Differing effects of two synthetic phonics programmes on early reading development

Background: Synthetic phonics is the widely accepted approach for teaching reading in English: children are taught to sound out the letters in a word then blend these sounds together. Aims: We compared the impact of two synthetic phonics programmes on early reading.SampleChildren received Letters and Sounds (L&S; 7 schools) which teaches multiple letter-sound mappings or Early Reading Research (ERR; 10 schools) which teaches only the most consistent mappings plus frequent words by sight.MethodWe measured phonological awareness (PA) and reading from school entry to the end of the second (all schools) or third school year (4 ERR, 3 L&S schools). Results: PA was significantly related to all reading measures for the whole sample. However, there was a closer relationship between PA and exception word reading for children receiving the L&S programme. The programmes were equally effective overall, but their impact on reading significantly interacted with school-entry PA: children with poor PA at school entry achieved higher reading attainments under ERR (significant group difference on exception word reading at the end of the first year), whereas children with good PA performed equally well under either programme. Conclusions: The more intensive phonics programme (L&S) heightened the association between PA and exception word reading. Although the programmes were equally effective for most children, results indicate potential benefits of ERR for children with poor PA. We suggest that phonics programmes could be simplified to teach only the most consistent mappings plus frequent words by sight.

A longitudinal study of Project Trio: A dropout prevention program in a large urban environment

The subject of dropout prevention/reduction is deservedly receiving attention as a problem that, if not resolved, could threaten our national future.^ This study investigates a small segment of the overall dropout problem, which has apparently unique features of program design and population selection. The evidence presented here should add to the knowledge bank of this complicated problem.^ Project Trio was one of a number of dropout prevention programs and activities which were conducted in Dade County school years 1984-85 and 1985-86, and it is here investigated longitudinally through the end of the 1987-88 school year. It involved 17 junior and senior high schools, and 27 programs, 10 the first year and 17 the second, with over 1,000 total students, who had been selected by the schools from a list of the "at risk" students provided by the district, and were divided approximately evenly into the classical research design of an experimental group and the control group, which following standard procedure was to take the regular school curriculum. No school had more than 25 students in either group.^ Each school modified the basic design of the project to accommodate the individual school characteristics and the perceived needs of their students; however all schools projects were to include some form of academic enhancement, counseling and career awareness study.^ The conclusion of this study was that the control group had a significantly lower dropout rate than the experimental group. Though impossible to make a certain determination of the reasons for this unexpected result, it appears from evidence presented that one cause may have been inadequate administration at the local level.^ This study was also a longitudinal investigation of the "at risk" population as a whole for the three and four year period, to determine if academic factors were present in records may be used to identify dropout proneness.^ A significant correlation was found between dropping out and various measures including scores on the Quality of School Life Instrument, attendance, grade point averages, mathematics grades, and overage in grade, important identifiers in selection for dropout prevention programs. ^

A fourth-grade teacher's classroom perspective

Countless books have been written about what is good and what is bad about our educational system. No matter what the book or what the theory, all agree the classroom teacher is critical to the education process. Many influences affect classroom teaching, some of which are beyond her control, but a caring classroom teacher has a central role in the instruction of children The purpose of this case study was to inquire into the beliefs and behaviors of one elementary school teacher in a low socio-economic school and study her classroom perspective. This teacher of five years was a reading specialist and was teaching a full fourth grade curriculum for the first time. Because she suffered from math phobia, she was apprehensive about teaching mathematics. ^ This qualitative study required intense, time-consuming interviews, long and frequent observations, critical journaling, field notes and artifacts provided by the teacher. The resulting descriptive data was coded into categories and reassembled into themes that captured the essence of the teacher's beliefs. ^ The overarching themes found were: first, the teacher's caring attitude towards her students, cultivated by her affectionate family, her mother who is an elementary school teacher, and rich and rewarding elementary school experiences, second, her implementation of the curriculum, influenced by her passion for reading, her math phobia, and standardized tests and third, her attitudes toward her workplace, school administrators and collegiality among teachers. During the school year this teacher “owned” her classroom and was a full participant in its life! Her dedication to teaching was fostered by the satisfaction of knowing she has a profound impact and makes a significant difference in her students' lives. ^ This study suggested areas for further research on the following topics: consideration of teachers with math phobia, the effect of standardized tests on areas of the curriculum and the value of computers in the elementary school classroom. ^

Effect of the Florida A+ Plan on curriculum and instruction in Title I public elementary schools

