Education Agencies Research Articles

P-963. Development, Delivery, and Evaluation of the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) Infection Control Lecture Series

Abstract Background The Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) is a state agency of higher education headquartered at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. With a mission to keep Texans healthy and the economy strong by preparing for the next infectious disease outbreak, TEPHI’s Small Rural Healthcare Preparedness working group developed, delivered, and evaluated a pilot infection prevention and control webinar series called Infection Control for rural-serving health organizations.Table 1:Modular Registration, Attendance, and YouTube Views Methods Pilot data was collected from year one of the Infection Control series. Data sources included series attendee registration forms and attendance records (stored in WebEx Webinar Platform) and from post-lecture evaluation surveys using Qualtrics. These data were analyzed using Qualtrics software.Table 2:Infection Control series attendee demographic and occupational characteristics Results A total of 1105 individuals attended or viewed the Infection Control series. Overall, response rate to the evaluation surveys, in general, was low. Even so, feedback was consistently very positive, noting a “high likelihood of future TEPHI infection prevention and control lecture attendance”. Additionally participant feedback was used to guide the active improvements for year two of the series.Table 3:Infection Preventionist Module Registration Demographics Conclusion Infection Control series attendees obtained a deeper understanding of relevant policies, procedures, components, and practices. By offering essential, accessible education on infection prevention and control at no cost to healthcare systems, administrators and healthcare providers working in these systems have gained the knowledge necessary to establish and sustain a safe environment for patients and staff in healthcare settings.Table 4:Modular Post-Survey Evaluations Disclosures Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, FECMM, CMQ, Cidara: Advisor/Consultant|Enanta: Advisor/Consultant|F2G: Advisor/Consultant|Gilead: Advisor/Consultant|GSK: Advisor/Consultant|Melinta: Advisor/Consultant|Octapharma: Advisor/Consultant|Pfizer: Advisor/Consultant|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support|Pulmocide: Grant/Research Support|Scynexis: Grant/Research Support|Viracor: Advisor/Consultant

“We are not your colony”: Policy discourses and resistance in Texas’s takeover of Houston Independent School District

This paper applies principles of critical policy analysis (CPA) to examine the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) 2023 takeover of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Engaging in qualitative analyses of four TEA-facilitated community information sessions held during the period immediately preceding the takeover, I examine the policy discourses officials invoked to frame the takeover and the counter-discourses community members used to disrupt the state’s official narrative. Through policy discourses that attempted to narrow the scope, categorize community members, and create a sense of inevitability, state officials positioned the HISD community as passive recipients of the top-down implementation of takeover. In response, community members exercised their agency by strategically disrupting TEA’s official takeover narrative and advancing counter-discourses that highlighted the state’s organized neglect and evasion of answerability. Attending to gaps between the rhetoric and reality of takeover policy, this study demonstrates how the racialized narratives underpinning takeover, and state accountability systems more broadly, reinforce a disciplinary dynamic that neutralizes the democratic engagement of marginalized communities.

Guarding the boundaries: a Swedish policy debate about geography and education for sustainable development

ABSTRACT In this article, we analyse how educational policy debates regarding specific school subjects are related to the demarcation of science. Utilising boundary-work theory we analyse material from a later abandoned revision process for the Swedish upper secondary school curriculum in 2004–2006. During this process a new subject – Sustainable Development – was proposed by the Swedish National Agency for Education. As a consequence, the Geography subject, potentially a suitable arena to naturally handle education for sustainable development, would be given a very peripheral role in the upper secondary school curriculum. From the suggestion a debate about scientific boundaries arose, with arguments that may be traced back to the theoretical concepts; ‘exclusion’, ‘expansion’ and ‘protection of autonomy’.

Developing Teacher‐Leaders for Multilingual Students on the Mexico–United States Border

ABSTRACTThis brief describes how three school districts, one charter school system, a county office of education, and one institution of higher education collaborated to develop the leadership, equity, and access for languages (LEAL) professional development certificate for teacher‐leaders committed to serving multilingual learners on the Mexico–United States border. LEAL was designed and implemented using knowledge, dispositions, and skills for critically conscious pedagogy as the guiding framework to create consensus definitions of teacher‐leaders of multilingual students. Researchers reviewed and interpreted weekly meeting agendas, email correspondence, and the evaluation plan to define and use criteria for the selection of LEAL participants. Researchers implemented an innovative collaborative process of surveys, meetings, and goal‐setting with school district and charter school system administrators to identify current in‐service teachers that would exemplify commitment to serving multilingual learners in their schools and communities. This brief highlights the importance of interinstitutional partnerships for calibrating consistent definitions of teacher‐leaders as well as the value of creating customized seminars and conferences for collegial collaboration across local education agencies (LEAs).

