District-level Policies Research Articles

The Role of a School-Community Partnership in Enhancing Inclusive Special Education within a School District

ABSTRACT This study examined the role of a school-community partnership in enhancing special education within a public school district. Specifically, it sought to understand both the influences on and the influences of the school-community partnership. Factors considered by the partnership included research, data, expertise, resource constraints, and lived experiences. The partnership’s influence included changes in classroom practices and professional development, as well as increased knowledge about inclusive special education and families’ goodwill toward the school district. Though the partnership did not have a district-level policy influence on special education, it did have a demonstrable influence in localized yet impactful ways.

Evaluating Usability of IRAIVI Pregnancy Prediction Model Using System Usability Scale

Background: Barriers to utilize maternal healthcare services amongst pregnant women at community level differs substantial variation among slums and urban areas which is essential to recognize and resolve these issues within framework of district-level policy planning. IRAIVI pregnancy prediction model is developed to enhance optimal utilization of maternal healthcare services. The study was conducted to evaluate usability of IRAIVI using System Usability Scale amongst healthcare workforce. Methods: This model was developed with a set of predictors based on data collected during baseline and follow up visits from currently pregnant women as per study protocol. For evaluating efficiency of this model, System Usability Scale (SUS) was adopted and shared with 25 randomly selected experts in the field of public health. The questionnaire was shared via google form and responses recorded on Likert’s scale were then analysed using SPSS. Results: IRAIVI model's usability assessed using SUS found to be user-friendly, best learning curve, adaptable to new system and highly acceptance by healthcare workforce. The SUS score averaging at 84 demonstrates favourable usability of the model. Conclusion: This model has capability to accentuate maternal health services which in-turn can contribute for better ANC services in resource-constrained settings. Additionally, future opportunities can be explored through field studies in different settings.

Effective School District Policies and Practices: Synthesizing Theoretical Frameworks and Empirical Findings across Disciplines

What guidance does research provide about how to improve school district performance in the United States? Despite over 30 years of inquiry on the topic of effective districts, existing frameworks are relatively narrow in terms of disciplinary focus (primarily educational leadership perspectives) and research design (primarily qualitative case studies). To bridge this gap for researchers, we first review the theoretical literatures on how districts are thought to affect educational outcomes, arguing that an expanded set of disciplinary perspectives—organizational behavior, political science, economics—have distinct theories about the types of district-level policies that might improve district-wide performance. Using these frameworks as a guide, we next conduct a review of quantitative studies that estimate the relationship between district-level inputs and educational outcomes, finding benefits of policies that cross disciplinary perspectives: higher teacher salaries, data use, and school autonomy and parental choice in the context of district-wide turnarounds. Our review also reveals the need for significant additional causal evidence and provides an inter-disciplinary map of theorized pathways through which district-level policies could influence student outcomes that are ripe for rigorous testing.

Connecting Policy to Practice: How State and Local Policy Environments Relate to Teachers’ Instruction

Background/Context: Instructional policy aims to shift the nature of teaching and learning. Decades of policy studies have highlighted the challenges inherent in these aims and the conditions necessary to support such change, including a robust infrastructure to support teacher learning. Further, teachers themselves must perceive and experience their policy environment to be supportive of calls to shift instruction. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: In this study, we examine the connection between teachers’ perceptions of their policy environments and their instructional practices over time, in the context of college-and-career-readiness (CCR) standards implementation. While conducted in the context of standards implementation, our findings apply to supporting instructional change through policy more broadly. Setting: We examine implementation of CCR standards in two unique state contexts: Texas and Ohio. These states represent important differences in demographics and in their approaches to CCR standards implementation over time. Research Design: We use a convergent mixed-methods design that draws on state-representative teacher survey data at two points in time (allowing for a trend analysis to understand how teachers’ perceptions and experiences evolve), longitudinal interview data with state education leaders, and interview data with educators in one case study district in each state. Data Collection and Analysis: Surveys measured teachers’ perceptions of their policy environments, as well as their self-reported instructional practices. Interviews focused on understanding state- and district-level policies, guidance, and resources, and educators’ enactment of standards. Survey analysis included descriptive analysis of patterns over time and hierarchical linear modeling. To unpack broad-based survey patterns, we coded qualitative data and developed assertions based on emergent patterns. Findings/Results: We found that Texas teachers agreed more strongly than Ohio teachers that their policy environment had aligned, specific, and stable resources, as well as accountability mechanisms in place. Specificity of guidance and resources for standards implementation predicted teachers’ use of standards-emphasized instruction in 2019. These patterns reflected each state’s approach to policy implementation: a robust state-level infrastructure for guidance and support in Texas, compared with fewer state-developed resources in Ohio in favor of local control. Still, aspects of teachers’ local context—in particular, lack of infrastructure for ongoing, embedded professional learning—limited teachers’ ability to engage in state-developed guidance. Conclusions/Recommendations: Our study offers enduring lessons about how to establish the policy conditions necessary to support teachers to change instruction. Findings suggest a need for states to develop resources that clarify instructional shifts for teachers, and districts must balance these top-down resources with ongoing opportunities for educators to adapt resources to suit their students’ needs.

