Retaining Teachers: Intentional Invitational Action and Social Justice Leadership as Driving Forces

Social justice challenges and teacher retention challenges create crises in urban school districts across the United States. Moreover, despite literature linking principal leadership with school ethos known is little as to how the use of an invitational leadership style with a social justice orientation has a connection to the retention of teachers in urban settings. This study used a qualitative case study survey design conducted at two urban school district settings, one in the Western United States and the other in the Midwest. The analysis found a connection between the principal using an invitational leadership style, and the presence of a strong social orientation that helped to retain teachers. These findings present implications for scholars and practitioners.

How Principals Balance Control and Care in Urban School Discipline

School discipline has been a site of contention and reform. In this study, we draw from 17 interviews with traditional and charter school principals in one mid-sized urban school district to examine how principals use discipline as a tool to both maintain control and demonstrate care. Our study calls attention to different strategies principals use to establish this balance, including reducing suspensions, moderating “no-excuses” systems, and building positive student–teacher relationships. We also make a theoretical contribution by showing how schools and school leaders respond to competing institutional logics in developing practices and policies.

Prevalence of specific micronutrient deficiencies in urban school going children of India aged between 6 and 16 years: study protocol for a multicentric cross-sectional study

IntroductionChildhood and adolescence are the period of rapid physical and cognitive growth and development, requiring adequate nutrition. Malnutrition in the form of undernutrition or micronutrient deficiency or overweight/obesity affects the health, cognition and educational achievement of this age group. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, folate, vitamin A, 25 hydroxy vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies in the serum and haemoglobin, ferritin and lead levels and its association with reported dietary intake and cognitive abilities, in urban school going children aged 6–16 years in 10 cities of India.Methods and analysisA multicentric cross-sectional study will be conducted to recruit 2400 participants (240 per site) across India. Participants will be selected using random sampling and will be categorised into age groups of 6–11 years and 12–16 years, with equal distribution. Data on socioeconomic status, anthropometric measures and 3-day dietary intake and cognitive performance will be collected. Blood samples will be collected for biochemical analysis of micronutrients. Findings will estimate the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies and their association with dietary habits and cognitive functioning.Ethics and disseminationStudy protocol has been reviewed and approved by institutional ethics committee of all 10 participating sites. Results will be shared and published in a peer-reviewed journal, so that the findings will be helpful for the stakeholders in planning nutritional interventions for targeted groups.Trial registration numberCTRI/2019/02/017783.

A Comparative Study to Assess the Knowledge of Anemia among School Children in Selected Urban and Rural Schools of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

The aim of the research was to assess the knowledge and prevalence of anemia among rural and urban school children. A quantitative approach was used for the present study. The study population wasthe school children, 9-14 years of age studying in 6th to 9th standard of rural and urban schools of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. The sample size consisted of 50 children from urban and 50 children from rural school. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge of anemia among children in urban and rural school. Compare the knowledge of anemia among children in urban and rural school. To find out the association between knowledge and selected demographic variables. Among the urban school children 14(28%) had inadequate knowledge, 26(52%) had moderately adequate knowledge, and, 10(20%) were having adequate knowledge. Among the rural school children 35(70%) had inadequate knowledge, 12(24%) had moderately adequate knowledge, and 3(6%) had adequate knowledge. There is significant difference in the level of knowledge regarding Anemia among urban and rural school children. There is significant association between knowledge of urban school children and occupation of mother. There is significant association between knowledge of rural school children and educational qualification of father.

Urban School District Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Achievement

We used the Stanford education data archive (SEDA) data to examine the heterogeneity among urban school districts in the United States. The SEDA 2.1 includes data sets on students’ mathematics (Math) and English language arts (ELA) achievement from 2008 to 2014 at the district level. Growth mixture modeling was used to uncover the underlying growth trajectories for urban student achievement from the third to the eighth grade. Two and three growth patterns were observed for ELA and Math achievement, respectively, over time. We used the critical theoretical framework QuantCrit to centralize race in the analysis of the data and shared implications for future research.

Professional learning for secondary teachers of English learners in an urban school district: examining systems of support

PurposeAlthough schools across the United States are becoming increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse, many teachers remain underprepared to work with students classified as English learners (ELs), especially at the secondary level. Acknowledging the importance of developing systems of support for teachers of ELs, this paper examines the district- and school-level factors shaping secondary teachers' access to EL-focused professional learning in one large urban school district.Design/methodology/approachTo examine teachers' access to EL-focused professional learning, the authors draw on 49 in-depth interviews with district leaders and staff from nine secondary schools. Data analysis was guided by a structure, culture and agency theoretical framework.FindingsFindings revealed that decreased structural support, in terms of both fiscal and human resources, constrained teachers' access to EL-related professional learning. Further, the district culture was characterized by limited understanding of ELs' backgrounds and assets. While some school leaders exercised agency to bolster EL-focused professional learning for teachers, such supports were rare.Practical implicationsFindings help to contextualize secondary teachers' feelings of unpreparedness to serve ELs, illuminating several factors that district and school leaders should attend to in order to bolster the development of professional capital for teachers of ELs at the secondary level.Originality/valueWhile prior research outlines the importance of designing systems of support for EL-focused professional learning, this study highlights specific structural and cultural factors shaping such systems.

Beyond the Headlines: Trends and Future Directions in the School Closure Literature

With the looming impacts of COVID-19 on district budgets, the growth of school choice options, and population shifts across urban, suburban, and rural contexts, an increasing number of districts have closed schools and more districts are expected to follow this trend. Rich scholarship has examined school closures; however, this field of research is limited in scope and methodological approach, and overwhelmingly focuses on the mass urban school closures of the mid-2010s. This offers a timely opportunity to consider new directions in the field. In this article, we identify trends in the scholarship on school closures by examining the empirical research in this area over nearly two decades. We conclude by offering a research agenda for future scholarship on school closures.