“GENRE MEANS …”: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF FOURTH GRADE TALK ABOUT GENRE

The cultivation of a caring community within an urban neighborhood public elementary school is viewed by some educators as an impossibility, by others as being in conflict with academic effectiveness, and by still others as unnecessary for the successful achievement of students. Nevertheless, a significant group of educators advocates schools as caring communities, particularly in meeting the needs of low-income urban students of color. The research reported in this article is grounded in the assumption that there is a relationship between school culture and student achievement. An ethnographic case study of one urban public elementary school that exhibited both a strong caring community and a push toward academic excellence resulted in an analysis of the underlying characteristics that existed in the school. The findings suggest that a climate of mutual trust and respect, fluid boundaries centered around an ethic of caring, and a schoolwide sense of ownership and responsibility for students were central to the cultivation of the school' s caring community. Adapted school structures also fostered an ethos of community and ownership. In addition, the school expanded the definition of effectiveness beyond standardized test scores by focusing broadly on student learning, the link between the success of the individual and the success of the group, and the role of affect in promoting student achievement.

Gattungsgeschichte und ihr Gattungsbegriff am Beispiel der Novellen

Genre analysis has become a prevalent approach in the linguistic analysis of various specialized genres. A concept of genre, emerging from literature, has received a broader dimension in the last decade, focusing on establishing recognized structures and language exponents of a specific genre in a particular discourse community. In addition, the expansion of ESP and the rise of subgenres in many rising professional vocations require users to have competence in the English language. In addition, language researchers need ‘to dig into’ the pragmatic context of genres. With this mind and resting on the concept of genre and discourse communities, the paper sheds light on how the genre analysis approach can be applied in teaching different marine electrical genres to students and future ETO officers. The marine electrical engineering discourse community is specific and relatively novel. In this paper, the focus is placed on seafarers, future electro-technical officers and the analysis of genres they utilize in their professional work on board ships. The results of the paper can be inspiring to ESP teachers involved in teaching specialized and technical genres.

This study measures efficiency in 21 urban public elementary schools in a south-eastern state of the USA using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The empirical study uses regression analysis to determine predictors of student achievement which are then used in DEA to determine efficient schools. Two DEA models are run, as well as a ratio of the two which shows the scale efficiency of each school. One-half of the schools are found to be efficiently using the resources at their disposal. Although principal tenure is shown to be positively correlated and predictive of student achievement, it is not necessarily predictive of efficiency. Policy implications are included.

This study aims to develop and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a contextual English module supported by QR codes to enhance fourth-grade students’ critical thinking skills. The research employed a Research and Development (R&D) method using the ADDIE model, involving 27 fourth-grade students from SDN 1 Jeketro, an urban public elementary school in Brebes, Central Java, as well as two external experts for content and media validation. Data were collected through expert validation sheets, classroom observations, and a critical thinking test using a one-group pretest–posttest design. The developed module demonstrated a high level of feasibility, achieving a mean validation score of 9.28 out of 10 from the content and media experts. Students’ performance improved substantially, increasing from 32.59% in the pretest to 70.74% in the posttest, with an N-gain score of 0.55, which falls into the moderate category. Among the assessed dimensions of critical thinking, analytical ability showed the most significant improvement, followed by evaluation and problem-solving skills. This pattern suggests that students became more capable of identifying relevant information, interpreting meaning, and drawing reasoned conclusions from contextual English materials. These findings indicate that a culturally contextualized QR code–based module is both feasible and effective in fostering critical thinking skills in primary English learning. The integration of local cultural content with structured digital support appears to create meaningful learning experiences that encourage deeper cognitive engagement. Furthermore, the results suggest that combining contextual pedagogy with accessible technology can strengthen not only language acquisition but also higher-order thinking processes. This approach offers practical implications for primary educators seeking instructional strategies that connect language learning with students’ lived experiences while promoting reflective and analytical thinking in a sustainable manner.

<i>Genre Matters: Essays in Theory and Criticism</i>. Edited by Garin Dowd , Lesley Stevenson , and Jeremy Strong . Bristol and Portland, OR: Intellect Books, 2006. Pp. 178.

This article describes an investigation into the use of self-assessment to facilitate students' learning in teacher education. The study aimed to explore whether there were any changes in students' teaching and learning practice after using self-assessment. Participants comprised 47 students who were enrolled in an in-service teacher education program and who engaged in a self-assessment process by setting goals, recording evidence, and evaluating their teaching performance. Questionnaire and focus group interviews were employed to examine the usefulness of the self-assessment and the possible changes in students' learning. Analysis of the results indicates that students found that self-assessment enhanced their learning during teaching practice, especially in the area of reflective thinking. The self-assessment process helped students to assess the quality of their teaching, and it provided information on which to reflect and plan their next lessons. Students also reported evidence of positive changes in terms of their planning, teaching, and reflection.

In response to the national and individual needs for English instruction, China mandated English provision in elementary schools in 2001. Grounded in the work of Bourdieu, this study examines professional Chinese parents' language attitudes in relation to their social positions. It draws data from interviews with 20 professional Chinese parents and joint classroom observations with their children in an urban public elementary school in Beijing, China. The findings of this study include that professional Chinese parents hold the instrumental, integrative, and affective language attitudes. Elementary English education is an arena for socioeconomic struggle. It is a field of competition in terms of educational resources and parents' social positions. This study highlights that English is a carrier of inequality and injustice. It is a means of escaping social injustice in China. The study indicates contradictions and conflicts among the English language policy for elementary schools, parental language attitudes, private tutoring, and children's English learning.

