High Expectations For Students Research Articles

Instructional Leadership Practices and Students' Academic Achievement

Instructional leadership practices are essential components to promote a healthy environment and to get students' good performance, abilities, and satisfactory academic results within the classroom. The purpose of this study is to seek the learner's achievement with the help of motivation, teacher competency, self-efficacy, and teachers handling specific corporate challenges through the instructional practices rendered by school heads. A quantitative research design was used to target the data from the participants. The target population of the study was instructional heads of federal public secondary schools in Islamabad. The study sample comprised instructional heads of twenty secondary schools. The survey method was used to get the responses of the participants. A statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to enter the participants' responses. Mean and correlation tests were used to get the participants' results. The study results showed that leadership practices have a positive impact on students' academic achievement. Teachers should encourage the students to promote a healthy environment for learning. Teachers' desires, reward systems, high expectations for students, an organization, and students, as well as teachers' commitment and engagement in classroom activities, are essential practices for student achievement. Curriculum designers must promote productive, continuous motivational & managerial teaching methods in textbooks for learners and teachers.

Assessment of Learning about Sustainability in Students with Down Syndrome

Assessment is an essential resource for guaranteeing quality education. In order for it to be effective, it must be continuous, formative and adapted to the characteristics of the individual student, so that it shows their abilities. Students with Down Syndrome benefit from these aspects, as they can demonstrate their achievements and difficulties in different ways. This article analyses these approaches and brings together the suggestions of 14 experts, in the field of education for students with Down Syndrome, from three different countries, 5 members of Belgium and Spain, and 4 members of Ireland. Through the instrumental case study and focus discussions of the experts, using the Delphi method, a series of basic aspects are established on the most appropriate methods and evaluation tools for the target group. In the analysis the experts agreed on three key aspects (with scores of three out of three): maintaining high expectations of students' potential, encouraging self-evaluation, and enabling students controlling their own learning process. The group of experts proposes the use of a learning register or portfolio as a method of assessment for students with Down Syndrome.

Community-Engaged Pedagogy for Equitable HSI Teacher Preparation: Bridging Community, School, and University Cultures

ABSTRACT Drawing on interview data collected as part of a qualitative study among thirty-two local educators and community advocates in the borderlands context of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV), we inquire about the fundamental characteristics of being a community-engaged teacher for sustainable and equitable Latinx student teaching and learning. The ultimate purpose is to collectively develop a model of community-engaged pedagogy that will bridge school and university cultures. Based on our findings, a community-engaged teacher preparation approach should prioritize that teacher candidates can establish rapport and relationship with students and their families; grapple with the contradictions entrenched in a prevalent deficit model, and embrace advocacy in terms of valuing bilingualism, critically curtailing biases, and setting high expectations for students.

Principal Leadership: Raising the Achievement of All Learners in Inclusive Education

Purpose: The paper aims to investigate principal leadership in raising the achievement of all learners in inclusive education in Secondary Schools in Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon. The study had three main objectives.
 Methodology: This study was premised on the classical liberal theory of equal opportunities advanced by Sherman and Wood (1982). A qualitative research design was employed using a case study approach. Data was collected by using the interview technique through semi-structured questionnaires. The study group consisted of 10 school administrators who were selected using purposeful sampling technique. Data was analyzed using an inductive thematic content analysis.
 Findings: The findings demonstrated the key role of principal leadership in fostering new meanings about diversity, principal’s attitude towards and support towards inclusive education, building bridges and visioning and building relationships between schools and communities. The findings also identified negative attitude and behaviors, lack of funding, inadequate facilities, untrained teachers and poor collaboration between families and schools as challenges faced by principal leadership in inclusive education. Lastly, instructional leadership practices supports high expectations for students with disabilities, building a shared vision for inclusive schools and a school-wide commitment to inclusive schools, parental engagement in decision-making and redesigning schools for inclusive education were identified as best inclusive practices needed by principal leadership in promoting inclusive education.
 Recommendation: The study recommend school leaders to work collaboratively with school staff to spread the reform so that parents and the community engaged in the implementation of the inclusive education approach.

