American Educational Research Journal 50卷6期文章

1. Reducing School Mobility: A Randomized Trial of a Relationship-BuildingIntervention

Author: Jeremy E. Fiel, Anna R. Haskins, and Ruth N. López Turley

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1188-1218

Abstract:Student turnover has many negative consequences for students and schools, and the high mobility rates of disadvantaged students may exacerbate inequality. Scholars have advised schools to reduce mobility by building and improving relationships with and among families, but such efforts are rarely tested rigorously. A cluster-randomized field experiment in 52 predominantly Hispanic elementary schools in San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, tested whether student mobility in early elementary school was reduced through Families and Schools Together (FAST), an intervention that builds social capital among families, children, and schools. FAST failed to reduce mobility overall but substantially reduced the mobility of Black students, who were especially likely to change schools. Improved relationships among families help explain this finding.

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2. Do Summer Time-Use Gaps Vary by Socioeconomic Status?

Author: Seth Gershenson

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1219-1248

Abstract:Several scholars have suggested that differential rates of summer learning loss contribute to the persistence of achievement gaps between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. To better understand the possible determinants of summer learning loss, a test for summer-specific differences by socioeconomic status (SES) in children’s time spent in activities related to cognitive development and parental time spent interacting with children is conducted using data from two time-diary surveys: the Activity Pattern Survey of California Children and the American Time Use Study. Tobit-model estimates provide evidence of statistically and practically significant summer-SES time-use gaps, most notably in children’s television viewing.

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3. Is Separate Always Unequal? A Philosophical Examination of Ideas of Equality in Key Cases Regarding Racial and Linguistic Minorities in Education

Author: Karen D. Thompson

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1249-1278

Abstract:Advocates for language minority students depict the movement for language minority students’ rights as an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, which focused initially on securing rights for racial minorities. This article examines whether the same conceptions of equality and legal remedies apply for both groups. Building on Berlin’s notions of negative and positive liberty, I identify two conceptions of equality evoked in key legal cases regarding racial and linguistic minorities: negative equality, which consists of removing morally untenable discriminatory practices to ensure equality via similar treatment, and positive equality, which consists of ensuring equality by customizing treatment depending on a group’s particular needs. While these two conceptions of equality may appear at odds, I propose that the least restrictive environment standard, emanating from disability law, can serve to reconcile the two, holding that negative equality is paramount but positive equality may sometimes be necessary in time-bound, limited contexts.

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4. Teaching Bible in Public High Schools: Toward a Conception of Educational Legitimacy

Author: Walter Feinberg andRichard A. Layton

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1279-1307

Abstract:This article reports on the movement to teach Bible courses in the public schools and proposes a set of principles that would enable teachers to do so in educationally legitimate ways. In the first part, we argue the need for standards of educational legitimacy to complement the norms of Constitutional permissibility. We argue that the guidance offered by the courts’ interpretations of the first amendment, while helpful for deciding legal issues, is often too blunt to guide teachers and administrators. The second part of this article articulates three principles that should constitute key elements of educational legitimacy and uses our own field work in Bible classes from different regions of the country to illustrate their utility. Our conception of educational legitimacy is bounded. It provides minimal standards. Legitimacy as we conceive it should not be confused with developing higher-order interpretive and analytic skills, skills associated with best practices. Rather legitimacy stands to these skills as the skills required to pass a driving test stand to the skills used in winning the Indianapolis 500. The former, while necessary for the latter, should not be equated with them. Our job here is to establish a floor that can be used as a guide to help teachers as a collective reflect on the professionalism of their own practices. It is not to propose a ceiling.

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5. Advancing Academic Achievement Through Career Relevance in the Middle Grades: A Longitudinal Evaluation of CareerStart

Author: Michael E. Woolley, Roderick A. Rose, Dennis K. Orthner, Patrick T. Akos,and Hinckley Jones-Sanpei

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1301-1335

Abstract:Research and theory suggest that students learn more effectively when they perceive course content as relevant to their futures. The current research assessed the impact of CareerStart, a middle grades instructional strategy designed to advance the occupational relevance of what students are being taught in the core subjects—math, science, language arts, and social studies. CareerStart was introduced randomly in 7 of 14 middle schools in a diverse district with 3,295 students followed for 3 years. The analyses examined impact on end-of-grade test scores on math and reading exams. Findings confirm a significant treatment effect for math performance but no effect for reading performance.