This paper reports an asset-based participatory research study with 18 pre-service teachers and 85 refugee multilingual learners in an after-school program housed in an urban public elementary school. The research illuminates how the refugee multilingual learners (RMLs)’ backgrounds, assets, and challenges can be understood and transformed to maximize their learning opportunities. The findings provide a renewed perspective on RML students and alternative pedagogical approaches with the hope of improving their learning experiences and outcomes. The findings also call for continuous teachers’ professional training concerning RMLs’ diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences. This paper concludes with a promising concept, cultural humility, in urban education research.

This chapter discusses the use of an instructional model called platooning as a strategy to raise student achievement at a diverse, urban public elementary school. Pressure in schools, particularly on teachers, to demonstrate student growth on quantitative measures led teachers at this school to reorganize their instruction into a platooning model. This approach carried unanticipated consequences resulting in social justice issues for the students. The chapter covers the tensions that led to the adoption of the model and the theoretical constructs of social justice that were violated. Although these teachers would not describe what happened from a social justice framework, the level of concern for students, and the teachers’ determination to make empowered decisions on their behalf, demonstrates the fundamental concepts of the social justice agenda in public education.

The purpose of this study was to examine parents’ motivational beliefs for involvement in a Comprehensive School Health approach (locally called Healthy Active Schools, or HAS) at their child’s school. Literature suggests that parents’ role construction and parents’ self-efficacy are the most salient influences on parents’ decision to become involved at their child’s school. Twelve parents involved at two urban public elementary schools were interviewed. Questions were based on Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model of parental involvement (1995, 1997, 2005c). Qualitative multiple case study analysis additionally utilized Penner’s (2002) model of sustained volunteerism and Bandura’s collective efficacy theory (1997, 2000; Goddard, Hoy, & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2004) to clarify findings. Results suggest most parents’ strong active role construction and negative valence grounded their parent-focused role orientation. School case study analysis revealed that the principal’s leadership, the structure of the HAS committee and the school’s climate uniquely influenced parents’ beliefs. Individual parent case analysis revealed four distinct patterns of parents’ motivational beliefs for HAS involvement. Future research is warranted to further examine the decisive impact of parents’ health and prosocial values on their decision to become involved specific to a CSH approach type of involvement. Additional case studies in local schools, school districts and provinces are recommended to illuminate unique contextual influences and the potential for the emergence of collective efficacy; including consideration for parents’ belief construct general invitations from the school would contribute to gaining a deeper understanding within this domain. Finally, the link between parents’ motivational beliefs of empowerment and their sustained motivation for involvement needs to be explored further. Involved Parents’ Motivational Beliefs v

ABSTRACTThere has been a drastic increase in the use of technology in the classroom over the past 20 years. As computers and tablets permeate our schools, their presence is oftentimes seen as a cure to whatever problems may exist. While the promise of technology has held true within some domains, little has been done to examine its efficacy in some areas. The literature remains largely silent about the use of technology as a handwriting intervention in struggling learners. This study compared handwriting practice performed on iPads to handwriting practice performed through traditional means to determine the extent to which iPad-mediated handwriting practice transfers to traditional assessments. Twelve kindergarten and first-grade students from an urban public elementary school in central Texas participated in this small-scale study. The results indicate that traditional methods, while similar, were superior in terms of letter formation and letter orientation to iPad-mediated practice. Likewise, letter recognition increased for those using traditional handwriting methods but stayed stable for the iPad-mediated group. Similarly, iPad-mediated letter production was increased more so than with traditional methods. This study demonstrates a real world example of what an intervention looks like in a public school setting.

The research base establishing connections between children who identify as African American and increased disciplinary referrals due to defiance and/or insubordination has long been established. In August of 2014, the author was hired to serve as an assistant principal at a Title 1 urban public elementary school in the Midwestern USA. The author cataloged nearly 1000 referrals using an internal data management system while eliminating the consequence(s) of suspension and/or expulsion for the offense of “defiance.” The study found that, despite this limitation, African American students were grossly overrepresented in both disciplinary referrals and exclusionary discipline.

By looking at teacher collaborative structures in an urban public elementary school, this article demonstrates how, in the face of top-down school decisions under the pressures of high-stakes testing and assessment-driven curriculum, teachers can find the power and freedom for creative and effective pedagogy to flourish. We describe how teachers at PS165 created the spaces for working together and how these spaces brought new opportunities for (a) problematizing and prioritizing the issues they faced in classrooms, (b) reinventing and expanding their sense of self as individuals in the collaboration, (c) growing beyond their personal space and engaging intellectually in public forums, (d) shifting their ways of seeing teaching, and (e) ensuring sustainability of the ways of engaging in professional development through mentoring and taking ownership of the structures for collaboration. We include personal stories and/or reflections of six teachers and their experiences with study groups and theorize on the potential elements of a professional development model for other schools to build on and for the teaching profession to reflect upon.

The phrase ready to learn has been widely used and researched by scholars, policy makers, and education practitioners. School readiness, as a construct, has referred to the basic skills that children need to transition to elementary school. However, there is no consensus on which basic skills students should possess when entering kindergarten, and even less for bilingual learners. In this article, we draw on interview data from 15 staff members in one urban public elementary school in the U.S. Northeast. We focus on how teachers and staff perceived their Brazilian students’ disposition in kindergarten and first grade. Most of these professionals (nine out of fifteen) were themselves of Brazilian descent, shedding light on the understudied complexities of immigrant school personnel?s positions and experiences in the multicultural landscapes of U.S. public schools.