What makes care-experienced young people ‘survivors’ in education: evidence from China

ABSTRACT Globally, there are significant concerns regarding the educational disadvantages faced by young people with care experience. Despite these challenges, some individuals, referred to as ‘survivors’, successfully progress to higher education. However, existing research predominantly focuses on the barriers and difficulties they encounter, with insufficient attention given to the factors contributing to their success, particularly within the context of China. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the factors that facilitate educational success among care-experienced young people in China, specifically those who have pursued or achieved higher education. Drawing on biographical interview data (n = 18) from a completed PhD project and subsequent thematic analysis, the research identifies key elements that have supported their sustained educational engagement. These factors include a strong belief in the transformative power of education, resilience in overcoming challenges, the critical role of supportive relationships, positive school experiences, and active participation in extracurricular activities. The study acknowledges limitations related to sample size, regional focus, data handling – such as transcription and translation – and potential recall bias. Nonetheless, this research contributes to the broader discourse on human agency in education and the literature on out-of-home care, with practical implications extending beyond the Chinese context.

Multiple-Shaded or All Alike? Local Responses to the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Implementation in Florida

ABSTRACT State variations in school policies and strong local governance have differentiated American school districts from their neighborhoods and led to substantial variability among local education agencies across states. With a burgeoning interest in delivery systems for more equitable educational opportunities, the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) serve as one example of localized policies tied to federal and state regulations that influence academic and non-academic outcomes. This current study explores how local education agencies in Florida have responded to state guidelines related to MTSS and identifies key similarities and dissimilarities among local policies. By using policy and regulation information regarding MTSS practices from 77 school district websites, this study finds the largely uniform information available on Florida school districts’ web pages. This suggests that current local responses to MTSS offer limited details of how they assess diverse students, provide individualized support, and promote systemic changes. Furthermore, this study points out a pattern of mimicry in local responses to state policies, addressing a dearth of robust leadership in policy execution at the school district level.

The effect of lexical complexity on grading of Swedish EFL learners’ texts during high-stakes exams

Abstract The present study concerns the effect of lexical complexity on grading of Swedish EFL learners’ texts during high-stakes exams. A learner corpus consisting of 142 texts graded by expert raters and 175 texts graded by teachers was analysed to establish if the latter graded in agreement with the former as intended by the Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE). Four indices of lexical complexity available in TAALED and TAALES were chosen to explore if this is the case. The method includes conducting ordinal regression with interactions to determine the effect of the independent variables on grade and if these variables have the same effect in texts graded by teachers and expert raters. The findings reveal a discrepancy between expert raters and teachers as they appear to consider lexical complexity to a different extent. It was also found that expert raters and teachers graded more in agreement during source-based writing tasks compared to independent writing tasks.

Moving Beyond Static, Individualistic Approaches to Agency: Theories of Agency for Medical Education Researchers: AMEE Guide No. 177

Agency – the capacity to produce an effect – is a foundational aspect of medical education. Agency is usually conceptualized at the level of the individual, with each learner charged with taking responsibility to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. This conceptualization is problematic. First, collaboration is a central component of patient care, which does not align well with an individualistic approach. Second, a growing body of literature documents how minoritized and marginalized trainees experience inequitable restrictions on their agency. Third, a myriad of structures across medicine restricts individual agency. In this guide, we present four conceptualizations of agency beyond the individual that medical researchers can incorporate to modernize and broaden their understanding of agency: (a) temporal: how individuals wrestle with their own agency across time; (b) relational: how agency is co-created dialogically with other individuals and structures; (c) cultural: how culture and cultural resources shape possibilities for agency; and (d) structural: how restrictive structures – like racism and ableism that unjustly curtail individual agency – are created, maintained, and resisted. For each dimension, we first describe it by drawing from and summarizing the work of theorists across disciplines. Next, we highlight an article from medical education that makes particularly good use of this dimension, discussing some of its relevant findings. Finally, we offer a set of questions that researchers in medical education can ask to highlight the dimension of agency in their work, and we suggest potential directions for future inquiry. We conclude by offering an example of how a researcher might understand a resident’s educational experiences through each of the four proposed dimensions and further explicating the complexity of agency in medical education.

