Education Agencies Research Articles

Intersectional highlighting in queer immigrants’ English learning through dating: Dominant ideologies, individual agency, and implications for second language education

Drawing on a combined framework of raciolinguistics, imagined community, and language learner agency, this article presents an ethnographic case study exploring two Chinese queer immigrants’ English learning experiences embedded in dating relationships in Canada. Applying the theoretical construct of “intersectional highlighting”, I scrutinize critical events in which racial hierarchy intersects with gendered sexual values in key participants’ dating stories and further investigate how language leaner agency plays a key role in overcoming ideological constraints in English learning processes. Findings reflect performativity in language learning, highlighting the interplay between micro-level semiotic practices of learners’ doing and talking of identities and macro-level social structures of racial, gender, and sexual ideologies circulated in Canadian society. Further, I argue for a race-centered decolonial approach in the study of racialized queer immigrants’ English learning and propose pedagogical strategies to stimulate language learner agency assisting marginalized learners navigate disadvantageous discourses in and beyond second language classrooms.

Developmental Guidelines to be an Educational Innovative Organization for the Basic Schools in the Education Sandbox of Thailand

This quantitative research was conducted with the purposes of studying 1) the readiness of the innovation in School-Based Management (SBM); 2) the effectiveness of being an innovative organization in education; 3) to propose guidelines of being an educational innovative organization for pilot schools in the Education Sandbox. The sample group consisted of pilot schools in 6 regions of the Education Sandbox program, totaling in 208 participants from the population of 432 schools. The research results showed that the readiness in innovative SBM ranking upwards were 1) human resources; 2) academic; 3) general administration; and 4) budget managements. The effectiveness in being an educational innovation organization ranking upwards were 1) to increase the cooperation among all parties in improving education; 2) to decentralize power to the educational agencies and the schools; 3) to increase the learner’s achievement; and 4) to reduce the inequality in education. To develop the pilot schools into being an educational innovative organization, we needed to focus on aspects such as, Competency-Based Education (CBE), active learning, performance-based assessment for the learners, appropriate human resource management in planning and rewards systems, and to publicize the importance of the new way in education management to communities and all concerned.

67 Are these familiar words? Analyzing the utility of a new Spanish verbal memory test for children in North Texas

Objective:The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology’s (AACN) Relevance 2050 Initiative goals highlight the need for new assessment methods that are inclusive of the rising heterogeneous population in the US. In 2022, the Texas Education Agency reported that approximately 20% of the student population in Texas public schools are English learners (ELs), and approximately 90% of them are Spanish-speaking. In an effort to address the need for more Spanish cognitive measures normed in the US, a pediatric neuropsychology research team in North Dallas developed the Spanish Verbal Memory Test for Children (SVMT-C). To assist with establishing its validity, this study aims to corroborate that the words chosen for the list are familiar to children of different cultural backgrounds in North Texas.Participants and Methods:Enrollment of healthy, Spanish-speaking children between 6.0 and 17.11 years old within the Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) metroplex began in January 2022 and continues to date. Study participation entails completing an in-person testing session with the child, while the parent/legal guardian completes a word-related survey along with other forms. The parent survey asks parents to indicate their child’s knowledge of 45 words (15 are target words). The testing session with the child includes completion of several cognitive tests (e.g., SVMT-C, EOWPVT-4:SBE) and a posttest survey that measures the child’s knowledge of the target words on the SVMT-C. The EOWPVT-4:SBE was used to estimate vocabulary level in Spanish to support proficiency determinations.Results:To date, 23 parent-child dyads have participated in the study, and 7 different countries of origin are represented in the overall sample. Data of children who earned SS<85 in Spanish on the vocabulary test were omitted, leaving the pediatric sample at n=20. Ages ranged between 6.2 and 15.2 years old. Eighteen children were bilingual, one was monolingual, and one was multilingual. Only Spanish-speaking parents completed the Spanish Verbal Memory Test Survey, leaving the parent sample at n=21. The child survey revealed that 95% of the children (19 of 20) knew all 15 target words; only one 6-year-old child did not know a word, which contradicted their parent’s report. The parent survey revealed that 90% of parents reported their child knew all 15 target words and 100% of parents reported their child knew 14 of 15 words; only two parents (19 of 21) were unsure if their child knew one of the words but the child then earned a score of 100% on their survey.Conclusions:Creating a verbal memory measure in Spanish for use in the US presents a set of unique challenges because of the variability in terminology that exists in the language. Lack of familiarity with terminology may influence performance and invalidate results. In this endeavor, the goal was to recognize these nuances and create a relevant measure that uses common words for Spanish-speaking children regardless of cultural background. Thus far, the data supports the appropriateness of the words listed in the SVMT-C with a 100% familiarity rate among children ages 7 to 15 years old.

