Private school competition and public school teacher salaries

Teacher unions have fiercely fought public policy measures (e.g., vouchers, tuition tax credits) that might increase the proportion of students attending private schools. Yet increased competition in the educational service market should also lead to greater labor market competition, reducing any quasi-monopsony tendencies depressing teacher salaries. Using detailed data on over 600 Ohio school districts, we find that increased private school competition leads to higher salaries for public school teachers. It may be that union leaders disregard the interests of their members in trying to maximizing union size and power. An alternative interpretation is that unions sacrifice shortrun income gains for their members in order to maintain longterm economic rents associated with substantial political power.     

Hate at school: victimization and disorder associated with school avoidance

Abstract

Previous research indicates that victimization at school and school disorder are associated with school avoidance. The appearance of hateful words and symbols at schools and verbal hateful attacks at schools are prompting additional concerns about students’ perceived safety. The current study provides evidence that observing and being victimized by hate at school are additional contributors to school avoidance that is enacted over concerns of being attacked at school. This includes avoidance of the school itself as well as specific places at the school such as the school entrance, school cafeteria, and parking lots. Data analyzed from the 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey provide this evidence. The findings point to recommendations for identifying and reducing hate in schools while maintaining efforts to reduce bullying and provide a positive school climate.     

School students' views on school councils and daily life at school

This article reports a survey conducted in schools in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during 1997–8 with 2,272 students aged seven to 17 years. The 24‐page booklet questionnaire included six groups of questions about school councils. The question of whether pupils who have a council see it as effective was cross‐tabulated with a range of other questions, in order to examine associations between students' views about their school councils with their views on other aspects of school. About half the students reported that they had a school council. Of these, the ones who thought their council was effective generally had positive views about their school's social and academic activities, whereas the ones who said their council was ineffective generally had more negative attitudes. Some schools find that creating an effective school council can considerably improve standards of behaviour, but this process has to involve further changes in systems and relationships in the school. Simply introducing a token council can increase students' scepticism. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mismatch of school desks and chairs by ethnicity and grade level in middle school

The purpose of this article is to introduce the cross-disciplinary competency standards for work-related assessments, why they are needed and how they have been developed in New South Wales (NSW). Cross-disciplinary competency standards communicate the benchmarks for effective performance of work-related assessments. They outline what is expected of rehabilitation professionals, including the ability to apply and transfer competence across different conditions and workplace contexts. Outcomes in occupational rehabilitation are affected by the efficacy of the work-related assessments performed, which is dependent upon competent, clinical decision-making by rehabilitation professionals. However, in Australia, work-related assessment practice is not governed by universally accepted competency standards or by any competency-based training/education and assessment system. To enhance professional practice, WorkCover NSW has developed cross-disciplinary competency standards for work-related a ssessments. The competencies provide (i) quality standards for professional workplace training and development, (ii) benchmarks for assessing the competence of rehabilitation professionals, (iii) a framework for evidence-based practice, (iv) benchmarks for measuring service quality and (v) "real world" learning outcomes and assessment criteria for professional education programs.     

Building collaboration between school and parents: issues for school social workers and parents whose young children exhibit violent behaviour at school

This research explores the perceptions of 60 parents whose children, aged from three to nine, had been involved in bullying, as defined under the Safe Schools Act and the Code of Conduct. Some of these children had been suspended from school, while others were potential candidates for suspension. These parents were recruited from Ottawa's two French-language school boards to participate in qualitative interviews between June 2000 and June 2002. The aim of this research was to cast new light on the perceptions of parents and schools with regard to their relationships, and on the role of school social workers in maintaining and enhancing collaborative partnerships.

The desire of some parents to be involved in the decisions concerning remedial action taken to address their child's aggressive behaviour touched a raw nerve in some schools. Nonetheless, when schools and parents ultimately recognize the daily challenges that both parties face, and a shared plan of action develops therein, the path to effective collaboration becomes clear. Early intervention on the part of school social workers gives them an edge in their efforts as mediators. They seize every opportunity to initiate different collaborative approaches between schools and parents, so that the issue of bullying can be handled in a more respectful way for everyone.     

