Achievement Gap Research Articles

Canadian Teacher Perspectives on Navigating Relationships: A Sexuality Curriculum for Grade 9 Students

This paper reports on Navigating Relationships, an intervention designed to address gaps in sexuality education in Ontario. Following delivery in grade 9 classrooms by Planned Parenthood Ottawa facilitators, teachers participated in an interview to discuss their perceptions of its impacts. Our findings suggest that a case-based relationship-focused curriculum may contribute positively toward broader goals of comprehensive sexuality education. Key strengths include the engagement of advisors to infuse the curriculum with current youth experiences from diverse racialized and gendered perspectives, and the value of outside facilitators with training and aligned goals for providing sex- and relationship-positive education that normalizes “difference”.

Impacts of fiscal stress labels on student achievement and achievement gaps

AbstractThis paper considers the effects of Ohio fiscal stress labels on student achievement and achievement gaps. We estimate data on math and English Language Arts achievement and achievement gaps in school districts from 2009 to 2018. Two‐way fixed effects estimates indicate that student achievement declines by between 0.038 and 0.048 standard deviations when their schools receive a fiscal stress label designation, although these effects become insignificant when using stacked differences‐in‐differences. We find that fiscal stress label receipt leads to a statistically significant closing of the White–Black achievement gap, but find more negligible changes in the achievement gaps across gender and socioeconomic groups.

Macro-Economic Analysis of Literacy Rates Across Five Indian States: Trends, Determinants, and Socio-Economic Impact

This research explores the relationship between literacy rates, economic development, poverty, and the gender literacy gap in five Indian states. The study examines how economic growth influences educational outcomes, particularly in terms of gender disparities. The analysis highlights the interconnectedness between higher literacy rates, lower poverty levels, and reduced gender gaps in education. The findings underscore the importance of aligning economic policies with educational reforms to improve literacy, especially for girls in low-income regions. The study suggests that enhancing educational access and opportunities, addressing gender-specific barriers, and promoting economic growth are key strategies for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers focused on creating inclusive and equitable educational systems to foster long-term socio-economic growth. Keywords : Literacy Rates, Economic Development, Gender Literacy Gap, Poverty Reduction , Educational Reforms

Education-based differences in alcohol health literacy in Germany.

Alcohol health literacy is critical for informed consumer decision making but has yet received limited attention in public health research. We therefore seek to measure alcohol health literacy and its educational distribution in Germany. In this cross-sectional study, we developed and applied a brief nine-item questionnaire on alcohol health literacy in an adult convenience sample (n = 391; February to April 2023). The association of educational attainment with 'insufficient' alcohol health literacy was tested in adjusted logistic regression models. Insufficient alcohol health literacy was recorded in 47.8% of men and 41.1% of women in our sample. While most respondents correctly identified common misconceptions and wrong beliefs about alcohol and were able to specify low-risk drinking limits for women and women during pregnancy, only few correctly identified all alcohol-related health conditions, especially respiratory and infectious diseases. Respondents with low education were 1.35 (risk ratio [RR], 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.50, p = 0.014) times more likely to have been classified as having insufficient alcohol health literacy than high-educated respondents. There was no statistically significant difference between respondents with medium versus high education (RR = 1.22, 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.43, p = 0.060). Educational gaps in alcohol health literacy question a policy rationale that is fundamentally based on the premise of informed consumer choice. Strategies to raise alcohol health literacy must ensure that they reach all population groups, for instance, by providing health warning labels on alcohol containers.