State Policy and Funding in Gifted Education

Policy and funding influence equitable education for students who are gifted. The concept of equity is examined through variations in policy and in funding at the state, district, and local levels. Challenges and barriers to equity in policy and funding include policy structures, where policy provides guidance without accountability measures, or where policy does include systemic evaluation for improvement. Examples have been drawn from four different states in different areas of the United States and multiple examples from various districts are presented. State level mandates for identification of and service to gifted learners are presented, including those following the Exceptional Children’s Education Act and those not. Variations in definitions of gifted are articulated. District level policies, demonstrating local control, illustrate ranges of service and guidance. Examples of the broad range of funding available for gifted programming are articulated and include base funding as well as formulaic metrics. Adequate resources for equitable gifted education are explored by considering expenditures and allocations of funding, frequently dependent on locale, school size, and economic resources. A call for action suggests practices to improve equity in gifted education include building and implementing strong advocacy skills, pursuing fiscal support for services for gifted learners, and committing to a professional developed workforce through formal and informal professional learning for educators and policymakers. Educator attitudes and beliefs and public perceptions that may perpetuate myths are examined in relation to equitable services for gifted students.

What are the barriers to the diagnosis and management of chronic respiratory disease in sub-Saharan Africa? A qualitative study with healthcare workers, national and regional policy stakeholders in five countries

ObjectivesChronic respiratory diseases (CRD) are among the top four non-communicable diseases globally. They are associated with poor health and approximately 4 million deaths every year. The rising burden of CRD...

COVID-19 and all-cause mortality in South Africa – the hidden deaths in the first four waves

Accurate statistics are essential for policy guidance and decisions. However, the reported number of cases and COVID-19 deaths are known to be biased due to under-ascertainment of SARS-CoV-2 and incomplete reporting of deaths. Making use of death data from the National Population Register has made it possible to track in near-real time the number of excess deaths experienced in South Africa. These data reveal considerable provincial differences in the impact of COVID-19, likely associated with differences in population age structure and density, patterns of social mixing, and differences in the prevalence of known comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. As the waves unfolded, levels of natural immunity together with vaccination began to reduce levels of mortality. Mortality rates during the second (Beta) wave were much higher than mortality in the third (Delta) wave, which were higher than in either the first or the fourth (Omicron) waves. However, the cumulative death toll during the second (Beta) wave was of a similar order of magnitude as that during the third (Delta) wave due to the longer duration of the Delta wave. Near-real time monitoring of all-cause deaths should be refined to provide more granular level information to enable district-level policy support. In the meanwhile, there is an urgent need to re-engineer the civil registration and vital statistics system to enable more timely access to cause of death information for public health actions. Significance: This study highlights that in South Africa there were about three times the number of excess deaths from natural causes during 2020 and 2021 than reported COVID-19 deaths. Although the cause of death remains unknown, the strong temporal correlation between excess deaths and reported COVID-19 deaths within each province indicates that the majority of excess deaths were associated with COVID-19. Many countries have found it difficult to estimate excess deaths, or to identify and report COVID-19 deaths accurately, demonstrating the value of near-real time monitoring of mortality through the use and demographic analysis of data obtained from the country’s National Population Register. Open data set: https://www.samrc.ac.za/sites/default/files/files/2022-02-09/Estimated%20deaths%20for%20SA%2007%20Feb%202022%20with%20adj2.xlsx

Facilitators and barriers to implementation of integrated community case management of childhood illness: a qualitative case study of Kapiri Mposhi District