Preferences for popular music in and outside school among Chinese secondary school students

During the last two decades, China has experienced the emergence of vibrant popular music, resulting from globalisation and commercialisation. This empirical study investigates Chinese secondary students' popular music preferences in daily life, and to what extent and in what ways they prefer learning about popular music in school in the city of Changsha. Based on the findings from the survey questionnaires completed by 1816 secondary school students and interviews with 45 students from 8 secondary schools, this study revealed that Chinese teenagers preferred popular music styles in their daily lives and in school, particularly popular songs from Mainland China, the USA and the UK. There was a strong relationship found between school music teachers and the students' preferences for learning popular songs. Many of the students surveyed had their own popular music idols, but they mostly maintained that they liked their music idols because of their songs' melodies and lyrics. The findings also showed that there was a gap between the students' preferences for popular music and the popular music styles taught in school music lessons. Despite the division of classical and popular music learning among Chinese youths, most students conceded that these two musical styles should be taught in school music education. This study's findings challenge the notion of how popular music education in a culturally diverse community can be improved, as well as stimulate further examination of young students' music preferences in and outside the school environment.     

Teachers’ multicultural attitudes and perceptions of school policy and school climate in relation to burnout

ABSTRACT

There is a growing number of ethnically and culturally diverse students in Dutch junior vocational high schools. This article examines teachers’ multicultural attitudes, their perceptions of cultural diversity related to school policy and school climate, and the chance of general and diversity-related burnout. The present research also characterises teachers in terms of their multicultural attitudes and perceptions of school policy and climate through cluster analysis. Results are based on questionnaire data of 120 teachers, working at five locations of a multicultural junior vocational high school in a highly urbanised part of the Netherlands. Correlational, regression, and variance analyses indicated that the highest levels of general and diversity-related burnout were found among teachers categorised as assimilationist in attitude and who perceived their school as pluralistic. Teachers could be divided into three types of profiles: (1) relative assimilative attitude, (2) no pronounced assimilative attitude, and (3) moderate assimilative attitude. Teachers with the second profile showed the highest chance for burnout.     

The development of science achievement in middle and high school. Individual differences and school effects

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), hierarchical linear models (HLMs) were used to model the growth of student science achievement in three areas (biology, physical science, and environmental science) during middle and high school. Results showed significant growth in science achievement across all areas. The growth was quadratic across all areas, with rapid growth at the beginning grades of middle school but slow growth at the ending grades of high school. At the student level, socioeconomic status (SES) and age were related to the rate of growth in all areas. There were no gender differences in the rate of growth in any of the three areas. At the school level, variables associated with school context (school mean SES and school size) and variables associated with school climate (principal leadership, academic expectation, and teacher autonomy) were related to the growth in science achievement. Initial (Grade 7) status in science achievement was not associated with the rate of growth in science achievement among either students or schools in any of the three areas.     

Mexican immigration and the port-of-entry school

The results of an immigrant student census in a California port-of-entry school district are used to describe the educational backgrounds of Mexican immigrant students and to distinguish types of Mexican immigrant students by school entry patterns. Interviews with recently arrived Mexican immigrant parents reveal the educational and occupational expectations they hold for their children in the US. The study findings are used as a basis for raising policy questions and generating research issues. The most notable observation from the study is that the children of Mexican immigrants in La Entrada do not migrate once they are in school. Parents may be migrating back and forth between the US and Mexico, but children once in La Entrada do not leave the school to return to school in Mexico. The study suggests that the parents of immigrant students do not know how the US educational system works but they are interested in helping teachers educate their children.     

Child welfare clients and school satisfaction

Despite long-standing knowledge about child welfare clients' poor educational outcomes, we know less about these vulnerable young people's situation in school. This article addresses school satisfaction among upper secondary students who have been in contact with the child welfare services. These child welfare clients' school satisfaction is compared with their peers' satisfaction. The results from a survey indicated that the majority of child welfare clients were satisfied with school but that they were less satisfied with school than were their peers. The results showed that the association between school satisfaction and positive school experiences explains a large part of this difference. Among students who reported they were doing well in school, had supportive teachers and friends at school, the difference in school satisfaction between child welfare clients and others was small. Among students who did not report similar positive experiences in school, difference in school satisfaction between child welfare clients and their peers was more substantial. These results show that school can be a good place for child welfare clients, but that facilitating support from teachers, increasing opportunities for making friends at school, and working to develop the child welfare clients' academic performances are important as efforts to improve school satisfaction.     

Assessing school effectiveness

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) program measures value added in colleges and universities, by testing the ability of freshmen and seniors to think logically and write clearly. The program is popular enough that it has attracted critics. In this paper, we outline the methods used by the CLA to determine value added. We summarize the criticisms, which revolve around the question of which students take the CLA tests. Typically, samples are not random, so that selection bias is a concern, as is confounding. We respond by showing that criticisms of CLA procedures are not supported by the data.     

