School Board Members Research Articles

Developing a Scale Measuring Comprehensive Sex Education Attitudes in K-12 Schools (CSEA-K12)

ABSTRACT Comprehensive sex education (CSE) is linked to several favorable health outcomes yet is consistently underfunded and under-implemented. This is likely due to the perceived controversy of CSE, but research indicates that CSE in the K-12 system is widely supported in most areas of the U.S. Legislators, school board members, and funding agencies need a more thorough and accurate understanding of their communities’ attitudes toward CSE. An attitudinal scale for the general adult population could help generate research that would give these stakeholders the confidence they need to make decisions about CSE in their local areas. The current study created this needed scale using a structured 6-step process that integrated several methods establishing validity and reliability. Scale structure was tested using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, in addition to invariance testing and validity checks. The scale performed similarly across several groups and met predictions for known-groups and predictive validity, while showing some evidence for convergent validity as well. However, although findings indicate that the one-factor model of the CSEA-K12 was the best fitting model, the fit was weaker than desired. Suggestions for future work further addressing internal consistency of the scale are noted.

Supporting preservice teachers to navigate the tensions of teaching English Language Arts: An examination of two teacher educator's literacies pedagogies

In 1997-1998, we taught in the same independently funded elementary school. As teachers of Grade 1 and Grade 2, the school leadership asked us to research and recommend a program to support early reading instruction and replace the outdated basal readers. Opinions were sometimes diverse as we met with parents and school board members to identify beliefs/priorities in early reading instruction. More than 25 years later, in our work as teacher educators in two provinces, we are embroiled in similar conversations about reading instruction in a field mapped by polarizing views expressed in reports, social media, and teacher professional texts. As teacher educators, we recognize: 1) this context as challenging for preservice teachers to enter professional practice and 2) our role in supporting preservice teachers in entering the field. This was the impetus for a research study examining our pedagogies. We ask: How are we, as teacher educators, supporting preservice teachers to navigate the theoretical and practical tensions of teaching Language Arts through our pedagogies? In this article, we share findings from a collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practice (S-STEP) where we leverage our long-standing relationship as critical friends in research/teaching to examine our teacher education pedagogies in our elementary English Language Arts courses in 2022-2023. Data sources include teaching artifacts (e.g., syllabi, powerpoints, activities) and videorecordings of discussions as we share these artifacts over Zoom. Guided by posthuman perspectives, we consider the non-human and human entities that were a part of our pedagogies. Analysis is currently underway. Preliminary findings suggest a shift from sharing particular practices with each other to a focus on decision-making to support preservice teachers in weighing the desires of teaching practices in literacies as well as diffusing binaries. This article highlights teacher education practices as relational and moving in response to context.

Resisting racialized organizational practices: A case study of Black community-centered engagement

ABSTRACT Black community members often express frustrations with engagement within school board meetings through continuous advocacy for systemic change. While scholarship has identified the racial tensions between Black community members and school board members, few studies have explored how school board meeting spaces and their practices influence Black community members’ participation and the possibilities for authentic engagement. Drawing from work on authentic participation and theory of racialized organizations, I examine how organizational practices associated with engagement in school board meetings are racialized and therefore impact where authentic engagement is possible. I identify that it is through both Black community members’ resistance to racialized organizational practices within decision-making spaces, and the community-centered approaches they take despite the racialized practices encountered, that authentic engagement exists. The study offers implications for how education leaders can acknowledge and support community-centered approaches to engagement.

Speaking the Language of Administrators to Communicate Value: Advocacy for Dance Educators

To effectively promote and advocate for our dance programs, we need to educate administrators, fellow teachers, counselors, and school board members using strategies that will help them deepen their understanding of dance’s impact on student learning. In this article, we discuss how dance educators can use common educational language, brain research, and federal, state, and school improvement regulations to advocate for their programs. We also share sample instructional activities that demonstrate how dance instruction addresses common educational theory and strategies.

School District Leader Perspectives on Surveying Middle School Youth About Sexual Violence.

Schools are important contexts for preventing sexual violence (SV) among adolescents. Evaluating whether programming is effective requires surveying youth about SV experiences. However, school communities often have concerns about asking students, particularly those in middle school, about these experiences. This study sought to understand the types of concerns that school district leaders have related to surveying middle school students about SV and to identify ways to mitigate these concerns. We conducted semi-structured interviews with superintendents and school board members (n = 19) across Washington State and used inductive thematic analysis. Concerns regarding surveying students about SV centered around 3 main themes: community norms and misconceptions, parental/caregiver discomfort, and survey language and administration. Concerns were particularly salient for sixth-grade students. Suggestions for mitigating concerns included: providing clear motivation and reframing messaging to community members, involving parents and students in the survey process, and modifying survey language and administration. Researchers administering surveys to middle school students on sensitive topics including SV may face pushback and must consider flexible approaches to allow research and evaluation to be conducted.