Traversing changing higher education learning spaces: what we bring and what is missing

ABSTRACT This research offers a novel hauntological perspective to examine the evolving nature of complex learning spaces in higher education. In times of change and disruption, we draw on Derrida's concept of hauntology – which posits that the past and future ‘haunt’ the present – to analyse educational experiences. Our study comprises eighteen focus groups and seven individual interviews with students and educators at a large metropolitan university business school. Collaborative and abductive coding reveals critical insights into participants’ perceptions of absence and presence in their experience of traversing learning spaces. Three key themes emerge: what we bring to, how we traverse, and what we are missing from higher education. The findings advocate for more fluid, adaptive approaches that balance educator and student agency while acknowledging inherent uncertainties. By highlighting the temporal dimensions shaping learning spaces, this research proposes more nuanced and responsive educational design, within and beyond the classroom.

Determining Work Readiness of Vocational Education Students to Assist in Developing Green Jobs: The Mediating Role of Green Intention

This research aims to measure the significance of the influence of green competencies, learning supports, and green intention on green work readiness in vocational education students. In addition, the mediating role of green intention is also tested in bridging the indirect influence of green competencies and learning supports on green work readiness. Expost-facto research was conducted in vocational education (VE), which has Adiwiyata status, with a total involvement of 424 participants who joined as students voluntarily and had specific criteria tailored to their needs. Data collection was assisted by using a closed questionnaire with four Likert scales, which had been tested for validity and reliability. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze data through path analysis and bootstrap methods. This research proves the importance of green intention in playing a crucial role as a determinant of green work readiness in vocational education students. This research also provides an essential insight that green competencies and learning supports play a significant role in growing green intention and determining green work readiness. These results provide an essential signal especially for vocational education agencies to balance the power of competencies and learning supports to stimulate the growth of green work readiness. The synergy between various stakeholders and socio-cultural communities is an important key that must continue to be pursued

Beyond autonomy: unpacking self-regulated and self-directed learning through the lens of learner agency- a scoping review.

Learner agency involves students actively engaging in their learning process and shaping their educational experiences through autonomy, self-regulation, and decision-making. In professional education, particularly within health professions, learner agency is critical for fostering adaptability and lifelong learning. This scoping review explores how learner agency, alongside concepts such as self-regulated learning and self-directed learning, is addressed in undergraduate dental education, aiming to understand its implications and strategies for enhancing student agency in this context. The scoping review examined literature on self-regulated learning, self-directed learning and learner agency in undergraduate dental education from 1994-April 2024 across five databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, ProQuest Central, and Web of Science. A manual search of the cited references was also conducted. Relevant studies were screened, and the findings were summarized to offer a comprehensive overview and identify research gaps. In total, 33 studies were included in the review. The results revealed a strong interconnection between intrapersonal, behavioral, and contextual dimensions in shaping learner agency through self-regulated learning and self-directed learning among undergraduate dental students. The studies analyzed, predominantly quantitative, highlighted the multifaceted relationships among self-regulated learning and self-directed learning and learner agency, emphasizing its significance for educational practice and policy. Self-regulated learning and self-directed learning are crucial for developing learner agency, aiding undergraduate students' transition into independent professionals and fostering lifelong learning behaviors. Educational strategies should prioritize empowering students to become independent learners, reducing their reliance on faculty. Further research is needed to identify effective methods for promoting learner agency development among dental students.

Dual Credit Completion in Texas from 2019–2021: An Examination of the COVID-19 Years

This study investigates the dual credit (DC) college readiness indicator among secondary students in Texas during 2019–2021 COVID-19. Utilizing publicly available administrative data from the Texas Education Agency and a hierarchical linear model, the paper identifies changes in Texas school districts’ college readiness DC course completion rates across demographic and geographic factors. Findings indicated a steadiness in course participation and an increase in successful completion throughout the years. Compared to White students, students who are African American, Asian American, or low socioeconomic students showed lower success. However, emergent bilingual learners and students who are Latine showed no significant difference. Using the city as the normed geographic location, rural and towns fared better than their suburban peers. As DC is a primary implementation method for gifted-identified students in Texas high schools, study results demonstrate that despite DC course completion remaining stable, disparities among gifted-identified students of color and marginalized groups exist.