Twenty-first century skills for students: hands-on learning after school builds school and life success

At the core of the movement for twenty-first century skills are students. The growing efforts to increase programs leveraging out-of-school time are focused on giving American youth everything they need to compete in this increasingly complex world. The author is one of many students who have been well served by initiatives imparting twenty-first century skills during after-school hours. Now a senior at Boston Latin School, the author has been helped along the way by Citizen Schools, an after-school education program focused on hands-on learning apprenticeships and homework help. While enrolled in the program as a middle school student, the author took part in projects that exemplified hands-on, inquiry-based learning that helped her develop twenty-first century skills. For example, along with dozens of other students, she advanced her data analysis skills by analyzing statistics about Boston Public high schools, which also helped her select and enroll in one of the city's premier exam schools. Also, she and her peers worked with corporate attorneys who served as writing coaches and whose expertise the author drew from in producing a published essay and greatly improving her writing skills. The author now finds that the public speaking, leadership, organizational, social, and management abilities she built through her participation in Citizen Schools are a great asset to her in high school. The confidence with which she tackles her responsibilities can also be traced back to her experiences in the program. As she looks toward college, the author reflects and realizes that being actively involved in a quality after-school program put her on track for a successful future.     

Injuries to Swedish school pupils: Distribution and patterns by type of school and type of municipality

The study examines the distribution of injuries and their patterns among Swedish school pupils. Data were gathered from an injury register created during the school year 1996/97, with the help of 79 schools and using a standardized registration form. Injury ratios (IRs) by gender, type of municipality, and type of school were measured all injuries aggregated and for five injury patterns. IRs did not vary much by gender, but showed considerable variation by type of school and type of municipality. A strong association was found between injury pattern and gender. Taken as a whole, the findings shed light on the circumstances under which school injuries are incurred. They suggest that targets for prevention may vary by gender, school level and, to some extent, by type of municipality. The extent to which the findings are generalizable is uncertain.     

The relationship between school mobility and students in foster care earning a high school credential

This study examined the relationship between school mobility for Colorado students in foster care and educational attainment outcomes, specifically earning high school diploma, a high school equivalency diploma (e.g., through examination such as a GED), or exiting the K-12 system without a credential. Multinomial logistic regression was utilized to analyze the predictive role of school mobility related to high school educational attainment within a statewide sample of four cohorts of students who experienced out-of-home placements during high school. Results indicated that students in the foster care cohorts changed public schools an average of 3.46 times during their first four years of high school. As the average number of school changes increased, the odds of earning a high school diploma decreased and the odds of earning an equivalency diploma (e.g., GED) or exiting without a credential increased. Grade level analysis suggests that educational stability in ninth and twelfth grades may be particularly important to closing the high school graduation gap for students in foster care. A more comprehensive child welfare profile that includes frequency of residential moves, types of placements, and mental or behavioral health indicators was not included in analyses, and this limitation must be considered when using the results of this study to inform policy or practice.     

Accumulation of cultural and social capital: The differing college careers of prep school and public school graduates

Beginning in the 1920s, and continuing through the 1950s, research indicated that in college (and especially at Harvard) public school graduates were higher academic achievers than were prep school graduates. After the Second World War, however, admissions to prestigious colleges became much more competitive; graduates of the most elite boarding schools were no longer assured entry to the college of their choice. Therefore, this series of three studies was designed to update and extend the earlier research. It was found that at Wesleyan University, Yale University, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College, public school graduates were significantly more likely than prep school graduates to be elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In contrast, the private school graduates were significantly more likely than the public school graduates to be selected as members of the two most prestigious senior societies at Wesleyan and Yale (The Mystical Seven at Wesleyan and Skull and Bones at Yale). Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) theory of social reproduction and his concepts of “cultural capital” and “social capital” are used to interpret both the earlier findings and the findings reported in these three studies.     

Household food insecurity and children's school engagement

Data on 11,614 children (ages 6–11) from the 1999 National Survey of American Families were used to examine a model linking household food insecurity, child health, and emotional well-being to school engagement. The results, using path analyses revealed that (i) the proposed model fit the data quite well; (ii) food insecurity predicted health status, emotional well-being, and negatively predicted school engagement; (iii) health status predicted emotional well-being, and negatively predicted school engagement. Finally, emotional well-being negatively predicted school engagement. Results of mediation analyses showed that food insecurity had a significant indirect effect on emotional well-being via its effect on health status, and a significant indirect effect on school engagement via its effects on health status and emotional well-being.     

High school after school: creating pathways to the future for adolescents

This article proposes a strategy for the use of out-of-school time for adolescents, illustrates this strategy in action in Chicago, and discusses the challenges it faces.