Radical pragmatism in school board governance

ABSTRACT Educational outcomes for Black & brown students are the result of well-functioning school systems overwrought with top-down bureaucracy that stifle school-based leaders from generating school-based solutions. The dominant explanation is the growing power and influence of politically-driven school board members cut off from local, national, and international best practices. Previous research has centered on the power of school boards and what can be done by school board officials with more power. The article explores the impact of school boards ceding power and giving more autonomy to school based leaders through three case studies. Findings indicate that the school districts making the greatest gains for Black & brown students are those that introduce innovation schools or schools that provide more autonomy in return for more accountability.

Courageous school board: Critical consciousness and excellence

ABSTRACT In a politically divided country, school board work has become extremely difficult. In this article, we argue Paulo Freire’s theory of critical consciousness is both relevant and informative for current and future school board members. This article describes how critical consciousness can be applied to the pressing work of school boards to ensure equity and excellence for communities and schools.

A tale of two cities

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to examine the critical components to successfully serving on a school board or leadership roles, as a member of the Latino(a) community. According to a 2010 national school board survey, only 3% of the 900 board respondents identified as Latino(a) compared with almost 80% who identified as White. The first author employs her personal narrative as a method for describing the process of becoming an effective school board member in two different settings, while the second author discusses the contributions of relevant literature, drawing from her experience as a district leader and professor in higher education. Once selected as a board member and district leader, respectively, the authors share the challenges, achievements, and lessons learned from their experiences that can inform others. As demographics in the United States school districts shift, the call for district leaders and school board members to reflect the communities of which they serve, is vital.

Exploring actors' collaborations and involvement in the Namibian learner pregnancy policy

IntroductionThe Namibia Education Sector Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy (ESPPMLP) aims to reduce the cases of learners falling pregnant and increase learner-parent completion of education. The ESPPMLP addresses the fact that learner pregnancy and school drop-out are collaborative efforts between parents, the community, schools, and non-governmental organizations. However, Namibia continues to have had a problem with the high rate of learner pregnancy and school drop-out for many years. Previous studies reported the absences and limitations of both internal and external actors' collaboration in its implementation. This paper aims to clarify the lack of stakeholder involvement and cooperation in the ESPPMLP activities within selected rural schools in Namibia.MethodsUsing the qualitative approach mixed with phenomenological and content data analysis, the study conducted 19 individual interviews with schoolteachers, one school board member, one NGO representative, and six focus group discussions with 27 parents.Results and findingsAmong others, results show the limited life skills of teachers in schools, the attitude of the community toward schoolteachers, making them feel devoid of influence in collaborations, and the lack of sexual reproductive activities programs in school settings. The findings reveal the reliance of the activities of prevention and management of learner pregnancy on donor-driven initiatives, the lack of task forces at the community level, the shortage of knowledge and understanding about the ESPPMLP and the lack of policy implementation guidelines. Establish learner pregnancy leadership structures at the community level for coordination, introduce community parenting, and execute partnership of monitoring activities to boost stakeholder collaborations.

Avenues for Engagement? Testing the Democratic Nature of Library Book Challenge Processes

Background or Context: Public school library book challenges have garnered ample media attention in recent years as many school districts and advocacy organizations have reported record numbers of book challenges. Book challenges are not a new phenomenon, historically speaking, but they have often illuminated values clashes in communities and raise questions about the rights and freedoms of public school students. Judicial rulings and school district policies that address book challenges could provide insights for many members of school communities (including, but not limited to, school board members, students, parents, and teachers) as they experience challenges, but these aspects of the legal record and their influence on responses to book challenges remains underexamined in scholarship. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: The 1982 Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico remains the lasting judicial precedent for interpreting public school students’ First Amendment rights as they interact with school library books. We examine the extent to which school district book challenge policies align with court precedent set in Pico (1982) and the implications for students’ rights and democratic participation during book challenges. Research Design: Drawing on elements of the law and society framework as well as political analysis categories, this study uses qualitative methods to illuminate specific elements of district policies that govern book challenges. Specifically, we examine 29 policies in school districts that experienced a publicly reported book challenge between 2017 and 2021 to understand relationships between school district book challenge policies and the Pico (1982) precedent. Conclusions or Recommendations: Our findings reveal ample space between judicial rulings and school district policies we examine. In fact, we find a broader array of relevant actors in book challenge processes than conceived by the courts and raise implications for students’ constitutional rights and protections related to who policies indicate may or must be involved in these processes, the settings in which book challenge decisions are made, and the limited roles for public involvement during school library book challenges.

