Abstracts of Articles Published in Volume 5, 1997 |
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Volume 5 Number 1 |
January 6, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Markets & Myths:
Autonomy in Public and Private Schools
Sandra Rubin Glass
Arizona State University
sandy.glass@asu.edu ABSTRACT:
School choice is the most
controversial education policy issue of the 1990s. John
Chubb and Terry Moe's Politics, Markets and America's
Schools stimulated this
investigation. They concluded that teacher and administrator autonomy
was the most
important influence on student achievement. They assumed that the
organization of private
schools offered greater autonomy resulting in higher student
achievement and that the
bureaucracy of public schools stifles autonomy limiting student
achievement. The research
undertaken here elaborates, elucidates, and fills in the framework of
teacher and principal
autonomy in public and private secondary schools. Interviews of more
than thirty teachers
and administrators in six high schools, observations, field notes, and
analysis of documents
collected in the field form the empirical base of this work. The sites
included three private,
independent, nondenominational secondary schools which are college
preparatory and three
public secondary schools noted for high graduation rates and offering
numerous advanced
placement courses.
Volume 5 Number 2 |
January 8, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Where Have All the Teachers Gone?
Mark Fetler
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
mfetler@ctc.ca.gov ABSTRACT: A rising need for teachers is
projected for California and
the nation during the next decade. Sound policy for teacher
preparation should not only foster a capable workforce, it should
also assure that the supply of qualified teachers balances with
employment demand. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the
flow of individuals through teacher preparation programs and the
workplace. In California the workforce is projected to grow by
thirty percent over the next ten years, stimulating the demand for teachers.
At present the number of newly credentialed teachers
exceeds the number hired. However, the apparent abundance masks
an oversupply of teachers in some curricular and geographic areas
and shortages elsewhere. Evidence for a lack of balance between
supply and demand is found in an upward trend of emergency hiring
of teachers who do not meet all requirements for a credential and
low employment rates for first-time college and university prepared
teachers. The asymmetry between supply and demand could be
redressed partly through better retention of working teachers and
closer coordination of preparation programs with the needs of
schools in their service areas.
Volume 5 Number 3 |
January 15, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Testing Writing on Computers:
An Experiment Comparing Student Performance on Tests Conducted
via Computer and via Paper-and-Pencil
Michael Russell
Boston College
russellm@hermes.bc.eduWalt Haney
Boston College
haney@bc.edu
ABSTRACT:Computer use has grown rapidly
during the past decade. Within the educational community, interest in
authentic assessment has also increased. To enhance the
authenticity of tests of writing, as well as of other
knowledge and skills, some assessments require students to respond
in written form via paper-and-pencil.
However, as increasing numbers of students grow accustomed to
writing on computers, these assessments
may yield underestimates of students' writing abilities. This
article presents the findings of a small study
examining the effect that mode of administration -- computer
versus paper-and-pencil -- has on middle
school students' performance on multiple-choice and written test
questions. Findings show that, though
multiple-choice test results do not differ much by mode of
administration, for students accustomed to writing
on computer, responses written on computer are substantially
higher than those written by hand (effect size
of 0.9 and relative success rates of 67% versus 30%). Implications
are discussed in terms of both future
research and test validity.
Volume 5 Number 4 |
January 23, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Learning from Others:
Service-Learning in Costa Rica and Indonesia
David D. Williams
Brigham Young University
David_Williams@byu.eduWilliam D. Eiserman
Colorado Foundation for Families and Children
Jivio@aol.com
ABSTRACT:
Calls are increasingly sounded for
universities to better address their communities' and students' needs through
service, as well as research and teaching. This article
invites policy makers to re-examine university service, research, and teaching
responsibilities
by reflecting on roles service-learning plays in universities in Indonesia and
Costa Rica. We
conclude that service-learning plays a critical role and a key to expanding
service-learning for students and understanding the utility of such a policy
change is increased faculty
involvement. Until more faculty explore the "why" and "how" of
service-learning, research and teaching will dominate the
university agenda.
