No Child Left Behind, Stereotype Threat, and the Standardized Testing of African American Third-Graders

Stereotype threat theory proposes that the possibility of being judged in terms of a negative stereotype in a particular domain negatively affects one’s performance. The proposed mixed-methods research will investigate the influences of stereotype threat on African American third-graders in a post-No Child Left Behind environment.

The use of curriculum modifications and instructional accommodations to provide access for middle school students with autism to the general curriculum

The number of students identified as having autism increased by 500% in the past 10 years (United States Government Accountability Office, 2005). All students with disabilities are required to be placed in least restrictive environments and to be given access to the general curriculum in the major subjects of math, reading, writing, and science as mandated by federal legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001). As a result of this legislation, an increasing number of students with autism are being educated in inclusive classrooms. Most studies on general education access and curriculum modifications and/or instructional accommodations center on students with intellectual disabilities (e.g. Soukup, Wehmeyer, Bashinski, & Boviard, 2007; Wehmeyer, Lattin, Lapp-Rincker, & Agran, 2003). Wehmeyer et al. (2003) and Soukup et al. (2007) found included students with intellectual disabilities had more access to the general curriculum than mostly self-contained students. This meant included students were more likely to be working on the general curriculum as mandated by NCLB than those in only self-contained classrooms. This study builds and expands the research of Wehmeyer et al., as well as Soukup et al., by examining how students with autism are given access to the general curriculum through curriculum modifications and instructional accommodations used by general education teachers in three schools. This investigation focused on nine inclusive classrooms for students with autism using a parallel mixed methods design (Newman, Newman, & Newman, 2011). Classroom observations using both an IEP related checklist and field notes, teacher interviews, an archival document review of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for the selected students with autism were performed. Findings of this study were organized by interview questions and subsequent coding categories. Quantitative data were organized in a nominal scale. Participants asserted that their middle school students with autism functioned well in their classrooms, occasionally exhibiting behavioral differences. Most instructional accommodations on IEPs were being implemented by participants, and participants often provided additional instructional accommodations not mandated by the IEP. The majority of participants credited county workshops for their knowledge of instructional accommodations.

Are marginalized women being left behind? A population-based study of institutional deliveries in Karnataka, India

Background While India has made significant progress in reducing maternal mortality, attaining further declines will require increased skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery among marginalized and difficult to reach populations. Methods A population-based survey was carried out among 16 randomly selected rural villages in rural Mysore District in Karnataka, India between August and September 2008. All households in selected villages were enumerated and women with children 6 years of age or younger underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire on antenatal care and institutional delivery. Results Institutional deliveries in rural areas of Mysore District increased from 51% to 70% between 2002 and 2008. While increasing numbers of women were accessing antenatal care and delivering in hospitals, large disparities were found in uptake of these services among different castes. Mothers belonging to general castes were almost twice as likely to have an institutional birth as compared to scheduled castes and tribes. Mothers belonging to other backward caste or general castes had 1.8 times higher odds (95% CI: 1.21, 2.89) of having an institutional delivery as compared to scheduled castes and tribes. In multivariable analysis, which adjusted for inter- and intra-village variance, Below Poverty Line status, caste, and receiving antenatal care were all associated with institutional delivery. Conclusion The results of the study suggest that while the Indian Government has made significant progress in increasing antenatal care and institutional deliveries among rural populations, further success in lowering maternal mortality will likely hinge on the success of NRHM programs focused on serving marginalized groups. Health interventions which target SC/ST may also have to address both perceived and actual stigma and discrimination, in addition to providing needed services. Strategies for overcoming these barriers may include sensitization of healthcare workers, targeted health education and outreach, and culturally appropriate community-level interventions. Addressing the needs of these communities will be critical to achieving Millennium Development Goal Five by 2015.

Psichological and behavioral problems among left-behind adolescents. The case of Ecuador

Objetivo: evaluar el impacto de la migración de los padres en el bienestar psicológico de los ado - lescentes en abandono (LBA) en el Ecuador. Ado - lescentes abandonados son quienes permanecen en su país de origen, mientras su (s) padre (s) mi - graron. Métodos: en un estudio Transversal, 659 adoles - centes de edad escolar (43% mujeres, con una edad media de 13.9 +- 1.2) llenaron los cuestio - narios de fortalezas y dificultades (SDQ), y deter - minantes socio-demográficos. Las estadísticas fue - ron utilizadas para comparar el impacto de los determinantes socio-demográficos en el grupo de adolescentes en abandono (LBA) y adolescentes en no abandono (NLBA). Resultados: El 46% de los (LBA) puntuaron sig - nificativamente más alto en el cuestionario (SDQ) que los (NLBA), especialmente las niñas. Los de - terminantes socio-demográficos fueron significa - tivamente asociados con menos problemas psico - lógicos, por ejemplo, hablando acerca de problemas personales y migración después de la edad de 5 años en LBA. Conclusiones: la migración de los padres tiene un impacto en el bienestar psicológico de los adolescentes en abandono en el Ecuador. Las ca - racterísticas socio-demográficas influencian dicho impacto. Este artículo enfatiza un importante y hasta ahora ignorado problema de salud publica en el Ecuador. Esto subraya la necesidad del des - arrollo de políticas de salud y una profunda in - vestigación