Perceived goal structures and student outcomes: Consistency of motivational experiences within and across classrooms

Our study investigates whether motivation experiences are consistent between and within classrooms, focusing on students' perceptions of goal structures, personal achievement goals, and grades. We used multilevel structural equation modeling with data collected from 1268 ninth-grade students (51.7 % females; average age = 14.87; standard deviation = 0.39) placed in 72 classes. Our findings show that students' perceptions of goal structures vary across classrooms, and that shared mastery goal perceptions are positively associated with average classroom grades. Within classrooms, when individual students perceive more mastery-related messages, their personal achievement goals (both mastery and performance) are higher. However, only mastery goals, out of the two student achievement goal orientations, are positively linked with grades and mediate between mastery goal structures and grades. Moreover, students from less affluent families have lower scores on both goal orientations and observe fewer performance-oriented messages in their learning environment; boys report lower mastery orientation. Student background effects on grades are partly explained by achievement goals, suggesting that unequal motivational experiences may partly account for achievement gaps related to social inequalities.

Education Research: Feasibility, Reliability and Educational Value of Neuromuscular Ultrasound Training in a Canadian Neurology Residency Program: A Pilot Study.

Point-of-care neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS) is increasingly used in the evaluation of peripheral nervous system disorders; however, there remains a gap in education and training for neurology residents. We evaluated whether neurology residents can feasibly be trained in basic NMUS skills and nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) measurement and whether they value incorporation of this training into their curriculum. Participants included neurology residents (postgraduate years 1-5) at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). All completed pretraining and posttraining surveys using a Likert scale, rating their confidence in independently performing NMUS and their degree of agreement regarding the educational value of NMUS training. Residents underwent training (7 hours) comprising 1 didactic and 2 hands-on sessions, detailing NMUS of median, ulnar, and fibular nerves. Participants could then opt-in to a posttraining testing session where CSA measurements (mm2) of the median, ulnar, and fibular nerve at multiple sites were independently performed on 3 healthy volunteers and compared with measurements obtained by the trainer. Eighteen residents participated in training and pretraining/posttraining surveys. Nine completed the testing component. Nerve CSA measurement reliability between the trainer and trainees across all nerve sites combined was very good (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] 0.93, 95% CI 0.83-0.96) but varied by nerve and site. ICC was good to very good (0.62-0.95) except for the ulnar nerve-distal forearm/wrist (0.39-0.58) and fibular nerve-fibular head (0.12) sites. The coefficient of variation (CoV) across all sites was 19.6% (95% CI 17.3-21.8) and best for the median nerve-wrist site at 15.5% (9.8-20.8). The mean absolute difference between trainer and trainee measurements was low (<0.5 mm2 across all sites). Comparing pretraining and posttraining survey responses, there was a significant increase in agreement that basic NMUS operational skills were obtained and in confidence in independently measuring each nerve. NMUS training was considered a valuable component of a neurology residency program curriculum (median rating: strongly agree). Neurology residents across stages of training can acquire basic NMUS and CSA measurement skills of the median and ulnar nerves after 2 half-days of training and value incorporation of NMUS training in their educational curriculum.

Mentors without Borders: Bridging global gaps in medical and radiological education.

Pursuing medical careers like radiology is challenging even for those with high levels of commitment, discipline, and resilience. Many rely on the guidance and support from mentors whose experiences serve as the roadmap for new generations. Unfortunately, finding a mentor can be difficult in certain parts of the world or when physicians decide to live and practice medicine outside their country of origin. Within the United States, medical education in the United States is very competitive given the high demand of highly qualified aspirants and the lack of enough training positions to accept them all. Having good mentorship not only can help students enhance the skills required to succeed within their fields of interest during the residency and fellowship application processes, but it can also provide counseling as they navigate training and, ultimately, transition to the workplace. "Mentors without Borders" is a program founded by a radiologist to provide free mentorship to those interested in pursuing medical education and training to pursue radiology and other medical careers in and out of the United States. Its primary focus is on strengthening skills needed for academic writing and publication of scientific articles in radiology. This initiative has already benefited several students and physicians from all over the world and is aiming to become a fully structured program with a larger outreach.