Volume 5 Number 5 |
February 9, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Out of Our Minds: A Review
Pat Clifford
Banded Peak School
Bragg Creek, Alberta
Howley, Craig B., Howley, Aimee & Pendarvis, Edwina D.
(1995). Out of Our Minds: Anti-Intellectualism and Talent Development in
American Schooling NY, NY: Teachers College
Press. Pp. 265; $24.95 (Paper)
Volume 5 Number 6 |
February 12, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Student Evaluation of Faculty:
Galloping Polls In The 21st Century
Robert E. Haskell
University of New England1
haskellr@gwi.net
ABSTRACT: Despite a history of conflicting research
on the reliability
and validity of student evaluation of faculty (SEF) it has typically not
been viewed as an infringement on academic freedom. When it is suggested that
SEF may impinge on academic freedom, it is often considered an attack on either
student rights, or on the process of evaluating faculty performance in general.
faculty and educational administrator views and surveys are reviewed as SEF is
used in salary, promotion and tenure decisions. It is suggested that the
literature shows that SEF infringe on instructional responsibilities of faculty
by providing a control mechanism over curricular, course content, grading, and
teaching methodology. It is further suggested that SEF play a significant role
in current attacks on tenure, and that its role in a demographically diverse
21st century educational system has changed from its benign historical origins.
It is concluded that contrary to current views, SEF is a serious unrecognized
infringement on academic freedom.
Volume 5 Number 7 |
February 26, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
The Circle of Learning: Individual and Group Processes
Ernest Chang Axia Multimedia Corporation
echang@axia.comDon Simpson
Axia Multimedia Corporation
ABSTRACT: We present a paradigm for modeling the
processes found in
individual and group learning. Using combinations of two dimensions,
the first being whether the learner's activities are By-Oneself or
With-Peers, and the second whether the process orientation is
toward the Person as the focus of the learning or toward the Group
as the focus, we derive four quadrants in Activity-Orientation
learning space.Volume 5 Number 8 |
March 18, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Response to Haskell: "Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Student Evaluation of Faculty"
Jeffrey E. Stake
School of Law
Indiana University-Bloomington
JeffStake@law.indiana.edu
ABSTRACT:Haskell (1997) argued that the administrative practice of
student evaluation
of faculty is a threat to academic freedom. However, before that claim can be
substantiated, several prior questions must be addressed: To whom does
academic freedom belong? Individual faculty? The academy? Whose actions can
violate the right? Can any lines be drawn based on whether the substance or form
of classroom behavior is influenced? And still another crucial point is whether a
body can violate academic freedom without any intent to interfere with or control
the substance of what is said to students.
Volume 5 Number 9 |
March 21, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
The History of the Reserve Officer Training Corps
Among the Association of American Universities from 1982 to 1992:
Review of Institutional Responses to ROTC
Policy Regarding Homosexuals
Lee S. Duemer
Averett College
lduemer@averett.averett.edu
ABSTRACT: This is a policy analysis, in a historical
context, of how Association of American University institutions responded to
Reserve Officer Training Corps
policy excluding homosexuals. The time period for this study is 1982 to 1992.
Qualitative methods are used to analyze data and arrive at conclusions. Secondary data provide
additional depth and background. This study reveals seven different positions institutions
have taken in response to ROTC policy, these include: supporting ROTC policy,
neutrality, collective action, barring military recruiters from campus, distancing the
institution from ROTC, and changing the campus climate. This includes examples
taken from AAU institutions and rationales behind making policy decisions.
Volume 5 Number 10 |
April 8, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Cultural Differences and the Construction of Meaning:
Implications for the Leadership and Organizational Context of Schools
Robert A. Peña
Arizona State University
ABSTRACT:The relationships between student
achievement, student culture
and practitioners' attitudes and expectations were investigated.