BackgroundZambia adopted the Integrated Community Case Management (ICCM) of childhood illness strategy in May 2010, targeting populations in rural communities and hard-to-reach areas. However, evidence suggests that ICCM implementation in local health systems has been suboptimal. This study sought to explore facilitators and barriers to implementation of ICCM in the health system in Kapiri Mposhi District, Zambia.MethodsData were gathered through 19 key informant interviews with district health managers, ICCM supervisors, health facility managers, and district health co-operating partners. The study was conducted in Kapiri Mposhi district, Zambia. Interviews were translated and transcribed verbatim. Data were were analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 11(QSR International).ResultsFacilitators to implementation of ICCM consisted of community involvement and support for the program, active community case detection and timeliness of health services, the program was not considered a significant shift from other community-based health interventions, district leadership and ownership of the program, availability of national and district-level policies supporting ICCM and engagement of district co-operating partners. Program incompatibility with some socio-cultural and religious cotexts, stock-out of prerequisite drugs and supplies, staff reshuffle and redeployment, inadequate supervision of health facilities, and nonpayment of community health worker incentives inhibited implementation of ICCM.ConclusionThe study findings highlight key faciliators and barriers that should be considered by policy-makers, district health managers, ICCM supervisors, health facility managers, and co-operating partners, in designing context-specific strategies, to ensure successful implementation of ICCM in local health systems.

Cross-Sectional Association of State Recess Laws With District-Level Policy and School Recess Provision in the United States.

State recess laws are recommended to encourage adequate and equitable access to recess and its benefits, but the downstream effects of state recess laws are unknown. We examined the association of state recess laws with district-level policy and school recess provision. This is cross-sectional analysis of the School Health Policies and Practices Survey, a US nationally representative sample of school districts (2016) and schools (2014). State-level recess laws were coded as none, recommend, or require recess. Logistic and linear regression were used to examine the association between state law with district policies and school recess provision, respectively. Data from 2000 are presented to highlight changes in recess policy and provision over time. The odds of a district policy requiring recess were 2.22 and 2.34 times greater when state recess law recommended or required recess, respectively, compared to states with no recess policy. There were no significant differences in school-level recess provision by state recess law but point estimates from 2000 indicated states without a law had the largest declines in recess provision over time. State recess laws are positively associated with district-level policy. Effects at the school level are unclear and continued surveillance is needed.

Assessing District Policy Alignment with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model in Connecticut, 2019 to 2020.

The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model offers a comprehensive framework for creating safe, healthy, and supportive school environments. However, few studies to date have examined the degree to which school policies represent a comprehensive and integrated approach to this goal beyond nutrition and physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide a baseline evaluation of the alignment of district-level policies with the WSCC model within one state. Fifty-four Connecticut public school districts' policies were evaluated using the WellSAT WSCC, a new measure of how well district-level policies address topic areas within each domain of the WSCC model. The comprehensiveness and strength of each district's policies were calculated and then averaged across districts to assess areas of strength and need. Districts' policies were most comprehensive in the domains of Social and Emotional Climate; Behavioral Supports (Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services); and Family Engagement. Policies were strongest for Safe Environment (Physical Environment); Behavioral Supports; and Health Services. School district policy coverage of the WSCC model within Connecticut varies by domain and is often fragmented. Comprehensive and coordinated policies modeled from WSCC domains are needed to better support safe, healthy, and supportive school environments.

Understanding the dynamics of notification and implementation of Article 5.3 across India’s states and union territories

IntroductionIn federal systems, state and local governments may offer opportunities for innovation in implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This paper explores the implementation of WHO FCTC...

Salient stakeholders: Using the salience stakeholder model to assess stakeholders’ influence in healthcare priority setting

Stakeholders play an important role in health priority setting, and their roles have been discussed in the literature, mainly in relationship to their power. An emerging body of literature is focusing on the legitimacy of the stakeholders. Using the case of the Uganda health system, the overall aim of this paper is to assess the utility of the salience stakeholder analysis framework in identifying the most salient stakeholders in health-care priority setting. MethodsThis was a qualitative case study involving 57 key informant interviews with national and district level policy makers and a review of policy documents. Interview data were analyzed using QSR NVivo10 qualitative data analysis software. Analysis was guided by the salience stakeholder analysis framework. FindingsAmong the eight groups of stakeholders identified by the respondents, the politicians were found to be the most salient stakeholders. However, stakeholders’ salience varied depending on the type of decision, the nature of health issue and how and who tabled the health issue. ConclusionThe salience stakeholder analysis framework, originating from the business management and political science disciplines, provided a more comprehensive stakeholder analysis by supporting the concurrent consideration of power, legitimacy and urgency in stakeholder analysis for health care priority setting.

