Navigating the tension between scale and school context in digital college guidance

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Zoe Corwin ◽  
Tattiya J. Maruco
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Equity Issues ◽  
Digital Equity ◽  
Digital Intervention ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential of digital tools to address the significant challenge of increasing access to college and outline challenges and opportunities in effectively implementing a digital intervention across an entire school. Design/methodology/approach The study encompasses a randomized control trial and comparative case studies. This paper highlights qualitative data focused on implementation. Findings Findings illustrate impediments and strategies for implementing a school-wide digital intervention. Research limitations/implications Research focused on one particular intervention and is thus limited in scope. Practical implications The study has the potential to assist practitioners in better serving students from low-income and minoritized communities through digital tools. Social implications The study has implications for increasing the number of first-generation and minoritized youth who apply to and enroll in college. The study highlights digital equity issues often overlooked in ed-tech sectors. Originality/value Few studies exist that examine the implementation of digital interventions at the school level. Focusing on digital equity in the college access space (academic and practice) is novel.

Light touch, heavy hand: principals and data-use PLCs

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Huguet ◽  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Julie A. Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Data Use ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
School Level ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal's Role

Purpose The use of data for instructional improvement is prevalent in today’s educational landscape, yet policies calling for data use may result in significant variation at the school level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on tools and routines as mechanisms of principal influence on data-use professional learning communities (PLCs). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a comparative case study of two low-income, low-performing schools in one district. The data set included interview and focus group transcripts, observation field notes and documents, and was iteratively coded. Findings The two principals in the study employed tools and routines differently to influence ways that teachers interacted with data in their PLCs. Teachers who were given leeway to co-construct data-use tools found them to be more beneficial to their work. Findings also suggest that teachers’ data use may benefit from more flexibility in their day-to-day PLC routines. Research limitations/implications Closer examination of how tools are designed and time is spent in data-use PLCs may help the authors further understand the influence of the principal’s role. Originality/value Previous research has demonstrated that data use can improve teacher instruction, yet the varied implementation of data-use PLCs in this district illustrates that not all students have an equal opportunity to learn from teachers who meaningfully engage with data.

Inequalities in school climate in California

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Jain ◽  
Alison K. Cohen ◽  
Kevin Huang ◽  
Thomas L. Hanson ◽  
Gregory Austin
Keyword(s):  
School Climate ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
School Level ◽  
Student Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Safety ◽  
Low Performing Schools ◽  
Large Cities

Purpose – School climate, or the physical and social conditions of the learning environment, has implications for academic achievement. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine how school climate varies by school-level characteristics in California using administrative data and the California School Climate Survey. Findings – Teachers/staff at secondary schools, schools in large cities, schools that serve low-income populations, Hispanic- and black-majority schools, and/or low-performing schools reported less positive school climates, including staff/student relationships, norms and standards, student facilitative behaviors, and perceived safety, than their counterparts, paralleling other education inequity trends. Originality/value – The authors encourage educators and school leaders to use data-driven and evidence-based strategies to overcome systematic inequities in positive school climate in order to create social contexts that nurture students’ academic progress and teacher retention particularly in historically under-resourced schools.

Creating a school context of success

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 626-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanne M. Mitchell ◽  
Brenda J. Mendiola ◽  
Randall Schumacker ◽  
Xaviera Lowery
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use SEM to explore the effects of enabling school structure (ESS) and academic optimism (AO) on school achievement (SA). Design/methodology/approach A sample of 58 urban schools, including 42 elementary schools and 16 middle schools in a southeastern district in the USA were included in this study. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effects of three exogenous predictor variables (ESS, elementary status, and socio-economic status (SES)) on a latent mediating variable (AO) and a latent dependent variable (academic achievement). Findings Findings confirm that three factors; collective efficacy, faculty trust in clients, and academic emphasis come together to create the general latent construct referred to as AO by Hoy et al. (2006). Findings also support the importance of ESS in establishing a culture of AO. Together ESS, AO, elementary school level, and SES explained 77 percent of the variance in SA, with AO having the most significant effect above and beyond the effects of SES. Research limitations/implications This study was based on a sample of schools in the Southern portion of the USA. Findings may not be generalizable to other areas. The lack of availability of individual student achievement data prevented the use of hierarchical linear modeling. Practical implications Findings from this study point to the importance of administrators establishing flexible rules and regulations and engaging in a leadership style that is collaborative. It appears that ESS not only promotes the establishment of AO but contributes to increased SA and is likely to be critical for upper levels of schooling. Social implications Reform efforts need to involve parents and community members. AO may provide an appropriate lens to further explore parent and community perceptions of reform efforts and relationships with administrators and teachers. ESS may assist in creating the structures necessary for increased parent and community involvement as well as increased perceptions of AO. Originality/value This study is one of only three studies known to explore the effects of ESS on AO and is one of the first known studies to explore these effects in a middle school setting.