Singing Training Using the Zoltán Kodály Method for Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers in Jayapura District

Singing training was conducted using the Zoltán Kodály approach for early childhood education and kindergarten teachers in Jayapura Regency to address the need to improve teachers' competence in effective music teaching for young children. Gaps in music education, caused by a lack of professional training, affect teachers' ability to integrate music in children's cognitive and social development. This service activity aims to empower teachers with the Kodály method, which uses simple and familiar songs to teach basic music concepts in a fun and interactive way. This service activity was carried out using the direct demonstration method by STAKPN Sentani Church Music Department lecturers, who practiced using the Kodály method with children's songs. The training results showed increased teachers' understanding of how music can be used as an effective educational tool, such as the Zoltán Kodály approach. In conclusion, the training made a real contribution to improving the quality of music teaching in PAUD and TK and supporting children's cognitive, social, and emotional development through a holistic and creative approach.

Governing the private scales of families and homes: Visiting nurses and Turkey's mobilization of consumptive care

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the visiting nurses of western empires and nation-states performed vital labor in combating tuberculosis (TB). Their hybrid role combined modern nursing and social work, typically benefitting from civil society organizations. In late Ottoman and early republican Turkey, tuberculosis resulted in many fatalities. To overcome this biopolitical challenge, the state prioritized creating a network of dispensaries and visiting nurses. Going into citizens' homes and communities, these nurses were to both educate the public on TB prevention and treatment and report their health and personal data to the state. Envisioned as essential public health agents, visiting nurses bridged gaps in hygiene education and demographic data collection. However, the republic struggled with insufficient resources to recruit, train, and deploy them effectively. Our study explores the evolving vision of leveraging women's labor for public health and geopolitical aims. By analyzing key thinkers' writings, legislative efforts, and the delayed realization of a visiting nurse corps post-1945, we highlight efforts to professionalize women and expand their societal roles. These mobile public health initiatives not only advanced women's status but also marked a significant development in Turkey's public health and medical governance.

Barriers to Health Care Access among Rural Women: A Qualitative Study in a Village of Bangladesh

Rural women's health inequalities have an extensive discussion on both a global and regional scale. Access to health care is a universal challenge, but the task is even harder for rural people, particularly women. This paper attempts to assess critical barriers to rural women’s health. In this regard, a qualitative approach has been followed using a case study method. The respondents were selected from Kosha Raniganj village of Pirganj Upazila under the district of Thakurgaon in the division of Rangpur, Bangladesh, and data were collected in two consecutive months, i.e., May and June 2024. 20 rural women were interviewed through face-to-face communication, with the help of an unstructured interview schedule, to obtain the necessary data. The research findings showed that the health care coverage for rural women remains low because of multifaceted and interwoven barriers. These are: Economic Barriers, Geographic barriers, Socio-cultural barriers, Shortages of workforce and Healthcare Infrastructure, Educational and Awareness Gaps. Of these barriers, economic challenges were considered to have the greatest impounding effect on the health care access of women in rural areas. The findings of this work are useful in understanding how to reduce health disparities and increase the health care services for rural females.

How does developmental advising impact college students? Findings from medical students in China

ABSTRACT This study contributes evidence on the impact of developmental advising using a national sample of students in the undergraduate clinical medicine program in China (n = 122,932). Using a combination of instrumental variable regression and structural equation modeling, the study explored beyond low-touch informative intervention and fully presented how developmental advising makes effects. A significantly positive advising effect on both academic and non-academic indicators was found, and it varies by the students’ demographic features, family backgrounds, and pre-college experiences, suggesting its potential to address achievement gaps across students from different backgrounds. In addition, the mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning engagement that enable advising to impact academic improvement were verified, shedding light on how developmental advising impacts students’ development.