Why did Ghana's national health insurance capitation payment model fall off the policy agenda? A regional level policy analysis.

Provider payment reforms, such as capitation, are very contentious. Such reforms can drop off the policy agenda due to political and contextual resistance. Using the Shiffman and Smith (Generation of political priority for global health initiatives: a framework and case study of maternal mortality. Lancet 2007; 370 1370–9) framework, this study explains why Ghana’s National Health Insurance capitation payment policy that rose onto the policy agenda in 2012, dropped off the agenda in 2017 during its pilot implementation in the Ashanti region. We conducted a retrospective qualitative policy analysis by collecting field data in December 2019 in the Ashanti region through 18 interviews with regional and district level policy actors and four focus group discussions with community-level policy beneficiaries. The thematically analysed field data were triangulated with media reports on the policy. We discovered that technically framing capitation as a cost-containment strategy with less attention on portraying its health benefits resulted in a politically negative reframing of the policy as a strategy to punish fraudulent providers and opposition party electorates. At the level of policy actors, pilot implementation was constrained by a regional level anti-policy community, weak civil society mobilization and low trust in the then political leadership. Anti-policy campaigners drew on highly contentious and poorly implemented characteristics of the policy to demand cancellation of the policy. A change in government in 2017 created the needed political window for the suspension of the policy. While it was technically justified to pilot the policy in the stronghold of the main opposition party, this decision carried political risks. Other low- and middle-income countries considering capitation reforms should note that piloting potentially controversial policies such as capitation within a politically sensitive location can attract unanticipated partisan political interest in the policy. Such partisan interest can potentially lead to a decline in political attention for the policy in the event of a change in government.

School Nurses as Vital Members of 504 and Individualized Educational Program Teams: Do District-Level Policies Make a Difference in School Nurses’ Involvement?

In 2019, 10 to 20 million school-aged youth were identified as having a chronic health condition or disability. However, little is known about U.S. school district policies on school nurses' participation in Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and Section 504 teams to support these youth. Using nationally representative district-level data from the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study, we examined whether U.S. school districts have policies on school nurse participation in IEP and 504 development. In addition, we examined the relationship between having such policies and policies on (a) creating and maintaining school teams to assist students with disabilities and (b) the participation of other essential school staff in IEP and 504 development. Among districts with policies regarding school nurse participation in IEP development versus those that did not, a significantly greater proportion had policies on student support teams and counselors' participation on IEP teams (79.2% vs. 44.4%, p < .001, and 98.7% vs. 56.2%, p < .001, respectively). In addition, among districts with policies on school nurse participation in 504 development versus those that did not, a significantly greater proportion also had policies on support teams and counselors' participation on 504 teams (77.5% vs. 43.1%, p < .001, and 97.2% vs. 50.7%, p < .001, respectively). We also examine regional and locale differences in these policies. Findings encourage discussion on student support teams' role in school districts for students with chronic health conditions and disabilities, how school nurses can be essential team members, and better coordination of student care to promote children who are engaged, healthy, and supported within the school community.

Policy at the Intersection of Curriculum and Music Teacher Agency

Music teachers seek imaginative openings to expand the reach and scope of the music curriculum, particularly by engaging more students in creative production and culturally relevant offerings. This article describes the work of a high school choral music educator who implemented new courses in Hip Hop Production by strategically navigating the policy process for course approval in his school district, informing the proposal with readily available data, consulting with colleagues, and aligning the purposes of the courses with district initiatives. As a case of music teachers’ curricular agency, this story illustrates valuable orientations and principles of change that open up avenues for the expansion of music programs in the context of district-level policy environments.

School Principals Putting Bullying Policy to Practice.