Student achievement was defined as academic performance but also
included perceptions, rationales and explanations for student
behaviors and conduct. Student culture described student's
Mexican American origins, customs and beliefs. Practitioners'
attitudes described how middle school personnel perceived Mexican
American high and underachieving students generally, and
practitioners' expectations described how personnel interacted
and behaved toward Mexican American students. Results indicated
that Mexican American students perceived themselves and school
personnel perceived these students as different from Anglo
students. Mexican American cultural traditions were also
perceived as inferior and disadvantageous by high achieving
Mexican American students and by personnel. Underachieving
Mexican American students generally valued their cultural
traditions more positively than high achieving students becoming
resistant to learning when these traditions were marginalized in
school. Student achievement was also related to student
compliance, student appearance, styles in written and verbal
communication and practitioners' perceptions about the
willingness of Mexican American students to practice and support
Anglo norms. These findings are congruent with theories that
discuss relationships between student achievement, student
culture and practitioners' attitudes and expectations. Theories
about school failure occurring less frequently in minority groups
that are positively oriented toward their own and the dominant
culture were contradicted and not supported in this research.
Volume 5 Number 11 |
April 16, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Centralized Goal Formation and Systemic Reform:
Reflections on Liberty, Localism and Pluralism
Kenneth A. Strike
Cornell University
ABSTRACT:
This paper asks whether there are reasonable concerns about liberty raised by
standards
driven systemic reform. Part I explores three kinds of concerns, students'
interests in
autonomy and authenticity, academic freedom, and pluralism. Part II
explores two ways
of conceptualizing the balance between liberty and various public interests,
neo-classical
economics and contemporary conservative thought. The paper draws two major conclusions
about standards driven systemic reform: (1) This picture of reform raises serious
questions about
liberty. It may be inconsistent with some liberty interests of students. It is
likely to pose serious
questions about academic freedom and about pluralism. These concerns should make
us cautious
about systemic reform and should motivate us to a broader discussion of its
assumptions and
consequences. (2) The best defense of public sector reform efforts against their
market oriented
competition is one that emphasizes the importance of political goods such as
citizenship.
However, standards driven reform needs to avoid linkage with any nationalistic
form of
communitarianism. In order to do this it needs to seek ways to balance the demands for
centralized goals and an educational system with an equal concern for local democracy,
pluralism and community. A view of standards and accountability that is narrowly
focused on
clear public interests is crucial.
Volume 5 Number 12 |
April 30, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Studying the Rural in Education:
Nation-Building, "Globalization," and School Improvement
Craig B. Howley
Appalachia Educational Laboratory
ABSTRACT:This essay maintains that nation-building, partly through systems
of schooling, has served rather
more to debase than improve the rural circumstance. It suggests that a different logic of improvement
is needed in rural education, but refrains from prescriptions. Instead, it focuses its attention on
the sort of questions that researchers (and school improvers, for that matter) might ask to
discover or invent that logic variously. It draws a distinction between cosmopolitan and local
interests and provides examples of issues that exhibit the distinction. Finally, it suggests and
provides hypertext links to sources in sociology, literature, philosophy,
and education that
might help educational researchers (and anyone else with an interest in "the rural") ground their
studies and their actions in issues that honor rural interests. I remind readers that the very word
"essay" means "tentative."
Volume 5 Number 13 |
June 10, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Qualitative Research Methods:
An essay review
Les McLean
Margaret Myers
Carol Smillie
Dale
Vaillancourt
Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education/University
of Toronto
ABSTRACT:
The authors ask us to explore the topic of "qualitative confirmation"
in relation to the processes and outcomes of qualitative research
practice. The question that directs their inquiry is "how
can we make a case that qualitative data or findings warrant the
inferences about the topics we are studying?" We review the
historical discussion of confirmation theory within the logic
of discovery, consider hypothesis generation and methodological
decisions as instruments of the research process and then apply
the Miller and Fredericks framework of rules to a published report
of qualitative research (Glass, 1997).
