Schooling Research Articles

L'impact du chômage des parents sur le devenir scolaire des enfants

Bien qu’utiles pour comprendre l’echec scolaire, les etudes traitant de l’impact des conditions de vie des enfants sur leur reussite scolaire sont encore assez rares en France. Nous mobilisons ici l’enquete « Budget de famille 2000/2001 » pour mesurer l’impact causal du chomage des parents. Les enfants dont le pere a connu le chomage obtiennent moins souvent un baccalaureat : l’ecart de 20 points s’explique pour moitie par l’effet propre du chomage, et pour moitie par des effets de structure. Pour corriger les eventuels biais d’endogeneite, nous instrumentons le chomage par la categorie socioprofessionnelle du grand-pere et montrons que la correlation entre precarite et difficultes scolaires correspond bien a une causalite.

Supporting Students and Parents through a School-University Partnership

parent, PTO/PTA, Halloween carnivals, Christmas pageants, and monthly Muffins with Mom or Donuts with Dad gatherings. As we entered mid dle school, however, the context changed. Multiple teachers, complex subject matter, the importance of peer relationships, and a need for autonomy came to the fore, while the level of parental involvement decreased and, for some, was almost nonexistent by high school. The evidence is compelling: Parent involvement at school and with schoolwork positively affects a num ber of student outcomes including achievement, attendance, self-esteem, behavior, and attitudes toward school and learning (Mapp, 1997; National Association of School Psychologists, 1999). Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, two reports (Keith, Keith, Quirk, Cohen-Rosenthal, & Franzese, 1996; Singh et al, 1995) found that parental involvement with eighth graders had a signifi cant effect on achievement, espe cially in math and social studies. In an analysis of 66 studies target ing parent involvement in school ing, Henderson and Berla (1994) concluded that the most accurate

LOOKING FOR A ROAD TO GET OUT OF POVERTY. IS THE CURRENT ALLOCATION OF PUBLIC SPENDING ON EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA HELPING? (Artículo publicado en inglés)

This paper presents a methodology to explore the impact on poverty of the public spending on education. The methodology consists of two approaches: Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) and behavioral approach. BIA considers the cost and use of the educational service, and the distribution of the benefits among groups of income. Regarding the behavioral approach, we use a Probit model of schooling attendance, in order to determinethe influence of public spending on the probability for thepoor to attend the school. As a complement, a measurement of targeting errors in the allocation of public spending is included in the methodology.

Desenvolvimento de narrativas e o processo de construção social da escrita

This work presents partial results of an investigation concerning the relationship between oral narrative discourse and the construction of written discourse in child development. Two groups of 15 children are observed longitudinally throughout their 3rd to 5th year of elementary schooling (Ensino Fundamental, in Brazil). In one of the school classes our research team develops a work of educational intervention. The focus of the investigation is to analyze the textualization process in the development of narrative genres under two perspectives: from the point of view of the text as a product, and from the point of view of the school’s interference in the process. The theoretical framework assumed is that of the socio-discursive interactionism (Bronckart, 1997; Schneuwly & Dolz, 1999; Vygotsky, 1988). Key words: written and oral narratives; written language development; formative intervention; didactic transposition; socio-discursive interactionism.

Impact de la formation initiale sur les rémunérations au cours de la vie active

Le papier cherche à évaluer le gain en revenu procuré chez les hommes par une année d’études supplémentaire. Par rapport à la littérature habituelle, il évalue non seulement des fonctions de gains habituelles à partir des salaires, mais également la probabilité de disposer d’un emploi selon le niveau de formation, ainsi que l’effet de la sélection de l’emploi sur le salaire. Il prend en compte l’endogénéité de la formation initiale et de l’expérience professionnelle. On retrouve le fait que la formation initiale est très endogène dans l’équation de salaire, alors que l’expérience professionnelle est endogène dans l’équation d’emploi. Après corrections, le gain actualisé sur la période de vie active apporté par une année d’études supplémentaire est de l’ordre de 10%; il décroît avec le niveau d’éducation.

An Organizational Analysis of the Overrepresentation of Poor and Minority Students in Special Education1

By considering the overrepresentation problem in special education from an organizational perspective, the author argues that it is part of a broader problem associated with the political function of special education within public education. From this perspective, special education is an unintended consequence of bureaucratic schooling, an institutional artifact that protects the legitimacy of nonadaptable organizations faced with the changing values and expectations of an increasingly diverse democratic society. The author proposes an alternative organizational structure for schools that resolves the overrepresentation problem, advances the spirit of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and inclusive education, and turns educational equity into a precondition for educational excellence in schools and, ultimately, for economic and political excellence and equity in society.

