Academic achievement orientation of West Indian American parents and adolescents

Literature addressing academic achievement orientation of Black adolescents in the United States often depicts poor school related attitudes and adaptation patterns, low academic achievement, and deficient family backgrounds. However, some researchers maintained that certain Black immigrant groups possessed positive academic achievement orientations and exemplary academic achievements (Ogbu, 1991; Gibson, 1991; Vernez, & Abrahamse, 1996). In this study, I attempted to combine qualitative data from multiple sources (surveys, interviews, observations, literature, and document analysis), using standard case study methodology and the constant comparative method of analysis to understand the relationship that existed between the academic achievement orientation of a select group of West Indian American parents and adolescents in Broward County, Florida. The sub-sample of 11 families, comprising 15 adolescents and 13 parents, was selected through maximum variation sampling from a pool of 23 families. The findings were presented as a single composite case study. The participants possessed specific, longstanding educational and career goals for the children. The parents were deeply involved and were knowledgeable of their children's schools and academic progress. While mothers were the parents most actively involved in the schools, fathers were strong authoritative figures. Families evidenced a strong moral religious base with set rules of behavior, firm parenting practices, and established chains of authority. Family members emphasized education over material things; reading over audiovisual or social activities; family cohesion over individual wishes; and academics over extracurricular activities. The parents' strong positive academic achievement orientation was communicated to the children and reinforced by relatives, family friends, and others. In turn, the adolescents possessed positive school-related attitudes and attributional styles. While they admitted their parents were somewhat strict, they voluntarily complied with the rules and were highly motivated to succeed because they believed their parents deeply cared for them and that education leads to success and upward mobility. Each adolescent was pursuing an academic track and planning for college and specific profession. The findings support Ogbu's cultural ecological model (1991). I recommend these findings to teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, and others working with West Indian American families. ^

Nursing curriculum: Changing students' knowledge and biases towards older adults

Caring for the older adult is a topic debated and discussed at all levels of today's society. Nurses are expected to educate patients and family members about their medications and care following hospitalization or contact with the health care system. The majority of these patients are elderly. The purpose of the study was to determine if a course on aging would affect the knowledge and biases of nursing students in a Baccalaureate nursing program at a Southeast Florida University. Nursing students (N = 52) were surveyed at the beginning of the semester using Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz that is structured to determine the knowledge and biases of individuals towards the older adult. Students were surveyed before and after the nursing course that had a didactic and clinical component in the hospital setting. Analysis of the data by Chi square and repeated measure ANOVA supported the hypothesis that a course segment on aging would affect the knowledge level of the nursing students and result in changes of their biases toward the older adult. ^

Making the grade: The perceived impact of Florida's A+ Plan on the learning environment of one elementary school

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of educators at one elementary school regarding the changes in the teaching and learning environment and their related effects following the implementation of Florida's A+ high-stakes accountability system. This study also assessed whether these changes were identified by participants as meaningful and enduring, in terms of the definition by Lieberman and Miller (1999). Twenty-one educators, including 17 teachers and four administrators, at Blue Ribbon Elementary school were interviewed. Data were inductively coded and categorized into four major themes: (a) teaching and learning environment consistency, (b) changes in the teaching and learning environment since the implementation of A+, (c) effects of the changes, and (d) significant and enduring change. Findings fell into three categories (a) identified changes since A+ implementation, (b) effects of changes, and (c) what participants believed was significant and long term change, which included those characteristics of the school that had been identified as consistent in the teaching and learning environment. Statements of the participants explained their perceptions about what instructional decisions where made in response to the A+ Plan including the modification of curriculum, the addition or omission of subject matter taught, and the positive or negative impact these decisions had on the teaching and learning environment. It was found that study participants felt all changes and their effects were a direct result of the A+ Plan and viewed many of the changes as being neither significant nor long term Analysis of the educators' perceptions of the changes they experienced revealed the overall feeling that the changes were not indicative of what was necessary to make a school successful. For the participants, the changes lacked the characteristics that they had described as vital in what constituted success. This led to the conclusion that, by Lieberman and Miller's definition, the majority of changes and effects that were implemented at the school as a result of the mandated A+ Plan, were not meaningful and enduring for effective school reform. ^

The effect of a reform on a school organizational culture after receiving a failing Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test rating

