1960s, 58 low-income, African-American three- and four-year-old children attended a high-quality, free preschool program in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The children were randomly assigned to tre

JUL 31

Teachers Report Widespread Student Behavioral Disruptions but Sharply Diverge on Whether Consequences Demonstrate Racial Bias

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Complete report American schools are undergoing a dramatic shift in their approaches to school discipline, as states and districts have worked over the past few years to reduce student suspensions under federal guidance issued by the Obama administration. The results of a new survey released today show that teacher perceptions of the transformation are mixed. According to the survey most teachers

JUL 30

Study: Black students receive fewer warnings from teachers about misbehavior U

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

A new study of racial and ethnic disparities in school discipline found that black middle school students were significantly less likely than their white peers to receive verbal or written warnings from their teachers about behavioral infractions. "While at first glance, disparities in teacher warnings seem less concerning than being expelled or sent to the principal's office, warnings represent

Study shows power of refocusing student stress in middle school transition

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

A new study by education researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that proactively addressing students' anxieties with clear and cost-effective messaging early in the school year can lead to a lasting record of higher grades, better attendance, and fewer behavioral problems for sixth graders embarking on their stressful first year of middle school. Published this week in Proceedin

Stressed at school? Reducing teenage girls' headaches

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

IMAGE: During one of the sessions, the researchers asked the students to work together to create mandalas before (left, A and C) and after (right, B and D) participating in a... view more Credit: University of Washington Teenagers report higher levels of stress than adults, and cite school as the highest contributing factor, according to the American Psychological Association's annual report. A s

School segregation worsens for Latino children compared with a generation ago

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

American Educational Research Association Latino children are likely to enter elementary schools this year with fewer white peers than a generation ago, judging by data reported in a new study published today in Educational Researcher , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Educational Research Association. However, as racial segregation has intensified, low-income students of all racial groups

Students with a greater sense of school belonging are less likely to become bullies

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Research has shown that, despite great efforts, one in three children continue to experience bullying in school. However, research also has indicated that environmental and psychological factors might play an important role in minimizing bullying behaviors. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that students who feel a greater sense of belonging with their peers, family and sc

Vocational education in U.S. high schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Since the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, policymakers and politicians have worked to stave off a perceived decline in the academic preparation of American students. Stubbornly low scores on international exams and signs that many U.S. graduates are ill-equipped for college and the workforce have lent urgency to this perception, and many states have made high-school graduation requiremen

Focus School reforms emphasized school-needs assessments and aligned technical assistance had no measurable impact on school performance.

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

States that receive federal waivers to the No Child Left Behind Act were required to implement reforms in designated “Focus Schools” that contribute to achievement gaps. We examine the performance effects of such “differentiated accountability” reforms in Louisiana. These Focus School reforms emphasized school-needs assessments and aligned technical assistance. These reforms may have also been un

Corequisite Mathematics Remediation Works Better

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Traditional mathematics remediation is based on the theory that traditional mathematics remedial courses increase students’ subsequent academic performance. However, most students assigned to these courses do not pass them and thus cannot graduate. An alternative approach, corequisite remediation, assigns students instead to college-level quantitative courses with additional academic support, oft

What works best in STEM K-12 professional development

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

This study is a meta-analysis of 95 experimental and quasi-experimental pre-K–12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development and curriculum programs, seeking to understand what content, activities, and formats relate to stronger student outcomes. Across rigorously conducted studies, theauthors found an average weighted impact estimate of +0.21 standard deviat

Enhancing Engagement With Faculty and Staff to Facilitate Student Success: An Evaluation of a Parent Intervention

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Many low-income and first-generation students who enroll in college experience less desirable outcomes during their first year. Researchers have increasingly investigated the important role of college knowledge and engagement with faculty and staff for student success. Through a randomized controlled trial intervention, this study leverages the relationship between parents and students to encoura

JUL 29

Racial Differences in Student Borrowing

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

Recent trends in higher education financing have increased students’ need to borrow to afford college. This brief examines how federal student loan borrowing has changed from 2000 to 2016 by student race/ethnicity using logistic regression analysis and data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). The authors find that the odds of borrowing have diverged over time across racial

JUL 26

Comparing effects of educational interventions on literacy skills in Grade 1

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 8d

Two large-scale studies examined the effects of policy and educational interventions on literacy skills in children schooled in zones with specific educational needs. To calculate the potential effects of such interventions, treatment-effects estimators with nearest neighbor matching were used. In Study 1 with policy intervention ( N = 1095), children in experimental group (Exp) were assigned to

Education Research Report