California’s Historic Investment in Community Schools: Early Evidence to Understand Shifts in Community School Practices Before and After Grant Participation

To improve students’ educational success and well-being, policymakers and educators across the United States are investing in community schools. In 2020, California became a leader in these investments via the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), which invested over $4 billion dollars for the development and implementation of community schools. To gain an initial understanding of whether participation in CCSPP is associated with shifts in community school practices, this study presents findings from a pre-post survey assessment of the CCSPP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) Cohort, which consisted of 19 local education agencies serving 206 schools. Descriptive and inferential analyses shed light on changes in grantee-and school-level practices associated with the Four Pillars of Community Schools from the beginning to the end of the grant period. Although meaningful changes in grantee practices were limited to the Collaborative Leadership and Practices for Educators and Administrators domain, changes at the school-level were observed for each scale reflecting the Four Pillars of Community Schools, suggesting participation in CCSPP supported shifts in varied school practices. Given the magnitude of the CCSPP investment, these findings serve as a first crucial step at understanding the impact of the CCSPP initiative.

Improvement of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) through Strengthening Organizational Culture, Teamwork, Personality, and Decision Making

The purpose of the research is to produce strategies and ways to improve the Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) of private vocational school teachers, namely by strengthening the independent variables that have a positive effect on teacher OCB. These variables are Organizational Culture, Teamwork, Personality, and Decision Making. The optimal solution found is then used as a recommendation to related parties, namely teachers, principals, school supervisors, school management institutions and education agencies. The method used in this research is quantitative research using survey methods and path analysis techniques and SITOREM analysis to analyze indicators to determine optimal solutions in improving teacher OCB. The research was conducted on permanent foundation teachers (GTY) of private Vocational High Schools (SMK) in East Jakarta with a population of 381 teachers, with a sample of 195 teachers calculated using the Taro Yamane formula. The results of this study are that there is a positive direct effect of organizational culture, teamwork, personality, and decision making variables on OCB; there is a positive direct effect of organizational culture, teamwork, and personality on OCB; there is a positive indirect effect of organizational culture, teamwork, and personality on OCB through decision making.

Artistic expression as a property of resonant musical experience: an interview study with upper secondary school music teachers

Background The curriculum for the courses given at the music specialization of the upper secondary school’s aesthetic program in Sweden includes the concept of artistic expression (AE). Being a criterion for assessment, no definition is provided by the National Agency of Education and there exists no consensus of how to interpret artistic expression among music teachers and music teacher students. Methods In order to explore how teachers understand, teach, and assess the concept and phenomenon of artistic expression, twelve qualitative interviews with music teachers were conducted and analyzed through an open coding process. Results The findings show that the concept of artistic expression is multifaceted and evasive. The results focus on two analytic threads: (i) situatedness and (ii) entanglement. (i) AE is situated due to context-specific parameters which underpins the meaning of the concept in this particular educational setting. (ii) Furthermore, the phenomenon of artistic expression is entangled (a) with the ongoing relationship between teacher and student, and (b) in a temporally unfolding and interactive musical event. The phenomenon of artistic expression as entangled is discussed, primarily through Hartmut Rosa’s concept of resonance, which brings into focus the intersubjective character of aesthetic experience. Doing so questions understandings of – and assessment procedures surrounding – artistic expression that relies on skill-based interpretations or reductions of entanglement. One example of such reduction is assessment of recordings of student performances which limits (a) the relational perspective (if assessed by a third person) or (b) the entanglement with the musical event. The perspective of resonance brings forth the teacher’s role during a student performance as characterized by self-efficacy and active listening, thus co-constitutive of artistic expression. Conclusions The article concludes with reflections on how the findings may contribute to the continuous discussion on how scientific grounding and proven experience may inform both the music education at upper secondary school and music teacher education. The concept of resonance provides a possibility to reframe conceptions of artistic competence in art education as being grounded in intersubjective and relational terms, rather than being reified as a set of measurable skills, an understanding which in turn risks replacing learning with criteria compliance.