Full bibliographic references may be viewed by clicking
on References (below) or on one of the linked
citations in
the text. We end our review with an appreciation of the work.
Volume 5 Number 14 |
June 13, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Rhetoric and Educational Policies
on the Use of History for Citizenship Education
in England from 1880-1990
Jessie Y. Y. Wong
Nanyang Technological University
ABSTRACT:This article attempts to review the rhetoric and the
educational policies on the use of history for citizenship education from
1880-1990 in England. In many
instances, the rhetoric served as powerful tools to
gain the support of educational authorities, namely, the Board of
Education, Ministry of Education and
Examination Boards. Their support was reflected in the change of
educational policies and school syllabi that
followed. This study shows that there was strong and consistent
widespread rhetoric on history's contribution to
citizenship education throughout the century, neither stopped by
the two great wars nor impeded by the challenge
of social studies as a citizenship subject after the Second World
War. Instead it was challenged by the discipline
itself in the early 1980s when some historians began to doubt the
"new" history on the ground that the "real"
history was being devalued. Consequently, there was evidence that
the "new" history did not take off widely. In
many schools, history was taught for its own sake. Its value for
the education of modern citizenship was not
being emphasised. This article ends with the argument that under
the environment of the National Curriculum,
first implemented in the country in 1989, history still claims
its relevance for citizenship education.
Volume 5 Number 15 |
July 4, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Early Childhood Evaluation and Policy Analysis:
A Communicative Framework for the Next Decade
Cynthia Wallat and Carolyn Piazza
>Cynthia
Wallat and Carolyn Piazza
Florida State University
ABSTRACT:
A major challenge for the next generation of students of human
development is to help shape the
paradigms by which we analyze and evaluate public policies for
children and families. Advocates of building
research and policy connections point to health care and stress
experiences across home, school, and community
as critical policy issues that expand the scope of contexts and
outcomes studied. At a minimum, development
researchers and practitioners will need to be well versed in
available methods of inquiry; they will need to be
"methodologically multilingual" when conducting evaluation and
policy analysis, producing reports, and
reporting their interpretations to consumer and policy audiences.
This article suggests how traditional approaches
to policy inquiry can be reconsidered in light of these research
inquiry and communicative skills needed by all
policy researchers. A fifteen year review of both policy and
discourse processes research is presented to suggest
ways to conduct policy studies within a communicative framework.
Volume 5 Number 16 |
July 29, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Staffing Up and Dropping Out:
Unintended
Consequences of High Demand for Teachers
Mark Fetler
ABSTRACT:
Growing public school enrollment and the need to maintain or improve
service to students has increased
the demand for teachers, perhaps more rapidly than existing
sources can accommodate. While some schools
recruit well qualified teachers by offering higher salaries or
better working conditions, others may satisfy their
need for staff by relaxing hiring standards or assigning novice
teachers to difficult classrooms. Schools' hiring
policies have consequences for student success. Dropout rates
tend to be higher where faculties include a greater
percentage of minimally educated teachers or teachers with little
experience. The relationship between dropout
rate and teacher qualifications is independent of student
poverty, school size, and location. A proposed strategy
to reduce dropout rates is to encourage higher preparation and
employment standards, and to provide appropriate
classroom assignments, mentoring, and support for new teachers.
Volume 5 Number 17 |
August 25, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Academic Freedom, Promotion, Reappointment, Tenure and
The Administrative Use of Student Evaluation of Faculty:
(Part II)
Views From the Court
Robert E. Haskell
University of New England 1
ABSTRACT:Though a controversial history of research
on the
reliability and validity of student evaluation of faculty (SEF) exists,
it has not been typically viewed as an infringement on academic freedom,
promotion, reappointment, and tenure rights. As a consequence, legal
aspects of SEF are neither readily apparent, nor available. Unlike academic
freedom, tenure, and other issues, which exist as legal categories, SEF as
a category is virtually absent in legal compendia on higher education law.