School principals must rely on state statutes and district policies to navigate reports of school bullying. Investigating reports to determine the outcomes may vary depending upon the districts definition of bullying, the investigation process, and follow through to reporting the findings of the investigation to the involved children and youth's parents. However, investigating reports can be challenging due to the confusion of what constitutes bullying. This confusion can be especially troubling for parents who believe their child is being bullied. In order to understand principals' perspectives on bullying, two focus groups were conducted with nine urban school principals. Researchers examined principals' perceptions of how state- and district-level policies were used within their bully investigation practices. These principals suggest that a clear, specific district wide definition of bullying and step by step procedures to investigate reports, along with the state anti-bullying statute, provide a valuable guide for follow-through and back up in determining cases of school bullying. In addition, they identified how policies and district mandates affected parents, particularly when reporting their investigation findings. Implications for bully prevention policies are discussed.

Constrained Consumers: Middle-Class Parents’ Resistance of School Closure and Consolidation in Chicago

Many urban districts use a portfolio management model, hoping to promote school choice and improve school performance. This model requires school closure, which has predominantly impacted lower income families. In 2013, Chicago Public Schools relocated Granger Elementary into one of 48 schools it closed, placing its middle-class parents in the unusual position of resisting a school closure-related decision. Our case study explores parents’ resistance from a perspective of capital use and parental agency. Interview participants leveraged extensive capital in response to the proposed closure–relocation. When their efforts failed to halt the directive, they used their resources as consumers, largely finding their children spaces in other schools. Parents were unable to effectively exercise agency to influence district-level policy, but they secured educational advantages for their own children by leveraging their capital. Findings inform implications for market-based policy theory, equity, and democratic control of public schools.

Comprehensive Policies to Support Comprehensive Practices: Physical Activity in Elementary Schools.

Schools are a setting in which students learn about the importance of lifelong physical activity (PA). Best practice guidelines indicate that schools should provide students with adequate physical education (PE) minutes and opportunities to engage in PA throughout the school day. Data from the nationally representative School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study in 2014-2015 were utilized to assess PA practices (including PE) at 412 public elementary schools. These data were linked to state- and district-level policy data from the National Wellness Policy Study to examine the relationships between state law and school district policies and school practices. Just over half of the schools were in a state with a policy regarding PE minutes. The comprehensiveness and strength of PA policies were higher at the district level than the state level, but were still low overall. Comprehensiveness of PA policies at the state level, but not at the district level, was related to schools within those states that provide more PA practices. Existence of PE and PA policies at the state level appears to be an important predictor of school PA practices. Having more comprehensive policies at the state level may be an important facilitator of school implementation of comprehensive PA practices.

Translanguaging through an advocacy lens: The roles of multilingual classroom assistants in Sweden

AbstractThis article examines the intersection between teacher agency and national language policy in Sweden. We present data from qualitative research across multiple urban Swedish school districts that explores the experiences and perspectives of multilingual classroom assistants (MCAs) on their work and in relation to national and district-level policies. We interrogate what it means to uphold translanguaging stances in otherwise monolingual Swedish classrooms. Data showcase the complexity with which MCAs articulate their roles as advocates for their students in translanguaging spaces, and in relation to school, district, and national policies. This inquiry also uncovers the need to position the experiences of MCAs more centrally in educational policy to support alternative visions for inclusion of newly arrived migrant students in school. It concludes with insights regarding the multifaceted nature of teacher advocacy and its relevance to future scholarship on the education of newly arrived migrant children.

Improving the quality of disaggregated SDG indicators with cluster information for small area estimates

The increasing needs for more disaggregated data motivates National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to develop efficient methods for producing official statistics without compromising on quality. In Indonesia, regional autonomy requires that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators are available up to the district level. However, several surveys such as the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey produce estimates up to the provincial level only. This generates gaps in support for district level policies. Small area estimation (SAE) techniques are often considered as alternatives for overcoming this issue. SAE enables more reliable estimation of the small areas by utilizing auxiliary information from other sources. However, the standard SAE approach has limitations in estimating non-sampled areas. This paper introduces an approach to estimating the non-sampled area random effect by utilizing cluster information. This model is demonstrated via the estimation of contraception prevalence rates at district levels in North Sumatera province. The results showed that small area estimates considering cluster information (SAE-cluster) produce more precise estimates than the direct method. The SAE-cluster approach revises the direct estimates upward or downward. This approach has important implications for improving the quality of disaggregated SDGs indicators without increasing cost. The paper was prepared under the kind mentorship of Professor James J. Cochran, Associate Dean for Research, Prof. of Statistics and Operations Research, University of Alabama.