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6. Effect of Retention in First Grade on Parents’ Educational Expectations and Children’s Academic Outcomes

Author: Jan N. Hughes, Oi-Man Kwok, and MyungHeeIm

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1336-1359

Abstract:The effect of retention in first grade (Year 1) on parents’ educational expectations was tested in a sample of 530 ethnically diverse and academically at risk children. Participants attended one of three school districts in Texas. Of the 530 children, 118 were retained in first grade. Retention had a negative effect on parent expectations in Year 2, which was maintained in Year 3. Year 2 parent expectations partially mediated the effect of retention in first grade on Year 3 reading and math achievement and child academic self-efficacy. All effects controlled for Year 1 measures of the outcome. Results were similar across gender, economic adversity, and ethnicity. Implications for minimizing the negative effect of retention on parents’ expectations are suggested.

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7. Teachers’ Support of Students’ Vocabulary Learning During Literacy Instruction in High Poverty Elementary Schools

Author: Joanne F. Carlisle, Ben Kelcey, and Dan Berebitsky

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1360-1391

Abstract:The purpose of this study was to examine third-grade teachers’ support for students’ vocabulary learning in high poverty schools characterized by underachievement in reading. We examined the prevalence and nature of discourse actions teachers used to support vocabulary learning in different literacy lessons (e.g., phonics); these actions varied in the cognitive demands placed on the students. Results showed that teachers rarely engaged students in cognitively challenging work on word meanings. Various lesson features and student and teacher characteristics were associated with teachers’ support for students’ vocabulary learning (e.g., teachers’ knowledge about reading). A major finding was that the extent of teachers’ support of their students’ vocabulary learning was significantly related to gains in reading comprehension across the year.

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8. Retained Students and Classmates’ Absences in Urban Schools

Author: Michael A. Gottfried

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1392-1423

Abstract:Research in grade retention has predominantly focused on the effect of this practice on the retained student. This study contributes to the limited body of research examining the effect of retained classmates on the outcomes of other students in the same classroom. Using a longitudinal data set of all elementary school students in a large urban school district, this study evaluates how the percentage of retained classmates affects other students’ absence patterns, both unexcused and excused. Focusing on absences as an outcome is key, as they signal educational disengagement and highly correlate with schooling and lifelong success. Based on quasi-experimental methods, the results indicate that a greater percentage of retained classmates increases other students’ absences. The effect is only present on unexcused absences, not excused absences, hence signaling an increase in disengagement in other students. Individual- and classroom-level moderating effects are evaluated, and policy implications for classroom assignment are discussed.

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9. Beyond Breadth-Speed-Test: Toward Deeper Knowing and Engagement in an Advanced Placement Course

Author: Walter C. Parker, Jane Lo, Angeline Jude Yeo, Sheila W. Valencia, Diem Nguyen,Robert D. Abbott, Susan B. Nolen, John D. Bransford, and Nancy J. Vye

Source:American Educational Research Journal, 2013, 50(6): 1122-1151

Abstract:

We report a mixed-methods design experiment that aims to achieve deeper learning in a breadth-oriented, college-preparatory course—AP U.S. Government and Politics. The study was conducted with 289 students in 12 classrooms across four schools and in an “excellence for all” context of expanding enrollments in AP courses. Contributions include its investigation of a model of deeper learning, development of a test to assess it, and fusion of project-based learning with a traditional curriculum. Findings suggest that a course of quasi-repetitive projects can lead to higher scores on the AP test but a floor effect on the assessment of deeper learning. Implications are drawn for assessing deeper learning and helping students adapt to shifts in the grammar of schooling.