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the Florida A+ Plan accountability program on curriculum and instruction in four Title I public elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. It focused on the experiences of the school principals and the classroom teachers of the four schools as they related to curriculum and instruction. The study included an analysis of the school improvement plans in curriculum and instruction for each school during the school years 1998-2004. ^ The study was conducted in the format of interviews with the school principals and principal selected classroom teachers who taught third, fourth, or fifth grade during the first six years of the Florida A+ Plan. The analysis of the school improvement plans focused on the implementation of curriculum and instruction for each of the four schools. It focused on the goals and measurable objectives selected by each school to improve its instructional program in the academic subjects of reading, mathematics, writing, and science. ^ The findings indicated that under the pressure to improve their school grade on the Florida A+ Plan, each of the target schools, based on individual needs assessments, and restructured their instructional program each school year as documented in their school improvement plans. They altered their programs by analyzing student performance data to realign curriculum and instruction. The analysis of the interviews with the principals and the teachers showed that each school year they restructured their program to align it with the FCAT content. This realigning was a collaborative effort on the part of the administration and the instructional staff. ^

Student Expositions as an Opportunity to Feel Proud: One Antidote to Expectations of Failure in Zone Schools

Expositions of student work at the end of the extended school year are one of many reform efforts in a specially formed School Improvement Zone in Miami Dade schools. This descriptive analysis offers examples of successful attempts to engender pride even in the face of formidable social and cultural obstacles.

Personality and job performance: The mediating roles of leader -member exchange quality and action control

The present investigation examined the relationships among personality (as conceptualized by the Big Five Factors), leader-member exchange (LMX) quality, action control, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), and overall job performance (OJP). Two mediator variables were proposed and tested in this study: LMX and Action Control. Two-hundred and seven currently employed regular elementary school classroom teachers provided data during the 2000–2001 academic school year. Teachers provided personality, LMX quality (member or subordinate perspective), action control, job tenure, and demographic data. Nine school administrators (i.e., Principals, Assistant Principals) were the source for supervisor ratings of OCB, OJP, and LMX quality (leader or supervisor perspective). In eight of the nine total schools, teachers completed questionnaires during an after-school teacher gathering; in the remaining school location questionnaires were dropped off, distributed to teachers, and re-collected two weeks later. Results indicated a significant relationship between the OCB scale and overall supervisory ratings of OJP. The relationship among the big five factors of personality and OJP did not reach statistical significance, nor did the relationships among personality and OCB. The data indicated that none of the teacher tenure variables (i.e., teacher, school, or time worked with principal tenure) moderated the personality-OCB relationship nor the personality-OJP relationship. Finally, a review of the correlations among the variables of interest precluded conducting a mediation between personality-performance by OCB, mediation of personality-OCB by action control, and mediation of personality-OCB by LMX. In conclusion, the data reveal that personality was not significantly correlated with supervisory ratings of OJP or significantly related to supervisory ratings of overall OCB. Moreover, LMX quality and action control did not mediate the relationships between Personality-OJP nor the Personality-OCB relationship. Significant relationships were found between disengagement and overall LMX quality and between Initiative and overall LMX quality (both LMX-Teacher perspectives) as well as between personality variables and both Disengagement and Initiative action control variables. Despite the limitations inherent in this study, these latter findings suggest “lessons” for teachers and school administrators alike. ^

The relationship of instructor technical literacy to the academic performance of students in career academies

Career Academy instructors' technical literacy is vital to the academic success of students. This nonexperimental ex post facto study examined the relationships between the level of technical literacy of instructors in career academies and student academic performance. It was also undertaken to explore the relationship between the pedagogical training of instructors and the academic performance of students. ^ Out of a heterogeneous population of 564 teachers in six targeted schools, 136 teachers (26.0 %) responded to an online survey. The survey was designed to gather demographic and teaching experience data. Each demographic item was linked by researchers to teachers' technology use in the classroom. Student achievement was measured by student learning gains as assessed by the reading section of the FCAT from the previous to the present school year. ^ Linear and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the research questions. To clarify the possibility of teacher gender and teacher race/ethnic group differences by research variable, a series of one-way ANOVAs were conducted. As revealed by the ANOVA results, there were not statistically significant group differences in any of the research variables by teacher gender or teacher race/ethnicity. Greater student learning gains were associated with greater teacher technical expertise integrating computers and technology into the classroom, even after controlling for teacher attitude towards computers. Neither teacher attitude toward technology integration nor years of experience in integrating computers into the curriculum significantly predicted student learning gains in the regression models. ^ Implications for HRD theory, research, and practice suggest that identifying teacher levels of technical literacy may help improve student academic performance by facilitating professional development strategies and new parameters for defining highly qualified instructors with 21st century skills. District professional development programs can benefit by increasing their offerings to include more computer and information communication technology courses. Teacher preparation programs can benefit by including technical literacy as part of their curriculum. State certification requirements could be expanded to include formal surveys to assess teacher use of technology.^