Value Co-Creation: A Strategy for Enhancing Inclusiveness in Special Education

This qualitative study examines the educational management practices of a municipality in Thailand by evaluating the current delivery of special educational services with underlying principles rooted in value co-creation (VCC)—a business concept often employed to enhance engagement and participation with the aim of creating mutual value. The study’s objective is to identify gaps in real-life practices. The research methodology encompasses in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, focus group discussions involving school board members and parents, and content analysis to extract core concepts for policy recommendations. The study’s findings reveal that the municipality is increasingly recognizing the potential of VCC in enhancing student outcomes, particularly for those with special educational needs. However, challenges stemming from schools’ financial constraints and the influx of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds impede the full realization of VCC principles. Consequently, it is crucial for the government to prioritize the alignment of VCC strategies with special education. This can be achieved by considering reengineering the education budget allocation and making investments, whether direct or indirect, to support the VCC process. These measures are essential to promote the evolution of VCC and sustain special educational service operations effectively.

Effect of Instructional Supervision on Education Quality in Secondary Schools in Kaham District, Tanzania

The pursuit of quality learning experiences is vital to fostering individual growth, societal progress, and global competitiveness. This paper assessed the role of instructional supervision in the delivery of quality education. This study was conducted in 5 selected secondary schools in Kahama, Tanzania. A mixed research approach and a convergent parallel design were used. One hundred and fifty seven (157) respondents composed of 142 teachers, 5 heads of schools, 5 school board members, 4 ward educational officers and 1 district educational officer were involved. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS, version 21) while qualitative data were analysed thematically. The findings indicate that when instructional supervision is conducted appropriately it significantly contributes to teacher professional growth which in turn contributes to optimizing the quality of education. Additionally, the study found maximum cooperation between supervisors and supervisees to be paramount in instructional supervision. The findings also indicated that for instructional supervision to be effective, school leaders are to promote a culture of academic excellence, by ensuring conducive teaching and learning environment. Moreover, classroom visits should be regarded as supporting and encouraging teachers rather than a faulty finding strategy. Hence, this study is a wakeup call to all those involved in instructional supervision to strive towards promoting a positive mindset towards instructional supervision and to give it the priority it deserves to ensure the achievement of quality education

Partisanship and Professionalization: School Board Decision-Making in the Midst of a Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, school board members played a prominent role in deciding reopening plans. Using an original large-scale survey of board members, our goal is to understand how the polarized, political context of pandemic responses shaped the decision-making processes of members as they experienced dramatic increases in workload. We find school board members are much more likely to identify at the extremes of partisan identity, as strong Democrats or strong Republicans. How they identified mattered in who they trusted to tell them information, how much control they felt the board should have in the process of reopening plans, and who should interpret data about COVID. If the other party was in power at the state level, members from opposing parties had less trust in state sources. Most school board elections are nonpartisan, but that does not mean that the members themselves do not strongly identify with a party.

PENDAMPINGAN DAN PELATIHAN PROGRAM LDK (LATIHAN DASAR KEPEMIMPINAN) PENGURUS ORGANISASI PELAJAR PONPES AL-ISHLAH (OPPI) SENDANGAGUNG PACIRAN LAMONGAN

Accompanying and providing leadership training as a teaching activity to the students who are members of the OPPI Al Ishlah Islamic Boarding School board, to shape and strengthen character, foster discipline, appearance, actions and actions so that they are more courageous in making decisions. Be more confident and show empathy towards others. Starting with an initial observation stage which included interviews with trainers and school teachers who supervise OPPI administrators, as well as representatives of OPPI administrators. As there is a transition from senior management members to junior members of OPPI, mentoring and basic leadership training is necessary. This service program was carried out to accompany and train the administrators of the OPPI Al Ishlah Islamic Boarding School Sendangaggung Paciran Lamongan.

Consequential Issues of Censoring Curriculum: Who Has the Right to Ban What’s Read?

Ms. Sampson, a White eighth-grade teacher in a predominately White suburban school district in the southern United States, decided to include several books in her lesson plan. Selected books were from the school’s library and had been previously approved by stakeholders as instructional resources for the district. One parent, a school board member, became enraged when he heard about the readings during a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) back-from-spring-break celebration and contacted the district superintendent. A book was subsequently removed from the library and Ms. Sampson was placed on administrative leave without pay. This case centers on the critical race debate in public schools and how school leaders and other stakeholders address a teacher’s decision to diversify curriculum and instructional resources amid stakeholder pushback.