The question of its judicial standing is important to any suggestion of
abridging faculty rights. In this second of four articles, legal rulings
are categorized and abstracted verbatim from cases where SEF is integral to
the denial of academic freedom, tenure, promotion and reappointment are
reviewed and provide and provide an initial resource of legal ruling on SEF.
Seventy-eight findings are summarized from the abstracted textual material.
Volume 5 Number 18 |
August 25, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Academic Freedom, Promotion, Reappointment, Tenure And The Administrative Use
of
Student Evaluation of Faculty (SEF):
(Part III)
Analysis And Implications of Views From The Court in Relation to
Accuracy and
Psychometric Validity
Robert E. Haskell
University of New England 1
ABSTRACT:In two previous articles, it was noted that
while a
controversial history of research on the reliability and validity of student
evaluation of faculty (SEF) exists, it has not been typically viewed as an
infringement on academic freedom, promotion, reappointment, and tenure rights.
As a consequence, legal aspects of SEF are neither readily apparent, nor
available. Legal rulings, their implications and assumptions in relation
to their accuracy and psychometric validity where SEF are integral to the
denial of academic freedom, tenure, promotion, and reappointment are reviewed
along with the legal principles of Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact,
and the scientific Precautionary Principle in policy decisions.
Volume 5 Number 19 |
September 23, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Comprehensive Study of Factors Impacting Perceived Quality in School Organizations:
Findings from research on quality assessment in Iowa school districts
William K. Poston Jr.
Associate Professor
Department of Professional Studies
Iowa State University
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of studies conducted at Iowa State University
of public schools in Iowa in the area of perceived quality assessment.
Demographic characteristics of the respondents on the Perceived Quality
Assessment Instrument from forty-four school districts were described by
position, home annual income, gender, age, level of education, and years
experience in current or a similar job.
The research project undertaken incorporated several studies of quality improvement characteristics of public schools. The project resulted in a compendium of coordinated research aimed at learning more about the relationships and effects of quality improvement efforts with other factors of school district operations.
The individual study components (doctoral dissertations) focused on the following issues:
- Assessment of quality improvement climate in community colleges (Bax, 1994).
- Teachers' perceptions of training programs and their relationships to total district perceptions of quality management (Johnson, 1995).
- Performance-based pay of chief executive officers and effects upon quality improvement processes in school organizations (Behounek, 1996).
- Financial characteristics of school organizations and relationships to quality management factors (Kirchoff, 1996).
- 1. Leadership
2. Information and Analysis
3. Strategic Quality Planning
4. Human Resource Development and Management
5. Management of Process Quality
6. Quality and Operational Results
7. Client Focus and Satisfaction
A determination was also sought to establish if the PQAI differentiated in terms of quality between high ranking and low ranking school districts. Inferential statistics established not only a significant difference between the high and low groups' quality effectiveness index, but there were also significant differences between the groups in each of the seven dimensions or sub-areas of the PQAI instrument.
A significant positive relationship was found between the perceived quality of district staff development and the perceived quality effectiveness index of the districts. Also, differences between performance-related and situational-related (nonperformance) factors were evidenced between board presidents and superintendents and a weak inverse relationship was found between performance-based compensation support and the perceived quality of the systems. Significant differences were found between the high and low QEI groups in two areas -- revenues per pupil in the leadership sub-area, and transportation cost per pupil in the information and analysis category. No correlation was found between the sample schools financial characteristics and their any PQAI rating area with one exception -- transportation cost per pupil and information and analysis.
Volume 5 Number 20 |
November 24, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
The Use and Abuse of Socrates in Present Day Teaching
Anthony G. Rud Jr.
Purdue University
Abstract The Greek philosopher Socrates is used as an
example of a master teacher in in many contexts, from elementary school
discussions, to college philosophy classes, to law school. I examine
a number of current uses of Socratic teaching, and expose inconsistencies
among them. I analyze critically recent practitioners of Socratic
teaching, such as Mortimer Adler, and I consider how the celebrated primary
teacher Vivian Gussin Paley enacts the Socratic legacy in a novel way.
