Podcasting as a Dissemination Method for a Researcher-Practitioner Partnership

Researcher-practitioner partnerships (RPPs) present opportunities to conduct studies that support evidence-based decision-making for participating school divisions (Coburn, Penuel, & Geil, 2013). Doing this work effectively requires ongoing input from key stakeholders, attention to the local impact of the research, and targeted dissemination to audiences who can benefit from the findings (Tseng, 2012). Research dissemination methods typically include written reports, but constantly evolving media platforms show promise for sharing findings in engaging and innovative ways (Voithofer, 2005). This paper discusses the development and apparent impact of a podcast for a metropolitan RPP to disseminate research findings and other information pertinent to the priorities of partnering school divisions, with implications for broader conversations about exploring issues in public, PK-12 education.

Are There Long-term Academic Benefits of Full-Day Kindergarten? A Population-Based Analysis

ABSTRACT ObjectiveDespite the implementation of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in several Canadian provinces, there is little evidence on the long-term outcomes associated with this program. Our objective was to use population-level linked data sources from Manitoba, Canada, to determine whether FDK results in better long-term academic outcomes and reduced inequities in outcomes. ApproachUsing data held in the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy Data Repository we examined provincial reading and numeracy assessments in grades 3, 7, and 8 and a performance index in grade 9 for students in two Manitoba school divisions between 1999-2012. In School Division A (SDA), FDK is targeted in the lowest SES schools; in School Division B (SDB) FDK was gradually introduced universally. SDA FDK students were matched using propensity scores to students in an adjacent school division with similar socioeconomic status (SES) but no FDK; in SDB a stepped-wedge design was used. Logistic regressions accounted for confounders including classroom effects and sex. Gamma sensitivity analyses were used to assess sensitivity of results to unmeasured confounding. The Kakwani Progressivity Index (KPI) determined how FDK affected equity. ResultsThere were 224-544 children in FDK and 869-1923 non-FDK matches in SDA, depending on the outcome examined; numbers in SDB ranged from 335-707 (FDK) and 222-475 (non-FDK). Including interactions, 35 comparisons were examined in SDA and 24 in SDB. None of the outcomes examined in SDB showed statistically significant effects of FDK that were robust to unmeasured confounding. In SDA there were only 3 statistically significant and robust findings of benefits of FDK, all related to math. Comparisons of KPIs for FDK and non-FDK children in both school divisions demonstrated inequities in outcomes associated with SES, however there were no significant differences in equity between the FDK and non-FDK children for any of the outcomes. ConclusionsOur findings indicate no apparent benefits of universal FDK, and limited benefits from targeted FDK, specifically long-term improvements in numeracy for low-income girls. No reductions in inequity were found. Decisions regarding FDK implementation should weigh the costs of this program against the limited long-term academic benefits.

Canadian In-service Teachers’ Concerns, Efficacy, and Attitudes about Inclusive Teaching

The study examined concerns, attitudes, and teacher efficacy of 131 in-service, Kindergarten to Grade 8 teachers in three school divisions in Manitoba, Canada. Analyses were conducted to identify the relationships between teachers’ back-ground variables, their attitudes and concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms, and their efficacy for inclusive teaching. In addition, potential effects of training in special education on teachers’ concern level were examined. Partic-ipants who had undertaken some training in special education had lower degrees of concerns about teaching in inclusive classrooms. We discuss the implications of these findings and how addressing in-service teachers’ concerns could enhance their attitudes about inclusive teaching and their overall teacher efficacy.

What Are Schools Looking for in New, Inclusive Teachers?

Focus groups were conducted in four school divisions in central Canada in order to determine whether inclusive educators in schools could identify the knowledge base, skills set, and attitudes desirable in new inclusive teachers. Participants failed to identify an essential knowledge base for inclusive educators. Findings indicated that a focus on skills and attitudes was viewed as desirable, specifically skills related to flexibility, inter-dependence, communication. Participants also valued attitudes related to willingness on the part of new teachers to seek learning opportunities and accept help from other team members.

Promoting Teaching in Rural Schools

This study extends previous investigations of interns’ and their cooperating teachers’ views of teaching in rural schools, which were conducted in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The present paper includes findings from a survey conducted in 2002 of a fifth cohort of interns and their classroom cooperating teachers. It examined the same four items analyzed in the four previous studies (namely: the advantages of teaching in rural areas, the disadvantages of doing so, recommendations about practicum placements for future interns, and advice for these interns), as well as items that also solicited respondents’ views of what the University’s College of Education and the rural school divisions could do to promote both interning and teaching in rural schools. Findings are synthesized and implications are drawn for both the University and the school divisions involved in these studies as well as for other institutions in similar situations—with respect to improving internship and teaching, and to helping promote the stability of rural communities, of which the school is often a key component.