Consecutive School Years Research Articles

Transitions among different symbolic generalizations by algebra beginners in a computer intensive environment

The transition from arithmetic to algebra in general, and the use of symbolic generalizations in particular, are a major challenge for beginning algebra students. In this article, we describe and analyze students’ learning in a “computer intensive environment” designed ad hoc and implemented in two seventh grade classrooms throughout two consecutive school years. In particular, this article focuses on the description and analysis of how students initial generalizations (which relied on computerized tools that enabled different students’ to work with different strategies) shifted to recursive and explicit symbolic generalizations.

Peer relationships and academic achievement as interacting predictors of depressive symptoms during middle childhood.

This article reports a longitudinal investigation that examines academic and social difficulties as predictors of depressive symptoms during middle childhood. Participants were 199 elementary school children (M=9.1 years) who were followed for 2 consecutive school years. In both years of the project, children completed a questionnaire assessing depressive symptoms and a peer nomination inventory assessing friendships and social standing. Grade point averages (GPAs) were obtained from a review of school records. Low GPAs were predictive of depressive symptoms, but this effect did not hold for children who had numerous friends. Similarly, children who had relatively few friends tended to experience depressive symptoms. However, the effect was attenuated for children with high GPAs. Taken together, the findings suggest that competencies in 1 domain can moderate the risks associated with difficulties in the other domain.

A reputation for success (or failure): The association of peer academic reputations with academic self-concept, effort, and performance across the upper elementary grades.

The associations between children's academic reputations among peers and their academic self-concept, effort, and performance were examined in a longitudinal study of 427 students initially enrolled in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Assessments were completed in the fall and spring of 2 consecutive school years and in the fall of a 3rd school year. Peer academic reputation (PAR) correlated moderately strongly with teacher-rated skills and changed over time as a function of grades earned at the prior assessment. Path-analytic models indicated bidirectional associations between PAR and academic self-concept, teacher-rated academic effort, and grade point average. There was little evidence that changes in self-concept mediated the association between PAR and effort and GPA or that changes in effort mediated the association between PAR and GPA. Results suggest that peers may possess unique information about classmates' academic functioning, that children's PARs are psychologically meaningful, and that these reputations may serve as a useful marker of processes that forecast future academic engagement and performance.

Editorial: Prevention in the community and treatment in the clinic – two different methodological approaches to determining the evidence‐base for child mental health interventions

Editorial: Prevention in the community and treatment in the clinic – two different methodological approaches to determining the evidence‐base for child mental health interventions

Peer victimization and intentional injuries: Quantitative and qualitative accounts of injurious physical interactions between students

Studies have shown that peer victimization engenders physical injuries both indirectly (i.e. as a trigger of injurious events) and directly (i.e. through intentional physical harm). How those injuries occur has not been much researched. To highlight the various circumstances in which injuries are sustained by young teenagers when physically interacting with other students, and to characterize more specifically the context surrounding those injuries sustained resulting from violent actions. Data were extracted from information already available from structured interviews conducted during two consecutive school years with children aged 10-15 years who had been hospitalized due to injury and who were residing in Stockholm County (Sweden) (n = 634). The current study considers those injuries resulting from physical interactions between students and pays attention to the gender and age distribution of the victims. The free text descriptions of the "interaction" injuries resulting from violent actions were re-read and examined by means of content analysis. Of the injuries reported, 23.5% resulted from physical interactions between students. The most frequent context of their occurrence was sports and play. Other injuries resulted either from assaults where the victim was in a clear imbalance of power (n = 24) or from violent incidents in which the victim was not powerless (n = 27). The two latter situations were much more common among boys. Peer victimization has an impact on children's safety both within and outside the school arena. Students are injured by their peers not only from deliberate violence targeting them but also from violent physical interactions in which they play an active role. These injurious events have a clear gender and age component.

Key Characteristics of Middle School Performance

This research project examined student performance in middle schools with a grade configuration of six through eight. Schools were categorized into two groups: high-performing middle schools—middle schools making adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years, and low-performing middle schools— middle schools not making adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years. Participants included 283 middle school teachers, 171 from high-performing middle schools, and 112 from low-performing middle schools.Questionnaires were used to gather information about middle school practices, school climate, and school health. Data suggested that low-performing middle schools scored higher on organizational structures, supportive, directive, and committed behavior, collegial leadership, principal influence, and resource support. High-performing schools scored higher on collegial behavior. No significant differences were found in institutional integrity, teacher affiliation, academic emphasis, instructional practices, and restrictive and disengaged behavior.This study helped to determine if low-performing middle schools and high-performing middle schools differed in school climate and health, organizational structures, and instructional practices.

