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Eric.ed.gov – How the Racial and Socioeconomic Composition of Schools and Classrooms Contributes to Literacy, Behavioral Climate, Instructional Organization and High School Graduation Rates. Research Brief No. 2. Updated

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is the second in a series of briefs summarizing findings from the newest and most rigorous research related to racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools. The studies on which this brief is based were published recently in three special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, “Teachers College Record,” edited by Professors Roslyn Arlin Mickelson of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Kathryn Borman of the University of South Florida. This brief considers the relationship between the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school and/or classroom and a variety of important educational measures. This research augments an already extensive body of work in this area, which has reached similar conclusions. However, the work published this year in “Teachers College Record” is particularly rigorous. It draws… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Skyline TEAMS Model: A Longitudinal Look at the Impacts of K-12 Engineering on Perception, Preparation and Persistence

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper describes the longitudinal impacts of a partnership between the University of Colorado Boulder’s K-12 Engineering Education initiative and the St. Vrain Valley School District. Together, university and high school educators created a replicable pre-college engineering model in a nine-school feeder system, which serves many Colorado students who are traditionally underrepresented in the engineering profession, and culminates with a high school STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Academy whose graduates are motivated to thrive in engineering colleges. However, the following question, “Is this an effective model for increasing student STEM persistence and performance?” remains a driver for our investments as we refine the K-12 engineering program based on partner school feedback and quantitative and qualitative assessment results. Data show that our K-12 engineering program has positively… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Narrowing Gap in New York City Teacher Qualifications and Its Implications for Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools. Working Paper 10

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Studies have found substantial sorting of teachers across schools, with the schools with the highest proportions of poor, non-white, and low-scoring students having the least qualified teachers as measured by certification, exam performance, and inexperience (Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff, 2002). Yet, there have been substantial changes in the educational policy landscape over the past five years. New laws, including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), have changed requirements for teachers. Assessment-based accountability policies at the state-level have created standards and increased oversight of schools, especially those with low-achieving students. New routes into teaching, many with fewer requirements before teaching, have changed the cost for individuals to enter the teaching profession. These changes have affected teacher labor markets profoundly. In this paper the authors examine… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Measuring Student Success from a Developmental Mathematics Course at an Elite Public Institution

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper asks whether placement recommendations for a developmental math course at an elite public institution impact students’ future academic performance, course-taking, and college outcomes. Researchers use these specific outcomes to measure whether developmental courses help students develop the skills necessary to succeed in college, inspire them to take different courses, and help them graduate or persist in college. The study examines the ways in which instructor characteristics can drive these outcomes, and whether instruction at this university in a program for low-achieving students and particularly underprepared low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students achieves its goal of reducing achievement gaps. This informs specific course and instructor policies to help underprepared students in their first semesters in college. The research setting is an elite public institution with a… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Closing the Gap: An Overview of the Literature on College Persistence and Underrepresented Populations

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Access to and persistence through higher education can significantly impact occupational stability and mental wellness in the United States (U.S.), with higher levels of education contributing to increased employability and wellness. Empirical research suggests that college attendance improves verbal communication, moral reasoning, and critical thinking skills (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) and has been linked to lower unemployment rates, greater job satisfaction, lower reliance on public assistance programs, lower rates of obesity, and other health and wellness outcomes (Baum, Ma, & Payea, 2013). Furthermore, attaining a college degree is a key factor in improving one’s earnings and long-term financial stability. For example, recent research found that among full-time employed young adults between the ages of 25 and 34, those with a bachelor’s degree earned more, on average, than… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring Faculty Insights into Why Undergraduate College Students Leave STEM Fields of Study- A Three-Part Organizational Self-Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: An institutional self-study at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) explored factors thought to impact students’ decisions to persist in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of study. This self-study is presented as a model first step for Institutions of Higher Education interested in launching efforts to improve STEM education and STEM student success and persistence. A methodology combining qualitative and quantitative analysis approaches was used to examine different aspects of the overarching research question, “Why do undergraduate students leave college STEM fields of study?” A quantitative review of institutional data was used to identify four particular gaps in student persistence and success in STEM fields of study at Texas State University. An online survey and a focus group guide were developed based on existing but more… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Unconscious Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and Opportunities, 2017

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The underrepresentation of women and racial and ethnic minorities in computer science (CS) and other fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is a serious impediment to technological innovation as well as an affront to fundamental notions of fairness and equity. These gaps emerge in the early grades and tend to persist, if not widen, throughout the secondary and postsecondary years. The unconscious biases (UB) of teachers, school administrators, and fellow students may contribute meaningfully to the persistence of these gaps. Fortunately, a nascent literature on targeted interventions that directly address UB suggests there may be compelling opportunities to promote broader engagement in CS and STEM education and employment. The fields of neuroscience, social psychology, economics, and sociology articulate the many possible origins of UB and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Senior Level Administrators and HBCUs: The Role of Support for Black Women’s Success in STEM

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: While it is important for college and university senior administrators to embrace the traditional roles of their administrative positions, senior administrators’ interactions with students also shape institutional culture, students’ engagement, and ultimately play a role in students’ motivation to succeed. This engagement is especially evident in the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) context as senior administrators’ engagement with students can directly or indirectly affect how students perceive themselves and their ability to succeed. This article aims to illuminate the role that HBCU senior level administrators play in students’ motivation toward success. We also highlight the notion that senior level administrators’ role in organizational culture ultimately led historically-disempowered Black women students toward success in even the most historically inaccessible pathways in the science, technology, engineering, and math… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring the Foundations of the Future STEM Workforce: K-12 Indicators of Postsecondary STEM Success. REL 2016-122

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The number of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is growing rapidly and is expected to increase by approximately 1 million in the United States between 2012 and 2022 (Vilorio, 2014). People of many racial/ethnic minorities, however, including Hispanic people, are underrepresented among recipients of STEM degrees and among employees in STEM fields (Beede et al., 2011). Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest conducted this review of the research literature to identify malleable factors that can be measured in K-12 settings and that predict students’ postsecondary STEM success (defined as enrolling in, persisting in, and completing a postsecondary STEM major or degree), particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying these predictive malleable factors can help policymakers and district and school administrators develop and implement interventions that increase the percentage… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Do Professors Really Perpetuate the Gender Gap in Science? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in a French Higher Education Institution. CEE DP 138

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Stereotypes, role models played by teachers and social norms influence girls’ academic self-concept and push girls to choose humanities rather than science. Do recruiters reinforce this strong selection by discriminating more against girls in more scientific subjects? Using the entrance exam of a French higher education institution (the Ecole Normale Superieure) as a natural experiment, we show the opposite: discrimination goes in favor of females in more male-connoted subjects (e.g. math, philosophy) and in favor of males in more female-connoted subjects (e.g. literature, biology), inducing a rebalancing of sex ratios between students recruited for a research career in science and humanities majors. We identify discrimination by systematic differences in students’ scores between oral tests (non-blind toward gender) and anonymous written tests (blind toward gender). By making comparisons… Continue Reading