The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of a reform that took place in an elementary school during 2000/2001 as a result of a failure rating on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test on the structure and the personnel of the organization. ^ The exploration took place over a period of 10 months starting in August 2000 until June 2001. It focused on the effect of the failure rating on the: (a) structure and operation of the school; (b) morale, beliefs, behaviors, and daily lives of teachers and the principal; and (c) the effect of the reform effort on the leadership style of the principal, whether she became a transactional or a transformative leader. ^ The researcher assumed the role of a participant observer. Data sources were her personal recollections of major events that took place during the year of the reform, interviews, observations, and school documents. The sample included 15 teachers present during the time of the reform. Ten taught second through fifth grade. The remaining five participants were the music teacher, the counselor, and the writing, reading and technology specialists. Together they represented the instructional team or represented special education areas. ^ The findings indicated that the reform effort had an effect on the structure and the operation of the school. The changes included reorganization of the physical set up, changes in curriculum and instruction, changes in the means of communication among the staff, and the addition of new staff members including an official agent of change. The reform had a greater effect on the daily lives of teachers and their morale than on their beliefs and behaviors. Teachers reported that during the effort their daily lives were stressful and their morale very low due to the enormous expectations that they had to meet. On the other hand, the reform effort had a positive effect on the daily life, morale, beliefs, and behaviors of the principal. It energized her. She spoke positively about the change. She functioned as an effective, positive, resilient transactional leader who did what was necessary in order to enable the teachers to cope with the complex situation. ^

A study of teachers' espoused instructional beliefs

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' espoused instructional beliefs and whether they differed in relation to schools' socioeconomic status, extent of teachers' educational background, or extent of teachers' classroom experience. The study comprised a total of 242 Miami-Dade County public school educators who responded to a thirty-nine question Likert scale, Literacy Instructional Practices Questionnaire. Eighteen schools, three from each of the six regions, were purposively selected based on the socioeconomic status of students. Nine participants were interviewed using semi-standardized interview procedures and open-ended questioning techniques. ^ Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) results revealed that teachers' espoused beliefs concerning the instruction of literacy and forces and influences affecting instruction do not significantly differ depending on schools' socioeconomic status, extent of teachers' educational background, or extent of teachers' classroom experience. The majority of teachers appear to follow a top-down generated direct instruction model. Generally, students are taught as a whole class and ability grouped for specific skill instruction utilizing commercially produced reading and language arts texts. ^ There was no evidence of a relationship between teachers' espoused beliefs concerning the model of instruction that they practice or teachers' espoused beliefs concerning research and its application to practice and the three independent variables. Interview data corroborated much of the information garnered through the questionnaire. However, interview participants espoused the belief that research did not influence their selection of instructional practices. ^ Although teachers perceive of themselves as eclectic in their espoused instructional beliefs, they appear to follow a skills based direct instruction pedagogy in practice. Much of what teachers believe constitutes effective practice, few researchers recommend, affirming the findings of Calderhead (1993) and the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board (U.S. Department of Education, 1998, p. 18) that “educators rarely know research, seek it out, or act in accordance with its results.” ^

Technology professional development for principals: Impact on the integration of technology in elementary schools

The use of technology in schools is no longer the topic of educational debates, but how to ensure that technology is used effectively continues to be the focal point of discussions. The role of the principal in facilitating the successful integration of technology in the school is well established. To that end, the Florida Department of Education implemented the FloridaLeaders.net: a three-year professional development project in technology for school administrators. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of this professional development project on integrating technology in elementary schools. ^ The study compared a group of schools whose principals have participated in the FloridaLeaders.net (FLN) program with schools whose principals have not participated in the program. The National Technology Standards for School Administrators and the National Technology Standards for Teachers were used as the framework to assess technology integration. ^ The sample consisted of three groups of educators: principals (n = 47), media specialists (n = 110), and teachers (n = 167). Three areas of technology utilization were investigated: (a) the use of technology in management and operations, (b) the use of technology in teaching and learning, and (c) the use of technology for assessment and evaluation. Analyses of variances were used to examine the differences in the perceptions and use of technology in each of the three areas, among the three groups of educators. ^ The findings indicated that the difference between FLN and non-FLN schools was not statistically significant in most of the technology indicators. The difference was however significant in two cases: (a) The use of technology for assessment and evaluation, and (b) The level of technology infrastructure in FLN schools. Additionally, all FLN and non-FLN groups reported the need for technology training for teachers to provide them with the necessary "know-how" to effectively integrate technology into the classrooms. ^ These findings would indicate that FloridaLeaders.net was not effective in integrating technology in schools over and above other current efforts. It is therefore concluded that the FLN project had some favorable impact but had not met all of its stated objectives. ^