I argue that the misuse, or abuse, of the Socratic legacy occurs chiefly
when his teaching is interpreted narrowly as a pedagogical technique devoid
of context and irony.
Volume 5 Number 21 |
November 25, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Academic Freedom, Promotion, Reappointment, Tenure
And The Administrative Use of Student Evaluation of Faculty (SEF):
(Part IV)
Analysis and Implications of Views From the Court
in Relation to Academic
Freedom, Standards, and Quality Instruction
Robert E. Haskell
1
University of New England
Abstract In three previous papers, it was noted that while a controversial history of
research on the reliability and validity of student evaluation of faculty
(SEF) exists, it has not been typically viewed as an infringement on
academic freedom. As a consequence, legal aspects of SEF are neither
readily apparent, nor available. Moreover, SEF has not been generally
seen as an infringement on, and detriment to, academic standards and quality
instruction. The article is a review of SEF legal rulings analyzed in
terms of their implications for academic freedom and quality of instruction
in higher education.
Volume 5 Number 22 |
December 9, 1997 |
ISSN 1068-2341 |
Changing Definitions and Off-loading Responsibility in Alberta's
Post-Secondary System
Robert J. Barnetson
Alberta College-Institutes Faculties Association
Alberta, Canada
Abstract The introduction of a performance-based funding
mechanism by Alberta's provincial government alters the public definition
of "educational quality" and fully shifts the responsibility for
declining educational quality from the provincial government onto
institutions. This article outlines the process by which the provincial
government has compelled institutions to accept this redefinition
and transfer despite the substantial loss of institutional autonomy
it entails. The implications of this change are explored and possible
reasons are suggested.
Copyright 1997 by the Education Policy Analysis Archives
The World Wide Web address for the Education Policy Analysis Archives is http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa
General questions about appropriateness of topics or particular articles may be addressed to the Editor, Gene V Glass, glass@asu.edu or reach him at College of Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2411. (602-965-2692). The Book Review Editor is Walter E. Shepherd: shepherd@asu.edu . The Commentary Editor is Casey D. Cobb: casey@olam.ed.asu.edu .
EPAA Editorial Board
| Michael W. Apple University of Wisconsin |
Greg Camilli Rutgers University |
| John Covaleskie Northern Michigan University |
Andrew Coulson a_coulson@msn.com |
|
Alan Davis University of Colorado, Denver |
Sherman Dorn University of South Florida |
| Mark E. Fetler California Commission on Teacher Credentialing |
Richard Garlikov hmwkhelp@scott.net |
| Thomas F. Green Syracuse University |
Alison I. Griffith York University |
| Arlen Gullickson Western Michigan University |
Ernest R. House University of Colorado |
| Aimee Howley Marshall University |
Craig B. Howley Appalachia Educational Laboratory |
| William Hunter University of Calgary |
Richard M. Jaeger University of North Carolina--Greensboro |
| Daniel Kallós Umeå University |
Benjamin Levin University of Manitoba |
| Thomas Mauhs-Pugh Rocky Mountain College |
Dewayne Matthews Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education |
| William McInerney Purdue University |
Mary P. McKeown Arizona Board of Regents |
| Les McLean University of Toronto |
Susan Bobbitt Nolen University of Washington |
| Anne L. Pemberton apembert@pen.k12.va.us |
Hugh G. Petrie SUNY Buffalo |
| Richard C. Richardson Arizona State University |
Anthony G. Rud Jr. Purdue University |
| Dennis Sayers University of California at Davis |
Jay D. Scribner University of Texas at Austin |
| Michael Scriven scriven@aol.com |
Robert E. Stake University of Illinois--UC |
| Robert Stonehill U.S. Department of Education |
Robert T. Stout Arizona State University |