ANALISIS TINGKAT KEPUASAN TERHADAP KUALITAS LAYANANPENDIDIKAN DENGAN METODE SERVICE QUALITY DAN IMPORTANCE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS DI SMK NEGERI 1 PALABUHANRATU

Students are direct users of the education service system, so schools must provide satisfaction and positive trust to students so that they believe that they are in a place that is suitable for developing their potential to be ready to face competition in society. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of education services at SMKN 1 Palabuhanratu and to find out what indicators need to be improved by SMKN 1 Palabuhanratu in order to improve service quality. This research method uses quantitative descriptive with Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling. The results showed that simultaneously the level of satisfaction of students at SMKN 1 Palabuhanratu with their education services was "Quite Satisfied" or 53.18%. Furthermore, the performance indicators that must be improved by schools to improve services and the very high expectations of students towards their education are in the attributes (1) Teachers provide examples to their students about good education, (2) The education system implemented in this school is in accordance with developments. era, (3) Supervision of the learning process in this school is good, (4) The knowledge obtained by students at this school is in accordance with the expectations of students and their parents and (5) The skills obtained by students in this school are in accordance with the expectations of students and their parents

“Don’t smile until December”: Bad advice based on the either-or fallacy

ABSTRACT Despite over 30 years of educational research to the contrary, some educators continue to hold to classroom management theories along the lines of “don’t smile until December,” which pits consistency and control in the classroom against the kindness and caring that should also characterize the learning environment. We address the source of this controversy as faulty reasoning that sees expressions of care as competing with instructional values such as rigorous lessons from teachers and high expectations for students. In fact, research suggests that from student perspectives, quality teaching and high expectations do not compete with caring but express it. We suggest 3 teaching strategies that illustrate how these seemingly disparate aspects of teaching are connected. Further, we consider how teachers can use cognitive empathy to carry out these strategies effectively. The article closes with examples of how these strategies can be practically implemented in classrooms.

The Plot Skeleton as a Teaching Tool for Introducing Plot in Fiction: A Reflective Inquiry

Undergraduate creative writing courses are tasked with laying a foundation for students’ future writing. Plotting is a complex fiction-writing concept, complicated by writers’ and scholars’ conflicting views on the subject. For years, I have used author Angela Hunt’s (2013) Plot Skeleton to teach plotting. Though the activity is popular and enables students to implement plotting concepts in their stories, reflecting on the module revealed why the Plot Skeleton succeeds. It requires high expectations of students, addresses multiple ways of learning, gives ample opportunities for participation, is considered “fun” by students, facilitates group interaction, and employs a gradual release of responsibility teaching format.

EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING STRATEGY

Most teachers care about their students results, and if you are reading this article, you are undoubtedly one of them. Be supported by hard research, instead of anecdotal case studies or untested theories. Have a substantially higher effect on student results than other teaching strategies. Be able to be used on a wide range of subjects and at every year level. What evidence-based teaching strategies made it onto the list? Research shows that evidence-based teaching strategies are likely to have the largest impact on student results performance. Research shows that a few of these teaching strategies, such as holding high expectations of students, have a significant positive impact on student results. Do not assume that a teaching strategy is no good just because it is not in the top 10 or commonly used by teachers. That said, some popular teaching strategies do not have a large effect on student results. Once you are clear about what you want your students to know and be able to do by the end of the lesson, you need to tell them what they need to know and show them how to do the tasks you want them to be able to do. Some evidence-based teaching strategies that did not make the top 10 or are commonly used by teachers are still worth adopting. However, when you explore the thousands of research studies on the topic, it is apparent that some teaching strategies have far more impact than other teaching strategies do. KEYWORDS: Teaching Strategies, Research, Evidence-Based Teaching, Learning and Teaching

“I get Emotional About it”: Teachers’ (Com)Passion in College-Going Efforts at Three Urban High Schools

As few studies document how teachers in urban contexts positively contribute to a college-going culture, this study adopts a counter-narrative approach, with a conceptual framework grounded in emotion and caring in teaching, to ask: How do teachers exhibit (com)passion in their efforts to support a college-going culture? Interviews with 12 teachers, supplemented by school documents, archival and observational data, and field notes from a qualitative case study at three urban high schools revealed how teachers maintained high expectations of students, exhibited high degrees of emotional understanding, and conveyed a strong commitment to students, their success, and postsecondary pursuits.