Phonics instruction using pseudowords for success in phonetic decoding

This study examined a Pseudoword Phonics Curriculum to determine if this form of instruction would increase students’ decoding skills compared to typical real-word phonics instruction. In typical phonics instruction, children learn to decode familiar words which allow them to draw on their prior knowledge of how to pronounce the word and may detract from learning decoding skills. By using pseudowords during phonics instruction, students may learn more decoding skills because they are unfamiliar with the “words” and therefore cannot draw on memory for how to pronounce the word. It was hypothesized that students who learn phonics with pseudowords will learn more decoding skills and perform higher on a real-word assessment compared to students who learn phonics with real words. ^ Students from two kindergarten classes participated in this study. An author-created word decoding assessment was used to determine the students’ ability to decode words. The study was broken into three phases, each lasting one month. During Phase 1, both groups received phonics instruction using real words, which allowed for the exploration of baseline student growth trajectories and potential teacher effects. During Phase 2, the experimental group received pseudoword phonics instruction while the control group continued real-word phonics instruction. During Phase 3, both groups were taught with real-word phonics instruction. Students were assessed on their decoding skills before and after each phase. ^ Results from multiple regression and multi-level model analyses revealed a greater increase in decoding skills during the second and third phases of the study for students who received the pseudoword phonics instruction compared to students who received the real-word phonics instruction. This suggests that pseudoword phonics instruction improves decoding skills quicker than real-word phonics instruction. This also suggests that teaching decoding with pseudowords for one month can continue to improve decoding skills when children return to real-word phonics instruction. Teacher feedback suggests that confidence with reading increased for students who learned with pseudowords because they were less intimidated by the approach and viewed pseudoword phonics as a game that involved reading “silly” words. Implications of these results, limitations of this study, and areas for future research are discussed. ^

A study of indicators discriminating between the recipients and non -recipients of the International Baccalaureate Diploma

This study examined relationships among variables in the Pre-International Baccalaureate (Pre-IB) Program admissions criteria and the Pre-IB Program course grades to discriminate between recipient and non recipient groups of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma award. The study involved a multiracial sample of 142 IB Diploma graduates between the years 1992 and 1996 from one IB magnet school. The IB school is located within an urban high school of a predominantly Black student enrollment. A discriminant function analysis found that the highest correlations between predictors and the discriminant function were 9th- and 10th-grade mathematics and 10th-grade science course grades. Ninth-grade course grades of science, 9th-grade and 10th-grade course grades of English, foreign language, and social studies, and 7th-grade Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) Reading Comprehension scores were also highly correlated to the discriminant function. The ITBS Battery and subscores of Vocabulary, Total Language, Total Work-Study, and Total Mathematics subscores in seventh grade and a grade point average from language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics in seventh grade were not highly correlated to the discriminant function. Recommendations were presented in the areas of curriculum and instruction, guidance services, student mentoring, and decision-making processes which would parallel the IB examination procedure and thereby enhance the alignment of the IB Program enabling more students to become recipients of the IB Diploma award. ^

Self -regulated learning: The role of a journal in the learning process for students and teachers

A fundamental goal of education is to equip students with self-regulatory capabilities that enable them to educate themselves. Self directedness not only contributes to success in formal instruction but also promotes lifelong learning (Bandura, 1997). The area of research on self-regulated learning is well grounded within the framework of psychological literature attributed to motivation, metacognition, strategy use and learning. This study explored past research and established the purpose of teaching students to self-regulate their learning and highlighted the fact that teachers are expected to assume a major role in the learning process. A student reflective writing journal activity was sustained for a period of two semesters in two fourth-grade mathematics classrooms. The reflective writing journal was analyzed in search of identifying strategies reported by students. Research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts, cross-tabs and chi-square analyses. ^ Results based on student-use of the journals and teacher interviews indicated that the use of a reflective writing journal does promote self-regulated learning strategies to the extent which the student is engaged in the journaling process. Those students identified as highly self-regulated learners on the basis of their strategy use, were shown to consistently claim to learn math “as well or better than planned” on a weekly basis. Furthermore, good self-regulators were able to recognize specific strategies that helped them do well and change their strategies across time based on the planned learning objectives. The perspectives of the participating teachers were examined in order to establish the context in which the students were working. The effect of “planned change” and/or the resistance to change as established in previous research, from the teachers point of view, was also explored. The analysis of the journal data did establish a significant difference between students who utilized homework as a strategy. ^ Based on the journals and interviews, this study finds that the systematic use of metacognitive, motivational and/or learning strategies can have a positive effect on student's responsiveness to their learning environment. Furthermore, it reflects that teaching students “how to learn” can be a vital part of the effectiveness of any curriculum. ^

