High School Policy Research Articles

The Effect of Free Senior High School Policy on the Lives of Parents and Wards in Ghana

The free senior high school policy is one of best social and economic intervention policies that openly affect both parents and their wards in senior high school. This realization is reached on the backdrop of the policy’s role in redeeming parents from their economic and financial burden. This study therefore looks at the effect of introducing the free senior high school policy on the economic and social lives of parents and students respectively. A correlational cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Questionnaires were administered on three hundred and thirty-six(336) parents of wards in three senior high schools in the North East and Upper East Regions of Ghana. The study confirms that the introduction of the free senior high school policy relieved the financial burden of parents, especially guardians from rural settlements. Besides, there was lack of adequate stakeholder consultation, hence saddled with implementation challenges. Delay in disbursement of funds for feeding and learning materials presented yet another problem. It is important that governments find sustainable sources of funding the educational system and also ensure the double-track system is regularized into a single-track system by expanding academic user facilities and increasing the numerical strength of both teaching and non-teaching staff in various senior high schools.

Políticas educacionais para a formação do jovem brasileiro: a reforma do ensino médio e as implicações da lei nº 13.415/2017

O objetivo do texto é analisar as políticas provenientes da Reforma do Ensino Médio, aprovada por meio da Lei n° 13.415/2017 suas implicações na formação do jovem brasileiro. Questiona-se: Quais as principais alterações curriculares da Reforma do Ensino Médio e a BNCC? Quais as implicações das mudanças curriculares do Ensino Médio na formação educacional do jovem brasileiro? A pesquisa qualitativa priorizou uma investigação teórica e documental com foco na compreensão dos dispositivos legais que amparam a nova configuração do ensino médio, que regulamentam legalmente a estrutura e organização dessa etapa de ensino. Os resultados evidenciam que a política para o ensino médio esteve direcionada para a formação de sujeitos com condições mínimas para atuarem no mercado de trabalho. A reforma do ensino médio também tem direcionamentos alicerçados nas recomendações do Banco Mundial por meio de princípios da economia neoliberal como forma de mercantilizar a última etapa da educação básica e formar trabalhadores com subjetividades mínimas para serem prestadores de serviços flexíveis à disposição no mercado de trabalho. Constatou-se que o novo currículo do ensino médio, organizado em uma parte por itinerários formativos, tende a ampliar a desigualdade de acesso ao ensino superior entre os jovens estudantes de classes sociais diferentes.

Ghanaian Teachers’ Perspectives on Implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy

Ghanaian Teachers’ Perspectives on Implementation of the Free Senior High School Policy

An analysis of Policy Paradox of Policy Conflicts between the Ministry of Education and the Municipal Office of Education: Focusing on Independent Private High School Policy

An analysis of Policy Paradox of Policy Conflicts between the Ministry of Education and the Municipal Office of Education: Focusing on Independent Private High School Policy

The First Decade of Web-Based Sports Injury Surveillance (2004-2005 Through 2013-2014): Methods of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program and High School Reporting Information Online.

To describe the methods of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) and High School Reporting Information Online (HS RIO) system as a complement to the sport-specific manuscripts that will follow. The NCAA-ISP and HS RIO collect injury and exposure data from samples of collegiate and high school sports programs, respectively. The NCAA-ISP, which the NCAA has maintained since 1982, was relaunched as a Web-based platform at the beginning of the 2004-2005 academic year. In 2005, the HS RIO was introduced to capture data on high school athletes and modeled after the NCAA-ISP. Relevant data are shared with the NCAA and high school sport and policy committees to develop evidence-based rules and programs that help protect the health and safety of student-athletes. The NCAA-ISP and HS RIO monitor participation in school-sanctioned competitions and practices that occur from the first preseason practice to the final postseason contest for more than 25 sports. For this series of publications in the Journal of Athletic Training, injury information on 13 sports at the collegiate level during the 2004-2005 through 2013-2014 academic years and the high school level during the 2005-2006 through 2013-2014 academic years was evaluated. Athletic trainers have been a vital source of data collection over the past decade to help produce the largest datasets of collegiate and high school sports injuries. Such data have helped various sport and policy committees advance protocols that aim to increase sports safety. This series of publications will aid by continuing to provide data to stakeholders in the sports community.