Violent Victimization in the Community and Children’s Subsequent Peer Rejection: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

This paper describes a short-term longitudinal study of the relation between violent victimization in the community and peer rejection among 199 children (mean age = 9.02 years) attending two urban Los Angeles area elementary schools. We used a multi-informant approach to assess victimization by community violence, peer group victimization, peer rejection, and impairments in emotion regulation. These data were collected annually for two consecutive school years. Violent victimization in the community predicted later peer rejection after accounting for the effects of initial levels of peer rejection. Analyses indicated that this relation was mediated by deficient emotion regulation skills. In addition, we found evidence that victimization by community violence and peer rejection are reciprocally related over time. The developmental implications of these findings are discussed.

The Early ON School Readiness Project: A Preliminary Report

The Early ON School Readiness Project is an emerging community-based model aimed at promoting the school readiness of 3- to 5-year-old children in a metropolitan area with a predominantly Latino (Mexican-American) population. Using an ecological approach, the multi-component program seeks to enhance school readiness opportunities for children at various levels. Key program components aim to improve community awareness, parent education, professional development for child care teachers, quality of child care environments, and transition to school. The model evolved through a community partnership initiated by the local government, involving nonprofit agencies and a university partnership. Child care environmental quality was measured by administration of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition (ECERS-R; Harms, Clifford, & Cryer, 1998). To measure children's progress, the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning-Third Edition (DIAL-3; Mardell-Czudnowski & Goldenberg, 1998) was administered in the fall and spring of two consecutive school years. A sample of children was screened to gain insight regarding the developmental status of children in the project compared to a matched sample of children not involved in the project. Preliminary findings show the progress of children in key developmental areas during the initial and second year of program implementation in selected child care centers. In the baseline year, standard scores of children at the comparison sites were unchanged from fall to spring in all of the developmental areas measured by the DIAL-3; scores at the intervention sites, however, were higher at a statistically significant level for two subtests and the composite score. During the second year, all subtest scores and the composite scores were higher at the intervention sites in the spring as compared to the fall. Although additional research is needed, preliminary results suggest the emerging model shows promise for increasing children's developmental skills and abilities associated with school readiness.

Program ENERGY: Scientists and students in the classroom tackling type 2 diabetes and obesity in elementary schools.

Program ENERGY's goal is to reduce obesity/type 2 diabetes in suburban/rural elementary school children and families by teaching/reinforcing body science, energy balance and healthy behavior choices. Subjects were 2–6 grade children and their families and the approach is an integrated science/math/health enrichment. Children discover, explore, inquire and learn the basis of healthy behaviors in a challenging, scientific setting, with the support of scientists/health professionals/students. Knowledge is brought home and shared with their families. A 32-week program of classroom and gym activities was conducted in second- and third- grade classes in two consecutive school years. Beginning and end of the school year assessments including knowledge and attitudes about food and physical activity, anthropomorphic and behavioral assessments were conducted. Results of pre- and post- tests for year 1 show statistically significant improvements in the intervention school compared to the control school: health and science knowledge, attitudes (e.g. healthy food selection), behaviors (e.g. increased steps, increased body acceptance), and increased interest in science/health-related careers. Improvements were maintained during the second year. The 2-yr intervention had high rates of enrollment and retention, positive evaluations by children and educators, produced significant positive outcomes in health/science knowledge, attitudes (healthy food selection), behaviors (e.g., increased steps, increased body acceptance), and increased interest in science and health-related careers. Program ENERGY is an effective elementary school/family-based intervention with high rates of enrollment/retention, positive evaluations by children/educators that produced significant positive outcomes in health/science knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and increased interest in science- and health-related careers.

