American Educational Research Journal 53卷2期

1. It’s the Quality Not the Quantity of Ties That Matters: Social Networks and Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Author: Michael D. Siciliano

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 227-262.

Abstract:

This study explores the role of knowledge access and peer influence as mechanisms by which networks may shape teacher self-efficacy. The basic premise is twofold: (a) that peer interaction provides opportunities to access teaching relevant knowledge and thus may reduce uncertainty and (b) that self-efficacy beliefs may be shaped by the efficacy beliefs of the peers one is directly connected to in the advice network. The results suggest that both mechanisms may shape teacher self-efficacy and that the quality of ties, rather than the quantity, may have a stronger influence on self-efficacy. These findings offer new insight into the potential ways in which social networks and collegial interaction influence teacher beliefs.

2.  Undermatched? School-Based Linguistic Status, College Going, and the Immigrant Advantage

Author: Rebecca M. Callahan and Melissa H. Humphries

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 263-295.

Abstract:

Considerable research investigates the immigrant advantage—the academic benefit first- and second-generation students experience relative to native-born peers. However, little work examines how school-based linguistic status may influence this advantage. Contradictory patterns exist: Research identifies both an immigrant advantage and a language minority disadvantage in college going. Although not all immigrant youth are language minorities, many do speak other languages. U.S. educators group immigrant students into three discrete linguistic categories: native English speakers, language minorities not in English as a second language (ESL), and English learner (EL) students. We employ multivariate methods to investigate immigrant college going by linguistic status using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Results suggest an immigrant advantage only among immigrant groups not in ESL and evidence of undermatching—wherein students choose postsecondary options for which they are over-prepared—among high-achieving EL students. Disentangling the immigrant advantage might improve EL students’ college going, stemming this loss of human capital.

3. A Bargain Half Fulfilled: Teacher Autonomy and Accountability in Traditional Public Schools and Public Charter Schools

Author: Zachary W. Oberfield

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 296-323.

Abstract:

Public charter schools (PCS) are thought to succeed because they have greater autonomy and are held more accountable than traditional public schools (TPS). Though teachers are central to this expectation, there is little evidence about whether teachers in PCS enjoy more autonomy and are held more accountable than teachers in TPS. Also, it is unclear what the franchising of the PCS sector—the growth of schools run by educational management organizations (EMOs)—means for teacher autonomy and accountability. Using nationally representative survey data, this article compares teachers’ perceptions of autonomy and accountability in PCS and TPS and in EMO-run and non-EMO-run PCS. It shows that teachers in PCS reported greater autonomy than teachers in TPS; similarly, teachers in non-EMO-run schools indicated greater autonomy than teachers in EMO-run schools. However, there were no differences in perceptions of accountability across these different school types.

4. What Does It Mean to Be Ranked a “High” or “Low” Value-Added Teacher? Observing Differences in Instructional Quality Across Districts

Author: David Blazar, Erica Litke, and Johanna Barmore

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 324-359.

Abstract:

Education agencies are evaluating teachers using student achievement data. However, very little is known about the comparability of test-based or “value-added” metrics across districts and the extent to which they capture variability in classroom practices. Drawing on data from four urban districts, we found that teachers were categorized differently when compared within versus across districts. In addition, analyses of scores from two observation instruments, as well as qualitative viewing of lesson videos, identified stark differences in instructional practices across districts among teachers who received similar within-district value-added rankings. These patterns were not explained by observable background characteristics of teachers, suggesting that factors beyond labor market sorting likely played a key role.

5. Assessing the Effects of a School-Wide Data-Based Decision-Making Intervention on Student Achievement Growth in Primary Schools

Author: Marieke van Geel, Trynke Keuning, Adrie J. Visscher, and Jean-Paul Fox

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 360-394

Abstract:

Despite growing international interest in the use of data to improve education, few studies examining the effects on student achievement are yet available. In the present study, the effects of a two-year data-based decision-making intervention on student achievement growth were investigated. Fifty-three primary schools participated in the project, and student achievement data were collected over the two years before and two years during the intervention. Linear mixed models were used to analyze the differential effect of data use on student achievement. A positive mean intervention effect was estimated, with an average effect of approximately one extra month of schooling. Furthermore, the results suggest that the intervention especially significantly improved the performances of students in low socioeconomic status schools.

6. Impact of a Large-Scale Science Intervention Focused on English Language Learners

Author: Lorena Llosa, Okhee Lee, Feng Jiang, Alison Haas, Corey O’Connor, Christopher D. Van Booven, and Michael J. Kieffer

Source: American Educational Research Journal (Apr. 2016): 395-424.

Abstract:

The authors evaluated the effects of P-SELL, a science curricular and professional development intervention for fifth-grade students with a focus on English language learners (ELLs). Using a randomized controlled trial design with 33 treatment and 33 control schools across three school districts in one state, we found significant and meaningfully sized intervention effects on a researcher-developed science assessment and the state science assessment. Subgroup analyses revealed that the P-SELL intervention had a positive and significant effect for each language proficiency group (ELLs, recently reclassified ELLs, former ELLs, and non-ELLs) on the researcher-developed assessment. The intervention also had a positive effect for former ELLs and non-ELLs on the state science assessment, but for ELLs and recently reclassified ELLs, the effect was not statistically significant.