Preparing School Boards for Sustainable Leadership: How Does Your State’s Policy Equip School Board Members?

ABSTRACT In an era of increasing political and social divisiveness, school boards across the country face pressure to maintain effective governance amongst relentless pressure. Most school board members lack the experience to know how to effectively serve, thus, training is a necessary resource to ensure effective board governance and retain board members. This study provides an overview of states that have policies dictating professional learning requirements of new and veteran board members. Results indicate many states have no requirements for time or topics. State agencies should consider requiring professional development for school boards and superintendents on effective governance and evaluation.

When White Parents Aren’t so Nice: The Politics of Anti-CRT and Anti-equity Policy in Post-pandemic America

ABSTRACT In the run-up to the U.S. 2022 midterm elections, Republicans brought their fight to regain control of Congress to school districts across the country. Deploying a national disinformation campaign regarding how issues of race and racism are taught in K-12 public schools, astroturf 1 1 Astroturf organizations maintain a facade that creates an impression of grassroots support and hides their elite origins and backing. conservative advocacy organizations mobilized activists to descend on school board meetings and upend school board elections nationwide demanding an end to indoctrination of children with critical race theory (CRT). These efforts created a chilling effect among superintendents and school board members committed to advancing equity, anti-racism, and social justice. In this descriptive, conceptual paper, we portray and analyze the national campaign against CRT and equity in schools, how it played out at the local school district level, and its implications for superintendents and school board members leading for equity. Tenets of critical policy analysis are used to frame and organize our analysis of the national disinformation campaign to include policy documents, blog posts, news coverage, and related materials that illustrate its impact on local school districts. We conclude with a discussion of how superintendents and school board members committed to equity leadership must understand how the politics of race and effective use of political spectacle can undermine local efforts to advance equity and social justice in schools, and consider the far-reaching consequences for the future of public education in the U.S.

Local School Boards and LGBTQ Policy Decisions: A Qualitative Case Study

On 7 September 2022, the Miami-Dade School Board (MDSB), the governing body of one of the largest school districts in the U.S., rejected a resolution requiring the MDSB to observe October 2022 as LGBTQ History Month and directing the district’s superintendent to investigate the feasibility of providing “information and resources” about landmark LGBTQ Supreme Court cases for optional use in high school government classes. The current study coded the transcript of the September 7 meeting utilizing qualitative research protocols based on grounded theory. The resulting analysis identified three themes (curriculum, coercion, and illegality) associated with comments made by members of the public who opposed the resolution and three themes (curriculum, well-being, and anti-LGBTQ bigotry) associated with comments made by members of the public who supported the resolution. Analysis of the September 7 transcript also identified one primary theme (illegality) associated with MDSB members who opposed the resolution and two themes (disinformation and choice) associated with the MDSB member who supported the resolution. In addition to illustrating certain aspects of a contemporary moral panic in the U.S. and other countries, these results provide insights into how the public and U.S. school board members perceive the appropriateness and limitations of addressing the needs of contemporary LGBTQ students.

What matters in school reopening plans: an analysis of the impact of school board demographics

ABSTRACT Did the demographic composition of American school boards influence a given school district’s reopening responses and social safety measures to the COVID-19 pandemic? We explore how factors of race and gender of school board members influences how districts implement remote, in-person, or hybridized schooling measures. Using an original data set of 1893 school districts and 11,186 school board members, we test whether the demographic composition of a school board is predictive of school reopening plans and masking policies. We find that race and partisanship are influential in determining the usage of remote instruction and safety measures. Importantly, the congruence between local- and state-level partisanship is also found to be influential in determining the intensity of safety measures. We find that the influence of identity characteristics of school board members is less critical to shaping decision-making processes than the partisanship of a state’s governor. In Democratic states, the governor’s executive orders tend to override the influence school board members’ racial and gender identities, versus in Republican states the school board’s demographic composition is more predictive of school reopening plans and masking policies.

“On a Risky Slope of Democracy”: Racialized Logics Embedded in Community–School Board Interactions

As school board meetings are integral sites of local education policymaking, scholars must consider how structural racism manifests in these spaces across various district contexts. We examine how racialized institutional logics undergird the interactions between majority-Black district leadership and a local Black community during school board meetings. Through an ethnographic case study of school board meetings over the 2019–2020 school year, we find that racialized pressures led predominantly Black school board members and district administrators to uphold policies and practices that limited two-way authentic interactions with their Black constituents. In conclusion, we argue that racial representation in educational politics may be important, but is not sufficient unless accompanied by changes to policies and practices that privilege Whiteness and reproduce racism.