Educational Researcher 42卷6期文章

1. 2013 AERA Presidential Address: Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Role of the Intellectual in Eliminating Poverty

Author:William G. Tierney

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):295-303

Abstract:The author argues that the role of a public intellectual involves a science of knowing as well as the knowledge gained by a researcher’s work and life. Including both, the intellectual moves beyond educational organizations and finds ways to become more involved not only with larger issues of public policy but also with those with whom he or she is engaged. The assumption here is that to help reduce poverty a researcher’s focus needs to move beyond the ivory tower. By way of examples drawn from research pertaining to increasing access to college, the article highlights cognitive and noncognitive factors necessary for academic success.

………………………………………………………………………………

2. Different Teachers, Different Peers: The Magnitude of Student Sorting Within Schools

Author:Demetra Kalogrides andSusanna Loeb

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):304-316

Abstract:The authors use administrative data from three large urban school districts to describe student sorting within schools. Students are linked to each of their teachers and students’ classmates are identified. There are differences in the average achievement levels, racial composition, and socioeconomic composition of classrooms within schools. This sorting occurs even in self-contained elementary school classrooms and is much larger than would be expected were students assigned to classrooms randomly. Much of the racial and socioeconomic sorting is accounted for by differences in achievement, particularly at the high school level. Classrooms with the most low-achieving, minority, and poor students are more likely to have novice teachers. Sorting students by achievement level exposes minority and poor students to lower quality teachers and less resourced classmates.

………………………………………………………………………………

 3. Infusing Neuroscience Into Teacher Professional Development

Author:Janet M. Dubinsky, Gillian Roehrig, and Sashank Varma

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):317-329

Abstract:Bruer advocated connecting neuroscience and education indirectly through the intermediate discipline of psychology. We argue for a parallel route: The neurobiology of learning, and in particular the core concept of plasticity, have the potential to directly transform teacher preparation and professional development, and ultimately to affect how students think about their own learning. We present a case study of how the core concepts of neuroscience can be brought to in-service teachers—the BrainU workshops. We then discuss how neuroscience can be meaningfully integrated into pre-service teacher preparation, focusing on institutional and cultural barriers.

………………………………………………………………………………

4. Who Would Stay, Who Would Be Dismissed? An Empirical Consideration of Value-Added Teacher Retention Policies

Author:Marcus A. Winters andJoshua M. Cowen

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):330-337

Abstract:Several states have recently adopted or are pursuing policies that deny or revoke tenure from teachers who receive poor evaluation ratings over time based in part on quantitative measures of performance. Using data from the state of Florida, we estimate such value-added measures to consider the future effectiveness and number of teachers who would have been dismissed under different versions of these policies. Students assigned to teachers who would have been dismissed according to a value-added policy made considerably smaller academic improvements than did students assigned to teachers who would have avoided dismissal. Critically, however, we show that specific policy design determines the extent of the potential for value-added to improve the overall quality of the teaching workforce.

………………………………………………………………………………

5. The Impact of Uncapping of Mandatory Retirement on Postsecondary Institutions

Author:Sharon L. Weinberg andMarc A. Scott

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):338-348

Abstract:The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act passed by Congress in 1986 eliminated mandatory age-related retirement at age 70. Initially, all postsecondary institutions were exempt from the Act. Based on a report by the National Research Council (NRC), which forecast only a minimal impact of this Act on higher education, the federal government allowed the exemption to lapse; effective December 31, 1993, faculty would no longer be subject to mandatory retirement for age. Our results of an empirical analysis on nearly four decades of faculty data (from 1981 to 2009) from a large private metropolitan research university in the northeast contradicts that forecast and shows the extent to which faculty retirement behavior has changed following the enactment of the Act and the lapse of the exemption for higher education faculty. Although only 11% of faculty who were subject to mandatory retirement remained after age 70 (perhaps those with special arrangements), we find after the law changed that 60% of faculty no longer subject to mandatory retirement are expected to remain employed beyond age 70 and 15% will retire at age 80 or over. This is a dramatic shift in retirement behavior, one that was not forecast by the NRC committee. Our results also show how many years after the prior mandatory retirement age of 70, faculty now remain at their institutions. We also offer suggestions as to some of the potential reasons (consistent with the literature) why, since the change in the law, some faculty wait longer than others to retire, but we do so primarily to spur discourse, as these factors are based on our understanding of this institution. Our findings are limited to this single institution and do not imply a general trend for all postsecondary institutions. Additional studies are recommended to determine whether uncapping has had a similar effect at other postsecondary institutions.

………………………………………………………………………………

6. Leading via Teacher Evaluation: The Case of the Missing Clothes?

Author:Joseph Murphy, Philip Hallinger

, and Ronald H. Heck

Source:Educational Researcher, 2013, 42(6):349-354

Abstract:Over the last decade, teacher evaluation has moved onto center stage in efforts to strengthen schooling. In this article, we address the question of whether focusing on this administrative process is likely to accomplish what reformers hope. We answer that question by examining the available evidence, both direct and indirect. We deepen the empirical narrative that emerges there by highlighting workplace norms and conditions of work in schools.