Waking the sleeping giant: Beliefs of Brazilian and *American teachers concerning liberation curriculum

The school curriculum is a matter mandated by the educational system rather than determined by the school stakeholders of a community, as Freire (1993) suggests. At the present time, one significant vision of school is challenging the current order of curriculum practice. It focuses on school as a liberating agency grounded on the belief that the abilities to access information and to think critically about it will educate an individual capable of making independent decisions. This dissertation investigates teacher's beliefs concerning curriculum. It was assumed that there is a discrepancy between what has been the position proposed by critical theorists including Freire (1998a, 1993); Apple (1979); Giroux (1998), and the position on curriculum which school systems are typically advancing. ^ There were four purposes of this study. The major purpose of this study was to determine whether or not Brazilian and American Teachers believe that a school curriculum based on Freirean principles could be implemented in the schools in which they worked. Also, this study sought to determine the differences found between teachers' beliefs in the Brazilian and American contexts. Another purpose was to determine how Brazilian and American teachers justify their beliefs and actions when these may represent conflicting values. Finally, this study sought to determine if these teachers believe that the curriculum is in need of change or if they accept the current curriculum as adequate. This study consisted of quantitative and qualitative data collection through multiple methods involving surveys and interviews. The study involved 171 teachers (88 Brazilian and 83 American) from multiple settings with the majority working for public systems. Overall, it seems that Brazilian and American teachers believe that a curriculum based on Freirean principles of education can be implemented in their schools, if ongoing education is provided. The majority of Brazilian teachers believe a curriculum change is necessary while half of the American teachers believe a curriculum change is needed and the other half seems to believe curriculum is adequate. Teachers explain that it is hard to implement a curriculum they believe to be most appropriate for students because the current curriculum is mandated by the school system or by national guidelines. The majority of Brazilian teachers and those American teachers who believed a curriculum change is necessary explained their rationale for change in terms of social justice, problem-solving, collective work, student-centered and context-based curriculum. American teachers, who believed that the curriculum is adequate, explained that they are satisfied with their student's achievements. They stated that their students are doing well on tests and are learning what is required. ^

The performance of high -ability Black upper elementary grade students in an International Baccalaureate program

The purpose of this study was to investigate the common factors and experiences that contribute to the success of high ability Black students enrolled in Frank C. Martin Elementary School, the first school in Florida authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP). The study further sought to determine ways in which educators and stakeholders assisted in maintaining and in increasing Black students' achievement that motivated and encouraged them to pursue similar programs at the middle and high school levels. ^ Three sources of data were used: (a) individual interviews with fourth and fifth grade high ability Black students using a semi-structured format elicited discussion of their perceptions of the PYP and factors contributing to their success; (b) individual interviews with their fourth and fifth grade teachers elicited discussion of teacher expectations and effective instructional strategies; and (c) a questionnaire asked parents of the participating students their reasons for choosing the PYP, their perceptions of the program, and their own level of involvement in their child's learning. Three separate focus groups gathered further data. ^ The results revealed that the factors contributing to the success of high ability Black elementary school students are consistent with those of students in other racial groups. These are a challenging program, high teacher and parental expectations, strong parental involvement and support, a celebration of culture and diversity in a caring and nurturing environment, and the development and internalization of positive attitudes. ^ Implications for future studies might include a longitudinal study conducted over seven years to trace the achievements of Black students throughout the entire IB Program. ^

An investigation of parents' and children's beliefs of early literacy acquisition from a cross -cultural perspective