Formulating EFL Writing Lecturers' Expectations: Lessons from Islamic Tertiary Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research was designed to investigate which factors influenced the formation of lecturers’ expectations amid online learning during the COVID-19 outbreak in an Indonesian Islamic university. The recent study employed an exploratory case study by observing online EFL writing learning activities, interviewing the three lecturers, and collecting documents. The data was then analyzed qualitatively using an interactive model. Lecturers' expectations in this study were viewed from the key focus of expectation: feedback provided by lecturers. They established class-level expectations, not individual ones as primary and secondary levels. This study elucidates Islamic university lecturers' factors contributing to form expectations: lecturers’ past teaching experiences and teaching self-efficacy. Lecturers have not highly adjusted to any change that emerged in online learning. Accordingly, they have not shown firm belief in grouping students and assuring students’ originality in composing essays. At the same time, the students' demographic factors were motivation and gender. Female students showed higher motivation through participating more often during discussions. It yielded more learning feedback they received. Implications of this study were noted for self-reflection among lecturers to establish high expectations for students to enhance their learning.

‘Come willing to learn’: experiences of parents advocating for their children with severe vision impairments in Australian mainstream education

ABSTRACT This article presents the findings from interviews with thirteen parents of students with severe vision impairment who attend mainstream schools in Queensland, Australia. Participants were interviewed about their experiences in advocating for their children in a range of educational contexts. These experiences varied greatly depending on a number of factors, such as attitudes to inclusivity and ableism, perceptions of vision impairment, school culture, teacher-parent communication, and competing agendas. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the authors provide illuminating data on three broad themes: parents’ experiences of advocating for their children, parents’ experiences of utilising support networks and funding, and parents’ suggestions for schools and teachers. Important recommendations for teachers, schools, parents, students, and service providers are offered, with specific advice to develop a community of care, collaboration, and high expectations for students with vision impairment.

Culturally Responsive Teaching as a Method for Teaching Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders in the Music Classroom

As students with special needs become increasingly mainstreamed into music classes, there is a demand for strategies to help teachers meet these students’ needs. The purpose of this review of literature was to review and synthesize the literature focused on teaching students with an emotional/behavioral disorder (EBD) in the music classroom and to explore the possibility of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) being a method of engaging students with EBDs. Using targeted database searches, I reviewed the literature on the topic of culturally relevant teaching and synthesized the results into the following categories: (a) CRT and EBD and (b) CRT and music education. Becoming a culturally responsive teacher requires becoming culturally competent, designing culturally relevant curricula, demonstrating cultural caring, building a community of learners, and maintaining high expectations for students. By incorporating this mind-set into daily teaching, music teachers should find success working with students with EBDs.

Applying Global Models of Teacher Development to Improve Student Outcomes: Insights from a Teacher Development & Leadership Program in Qatar

This paper aims to examine the relationship between progressive teaching practice and student academic and non-academic outcomes. The teacher development and leadership(TDL) program is a Qatari teacher development program that is a part of a wider global network(called “Global Network”) that aims to expand educational opportunities through teacher development with its roots in the United States. (Names of organizations have been changed for anonymity). The training model of TDL program is based on six themes: (1) orientation to student vision, (2) ongoing reflection to improve practice, (3) setting high expectations for students, (4) ensuring content rigor and mastery in students, (5) fostering positive culture and learning environment, and (6) building positive relationships with students. We used a dataset that includes aggregate student- and teacher-level data from 136 classrooms (with2,087 students) of 41 teachers between 2015 and 2017 to understand the relationship between teacher effectiveness and student outcomes. We found that establishing a positive rapport with students, practicing ongoing reflection, and internalizing learning are associated with higher academic achievement. We also found that incorporation of student vision for teaching practice is correlated with students having more positive attitude toward learning.

Developing accomplished writers: Lessons from recent research

When we examine the state of writing instruction in many schools and classrooms, we find that few teachers are actually teaching students to become better writers in large part because they are relying on process models that do not accurately reflect the complex task of creating good writing and that are out of step with current research. Merely providing prompts for writing, noting a few comments in the margins of first drafts, awarding a letter grade for the second draft, and then moving on to the next piece of writing does not create an environment wherein students will develop as confident and effective writers. Steven Benjamin and Michael Wagner explain that students will develop as better writers when teachers allocate sufficient time to the endeavor, emphasize the importance of multiple feedback-thinking-revision cycles applied to the current piece of writing, set high expectations for students, and provide opportunities for writing in multiple genres and disciplines.