Is Separate Still Unequal? New Evidence on School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps

U.S. public schools are racially and economically segregated. Prior research shows that the desegregation of Southern schools beginning in the 1960s led to significant benefits for Black students. Less clear, however, is whether segregation today has the same harmful effects as it did 50 years ago and through what mechanisms segregation continues to affect achievement. We estimate the effects of current-day school segregation on racial achievement gaps using 11 years of data from all U.S. public school districts. We find that racial segregation is strongly associated with the magnitude of achievement gaps in 3rd grade and the rate at which gaps grow from 3rd to 8th grade. The association of racial segregation with achievement-gap growth is completely accounted for by racial differences in school poverty. Thus, racial segregation is harmful because it concentrates minority students in high-poverty schools, which are, on average, less effective than lower-poverty schools. Exploratory analyses show that segregation-related between-school differences in teacher characteristics are associated with unequal learning rates and account for roughly 20 percent of the effect of Black–White racial differences in exposure to poverty. Further research is needed to identify mechanisms linking school segregation to achievement-gap growth.

Diagnostic delays of periodontitis and associated factors: a cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to investigate total diagnostic delay (TDD) in periodontitis and identify the factors associated with it. In this cross-sectional study, 145 newly examined and diagnosed periodontitis patients were recruited. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data on demographics, symptom onset, duration of diagnostic delay(s), and potential associated factors. Multiple regression analysis and the Mann‒Whitney U test were used to analyse the impact of various factors on the timing of diagnosis delay. TDD averaged 59.3 ± 70.2 months, with a median of 36 months. Patient delay accounted for 74.4% of the cases, which was attributed to misconceptions about symptoms and reliance on self-medication. Professional delay accounted for 25% of the cases, with a significantly longer median delay (36 months) than patient delay (24 months) (p < 0.05). Factors predicting longer TDD included older age, multiple dentist visits, and the presence of calculus. The use of home remedies was associated with a longer TDD, whereas smoking and gingival swelling were associated with a significantly shorter TDD (P < 0.05). This first-of-its-kind study identified significant diagnostic delays in periodontitis, one of the most common oral diseases, underscoring critical gaps in patient education and care. Age, frequency of dental visits, and misconceptions regarding calculus contribute to these delays. Delayed diagnosis of periodontitis has significant implications, leading to extensive oral damage and eventual tooth loss, which compromises oral function, aesthetics, and quality of life. Addressing these delays through comprehensive public health strategies and improving dental training in periodontology can significantly improve oral and systemic health outcomes, reduce economic burdens, and contribute to the overall well-being of the population.

Bridging the Gap in Interactive Education: A WordWall Training Initiative for MGMP Instructors in Padang Panjang

Bridging the Gap in Interactive Education: A WordWall Training Initiative for MGMP Instructors in Padang Panjang

Unveiling AI Concerns for Sub-Saharan Africa and its Vulnerable Groups

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), artificial intelligence is still in its early stages of adoption. To ensure that the already existing class imbalance in SSA communities does not hinder the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as data security, safety, and equitable access to AI technologies, acceptable reliability measures must be put in place (as policies). This paper identifies some of the vulnerabilities in AI and adds a voice to the risks and ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI and its impact on SSA and its vulnerable groups. Our systematic literature review of related research between January 2014 and June 2024 shows the current state of AI adoption in SSA and the socio-political challenges that impact its development, revealing key concerns in data Governance, safety privacy, educational and skill gaps, socio-economic impacts, and stakeholder influence on AI adoption in SSA. We propose a framework for designing data governance policies for the inclusive use of AI in SSA.

BhashaBlend: Enabling Multilingual understanding of videos through NLP for Deaf and Hearing Impaired users

In India's diverse educational landscape, linguistic barriers and hearing impairments present significant challenges to effective learning. The research introduces an innovative NLP-driven solution aimed at overcoming these hurdles by offering a comprehensive educational platform. This platform includes features such as subtitle generation, text summarization, Q&amp;A generation for content recall, multilingual translation, and Indian Sign Language (ISL) support. Leveraging a fine-tuned Whisper model for Speech-to-Text Translation (STT) and conducting a comparative study of BERT, T5, and TextRank for subtitle summarization, this approach ensures optimized language understanding and content generation across various NLP applications. Through the utilization of ConceptNet and BERT for question answering tasks, the system demonstrates impressive performance metrics, including a 95.12% accuracy rate in subtitle generation and an average WER of 3.43%. While manual evaluation was necessary due to the absence of specific datasets, this innovative approach represents an advancement in addressing educational accessibility gaps in India, fostering the Right to Education to all individual users in an educational environment.