TEACHNJ: An Evaluation of Two Years Implementation

The Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act was adopted by the New Jersey legislature in August 2012 with the intent to raise student achievement by improving the overall quality of instruction. As a result of this act, new teacher evaluation systems are being introduced in school districts across the state in an effort to more accurately assess teacher performance. The new teacher evaluations will be based on multiple classroom observations as well as the academic achievement of their students as measured on standardized tests. In addition, professional development opportunities are likely to change under this legislation, with schools customizing professional development programs to more effectively meet the needs of their teachers. The overarching question that informs our research is what impact will TEACH NJ have on the overall value of teacher evaluations and the quality of professional development opportunities offered to teachers. Data collected through survey research presents the pre-implementation practices (2011-2012 school year) as well as one year post-implementation practices (2013-2014) taking place in school districts throughout New Jersey. The findings reflect teachers’ perceptions of the value of the current teacher evaluation practices, the quality of the current professional development opportunities and the value the school administration places on teacher evaluations.

Escrever e avaliar textos argumentativos: saberes docentes em ação

This study has investigated texts written by students from two high school- 3 rd grade classrooms, a public school in Natal- RN, and their teachers in order to reveal the nature and relevance of the knowledge that has oriented the teacher in the process of evaluation of argumentative text, set in the genre, opinion article, produced in the school setting. The corpus analyzed is compound with a total of sixteen texts, four of them corresponding to the production of two teachers (two productions per teacher) and twelve on the production of six students (two productions per student, with three students per class). All material on the production of these subjects was collected throughout the 2008 school year, with special attention for students’ productions, which were collected only after being subjected to teacher evaluation. Working knowledge of text linguistics, discourse analysis, the theory of enunciation and the aesthetics of reception, we proceeded to the analysis of production, which in according to the methodological proposal, it was held in two stages: at first, the student and faculty productions were analyzed, separately, in order to verify what knowledge about the object these subjects revealed to have already assimilated. Secondly, two sets were compared (each teacher's texts with the texts of their students). The intention was to unravel the existence (or not) of a connection between the underlying knowledge to the textual production of these teachers and their knowledge manifested in the evaluative act when the interventions made on the productions of the learner. It was found that there is a close correlation between the knowledge revealed in this action and those evidenced in their written productions, which constitutes a strong argument to validate the thesis that teachers also have been shown little proficient in performing their role as producers and evaluators of texts.

Da arenga ao debate: o aprimoramento da competência argumentativa por estudantes do ensino médio

In order to understand the factors involved in the improvement process of argumentative competence by students of 2nd year of high school, we undertook a qualitative approach research and interventional nature, during which we adopted the conduct of participant observation in a school belonging to the state schools of Rio Grande do Norte, located on the outskirts of the city of Natal. The analyzed corpus consisted in the interim intervention and entails the answers to a semi-structured questionnaire, fourteen opinion articles and three regrados debates, produced by the students, in addition to video recordings of ten sessions and personal notes pertaining to another six, totaling sixteen sessions observed during the school year 2014. As the most important bibliographical references we study skills and reasoning from the perspective of discursive social interactionism. Analyzing the data we loan the principle of categorization, opting for critical-descriptive presentation and were revealed to us, via the classified evidences, that among the factors involved in the study process, it appears with more relevance to set up an effective intellectual community, which meets in constant interaction subjects, which alternate assuming the conditions of speakers and audience. The constitution of this community depends largely on the teaching mediation and is indispensable to the (re)design of the studied competence, in interactions with her the subjects afforded learn and develop their competence, reshaping the limits of their zone of proximal development.

Da arenga ao debate: o aprimoramento da competência argumentativa por estudantes do ensino médio

In order to understand the factors involved in the improvement process of argumentative competence by students of 2nd year of high school, we undertook a qualitative approach research and interventional nature, during which we adopted the conduct of participant observation in a school belonging to the state schools of Rio Grande do Norte, located on the outskirts of the city of Natal. The analyzed corpus consisted in the interim intervention and entails the answers to a semi-structured questionnaire, fourteen opinion articles and three regrados debates, produced by the students, in addition to video recordings of ten sessions and personal notes pertaining to another six, totaling sixteen sessions observed during the school year 2014. As the most important bibliographical references we study skills and reasoning from the perspective of discursive social interactionism. Analyzing the data we loan the principle of categorization, opting for critical-descriptive presentation and were revealed to us, via the classified evidences, that among the factors involved in the study process, it appears with more relevance to set up an effective intellectual community, which meets in constant interaction subjects, which alternate assuming the conditions of speakers and audience. The constitution of this community depends largely on the teaching mediation and is indispensable to the (re)design of the studied competence, in interactions with her the subjects afforded learn and develop their competence, reshaping the limits of their zone of proximal development.