It has been reported that the cultural-historical experiences of ethnic group members can play a role in the literacy beliefs of those members. Socioeconomic conditions can also influence the belief system of the groups' constituents. This study investigated parents' and children's beliefs pertaining to early literacy acquisition as related to the ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) of the participants. The objectives were to determine (a) the differential patterns regarding emergent literacy and traditional skills approaches as they interact with ethnicity and SES and (b) the correspondence between parents and children's beliefs about literacy acquisition. ^ The study was conducted with 152 parents (38 low-income Hispanic, 38 middle-income Hispanic, 38 low-income African-American, and 38 middle-income African-American) and 36 of their 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old children (18 male and 18 female). ^ The parents were asked to check those items with which they agreed on a survey that consisted of an equal number of items from the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy orientations. These responses were used to determine the differences and interaction by ethnicity and SES. The children responded to open-ended questions related to the instruction of reading and writing skills. The parents' responses and children's answers were compared to ascertain the matching parent-child dyads by ethnicity and SES. ^ An item analysis was conducted to strengthen the internal reliability consistency coefficient of the traditional skills-based and emergent literacy scales as measured by the Cronbach Alpha. ^ A two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant difference in traditional skill-based beliefs for the low-income African-American and Hispanic parents. There were no significant findings for the parents' traditional skill based or emergent literacy beliefs based on ethnicity, for the interaction between ethnicity and SES, or for the relationship between parents' and children's literacy beliefs by ethnicity and SES. ^ It can be concluded that low-income African-American and Hispanic parents believe in the traditional skills approach, indicating that these parents find it necessary for children to have sufficient school readiness skills prior to learning to read or write. In addition, the parent and child dyads had a strong tendency toward emergent literacy beliefs. ^

A comparison study of the English III/American Literature success of African American high school students and that of students whose home language is Haitian Creole

The purpose of the study was to compare the English III success of students whose home language is Haitian Creole (SWHLIHC) with that of the more visible African American high school students in the Miami Dade County Public Schools System, in an effort to offer insight that might assist educators in facilitating the educational success of SWHLIHC in American Literature class.^ The study was guided by two important theories on how students interact with and learn from literature. They are Reader Response Theory which advocates giving students the opportunity to become involved in the literature experience (Rosenblatt, 1995), and Critical Literacy, a theory developed by Paolo Freire and Henry Giroux, which espouses a critical approach to analysis of society that enables people to analyze social problems through lenses that would reveal social inequities and assist in transforming society into a more equitable entity.^ Data for the study: 10th grade reading FCAT scores, English III/American Literature grades, and Promotion to English IV records for the school year 2010-2011 were retrieved from the records division of the Miami Dade County Public Schools System. The study used a quantitative methods approach, the central feature of which was an ex post facto design with hypotheses (Newman, Newman, Brown, & McNeely, 2006). The ex post facto design with hypotheses was chosen because the researcher postulated hypotheses about the relationships that might exist between the performances of SWHLIHC and those of African American students on the three above mentioned variables. This type of design supported the researcher's purpose of comparing these performances.^ One way analysis of variance (ANOVA), two way ANOVAs, and chi square tests were used to examine the two groups' performances on the 10th grade reading FCAT, their English III grades, and their promotion to English IV. ^ The study findings show that there was a significant difference in the performance of SWHLIHC and African American high school students on all three independent variables. SWHLIHC performed significantly higher on English III success and promotion to English IV. African American high school students performed significantly higher on the reading FCAT.^

The relationship between the use of Academic Text Talk and the comprehension of scientific academic language for diverse second graders

Changing demographics impact our schools as children come from more linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The various social, cultural, and economic backgrounds of the students affect their early language learning experiences which expose them to the academic language needed to succeed in school. Teachers can help students acquire academic language by introducing words that are within their Zone of Proximal Development and increasing exposure to and use of academic language. This study investigated the effects of increasing structured activities for students to orally interact with informational text on their scientific academic language development and comprehension of expository text. ^ The Academic Text Talk activities, designed to scaffold verbalization of new words and ideas, included discussion, retelling, games, and sentence walls. This study also evaluated if there were differences in scientific language proficiency and comprehension between boys and girls, and between English language learners and native English speakers. ^ A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the relationship between increasing students' oral practice with academic language and their academic language proficiency. Second graders (n = 91) from an urban public school participated in two science units over an 8 week period and were pre and post tested using the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey-Revised and vocabulary tests from the National Energy Education Project. Analysis of covariance was performed on the pre to post scores by treatment group to determine differences in academic language proficiency for students taught using Academic Text Talk compared to students taught using a text-centered method, using the initial Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading test as a covariate. Students taught using Academic Text Talk multimodal strategies showed significantly greater increases in their pre to posttest means on the Woodcock Muñoz Language Survey-Revised Oral Language Totals and National Energy Education Development Project Vocabulary tests than students taught using the text-centered method, ps < .05. Boys did not show significantly greater increases than girls, nor did English language learners show significantly greater increases than the native English speakers. ^ This study informs the field of reading research by evaluating the effectiveness of a multimodal combination of strategies emphasizing discourse to build academic language.^

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.