The efficacy of short-term in-service teacher training in implementing a behavioural intervention

ABSTRACT Teachers feel inadequate to face pupils’ behavioural problems in schools, yet teachers are expected to play significant roles in providing and supporting pupils’ appropriate social behaviour. Unfortunately, teacher education in Finland and globally seems to offer little content for behavioural support, and in-service training sessions are filling this educational gap. The key context in this study is the in-service training that was directed at primary school teachers and teaching staff. The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of short-term in-service training and discuss the support that in-service training can provide for behavioural problems that are experienced in school. From 2017 to 2021, over 200 teachers or teaching staff members participated in check-in, check-out (CICO), in-service training sessions that were funded by the Finnish National Agency of Education and organised by the Niilo Mäki Institute. Afterwards, the participants were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning their use of the CICO model in their own schools. The post-training questionnaire reached over 80 participants. The results indicated that CICO support was introduced well to schools after the training; however, for some teachers, the short in-service training did not sufficiently support this implementation. Also, factors that complicated and contributed the implementation were examined. According to the results of the study, implementation can be supported with active learning, e.g. opportunities to practise new skills and the use of models.

How do Quality Assurance Agencies in Asia Measure Higher Education? Exploring Approaches, Emerging Standards, and Challenges

How do Quality Assurance Agencies in Asia Measure Higher Education? Exploring Approaches, Emerging Standards, and Challenges

Diskurser i kartläggning av nyanlända elever

The aim of this study is to shed light on discourses in national assessment material for recently arrived students and discourses about students' knowledge as they emerge from teachers’ use of the national assessment material for newly arrived students. The empirical material consists of assessment material for five students, two with little or no previous school background and three with long school background. The documentation in the mapping material is analyzed with Gee's discourse analysis. The result shows two different discourses in which information of different kinds is made significant: assessment discourse for newly arrived students and important knowledge at Language Introduction. Through the assessment material, the Swedish National Agency for Education supports a comprehensive assessment where information about students' previous knowledge and background regarding language and education is requested, with a particular focus on numeracy and literacy. What emerges from the study is that the documentation is inconsistent, often fragmentary and abbreviated. The results also show that the teachers consider personal matters, such as fleeing and arriving in Sweden, to be important knowledge at Language Introduction that they need to document. Additionally, the documentation regarding students who have experience studying in formal schools is more informative compared to the documentation for those students who have little or no experience of formal education. Thus, the information which is intended to be provided through assessment material appears only vaguely, and there is a discrepancy as some information is left out, particularly for students with short or no earlier schooling.

An Application of Text Embeddings to Support Alignment of Educational Content Standards

AbstractLarge language models are increasingly used in educational and psychological measurement activities. Their rapidly evolving sophistication and ability to detect language semantics make them viable tools to supplement subject matter experts and their reviews of large amounts of text statements, such as educational content standards. This paper presents an application of text embeddings to find relationhips between different sets of educational content standards in a content mapping process. Content mapping is routinely used by state education agencies and is often a requirement of the United States Department of Education peer review process. We discuss the educational measurement problem, propose a formal methodology, demonstrate an application of our proposed approach, and provide measures of its accuracy and potential to support real‐world activities.

‘We have a great deal of influence’: Finnish early childhood in-service teachers’ agency for culturally sustaining pedagogy

ABSTRACT This qualitative study focused on the role of teacher agency and critical reflection in the context of an in-service training programme for early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers in Finland. The programme emphasised culturally sustainable pedagogy and aimed to support teachers in an increasingly multilingual society. This study aimed to investigate how teachers displayed agency as they tried to promote culturally sustaining pedagogy, and how critical reflection interacted with teachers’ professional agency. The data of the study were versatile, as they consisted of influential texts implemented via the creative writing process, two questionnaires, and interviews with the participants. The data were analysed theoretically and empirically through inductive-deductive reasoning. The investigation revealed four levels at which in-service teachers manifest agency in culturally sustaining pedagogy: individual, child-oriented, institutional, and societal. The results revealed that by writing influential texts, ECEC practitioners significantly challenged their assumptions about their agentic capacity and inspired them to reflect on their practices critically. The findings also revealed that in terms of the targeted audience, participants were not confident in their agentic role in influencing systemic change. These findings highlight the importance of discussing multiple aspects of agency in teacher education by using guided critical reflection.