Dietary Effects of Universal-Free School Breakfast: Findings from the Evaluation of the School Breakfast Program Pilot Project

Objective To determine the effects of offering universal-free school breakfast in elementary schools on students’ dietary outcomes. Design Experimental study with random assignment of 153 matched elementary schools in six school districts. Treatment schools offered universal-free school breakfast, and control schools continued to operate the traditional means-tested School Breakfast Program. Twenty-four–hour dietary recalls were collected from sample students near the end of the first year. Subjects About 30 students in second through sixth grades were randomly selected from each school (n=4,358). Intervention Free school breakfasts were made available to all students in treatment schools, regardless of family income, for three consecutive school years (2000-2001 to 2002-2003). Main outcome measures Breakfast consumption and food and nutrient intake. Statistical analyses Hierarchical mixed-models and logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, minority status, and income eligibility for the regular school meal programs, were used to estimate effects. Results Despite a significant increase in school breakfast participation among sample students in treatment schools (from 16% to 40%, P<0.01), the rate of breakfast skipping did not differ between groups (4% overall). Treatment school students were more likely to consume a nutritionally substantive breakfast ( P<0.01), but dietary intakes over 24 hours were essentially the same. Conclusions Making universal-free school breakfast available in elementary schools did not change students’ dietary outcomes after nearly 1 year. To improve children’s diets overall, efforts should focus on ensuring all students have access to a healthful breakfast, at home or at school.

Longitudinal Outcomes of Functional Behavioral Assessment—Based Intervention

A critical measure of intervention effectiveness is durability over time. Still, few studies have examined the long-term outcomes of support derived from a functional behavioral assessment as well as enablers and barriers that contribute to or impede successful outcomes. In the current study, a functional behavioral assessment was conducted with a 10-year-old boy with developmental disabilities who engaged in high-rate aggression. Based on the assessment results, a comprehensive support plan was developed and implemented, which resulted in a decrease in aggression and increase in activity engagement. His subsequent progress was followed for 3 consecutive school years. This longitudinal follow-up indicated that components of the plan remained effective; however, illness and implementation lapses resulted in decrements in progress.

Motives and Contexts of Identity Change: A Case for Network Effects

In this paper we interrelate different theories of identity and describe how various social contexts and cognitive motives influence the process of identity change. We consider two competing theories about the linkage of contexts with motives for identity change: the effect of category traits, based on social identity theory, and the effect of social networks, based on identity theory. To explore these relations, we use data collected on more than 6,000 adolescents at six high schools in two consecutive school years. Multilevel logit models reveal a strong relationship between contexts and perceived identity imbalances, and a strong effect of identity imbalance on identity change. More important than category traits are the social network characteristics of prominence, homogeneity, and bridging; these form social contexts that affect perceptions of identity imbalance, and the perceptions in turn lead to a heightened incidence of identity change.

Sociometric status as a predictor of onset and progression in adolescent cigarette smoking

The relation between sociometric status and adolescent cigarette smoking was examined in a 1-year longitudinal study. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades (N=1,630) were asked to nominate peers in their grade at school whom they liked and peers whom they disliked. These nominations were used to classify participants into one of five sociometric categories (popular, rejected, controversial, neglected, and average). Participants also reported their lifetime cigarette use at two measurements in consecutive school years. The results indicated that rejected and controversial adolescents were more likely than average adolescents to (a) report lifetime smoking at time 1 (T1) and (b) report onset of smoking at time 2 (T2). However, among adolescents who had already tried cigarettes at T1, rejected and controversial youth were not at increased risk for progression in total lifetime cigarette smoking (i.e., higher levels of total lifetime cigarette use at T2). Thus the results confirm that controversial youth are similar to rejected youth in their risk for onset of cigarette smoking during adolescence.

Developing cognitive-social-emotional competencies to enhance academic learning

This preliminary study examined intervention effects of a universal prevention program offered by classroom teachers to public elementary school students. The Unique Minds School Program (M.B. Stern, 1999) is a teacher-led program designed to promote cognitive-social-emotional (CSE) skills, including student self-efficacy, problem solving, social-emotional competence, and a positive classroom climate, with the dual goal of preventing youth behavioral problems and promoting academic learning. During 2 consecutive school years, 119 students and their teachers were assessed in the fall and spring of Grade 4 and again in the spring of Grade 5. As compared to students in the comparison school, students in the intervention showed gains in student self-efficacy, problem solving, social-emotional competencies, and math grades. Incremental gains within CSE domains were found after 1 and 2 years of intervention. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 405–417, 2005.