Primary school principals ' job satisfaction and occupational stress

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merike Darmody ◽  
Emer Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Occupational Stress ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Principals ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Primary School Principals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors associated with occupational stress and job satisfaction among Irish primary school principals. A principal’s job has become increasingly demanding and complex in recent decades. However, there is little current research into their levels of stress and job satisfaction, particularly based on nationally representative data. In order to understand how principals perceive their job and how best to support them, new insights into factors contributing to job satisfaction and stress of school principals are warranted. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on an analysis of Growing up in Ireland data, a national representative study of nine-year-old children in Ireland. In order to explore the simultaneous impact of individual and school factors on stress and job satisfaction of principals in Irish primary schools, multivariate analysis was used. Analyses in this paper are based on responses from principals in 898 schools. Findings – The results of the study indicate that a significant number of primary school principals in Ireland are not very satisfied and feel stressed about their job. Regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction and occupational stress were related to a complex set of personal characteristics, working conditions, school context and teacher climate. Research limitations/implications – The data are limited to primary school principals. However, this is in itself an advantage since it allows for greater insights into variation across principals in job satisfaction and stress, holding the effect of school level constant. Originality/value – This is the first study of its kind in the Irish context that explores the simultaneous effect of a number of factors on school principals’ stress and job satisfaction.

scholarly journals Class and the Classroom: The Role of Individual- and School-Level Socioeconomic Factors in Predicting College Students’ Academic Behaviors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65
Author(s):  
Cari Gillen-O’Neel ◽  
Emily C. Roebuck ◽  
Joan M. Ostrove
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Family Income ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Academic Behaviors

This study examines how, for emerging adults attending residential colleges, family incomes and the socioeconomic status (SES) composition of high schools are jointly associated with academic behaviors in college. Using a one-time survey, daily surveys, and additional data collection on high school SES composition, this study measured 221 college students’ (17–25 years old) SES backgrounds and academic behaviors. Findings indicated that three academic behaviors (study time, in-class engagement, and help-seeking) were predicted by an interaction between family income and high school context. Among students who attended high schools that serve many low-income students, higher family income was significantly associated with more beneficial academic behaviors in college; among students who attended high schools that serve few low-income students, there was no association between family income and academic behaviors. Results indicate that colleges may need to be especially prepared to support students from lower income families who matriculated from lower SES high schools.

scholarly journals Learning How to Tailor Programmatic Offerings to Support Low-income, First-generation, and Racially Minoritized Student Success

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-57
Author(s):  
Adrianna Kezar ◽  
Rosemary J. Perez ◽  
Joseph A. Kitchen ◽  
Ronald E. Hallett
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Comprehensive College ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Racialized Minority

This study focused on the process of how the staff at the Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC), a comprehensive college transition program, tailored the programmatic offerings to meet the needs of low-income, first generation and racialized minority students. Because college students are complex individuals, each of whom faces a unique set of challenges and opportunities, it is reasonable to hypothesize that tailoring support services to the multiple needs of each student may make them more effective. The research identifies a four-part iterative and cyclical process to tailor the programmatic offerings for students – beginning with the individual student and then using information about individual needs to scale to broader group level tailoring.  This broadening or scaling process is a new contribution to the literature that has not previously been identified.  The tailored approach we identified works at both individual and group levels, which makes it viable as an intervention for large numbers of students. The effort to attend to and learn about individual students ensures that the intervention still meets the needs of individuals, but the testing of these interventions more broadly allows for understanding how these approaches will work for diverse group level tailoring.

Who Guards the Guardians? National Implications of Accreditation at City College of San Francisco

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-233
Author(s):  
Bob Barber ◽  
Delores E. McNair
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Community College ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Junior Colleges ◽  
Equity Issues ◽  
City College ◽  
Student Equity

Purpose: This article addresses the broad context of community college accreditation which surrounds a controversy involving one of the largest community colleges in the United States, City College of San Francisco (CCSF), and its regional accrediting agency, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Its purposes are to illuminate the issue of how accrediting agencies are held accountable and to highlight the importance of addressing student equity issues as part of accreditation. Argument/Proposed Model: Rather than focusing on the details of the specific case, we reflect on the situation as a microcosm of the issues facing community college students and accreditors. Themes that emerge include the rise of compliance-oriented accreditation practices, the degree to which accreditation is increasingly subject to political and economic forces, and the dilemmas involved in assuring that educational quality is available to all students. Conclusions/Contributions: Accrediting agencies must address the barriers that interfere with the success of first generation students, low-income students, and students of color, who are rapidly coming to represent the predominant student demographic in the United States and who constitute the majority of students at CCSF. We conclude that the basis exists in higher education research and practice for the development of accreditation standards that address the student equity agenda.

Educational Travel for First-Generation Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-352
Author(s):  
Paul Dean ◽  
Claudia Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Faculty Member ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Educational Travel ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Research on educational travel has shown significant student outcomes for personal, academic, and professional growth. However, there are financial and cultural barriers that make it harder for some groups of students to participate in programs such as study abroad and shorter-term educational travel. This article examines the unique challenges and opportunities for first-generation and low-income students in these programs. It analyzes a short-term (10-day) educational travel group of exclusively first-generation participants, including three students, a faculty member, and an administrator, studying social mobility in Denmark. Coauthored by a faculty member and student from the trip, the article qualitatively reflects on student gains in personal growth, social connectedness, professional skills, and sociological knowledge. The article concludes by advocating for more targeted programming in recruiting and supporting first-generation students in educational travel.

scholarly journals Editorial: Systemic Perspectives on New Alignments During COVID-19: Digital Challenges and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thérèse Laferrière ◽  
Margaret Cox
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
School Level ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Digital Equity ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
New Research

This overview of the articles presented in this issue considers the digital challenges and opportunities of the systemic perspectives on new alignments resulting from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. New challenges and opportunities were addressed by the 13 working groups of EDUsummIT2019 prior to the pandemic. However, the evidence and analyses presented in this issue have built on those originally identified perspectives by reviewing recent (2020/2021) research, development and practice across many educational sectors and contexts. We have shown that the status quo in the majority of education systems across the world has been thrown out of kilter. This has resulted in new alignments needing to be made to take account of the enforced remote learning when schools have been closed and blended learning has become widely practised even at school level. The most prominent of these have been caused by changes in digital equity which consequently imposes new challenges to policy makers, teachers and learners. This special issue stimulates reflection in and on practice as well as help problematizing new research challenges.

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