Physics Teacher Agency for Physics Education

In the field of middle and high school physics education, teachers must succeed in both “physics education” and “physics as education.” This is because the school classroom is not just a time for learning physics, but also a time for connecting physics to students’ lives “Right here Right now” as an education. Physics teachers are actively interpreting and reconstructing the field with students who change rapidly in society and creating the context of physics education. In this personal and social context, teacher agency is exerted.1) Teacher agency is not just the personal ability of individual teachers to implement policies sincerely or the policies promoted by higher institutions. Teacher agency as a change agent is achieved by creating an environment in which teachers can actively demonstrate their expertise with their own beliefs in a context that encompasses both the personal and social structural dimensions of teachers.2) In order to promote the emergence of physics teacher agency, educational administrative agencies should focus not only on promoting education policies that focus on the individual competencies of teachers, but also on creating a structural context around teachers and teacher networks as important agent in the development and implementation of education policies. The Korean Physical Society, which plays an important role in the development of physics education, needs to expand opportunities for participation in physics education by physics teachers to help expand the network of physics teachers, who are important actors in the network of physics education.

Educating ideal neoliberal citizens: discourses of agency and responsibility in comprehensive sexuality education

Educating ideal neoliberal citizens: discourses of agency and responsibility in comprehensive sexuality education

Evaluating the validity evidence surrounding use of value-added models to evaluate teachers: A systematic review

Local education agencies (LEAs) continue to use value-added models (VAMs) for teacher evaluation policies and purposes, often with consequences attached. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides more flexibility to LEAs, few have discontinued VAM use, suggesting they interpret VAMs as a valid measure of teacher effectiveness. In this systematic review, we used a framework built on the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA et al., 2014) to examine validity evidence contained in 75 articles published in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals in which article authors supported or challenged user interpretations and uses of VAMs. Results with implications for educational policy are presented.

Choosing Relevant Internet Assisted Course Types for Professional Development

Online courses for the professional development of workers in service is ever pervasive and continually growing. However, studies of teaching with technology are mostly conducted in K-12, pre-service, or higher education settings resulting in a lack of attention given to the professional development context. In addition, most studies tend to investigate learners instead of instructors, even though the latter are reportedly struggling in conducting online teaching. One of the struggles instructors face includes choosing effective technologically enhanced course types in line with the learning content. This study aims to alleviate the issue by investigating online courses in a professional development context, particularly one in a government institution namely the Financial Education and Training Agency (FETA) under the Indonesian Ministry of Finance. By analyzing curriculum documents followed by interviewing online instructors, the present study aimed to uncover practice-based considerations to guide the selection of course types for online courses. There were essentially three main course types at FETA: distance learning, web-based learning, and webinar courses, each suitable for various kinds of learning content.

Stop the shame and the hunger: The need for school meal program reform

The current School Meal Program (SMP) system has existed in the U.S. for more than seventy years, with the intent to offer free and reduced-price meals to students in need. However, after decades of state and local-level implementation of SMPs, the programs today are ineffective at fully addressing students’ physical, social, and emotional needs. State and local education agencies have struggled to carry out successful eligibility, enrollment, and debt-collection processes, ultimately resulting in harmful practices, including lunch-shaming. Such practices impede the success of the program to fulfill its goals and may negatively impact students’ social and emotional development. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and with increased levels of food insecurity, state and local education agencies should consider adjusting their practices to fully meet student nutrition needs. In this unique time, education agencies are presented with an opportunity to move beyond the current SMP model to better fulfill the program’s ultimate goal of providing students with the nutritional support needed to thrive both in and outside the classroom. Here we suggest modern reforms for the SMP landscape through greater levels of federal regulation, guidance, and review processes to support effective SMP implementation at the state and district level; reevaluation of state and local education agencies’ use of available federal options to increase access to school meals; and further research on SMP implementation, debt-collection practices, and costs of a universal free meals program to better understand their effects on student outcomes.