Do episodes of peer victimization trigger physical injury? A case-crossover study of Swedish school children

The aim of this study was to investigate how long the effect of peer victimization on the occurrence of physical injury lasts and whether the effect varies according to how frequently an injured child is victimized. A case-crossover design was employed. Children aged 10-15 years residing in Stockholm County during two consecutive school years were eligible as cases. Further inclusion criteria were that the children had been hospitalized or called back for a medical check-up due to a physical injury. Information on children's exposure to peer victimization at school was gathered in interviews, and on their social characteristics through a questionnaire filled in by parents. A total of 575 children were included. Our analyses show that there is an increase in risk of unintentional injury after an episode of peer victimization shortly after the end of exposure to victimization (RR = 5.5) but not thereafter. The risk is substantially higher among children seldom victimized (RR = 49.9) than among those victimized on a more regular basis (RR = 2.5). The extent to which family social circumstances modify the risk is difficult to establish from the material at hand. Peer victimization may trigger the occurrence of unintentional injuries in childhood and the effect is short lasting. The results need to be replicated and special attention should be given to separating lesson time from break time to avoid confounding by time of day.

De Ontwikkeling Van Productieve Nt2-Vaardigheden Van Franstalige Leerlingen In Het Nederlandstalige Onderwijs In Brussel

In the officially bilingual Belgian capital Brussels, two independent education systems operate in parallel: a Dutch-language education system and a French-language education system. Pupils and parents can choose between both systems freely and independently of their home language background. Many Francophone parents prefer to enrol their children in Dutch-language schools in Brussels, because they believe this will stimulate their bilingual development. As a consequence of the massive inflow of French-speaking pupils in Dutch-language education in Brussels, an atypical form of education has emerged which we call "immersion-like education". In a previous cross-sectional study, the language skills of predominantly Dutch-speaking and predominantly French-speaking were tested. In this paper we will discuss the longitudinal development of Dutch L2 productive skills of native speakers of French across three consecutive school years. To assess their writing and speaking skills in their L2, predominantly French-speaking pupils were asked to write an informal letter to a friend, to write down arguments for and against a statement and to retell a wordless picture story. Based on these productions, three parameters were calculated: accuracy, complexity and fluency. In this paper, we describe the development of these parameters by means of repeated measures analyses of variance. We also discuss whether or not there is any relationship between these parameters. We ultimately address the question if this form of immersion-like education actually stimulates the development of bilingualism.

Respecting Diversity among States

THERE is nothing like tracking down 2,000 state policies to reinforce one's understanding that states do not approach problems or policy in the same way. Education policies in California fill 17 volumes. Alaska's consist of one short chapter of a codebook that also covers elections, guardianships, and trusts. States such as Texas select textbooks at the state level; Colorado constitutionally prohibits that practice. In similar fashion, states have taken different approaches to meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Not that policy makers in Montana want anything less for their kids than those in Tennessee. They just don't go about it the same way. As staff members at the Education Commission of the States tracked down over 2,000 policies related to state implementation of NCLB, they found refreshing differences in approaches. Here are a few examples of this diversity. School Recognition In Illinois, a school that meets AYP (adequate yearly progress) criteria for two consecutive school years is exempt from review and approval of its improvement plan for the next two school years. In Maryland, the state board of education may, on the recommendation of the state superintendent, give monetary or nonmonetary rewards to schools that significantly close the achievement gap between subgroups or that exceed AYP in reading or in mathematics for two or more consecutive years. Ohio has developed the State Superintendent's Schools of Promise program, which is designed to heighten awareness of the potential of Ohio schools to close achievement gaps. Among other things, the program includes annually identifying schools that meet or exceed specific student performance and diversity criteria; issuing news releases about these schools and awarding banners identifying them as Schools of Promise; and holding forums, network meetings, professional conferences, and other events that draw attention to programs, policies, and practices that contribute to the success of these schools and the achievement of their students. Persistently Dangerous Schools States are using a variety of factors and approaches to identify persistently dangerous schools. Most states consider offenses or incidents occurring during a three-year period, some consider a two-year period, and a few consider a combination of two and three years. Some states use a specific number of offenses; others use a percentage of the student population; and still others rely on a combination of a specific percentage of student enrollment for some offenses and a specific number for other offenses. The percentage rates range from one-half of 1% to 6%. Definitions of offenses or incidents range from detailed lists of offenses to more generic descriptions. And the specifics of each state policy will determine the number of schools deemed to be persistently dangerous. As a means of identifying schools at risk of being designated persistently dangerous, Arkansas requires schools and districts to report transfers under the unsafe-school option and the Public School Choice Act. In Indiana, a panel of local and state school safety experts determines whether a school that has met the established criteria for the third consecutive year should be identified as persistently dangerous. Schools identified as persistently dangerous in Mississippi and North Dakota have an opportunity, prior to final determination, to provide additional information to the state department of education or the state board of education. South Dakota's policy considers all offenses occurring on school property, at school-sponsored events, or on buses -- 24 hours a day, 12 months a year -- whether committed by or victimizing students, school personnel, or nonschool personnel. Virginia's policy requires principals to distinguish between assaults that don't result in bodily injury and those that do. In some cases, state policies involving the designation of persistently dangerous schools contain certain limits or exemptions. …