DEVELOPING THE MOTIVATION OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS TO LEARN AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

If a student’s goal is academic achievement and he/she makes an effort to achieve it, he/she will become involved in classroom activities because they are a means for him/her to achieve that goal. Motivation, as an influence that brings about, directs and sustains an activity, is very important for learning. The aim of this paper is to point out the relationship between motivation to learn and academic achievement of deaf and hard of hearing students and to emphasise the importance of appropriate involvement of parents and teachers in the teaching process and the development of motivation in these students. Variables that correlate with academic achievement are presented. Views of the author are stated, which are based on research results and practice, according to which it appears that deaf and hard of hearing students usually have poorer academic achievement than their hearing peers, as well as a lower level of motivation to learn. It can be concluded that the development of interest and motivation to learn is not paid sufficient attention by both deaf and hard of hearing students themselves and their environment (parents and teachers). Where parents and teachers have high expectations of students and take into account all their personal characteristics and other factors, and where parents and teachers are appropriately involved in the teaching process, deaf and hard of hearing students show high levels of interest and motivation to learn and attain better academic achievement.

PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: A NARRATIVE META-ANALYSIS

This study focused on the perceptions of students with visual impairment. A narrative meta-analysis was utilized to synthesize the findings of investigations that employed quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodological designs. Based on the contents of the reviewed articles, three broad categories were established: barriers, feelings of acceptance, and successful components of inclusion. Barriers included the physical environments of schools, accessibility, and social interactions. With respect to feelings of acceptance, the constructs of homophily and fitting in were discussed. Several components of successful inclusion were delineated such as a positive school climate and a positive, supportive attitude associated with teachers, especially those who possess knowledge and skills and held high expectations for students. Students with visual impairment also needed skills to be autonomous and assertive, which are conducive to academic success and the initiation and building of friendships with sighted peers. A number of findings of the present study corroborated those from previous investigations; however, the uniqueness of this seminal research pertains to the specific perceptions of students with visual impairment in inclusive settings. Limitations of the study were also discussed.

An Intricate Balance: The Challenge of Caring During COVID-19 While Maintaining High Student Expectations

Understanding the challenges faced by graduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult for professors aiming to maintain high expectations of students. This essay explores the balance between caring for and challenging students in the face of their needs and limitations during social distancing.

Through the Looking Glass: Lesson Study in a Center School

<p style="text-align:justify">This article examined the role of Lesson Study in a center school located in the southeastern United States through an analysis of a narrative by the school principal. This methodology allowed a level of reflexivity across the research team, who appreciated hearing about the powerful first-hand enactment of the initiative. The paper begins with an analysis of Lesson Study, particularly in special education, and the key tenets of Lesson Study followed by a narrative account of the principal. Subsequent to her story, we explored lessons learned in relation to implementing a system change in a school, namely Lesson Study. We learned that a deeper understanding of school culture, sustaining professional development, and collaborative practice, were significant factors enabling the principal and teachers at the center school to embrace, plan, and implement a successful Lesson Study for learners with significant disabilities. In addition, we learned that Lesson Study plays an important role in teacher and student engagement in teaching and learning at the center school and supports teachers to design lessons that are efficacious in meeting the individual needs and higher expectations of students.</p>

Inspiring science achievement: a mixed methods examination of the practices and characteristics of successful science programs in diverse high schools

While the achievement gap in science exists in the US, research associated with our investigation reveals some high school science programs serving diverse student bodies are successfully closing the gap. Using a mixed methods approach, we identified and investigated ten high schools in a large Southwestern state that fit the definition of “highly successful, highly diverse”. By conducting interviews with science liaisons associated with each school and reviewing the literature, we developed a rubric identifying specific characteristics associated with successful science programs. These characteristics and practices included setting high expectations for students, providing extensive teacher support for student learning, and utilizing student-centered pedagogy. We used the rubric to assess the successful high school science programs and compare them to other high school science programs in the state (i.e., less successful and less diverse high school science programs). Highly successful, highly diverse schools were very different in their approach to science education when compared to the other programs. The findings from this study will help schools with diverse students to strengthen hiring practices, enhance teacher support mechanisms, and develop student-focused strategies in the classroom that increase science achievement.

Migrant preschool children's school readiness and early elementary school performance

ABSTRACTLittle is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school records were used for longitudinal follow-up. Children improved on age-4 school readiness domains, and although some struggled with emergent English literacy, many performed well on school readiness measures and later coursework. Children quickly became proficient in oral English, and had above-average school attendance. Many scored low on high-stakes tests; however, typically well enough for grade promotion. Students in the sample were comparable to similar students in poverty. School teachers and administrators should have high expectations for students from migrant families because many of them do stay in the public school system, and appear to be quite resilient despite many challenges they face.