A influência das questões de gênero nos processos avaliativos escolares

This paper aims to discuss the influences of gender issues in formal and informal evaluation processes in order to identify situations that may lead to exclusion of boys and girls in our schools. Therefore, we rely on the authors as Freitas (2005, 2006, 2011), Sordi (2009), Villas Boas (2006), Fernandes (2006, 2008), (Carvalho (2001.2004, 2011), Blonde (1995, 2003), Scott (1995), Connell (1995), Navy (2009), Dal'igna (2004), among others. These authors help us understand that both gender issues as the evaluation questions in its formal and informal when analyzed, especially in light of school reality, are impregnated with socially constructed conceptions that are reflected in the school. The survey was conducted in two rooms of the 5th year of elementary school, and the genres of research were qualitative and quantitative. In the development of this study, the research followed those steps: School Rules analysis, grade maps, class journals; Mapping of records of the evaluation results of the 1st to 5th year of elementary school; Analysis of official government documents in education; development, implementation and analysis of questionnaires answered by the students and the teachers with issues about gender and evaluation; Mapping of the evaluation results of the students of two classes surveyed during 2012; Observation in the classroom; interview with the teachers of the surveyed groups. During the research we found that gender issues are not dealt with by the school and that this reinforces some exclusion processes that are linked to these questions. Studies also tell us that on the surveyed groups most of the children who have lower evaluative results are boys, which, in the evaluation of teachers, are considered undisciplined. Of the children with poor results, 50% are black. Some of these children who had low evaluative income have not completed the school year in that school. The study also reveals that on the observed groups, generally the girls have better results in formal assessments than boys, which are considered, by the teachers, more undisciplined and difficult to work with. The girls, on the other hand, are considered more docile and attentive than boys. The observations made by teachers concerning the behavior of boys and girls also reflect in the formal evaluative results, therefore the informal assessments, the value judgment of teachers in relation to the behavior of the students influence the results of formal assessments. In this sense, in order to seek ways to try to overcome the exclusion situations experienced in the evaluation process, we believe that the principles of popular education can be configured as an important parameter to begin discussions on gender and evaluation in schools.

As escolas polivalentes do Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba (MG): sondagem vocacional no projeto desenvolvimentista civil-militar (1965–1976)

This study has as object eight state vocational schools located in Araguari, Araxá, Frutal, Ituiutaba, Monte Carmelo, Patos de Minas, Uberaba and Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais. The period analyzed comprises the years from 1965 to 1976, from the signature of the Agreement 512-11-610-042 beteween the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and the American Agency for International Development (USAID), which started a series of other agreements, and actions ending up with the creation of the Expansion and Improvement of High Schools Program (Programa de Expansão e Melhoria do Ensino Médio - PREMEM) and, from this, the Vocational Schools. The upper limit of the study, 1976, was the year when these agreements, known as MEC/USAID agreements ceased. The Vocational Schools were characterized as vocation probing schools, directing the professional formation of the population in general, which would happen a posteriori, turning it shorter and more effective, since the labor market would demand, urgently, capable professionals for an expanding economy. The project of Vocational Schools had a national scope, and foresaw, for its unfolding, the complete substitution of State Schools for the new model, called “multi-curricula”. The theme Vocational schools was the object of my Master’s degree study, when I focused the State School Guiomar de Freitas Costa, in Uberlândia. That study raised questionings and concerns that resulted in the central problem of the thesis presented here: understanding the measure in which such schools integrated the country’s development project – mostly in the first half of the military rule – and to understand its structure, functionality and efficacyThe development of the study presented here, demanded the use of several sources: 1) specialized literature about the topics presented, i.e., the situation of national education in a temporal analysis, the political, economical and social context, research methodologies, the theory of human capital, vocational teaching, pedagogical trends and practices, agreements MEC-USAID and PREMEM; 2) national, state and county laws related to the discussion: laws of national education directives and basis, decrees and reports stating about the program of technical cooperation between Brazil and the United States of America, the Program of Expansion and Improvement of Teaching (PREMEM), formation of professors, establishment of Vocational Schools and educational planning; 3) documentation of school archives: books of minutes of Collegiate and of faculty and staff, registrar books with final scores, enrolment, visits of inspector, accounting books, punch clock records, student, professor and staff occurrences, inventory, class schedules, school year calendar, school rules, class reports, payment rolls, bills of sales, exchanged mail, personal documentation of professional personnel, documents of land acquisition, blueprints, manuals of PREMEM, didactic materials/resources used in classes, books available in the school library, structured evaluations for follow-up of school processes, pictures of events, texts prepared for special dates, and news from the official newspaper and, finally, 4) national and local press reports, especially from Folha de São Paulo, Correio de Araxá, Correio de Uberlândia and Lavoura e Comércio (Uberaba). The proposition of Vocational schools was conciliate theoretical and practical formation through an active education permeated by technological resources. The contact with knowledge and several practical activities under professional supervision, the student would identify the knowledge area that would interest him the most and his aptitude. This formation in primary school would make way for the vocation studies in high school, which became mandatory by the law 5.692/71, that reformed school education from the previous levels of elementary, middle high and high school. However, the multi-curricula proposal that would be spread to the other public schools in the country ended up succumbing to the model already established. From its ephemeral existence, maybe the Vocational Schools have not reached the more general goals in political, economic and social aspects; however, this study demonstrated that, for the people that, directly or indirectly, had contact with such schools, a legacy of vocational and quality teaching was made, so much so, that forty years after the end of that proposal, they are still remembered.

