Current Issue

Spring 2009

VOLUME 37 #2

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ABSTRACTS

 

THE IMPACT OF ONLINE DISCUSSION ON FACE-TO-FACE DISCUSSION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

 

AUTHOR

SERENA W. YU is an English teacher at La Follette High School in the Madison Metropolitan School District in Madison, Wisconsin. She received a Master of Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to research the effects of online discussion on face-to-face (F2F) classroom participation and academic achievement for 18 public high school students in a senior English class. The teacher used a variety of data collection including surveys, test scores, journal reflections, and teacher observations to study the effects of this technological tool. The results showed that the online intervention increased students’ rate of participation and comfort level in F2F discussions, but it did not produce any quantitatively measured increase in academic achievement. The implication is that while online discussion has some benefits, further research is required to better understand its effect on academic achievement.

 

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EXCLUDING ETHICAL ISSUES FROM U.S. HISTORY TEXTBOOKS:  911 AND THE WAR ON TERROR

 

AUTHOR

MICHAEL H. ROMANOWSKI, PH.D. is an Associate Professor with the Department of Educational Sciences in the College of Education at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar.

 

ABSTRACT

This research study examined nine secondary American history textbooks regarding their treatment of 9/11 and related events. The analysis centered on both the knowledge included and excluded from the discussion in each book. Particular attention was given to the moral and ethical issues relevant to 9/11. Findings show that textbooks vary in their descriptions, but most omit important information and disregard important moral and ethical aspects of historical events. These exclusions legitimized and validated particular foreign and domestic policies. More importantly, they limited the perspectives that students could consider, constrained possible alternatives, and avoided ethical concerns and issues.

 

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THE STATUS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL:  EFFECTS OF THE “HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER” STANDARD

 

AUTHOR

THERESA A. QUIGNEY is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Teacher Education Department at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH.

 

ABSTRACT

This article highlights issues that secondary special education teachers are facing as a result of the legally mandated “highly qualified teacher” (HQT) requirement. The valid demand for teachers to document core subject area competency is often compounded for secondary special education teachers by the requirement to teach multiple core areas. Whether or not a secondary special educator is HQT in core areas can affect the instructional delivery system to secondary students with disabilities. It might also influence perceptions of the importance of the special educator’s role in the collaborative instructional process. Finally, the demands of meeting HQT in core areas may add to an existing teacher shortage. Recommendations relating to the legal definition and attainment of HQT status, teacher preparation alternatives, and research are provided.

 

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GETTING INTO HONORS OR NOT:  AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF GRADES, TEST SCORES, AND RACE ON TRACK PLACEMENT IN A COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL

 

AUTHORS

DOUG ARCHBALD, PH.D., is an associate professor and program coordinator in education leadership and policy in the School of Education, University of Delaware.

 

JOSEPH GLUTTING, PH.D., is a professor of research, measurement, evaluation, and school psychology in the School of Education, University of Delaware.

 

XIAOYU QIAN is a Ph.D. student in measurement and school psychology in the School of Education at the University of Delaware.

 

ABSTRACT

Decisions made in middle school allocate students to different high school course levels and tracks. Because African American students are disproportionately represented in the lower level tracks of high school curriculum and because track placement affects learning and postsecondary opportunities, it is important to explore determinants of track placement. Some theories emphasize academic determinants of track placement; other theories emphasize student background variables and peer influences; and still others, racial biases among educators. Research findings have been inconsistent concerning how much disproportionate representation in lower level courses is explained by prior academic achievement variables and how much it is explained by race.

            We examined the effects of race and 8th grade academic achievement variables – grades and standardized test scores – on odds of placement in different levels of 9th grade English courses in a large high school. Our findings indicated that track placement decisions were strongly determined by prior grades and test scores; race did not have a statistically significant independent effect on track placement. We identify a need for more research on the role of grades as determinants of track placement.

 

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NEW ROLES FOR THE PRINCIPAL OF THE FUTURE

 

AUTHORS

SUZANNA LEONE is a special education teacher at Sandusky High School in Ohio (sleone@bgsu.edu). Leone is a teacher leader and a doctoral student in educational administration and leadership studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

 

CHAD WARNIMONT is a 5th grade teacher at Toth Elementary School in Perrysburg, Ohio (cwarnim@bgsu.edu). Warnimont is a teacher leader and a doctoral student in educational administration and leadership studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

 

JUDITH ZIMMERMAN is an associate professor of educational administration and leadership studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (judithz@bgsu.edu). Zimmerman is a former secondary principal who writes about school change.

 

ABSTRACT

This article identifies selected emerging trends and their implications for school leaders, and it describes some requisite leadership skills, behaviors, and action steps to help prepare administrators to serve the needs of students of the future. The article describes a vision for the future of the principalship from new perspectives – a “bridge of knowledge and encouragement” that facilitates learning, and a “navigator” who directs the future course of the school. These perspectives position the principal to meet challenges in the future of student populations that are increasingly ethnically and economically diverse in a context of governmental accountability.

 

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