The Free Senior High Policy: An Appropriate Replacement to The Progressive Free Senior High Policy

Governments all over the world have been improving their educational sector through funding programs aimed at reducing the financial burden on parents, increasing access and quality to education. The government of Ghana in 2017 switched policy to a free senior high school policy to reduce poverty by finally eliminating the financial burdens parents face in paying their children’s fees. This study seeks to evaluate the appropriateness of the free senior high policy in replacing the pre-existing progressive free policy. The questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data for this study. The descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the data of this study. A total number of Two hundred (200) responses were retrieved, and out of those retrieved, 57 were females, and 143 were males. All 200 responses were usable in this study. The free senior high policy proved to put more butts on seats in helping to reduce financial burdens on parents than the pre-existing progressive free policy since nothing is paid by parents or guardians.

Policy debate topic change controversies in the U.S. and Japan

ABSTRACTIn academic policy debate, annual resolutions focus research, facilitate argument development, and enable extensive preparation by participants. Little wonder, then, that calls to change resolutions mid-season tend to spark controversy and reflection. For example, citing strategic Cold War considerations, several branches of the U.S. military pressed the Speech Association of America to change the National Debate Tournament (NDT) NDT topic on recognition of communist China in 1954. Many called for the 2001–2002 NDT resolution dealing with U.S. policy toward Native Americans to be changed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 airline attacks. In Japan, debate officials withdrew the previously announced high school policy debate topic on nuclear power in arguing that it would be “educationally inappropriate” to debate such issues in the midst of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. Where do calls for mid-season topic change originate? What motivates them? What explains whether they result in mid-season adjustments? Original archival research exploring such questions promises to contribute relevant content to the historical record, as well as shed light on perennial questions regarding policy debate's status and role as a community of practice in the wider world.

Can the Japanese Educational System Design the Future? The Historical Experience of Universalization in Upper Secondary Education

This paper illustrates the historical process of the prevalence of upper secondary education in Japan focusing on the public and private relationships. After reviewing high school policy at the central administration, actual high school supply at local government levels is examined and the harmonious relationship between public and private sectors is introduced. Japanese private schools must fulfill the same standards of school facilities, teachers’ licenses, and curriculum as those of public schools, under the control of school education laws with a few exceptions. The universal upper secondary education in Japan has been managed with diversities between local prefectures. Japanese education succeeded in the wave of industrialization and constructed a cooperation between public and private high schools. This educational system has supported Japanese development to achieve competent human resources. However, Japan is now facing a new difficulty of determining what further steps to take in the pursuit of top school education in a post-industrialized global world.

Model High School Athletic Transgender Policy: Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Transgender Policy

Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Transgender PolicyThis project was in response to the provincial government in Saskatchewan's request that the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) develop a policy for the inclusion of transgender student athletes in the programming of the association. The SHSAA governs athletics in the province from Grades 9 to 12. The executive that governs the association had 11 members, an executive director, and an assistant executive director. I held the role of past president during the Transgender Committee development and follow-up meetings. In developing the policy for our province, I was directed to explore the existing policies within North America and analyze them for possible use within the SHSAA framework.Initial PhilosophyThe committee developed guidelines for developing transgender inclusion policies in high school athletics including the following:1. Be proactive, avoid crisis mode. Develop a policy before a transgender student wants to try out for a team.2. Talk to athletic association leaders in the states and provinces that have adopted policies about how they have implemented their policies.3. Read about the high school policy recommendations of experts on transgender participation in sports (see Griffin & Carroll, 2010).4. Contact consultants who can assist in formulating an effective and fair policy: NCLR Sports Project (www.nclr.org), the Transgender Law Center (www.transgenderlawcenter. org), National Center for Transgender Equality (www. transequality.org).5. Always build in protections for student privacy into policy.6. Educate school athletic administrators, coaches, parents, and community about transgender students in athletics and policy.Development of a Transgender Policy CommitteeThe SHSAA developed a committee in September 2015 that included* SHSAA executive director;* SHSAA president;* SHSAA past president;* Counsellor, Sheldon Williams Collegiate, Regina; and* Counsellor, Walter Murray Collegiate, Saskatoon.Direction From Saskatchewan Provincial GovernmentIn accordance, the Government of Saskatchewan opposes all forms of prejudice, bullying, and discrimination on the basis of students' and/or teachers' actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.IntentThe Government of Saskatchewan is committed to ensuring safe school environments in which all students feel included, protected, and respected. A student-first approach means providing support for and meeting the needs of each and every student. Meeting the needs of all Saskatchewan children and adolescents is a shared responsibility. The Ministry of Education provides curricula, policy frameworks, guidelines, and funding to support schools, and boards of education develop policies for school divisions.School divisions create policies that protect the rights, safety, and freedoms of students. It is important for school divisions to evalu- ate and update existing policies on a regular basis to reflect safety and acceptance for sexually and/or gender diverse students and their allies.School divisions are encouraged to develop clear safe-school policies that explicitly include alliances, groups, or clubs for students who want to work to support each other and to create safe, caring, and inclusive spaces for students who are gender and/or sexually diverse and their allies. These alliances also create welcoming and respectful environments in which to address heterosexism, homophobia, and other forms of related discrimination. Language used in policy development should specifically include the words Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Straight, Two-Spirit, and Questioning to be inclusive of all students. Students will not be expected to identify their orientation or gender while participating in an alliance. An alliance or club should be named by the students themselves. …

Autonomy, Incentives, and School Performance: Evidence from the 2009 Autonomous Private High School Policy in Korea

Autonomy, Incentives, and School Performance: Evidence from the 2009 Autonomous Private High School Policy in Korea

EFL Speaking Anxiety among Senior High School Students and Policy Recommendations

This report drew on a larger study which was to describe and understand the sources of senior high school students’ English language speaking anxiety at senior high schools in Jambi, Indonesia. The purpose of this paper was to report some of findings from the qualitative interview data on the sources of senior high school students’ English language speaking anxiety at one senior high school in Jambi, Indonesia. Data were collected through demographic profiles and semi-structured interview with senior high school students. The demographic data were analysed descriptively while the interview data were transcribed and analysed line by line to generate and develop codes and themes. An analysis of the interview data revealed that five major themes were related to students’ English language speaking anxiety, including (1) low speaking skill due to lack of vocabulary and grammar, (2) fear of negative responses from others, (3) low self-esteem to speak in English, (4) fear of being evaluated by teachers, and (5) cultural influences to speak English due to a more teacher-centred style. Suggestions and policy implications are also discussed.

2014년 12월 중국 정부 발표 ‘중국 대입제도 개혁안’ 고찰

This study was executed based on <Opinion of Regular High School Education Level Examination> and <Opinion of Regular High School General Talent Assessment> that were presented by the Chinese government in December, 2014. The object of this study is to examine the change and meaning of future curriculum of Chinese regular high school and university entry policies, to compare it with Korean university entry policies and to consider it. This study intensively analyzes 2020 reformation plan of university entry that was presented by China’s ministry of education such as the abolition of liberal arts and natural sciences, moving classes implementation, normalization of general talent assesment, dispersion of education level examination, reduction of additional points and polities for minorities. And they were compared to the current and planned Korean education policies, and I predicted the direction of Chinese education from now. The lists of detailed enforcement of educational reform plans of China have been gradually presented. This study needs to be supplemented by scoping on the process and results of educational reform with continuous observation on the regions that are implementing a test operation. Also, it is necessary to think what we can learn from educational reform process of China.