Children left behind during immigration: repercussions on the mental health of Latin-American mothers and fathers

Emigrating and having to leave children behind may be a risk factor for the mental health of immigrants. This study aimed to compare the psychological symptoms reported by immigrants mothers and fathers who took their children with them with those who left their children behind. The sample comprised 213 Latin American immigrants (123 women and 90 men). The results showed that mothers who did not have children with them reported more psychological symptoms than those who did. Few differences were observed in the case of fathers, except that those who had their children with them reported more symptoms related with somatization. After controlling for possible confounding variables ('time since immigration', ·having a job', 'legal status', and social support') it is concluded that for mothers not being accompanied by own's children explains the largest proportion of the psychological synptoms analyzed, although the time since immigration also accounts for some of the variance in the case of depressive sympthomatology and general distress. It is likely that the despair and frustation felt by mothers grows as time goes on and they remain unable to reunite the family. These results may be useful in terms of designing prevention and intervention programs with immigrants mothers.

Acounting before accountability. 'Contabilizar antes de rendir cuentas'.

Resumen tomado del autor

Sibling influence on the human capital of the left-behind

While a growing literature has analyzed the effects of parental migration on the educational outcomes of children left behind, this study is the first to highlight the importance of sibling interactions in such a context. Using panel data from the RUMiC Survey, we find that sibling influence on school performance is stronger among left- behind children. Hence, parental migration seems to trigger changes in familial roles and sibling effects among children. However, it is primarily older sisters who exhibit a positive influence on their younger siblings. We corroborate our results by performing a series of tests to mitigate endogeneity issues. The results from the analysis suggest that sibling effects in migrant households might be a mechanism shaping children’s outcomes and success and that adjustments within the family left behind have the potential to generate benefits – or reduce hardships – in response to parental migration.

The people left behind, a report.

Commonly known as the Breathitt report.

Left behind: A farmer's fate in the age of sustainable development

Globalization is eroding the livelihoods of small farmers, a significant and vulnerable class, particularly in the developing world. The cost-price squeeze stemming from trade liberalization places farmers in a race to the bottom that leads to displacement, poverty, and environmental degradation. Scholars and activists have proposed that alternative trade initiatives offer a unique opportunity to reverse this trend by harnessing the power of the markets to reward producers of goods with embedded superior cultural, environmental, and social values. Alternative trade via certification schemes have become a de facto prescription for any location where there is a need to conciliate economic interest with conservation imperatives. Partnerships among commodity production farmers, elite manufacturers and wealthy northern consumers/activists do not necessarily have win-win outcomes. Paradoxically, the partnerships of farmers with external agencies have unexpected results. These partnerships develop into dependent relationships that become unsustainable in the absence of further transfers of capital. The institutions born of these partnerships are fragile. When these fledging institutions fail, farmers are left in the same situation that they were before the partnership, with only minor improvements to show after spending considerable amounts of social and financial capital. I hypothesize that these failures are born out of a belief in a universal understanding of sustainability. A discursive emphasis on consensus, equity and mutual benefit hides the fact that what for consumers it is a matter of choice, for producers is a matter of survival. The growth in consumers’ demand for certified products creates a race for farmers to meet these standards. My findings suggest that this race generates economically perverse effects. First, producers enter into a certification treadmill. Second, the local need for economic sustainability is ignored. Third, commodity based alternative trade schemes increase the exposure of communities to global shocks. I conclude by calling for a careful reassessment of sustainable development projects that promote certification schemes. The designers and implementers of these programs must include farmers’ agenda in the planning of these programs.

Technology Integration and School Leadership

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought many significant changes to American schools including accessibility to technology. Through an extensive literature review of the relationship between technology leadership and student achievement, five major themes emerged from data that support the need for more effective computer-based education in schools.

The Annual Condition of Education Report, 2002

Statistics about public edcuation in the state of Iowa including graduation rates, No Child Left Behind Act,

The Annual Condition of Education Report, 2003

Statistics about public education in the state of Iowa including graduation rates and No Child Left Behind Act.

Condition of Education in Iowa The Future for Education in Iowa, 2005

Statistics about public education in the state of Iowa including graduation rates and No Child Left Behind Act.