Socioeconomic Factors and Educational Aspirations in Northern Nigeria: Islamic Endowment as a Possible Solution

The study aims to investigate the socioeconomic determinants that influence educational ambitions in Northern Nigeria and the potential role of Islamic waqf (Waqf). This research uses a qualitative approach. Expert interviews, case studies, and literature reviews are all incorporated into this technique. These techniques make it possible to understand the difficulties facing the local education system in great detail, as well as the historical and current contributions that Waqf has made to the advancement of education. The results of the analysis of the relevant theoretical framework and practical investigations yielded valuable insights into the ways in which the Islamic waqf system can close the huge educational gaps and inequalities in the area. The study looks at the relationship between socioeconomic status and educational goals in Northern Nigeria and how the use and revitalization of Waqf institutions can advance education in the area. The conclusion of the study is that in Northern Nigeria, socioeconomic factors are still a challenge to the desire to get an education. By involving collaboration between governments, businesses, and religious institutions to create effective and inclusive structures, Islamic waqf can be a potential solution to overcome socio-economic barriers in education.

Dropout Education in Andhra Pradesh: Current Status and Prospects

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has unleashed a new era in School Education by introducing extensive curricular reforms by bringing in a curriculum of national standards, teaching methods and an appropriate third party assessment system to the children studying in the Government schools with a long - term objective of preparing children for the challenges and career opportunities of 21st century so that they would grow into Global Citizens. The School Education Department of Andhra Pradesh, the largest department of the state, manages and regulates schools in various districts of the state. The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools. These schools are categorized as urban, rural and residential schools. In 1950 - 51, the enrolment of girls was only 16 lakhs out of total enrolment of 67 lakhs in Class VI - VIII, then it followed an upward trend and in the year 2011 - 12, the enrolment of girls was 299 lakhs out of 630 lakh total enrolment. The enrolment rate of girls was 23.88 per cent in 1950 - 51 session and it increased up to 47.46 per cent in the 2011 - 12 session. The increase in this percentage is more than double, but even in 2011 - 12, fewer girls were enrolled in elementary school as compared to boys. Gender gaps in education increased with the level of education and if there are gaps in school enrolment then these gaps continue till higher education.

Improving intelligence analysis and education in the US with stronger foundations in statistical literacy

ABSTRACT This article argues that coursework in statistical literacy can improve the practice of intelligence analysis in the US. The article describes the gaps in current intelligence education pertaining to statistically literacy, explains how statistical literacy relates to the tasks of intelligence analysis, and offers a series of recommendations for statistical literacy courses specifically designed for future intelligence practitioners. The incorporation of statistical literacy in intelligence studies programs will advance and strengthen the contribution such programs can make to the intelligence workforce, both in the public and private sectors.

Teacher Labor Market Policy and The Theory of the Second Best

Abstract We estimate a matching model of teachers and elementary schools with rich data on teacher applications and principal ratings from a large, urban district in North Carolina. Both teachers’ and principals’ preferences deviate from those that would maximize the achievement of economically disadvantaged students: teachers prefer schools with fewer disadvantaged students, and principal ratings are weakly related to teacher effectiveness. In equilibrium, these two deviations combine to produce a surprisingly equitable current allocation, where teacher quality is balanced across advantaged and disadvantaged students. To close achievement gaps, policies that address deviations on one side alone are ineffective or harmful, while policies that address both could substantially increase the achievement of disadvantaged students.