Winning to Learn, Learning to Win: Evaluative Frames and Practices in Urban Debate

Sociologists of (e)valuation have devoted considerable attention to understanding differences in evaluative practices across a number of fields. Yet, little is understood about how individuals learn about and navigate multivalent valid group styles within a single setting. As a social phenomenon, many accept how central processes of evaluation are to everyday life. Accordingly, scholars have attempted to link research on evaluation to processes of inequality. Nevertheless, the sociology of evaluation only has tenuous, often implicit connections to literature on inequality and disadvantage. This article addresses these two gaps. Drawing on over two-hundred hours of ethnographic fieldwork in an urban high school debate league, twenty-seven semi-structured interviews with league judges, and archival data, we illustrate how high school policy debate judges employ evaluative frames and link them to the implementation of evaluative practices in a disadvantaged setting. We show that the cultural meanings that emerge within the evaluation process—in this case, urban uplift and competition—stem from the conflicted context in which evaluation is occurring. We also make a first step toward applying the conceptual tools within the sociology of evaluation to a disadvantaged setting, and more broadly, suggest that micro-processes of evaluation are important to the study of urban inequality.

“Why Can’t We Learn About This?” Sexual Minority Students Navigate the Official and Hidden Curricular Spaces of High School

In the spaces of high school, sexual minority youth often find that their needs for inclusion are not met by their institutions and those employed within. Through interviews with sexual minority high school students and written questionnaires with high school teachers and other faculty, we find that sexual minority youth are faced with exclusion on a number of curricular levels. Here, we expand the notion of the “official” curriculum to include not only academic curriculums (classrooms), but also campus curriculums (groups) and social curriculums (relationships). Through examining each of these school spaces, we find that the “hidden” heteronormative curriculum directly and adversely affects sexual minority youth on a number of personal and educational levels. Suggestions are provided for changes and additions to high school policies and procedures in order to better serve sexual minority high school populations.

Políticas para o ensino médio no Brasil: perspectivas para a universalização

Este artigo busca analisar as inflexões ocorridas nas políticas para o ensino médio no Brasil, a partir de 2007, problematizando o contexto em que foram produzidas e as contradições presentes nesse processo. Procura identificar as mudanças empreendidas, os discursos que lhes deram sustentação e as medidas e programas governamentais decorrentes. Retrata e analisa essas mudanças e suas implicações no âmbito dos estados, enfocando o caso de Minas Gerais. Com base nos argumentos reunidos, aponta algumas considerações e tendências observadas no rumo traçado pelas políticas atuais, no que tange às finalidades e à universalização dessa etapa da educação básica no país.

The Adult Transition of At-Risk Youth: Mode of Exit from High School

This paper takes a life course perspective on differences in high school exit mode and its consequences for students not going to four-year colleges. Using detailed life history data from the Baltimore Beginning School Study archive, we show that the employment rate for dropouts who later get diplomas is higher than the rate for dropouts who later get GEDs, other things equal. Put another way, after taking into account personal and social assets, including non-cognitive skills, years of pre- and postsecondary education, and jail history, a dropout who gets a diploma does better in the labor market at age 22 than does a dropout who gets a GED. The discussion emphasizes timing of exit mode in the life cycle, opportunity costs, and changes in high school policies designed to encourage youth to seek diplomas rather than GEDs.

Heterosexism in High School and Victimization Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Students

This study examined relationships between perceived heterosexism in high school policies and programs, social environments, and victimization rates among lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) students. Secondary analyses of Internet survey data from a large cohort of LGBQ students (N = 2037; 76% male, 82% White; mean age = 16.07; 56% gay or lesbian; 28% bisexual; 16% questioning) yielded moderate correlations between perceptions of non-discrimination and harassment policies, inclusive programs, and the prevalence and tolerance of anti-LGBQ harassment. The perceived availability of inclusive programs was more closely associated with perceptions of the prevalence and tolerance of harassment in schools than were perceived policies. Victimization was related to perceived policies, programs, and harassment. Perceived harassment partially mediated effects of programs on victimization, but perceived programs also predicted victimization even after controlling for perceived harassment. Moderating effects of demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation, and outness) were explored.

Can Those Tweens and Teens Read Yet?