Role of Governmental and non-governmental agencies in general and special education

Government and non-government organisations do vital work for both the regular and special education systems. the roles that these groups play in making sure that people from all walks of life can take advantage of good educational opportunities. government organisations' responsibilities in creating and enforcing educational policies, regulations, and funding mechanisms, such as education ministries and education departments. nonprofit organisations, community-based programmes, and advocacy groups outside of government that focus on empowering students with disabilities through training and support. Collaborating between government and non-government institutions is necessary for effective educational policy implementation, inclusive service delivery, and the liberation of students with a range of learning requirements.

Total factor productivity and outsourcing: the case of Vietnamese small and medium sized enterprises

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate the difference in total factor productivity (TFP) among those firms with and without outsourcing in a developing country like Vietnam. Also, it explores the effect of outsourcing activities on total factor productivity with a specified concentration on the Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThe panel data set of SMEs used in this study was originated from biannual surveys conducted under the collaboration between educational organizations and government agencies: Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Department of Economics – the University of Copenhagen, the Institution of Labor Studies and Social Affairs (ILSSA) in the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA). In this study, the model is developed based on the production function in accordance with the model of Girma and Görg (2004). The firms’ TFP is the difference between the actual and the predicted output as with the approach by Levinsohn and Petrin (2003).FindingsThis study finds out that firms with outsourcing have higher total factor productivity than those without outsourcing activities. In addition, the more firms spend on outsourcing, the higher total factor productivity they can gain. Outsourcing to SMEs in a developing country can significantly increase its TFP by means of either maintaining core competencies or searching external resources in conducting some internal activities.Originality/valueAlthough outsourcing has been widely applied by large firms, the research studying its impact on productivity at firm level is limited. Especially, this study can shed light on the impact for the case of SMEs in a developing economy.

Sustaining Quality Coaching of Pre- and In-Service Teachers During a Teacher Shortage

During teacher shortages, many school districts petitioned the Texas Education Agency for waivers to hire classroom teachers who are not fully certified. However, the quality of teachers must be considered during this time. This study considers the Texas Instructional Leadership (TIL) coaching model not only to coach pre-service teachers during preparation in Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) but also using this model to support personnel hired without certification collaborating with EPPs to recruit potential candidates into programs. This article will consider the impact and sustainability of implementing the TIL coaching model in one EPP as an exemplar to ensure teacher quality.

How has the conceptualisation of student agency in higher education evolved? Mapping the literature from 2000-2022

ABSTRACT The objective of this article is to analyse the development and content of research in the global literature on student agency in higher education (SAHE) based on a bibliometric review of 224 articles published in the Scopus database during the period 2000–2022. VOSviewer, Excel, and Tableau software were used to analyse the texts. The review documented the growth trajectory and geographic distribution of the literature and identified the intellectual structure of SAHE. The findings show that the SAHE knowledge base has grown dramatically since 2017, particularly in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Five schools of thought emerged from the literature as the main pillars of agency, or individuals’ capacities to take actions to improve their lives (1): the socio-cultural approach of agency (2); the social cognitive framework of agency (3); feedback, assessment, and agency (4); students’ motivation and engagement; and (5) learning analytics, online education, and agency. The results show that student agency is framed within a constructivist and sociocultural learning perspective. Findings also demonstrate that agency has significant effects on personalising and increasing the dynamism and potential of academic experiences if students take an active role in managing their own learning.

Behavior of Street Level Bureaucrats in Education Programs in North Kalimantan Province

The development of the education sector should become increasingly strategic in an era of autonomy, because given regions have the ability, power, and freedom to decide on a policy within the education sector. The purpose of this research is to analyze the behavior of street level bureaucrats in education programs in the North Kalimantan province using a qualitative approach. The results of the study stated that the educational agency has carried out its role as a street-level bureaucrat in the implementation of education programs in North Kalimantan province. The first element, namely people, states that the people involved in street-level bureaucrats include the education unit and the Agency of Education for North Kalimantan province. The second element, namely structure, states that the coordination and control mechanism is carried out such that at the beginning of each year, a coordination meeting is always held to evaluate the current year’s program. The third element, technology, states that the technology used in the coordination process is via Zoom meetings, WhatsApp, email, and websites. The fourth element, namely the environment, states the work environment.
 Keywords: behavior, street level bureaucrat, educational programs

Student Participation in Business Education: A Backwards Agency

Research in business education demonstrates that there is an incentive to increase student participation, but the theoretical definitions are imprecise and the operational limits have not been fully explored. This paper aims to understand how student agency happens in business education by analyzing and comparing the discourse and the practice of educational experiences based on active participation of students in Brazilian business courses. The research was qualitative and the information set was textual, formed by 23 reports of innovative experiences and the transcripts of four semi-structured interviews. The constructivist analysis led to the construction of categories demonstrating that there are: a mismatch between the discourse and the actions of educational institutions; misconceptions about the meaning of student agency; and lack of theoretical rigor in projects that aim to promote active student participation. Results reveal the emergence of a backwards agency: in spite of professing to encourage and promote active student participation, the actions undertaken by educational institutions were modest. The incorporation and dissemination of the concept of student agency in business education could contribute to the qualification of educational projects.