Percursos de identidade do professor de Matemática em início de carreira: O contributo da formação inicial

In this paper I intend to study the impact of teacher education in the construction of the professional identity of two beginning mathematics teacher, teaching in different elementary and secondary schools in their first three years. The methodology adopted in this research follows the interpretative paradigm having the case study as its major design. The case studies concerning these beginning teachers have been constructed mainly based in the analysis of a set of interviews with biographical character realized in the course of three consecutive school years. The first part concerning the results, presents the beginning teachers’ case studies, and explains their career motivations and perspectives about teacher education. The second part describes the professional identity dymanics for each beginning teacher and its relation with their teacher education program. This study allows one to conclude that identity is an idiosyncratic, complex and multidimensional process, and highlights the importance of biography in the construction of teacher’s professional identity. Being submitted to the same teacher education program, these teachers have, nevertheless, developed distinct professional identities. This results, in part, from the fact that their interpret and experiment these program in different ways according to their personal trajectories. In addition, this study shows that teacher education might interpellate some student teachers in meaningful ways. Finally, I point some necessary conditions to teacher education that are related to the construction of teacher professional identity.

Peer victimization during early adolescence: an injury trigger, an injury mechanism and a frequent exposure in school.

There is a documented effect of peer victimization in school as an injury trigger, but the question of differences between children according to age and sex remains unexplored. Nor do we know the role played by school peer victimization as a direct injury mechanism. The study considered age and sex differences with regard to peer victimization's triggering effect on physical injury, its direct relation to injury (i.e. physical violence), and its age- and gender-specific frequency and manner of occurrence. Data were gathered through structured interviews with children aged 10-15 years, residing in Stockholm County in Sweden during two consecutive school years, and who had been hospitalized due to injury (n = 592). Peer victimization operated on injury risk-both indirectly as a trigger of injurious events (most of which are unintentional), and directly as a causal mechanism in relation to intentional physical harm. Further, intentionally injured children frequently knew their offender(s)--often from school--and, in those instances, had been previously victimized by them. There is a quantitative and a qualitative difference in the manner in which occasional and frequent victims are victimized by their peers. Peer victimization impacts on children's safety and is a common element in the school background of many children. Differences between occasional and frequent victims in forms and consequences of victimization are more remarkable than those based on sex and age of the child, with the exception of victimization as a direct cause of injury.

A statewide hepatitis B vaccination program for school children in Hawaii: vaccination series completion and participation rates over consecutive school years.

The authors assessed a statewide school-based Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccination program for preadolescents in Hawaii over three consecutive school years. Factors assessed included number of schools and students participating and number of students receiving three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Records of the program, which targeted 4th and/or 5th graders in public and private schools, were reviewed for the period from 1996 to 1999. The proportion of participating schools increased from 76% of all schools in the state in School Year 1 to 94% in School Year 3. The proportion of children with completed consent forms who received three doses of HepB vaccine at school exceeded 80% throughout the project. In School Year 1, 10,003 (70%) of 14,333 children enrolled at participating schools received three vaccine doses in school; however, this proportion declined over subsequent school years to 51% (7,722/15,013) in School Year 2 and 24% (7,344/30,429) in School Year 3. A survey of 477 parents not consenting to school vaccination indicated that 84% of their children completed the vaccine series at a private provider office. Statewide school-based HepB vaccination campaigns for at-risk populations can result in a majority of children in targeted age groups receiving three doses of hepatitis B vaccine, though declining participation may be observed as uptake in the private sector increases.