A Jaworskian analysis of four senior class primary teachers endeavouring to teach mathematics from a constructivist-compatible perspective

A constructivist philosophy underlies the Irish primary mathematics curriculum. As constructivism is a theory of learning its implications for teaching need to be addressed. This study explores the experiences of four senior class primary teachers as they endeavour to teach mathematics from a constructivist-compatible perspective with primary school children in Ireland over a school-year period. Such a perspective implies that children should take ownership of their learning while working in groups on tasks which challenge them at their zone of proximal development. The key question on which the research is based is: to what extent will an exposure to constructivism and its implications for the classroom impact on teaching practices within the senior primary mathematics classroom in both the short and longer term? Although several perspectives on constructivism have evolved (von Glaserfeld (1995), Cobb and Yackel (1996), Ernest (1991,1998)), it is the synthesis of the emergent perspective which becomes pivotal to the Irish primary mathematics curriculum. Tracking the development of four primary teachers in a professional learning initiative involving constructivist-compatible approaches necessitated the use of Borko’s (2004) Phase 1 research methodology to account for the evolution in teachers’ understanding of constructivism. Teachers’ and pupils’ viewpoints were recorded using both audio and video technology. Teachers were interviewed at the beginning and end of the project and also one year on to ascertain how their views had evolved. Pupils were interviewed at the end of the project only. The data were analysed from a Jaworskian perspective i.e. using the categories of her Teaching Triad of management of learning, mathematical challenge and sensitivity to students. Management of learning concerns how the teacher organises her classroom to maximise learning opportunities for pupils. Mathematical challenge is reminiscent of the Vygotskian (1978) construct of the zone of proximal development. Sensitivity to students involves a consciousness on the part of the teacher as to how pupils are progressing with a mathematical task and whether or not to intervene to scaffold their learning. Through this analysis a synthesis of the teachers’ interpretations of constructivist philosophy with concomitant implications for theory, policy and practice emerges. The study identifies strategies for teachers wishing to adopt a constructivist-compatible approach to their work. Like O’Shea (2009) it also highlights the likely difficulties to be experienced by such teachers as they move from utilising teacher-dominated methods of teaching mathematics to ones in which pupils have more ownership over their learning.

Retos para potenciar la inclusión desde el discurso de la comunidad educativa: estudio de caso desde una perspectiva longitudinal

La inclusión del alumnado inmigrante resulta fundamental para garantizar la igualdad de oportunidades y el desarrollo de una ciudadanía crítica y participativa. Por ello, el presente artículo corresponde a un estudio longitudinal en un centro escolar con el objetivo de conocer las percepciones de los docentes hacia las familias inmigrantes y justificar la importancia de potenciar la participación de las dichas familias en la vida educativa. El análisis sobre dicho enfoque inclusivo se inició en el curso 2010/11 y finaliza tres años después. Los resultados obtenidos a través de la observación participante, entrevistas a informadores clave y el análisis de documentos del centro se exponen clasificados en diferentes estrategias tanto a nivel organizativo como de aula.