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Contextual Variance in Educators' Perceptions of School Violence
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| Presenter(s):
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| Benjamin Cohen,
Center for Schools and Communities,
bcohen@csc.csiu.org
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| Beth Edwards,
Center for Schools and Communities,
bedwards@csc.csiu.org
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| Abstract:
Using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), we examine the relationship between teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of several school climate indicators, including the frequency of physical conflicts, bullying, racial tensions, and disorder in classrooms. We calculate the degree of agreement between teacher and administrator ratings on these indicators and then examine individual and school characteristics associated with good and poor agreement. We discuss the implications of these analyses for evaluators and the school-based violence prevention programs they examine; in particular this study suggests how evaluators should interpret data from different levels of school systems. Furthermore, in line with the calls of prevention scientists to examine how underlying teacher and principal characteristics impact the quality of prevention program implementation (Greenburg, et al, 2005), we offer suggestions for how and when evaluators should incorporate measures of teacher-administrator agreement into formative and summative evaluation activities.
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Examining School Leadership and Climate: Assisting School Districts in Identifying Key Factors Impacting Student Outcomes
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| Presenter(s):
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| Vicki Schmitt,
University of Alabama,
vschmitt@bamaed.ua.edu
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| Rebecca Rodriguez,
Institute for School Improvement,
rodriguez09@missouristate.edu
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| David Hough,
Institute for School Improvement,
davidhough@missouristate.edu
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| Abstract:
School climate has long been the subject of interest to those in the field of educational evaluation. Research suggests that the level of school climate accounts for a significant amount of variance in student achievement, making it a priority for school districts that are concerned with improving student achievement. Leadership often plays an integral part in the overall culture and environment of the school has been characterized as a primary factor comprising overall school climate. Utilizing a triangulation approach, this paper explores data collected from faculty, students, and parents associated with ten suburban and rural school districts in a Mid-western state. Leadership is examined as a key factor mediating the relationship between climate and student outcomes.
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Documenting Intervention Effects in High Poverty Schools: Approaches, Issues, and Concerns
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| Presenter(s):
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| Vicki Schmitt,
University of Alabama,
vschmitt@bamaed.ua.edu
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| David Hough,
Missouri State University,
davidhough@missouristate.edu
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| Victoria Henbest,
Missouri State University,
victoria2010@missouristate.edu
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| Steve Seal,
Missouri State University,
sseal@missouristate.edu
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| Abstract:
The effects of poverty on school-age children are well documented with disadvantages reaching far beyond the elementary school years. Studies examining student resiliency report negative psychosocial and environmental effects associated with student success in school for many children living below the poverty level or in working poor homes. Addressing poverty and its effects must be a priority for communities and their schools if the negative impacts on children’s health and development are to be addressed comprehensively (Abert, et al., 1997). Many high poverty schools struggle to provide adequate interventions aimed at addressing the lingering effects of poverty. In addition, efforts to document such efforts to help policy makers and social service providers better understand what constitutes “best practice” are also difficult. This paper provides insight on these issues from a community-focused intervention targeting two high-poverty elementary schools in an urban setting within a major metropolitan area in a mid-western state.
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Why Can’t Poor Kids Learn?
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| Presenter(s):
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| Tom McKlin,
Georgia Tech,
tom.mcklin@gatech.edu
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| Abstract:
Numerous policy initiatives and countless dollars have been devoted to diminishing the achievement gap between low-socioeconomic status (SES) students and high-SES students. Oftentimes, these initiatives and expenditures have done little to reduce the gap, and sadly, that gap has sometimes increased. Still, most educators and evaluators would be appalled by anyone claiming that poor children can not learn. If we believe that low-SES students can learn just as their high-SES counterparts, why then does the gap remain? This paper seeks to answer that question in three ways: by examining the correlation between socio-economic and student achievement data in one State (Georgia) during the NCLB years; by providing a review of the literature on the relationship between SES and student achievement; finally, by hypothesizing why the correlation between these two variables remains high.
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