Critical Reflection in Music Teacher Education: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Theory, Policy, and Practice

In this article, three researchers and music teacher educators reflect upon the possibilities for and challenges of fostering preservice teachers’ critical and democratic capacities and agency in music teacher education in line with recent 21st-century skills-oriented policy reforms. Based on experiences from participatory action research with preservice music teachers in general teacher education at two Norwegian institutions, the authors problematise how critical reflection is defined in educational literature, in policy documents, and by students participating in the referred participatory action research. The authors further discuss the different understandings of critical reflection, considering concepts such as student-centredness, students as customers, student resistance, and student voice. Inspired by critical pedagogy, the authors suggest that the preservice teachers’ articulated reflections represent important steps in their progress toward becoming professional music teachers and that enduring the discomfort of loosening up the student-teacher dyad benefits the development of students’ agency and critical reflection.

The Russian Language in Kyrgyzstan through the Lens of Students

Introduction. The Kyrgyz and Russian languages reflect the language situation in the Kyrgyz Republic. Recently, the public discourse on the relationship between the two languages has attracted scientific attention. National surveys on the prospects of Russian as a functional language in education, public life, and government agencies are being conducted. While there are several studies on this issue, research on the opinions of the younger generation, constituting the majority of the countryʼs population, is almost non-existent. This article analyzes the current status of the Russian language in the Kyrgyz Republic and identifies its role in the personal and motivational preferences of students. Мaterials and Methods. The sociocultural approach forms the methodological foundation of the study. We conducted the survey research which involved 130 students majoring in teacher education from the Osh region in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The frequency analysis was carried out for empirical data processing. In addition, the contingency tables were created. Pearson’s chi-square test and the Fisher’s exact test were employed to test the hypothesis that there was a relationship between the variables. The analysis was carried out with the help of the IBM SPSS Statistics. Results. The analysis of the survey results revealed that the majority of students have a positive attitude towards Russia and cooperation between the two countries in various spheres of activity. At the same time, students from rural areas had a higher rate of agreement with these statements. It was revealed that the distribution of answers had a statistical dependence on the place of residence. The highest values were recorded in studentsʼ answers related to statements about the Russian language. The participants ‒ future teachers ‒ expressed great interest in studying Russian language for the purpose of professional and personal growth. Discussion and Conclusion. The present study confirmed that the language policy of a state should take into consideration the practical needs of young people, who consciously treat Russian as a reliable way to unlock their inner potential and improve their professional competitiveness. Therefore, there is an objective need to improve the quality of Russian teaching and to introduce joint effective practices of language education. The materials of the article can be useful for scientific and methodological research of the identified problems.

Determining the Validity and Reliability of Business Studies Achievement Test for Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria

The study aimed at ascertaining the validity and reliability of business studies achievement test for senior secondary schools in Nigeria. The study adopted an instrumentation design. The area of the study was Anambra State. The population of the study consisted of all the 23,077 students and 586 business studies teachers in two hundred and sixty-one senior secondary schools in Anambra State. Multi-stage sampling techniques involving two stages were adopted for this study. Thus proportionate stratified and purposive sampling techniques were employed at the first and second stages respectively. This was used to determine the sample size of the study, which was 630 made up of 393 students in senior secondary school one and 238 business studies teachers in Anambra State. The instrument Business Studies Acheivement Test (BSAT) was face validated by five experts, while the content validation was carried out by using a table of specifications which consisted of content areas and behavioral objectives structured after Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive domain. To generate items for Business Studies Achievement Test, the instruments were distributed to 238 business studies teachers by the researcher and his assistants in their respective schools during the 2021/2022 session. Business Studies Acheivement Test (BSAT) was used for data collection, the BSAT was a single multiple-choice objective test with an expected response of either pass (1) or fail. This helped in determining the construct validity of the instrument as well generating items for the business studies achievement test. The generated instrument was pilot tested in six secondary schools in the six educational zones in Anambra state. The developed instrument was found to be valid and reliable with an estimate of 0.96 obtained for placing students in business studies in senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that teachers, researchers, and relevant agencies should Relevant educational agencies, teachers, researchers should endeavor to establish the validity of any instrument they develop for any educational purpose to ensure the items are valid and relevant to the subject objective also instrument for educational purposes should be reliable, this will facilitate the better decision for students’ placement and achievement.