AS students transition from the elementary grades into middle school and high school, it is taken for granted that they can read at least close to grade level. Insightful teachers, however, often find that to be far from true. Out of a class of 25, three students might not decode words well, five might have a problem with fluency, and another five might read aloud just fine but look up with deer-in-the-headlights eyes when asked to recap what they've read, because they don't know. Teachers know these things, but most don't know what to do about it. Most teachers who were trained to teach secondary English know how to teach such literature-related concepts as theme and character development, but they don't necessarily know how to teach kids to decode. As a high school English teacher who moved to a middle school to teach reading and language arts to fifth-and sixth-graders, I was that deer in the headlights when it came to helping kids at the lowest level learn to read. Over a year ago, I wrote about the need for states to address adolescent literacy. The National Governors Association and the Alliance for Excellent Education had just begun to push leaders' thinking on this issue. Since that time, however, state policies designed to ensure that teens and tweens read at grade level have not exactly been filling my in-basket. So to help gin up some interest across the legislatures, researchers at the Education Commission of the States added adolescent literacy as one of the measures to include in the ECS High School Policy Center database. Over the past year, researcher Melodye Bush scoured state policy. What follows is a summary of her findings. EFFORTS REFLECTIVE OF STATE LEADERSHIP State office or central coordination. The presence of a designated state office or coordinator can reflect a strong level of commitment and help ensure that a focus on adolescent reading and literacy is not pushed aside in favor of other priorities. The Just Read, Florida! office, for example, was legislatively created within the state department of education in 2006. In New York, the Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Instructional Technology works with the Office of Early Education and Reading Initiatives to support increased adolescent literacy achievement. The Ohio Reading Improvement Office is housed in the state department of education and facilitates communications within the government to ensure alignment across the state's literacy and teacher training activities. The office also offers professional development, provides an online adolescent literacy journal, and runs a grant competition to fund research-based literacy programs in low-performing secondary schools. In Rhode Island, the State Literacy Advisory Panel provides advice concerning literacy programs and efforts. In Virginia, two state-level staffers coordinate adolescent literacy for the state. In addition to creating Just Read, Florida!, the Florida legislature established the Florida Center for Reading Research, which disseminates information through the Florida Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network. Clear standards, expectations. Clear, rigorous standards can help staff members understand what students in grades 4-12 should know and be able to do. Challenging standards improve efficiency, generate challenging and cohesive curriculum, and become the basis for holding students, teachers, and schools accountable. Standards are the launching pad for redesigning curriculum, assessment, accountability, teacher education, professional development, and resource allocation. Yet only a dozen states have standards explicitly reflecting literacy expectations. Building momentum and monitoring progress. State efforts to raise K-3 reading skills can founder in later grades if effective teaching of reading is neglected in the middle and secondary grades. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly half of the undergraduates enrolled in remedial classes in 2000 took remedial writing, and 35% took remedial reading. …

An Empirical Study on the Regional Gap of Korean High School Students` Academic Performances

This study empirically analyzed the variables that influence Korean high school students' academic performance. The teachers' union effect was found to be negative, which means that the improvement of teachers' status may not be connected to the heightening of the quality of public education. Also, a great academic performance gap was uncovered between students who reside in metropolitan cities and those who live in the countryside. Finally, the effect of the High-School Equalixzation Policy was found to be positive.

Teammates On and Off the Field? Contact With Black Teammates and the Racial Attitudes of White Student Athletes1

The intergroup contact hypothesis holds that proximate, cooperative interactions on an equalized basis between Blacks and Whites can minimize Whites’ prejudice (Allport, 1954). This experiment investigated the effect of contact between White and Black high school teammates on White student athletes’ racial attitudes. Using the 1996 Social and Group Experiences (SAGE) survey (created by the authors and administered in the Fall of 1996) commissioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the results indicated a significant relationship between amount of contact with Black teammates in high school and racial policy support and affect, depending on the type of sport played. White student athletes playing team sports who had higher percentages of Blacks as high school teammates expressed more policy support for and greater positive affect toward Blacks as a group than did their counterparts playing individual sports. The role of athletic experiences in changing racial attitudes is discussed.