A case study of primary students’ perspectives of engagement in interreligious learning and teaching: a community of learners

ABSTRACT This case study explores the perceptions of students regarding their engagement in interreligious learning and teaching in one Australian Catholic Primary School. The study probes the learners’ understandings of what interreligious learning and teaching looks like in their context and how it might relate to their understandings of their evolving religious identity. The students were interviewed in groups and qualitative content analysis was used to uncover themes that emerged from the data. The key themes, Religious Education learning, diversity, voice and agency, and identity were brought to the fore. These themes are discussed in light of the school’s Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) data and the school’s approach to Religious Education. Utilising the multicultural/multifaith reality in this school context enabled the learners to engage with a plurality of religious and non-religious worldviews. Employing a pedagogical model operationalised in other learning areas, learners in Religion can engage respectfully in dialogue, critique perspectives and come to new or nuanced understandings. The study revealed learners were empowered to bridge the gaps between them through a felt sense of belonging to their school community and the enhancement of their understandings of the Catholic tradition through knowledge of, and dialogue with, other traditions.

Guidelines for the Development of Jazz Music Education Management in Thailand’s Higher Education Institutions

The objectives of this research were to study 1) the conditions and problems of jazz education management in higher education institutions in Thailand, and 2) the guidelines for developing jazz music education management in higher education institutions in Thailand. Qualitative research methods were employed by collecting data from documents, interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. The findings are as follows: Regarding the conditions of jazz music education management in Thailand’s higher education institutions, in terms of curriculum, the course offered is a four-year Bachelor of Music Program in Jazz Studies; in terms of instruction, there were qualified instructors with expertise in professional jazz, and the educational system allows students to gain knowledge and experience to the fullest extent from the faculty members and external experts; regarding educational resources, enough budgets are allocated for the purchase of educational equipment, and quality instruments and music rooms were provided; regarding measurement and evaluation, there was a measurement and evaluation system that complies with the undergraduate learning benchmarks, teaching strategies were evaluated, and student achievement was assessed according to standard criteria. Meanwhile, the problems were that some courses focused too much on classical music, learners still lacked good basic skills for jazz, the budget for organizing skills-enhancing activities was insufficient, and individual differences made group assessment difficult. Guidelines for the development of jazz music education management in Thailand’s higher education institutions. Jazz music personnel should be prepared to study the history of jazz music and understand its essence. It should be encouraged that learning content be determined, starting from the listening-memorizing-understanding-application. The inspiration and space for jazz music should be promoted in all dimensions of society, and linkages between other types of music and jazz music should be established. Jazz music should be developed based on the area, history, society, and culture of each locality. There should be an integration of what exists in society in education management personnel and agencies in the public and private sectors. As well as other related parties providing cooperation, the jazz music curriculum should be developed in accordance with the undergraduate education framework, national policy and strategy, manpower development policy of the country, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and visions and missions of each university.

Towards Enhancement of the Functionality of School Based Management Committee and Community Leaders Involvement in Ensuring Sustainability of Educational Interventions: The Case of Esspin in Lagos

The business of educating the younger generation is no more the exclusive right of the government. Many stakeholders are now involved. The parents, the teachers and the pupils have been substantially-evidentially proven to be factors. More focus is shifting to the community involvement and the influence of school based management committees. This study examines the functionality level of school based management committees and the contribution of community leaders towards ensuring the sustainability of educational interventions like Education Sector Support Program in Nigeria which has Lagos state as one of the six states in Nigeria where the program was implemented. Mixed method research design approach was adopted. Proportionate to Simple size sampling technique was used to select 100 primary schools in Lagos state. Two (2) instruments: an Interview Schedule and SBMC Checklist with high reliability values were used for the study. Data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis. The result among others shows that the involvement of community leaders and members of SBMC in the implementation of educational interventions has viable effect on the sustainability of such programs as the community are made to become the custodians and in-house monitoring tool for resources deployed by such interventions. It is thus recommended that educational support agencies should work towards ensuring that adequate community involvement are built into program log-frames to ensure long term sustainability