Complexities in the evaluation of distance education and virtual schooling

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the complexities and issues involved in the evaluation of distance education and virtual schooling. In order to provide an anchor to the issues involved in evaluating online projects we first present the evaluation design of a virtual high school project. Then, the emphasis of the paper is on the goals of the evaluation, stakeholder analysis, evaluator role, data collection, and data analysis. Finally, we discuss the need for evaluation of distance education and the ethical responsibility of the evaluators involved.De la complexité de l'évaluation de l'éducation à distance et de la scolarité virtuelle. Le but de cet article est de discuter des complexités et des problèmes posés par l'évaluation de l'éducation à distance etde la scolarité virtuelle de façon à fournir un ancrage aux problèmes impliqués dans l'évaluation de projets en lignes, nous présentons d'abord un schéma d'évaluation d'un projet d'école secondaire virtuelle. Ainsi l'article met l'accent sur les objectifs de l'évaluation, l'analyse du dépositaire d'enjeux, le rôle de l'évaluation, la collecte des données et leur analyse. Finalement, nous discutons du besoin de l'évaluation de l'éducation à distance et de la responsabilité éthique des évaluations impliquées.Komplexitäten in der Auswertung von Distance Education und virtueller Schulung. Der Zweck dieses Beitrags ist, die mit der Auswertung von Distance Education und virtueller Schulung verbundenen Komplexitäten und Fragen zu erörtern. Als Ausgangspukt zu den Fragen, die mit der Bewertung von Online-Projekten verbunden sind, zeigen wir zuerst den Auswertungsentwurf für ein virtuelles High-School-Projekt. Dann liegt der Schwerpunkt des Papiers auf den Zielen der Auswertung, Interessengruppenanalyse, Auswerterrolle, Datenerfassung undDatenanalyse. Zuletzt erörtern wir den Bedarf nach Auswertung von Distance Education und die ethische Verantwortung der eingebundenen Auswerter.

Understanding schools and schooling

Understanding schools and schooling

Emerging insights into peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is relatively common in the Hospital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) district of Haiti. This investigation was carried out to expand epidemiologic data aiming at identifying risk factors for PPCM in this population. The HAS District PPCM Registry with 74 PPCM patients, enrolled from 1 February 2000 to 1 September 2002, served to identify the PPCM patients involved in this study. Thirty-seven non-PPCM Haitian mothers from the HAS district served as controls in the case-control study I and 32 non-PPCM Haitian mothers from the HAS district served as controls for the case-control study II. Following informed consent, patients and controls participated in clinical examination, echocardiography, epidemiologic questionnaire interviews, and immunohaematologic testing. Findings revealed: increased parity in PPCM vs control mothers (4.6 vs 3.3, p = 0.0252); 47% of the PPCM mothers had their initial diagnosis with the 5th or more pregnancy; increased number of patients with some hospital prenatal care in PPCM vs control mothers (42% vs 0%, p = 0.00001); and increased valley unit PPCM vs control mothers with no formal schooling (54% vs 24%, p = 0.0054). However, when hill-unit controls were included, there was no statistical difference in this category. Taking drinking-water from the river was found in 11% of the valley PPCM mothers vs 0% of the valley control mothers (p = 0.0509). Although the first 59 PPCM cases identified came from the valley units, recent identification of PPCM mothers in the hill unit indicates similar incidence of PPCM in mothers of remote hill area compared to the valley mothers--approximately 1 per 350 to 400 livebirths. Although the cause of PPCM and reasons for increased incidence in the HAS district of Haiti remain unknown, initial data present emerging insights and avenues to pursue in subsequent studies.

L'éducation civique dans l'école française (Citizenship Education in French School)

Since ten or fifteen years ago, civic education is coming back to the foreground of the news. It is now an obligatory school subject in primary and lower secondary school, the college, namely nine years of a schooling which it is as a rule the same for all pupils. The author introduces programmes from primary school and from the college. However, between official programmes and what is effectively taught, differences are often very large. What some primary school's teachers say about what they teach and about college's pupils provides another point of view on civic education. A short evocation of the history of civic education in French school puts in prospect actual choices and specific problems of this school subject, in particularly its difficult stabilisation. The article closes with the presentation of some tensions and contradictions which are necessary to take into account to think and to implement civic education.

Studying the spatialities of schooling

Abstract

Human Capital Data: Evidence and Suggestions from Italian Time Series (1881-1993)

The controversial results obtained by introducing human capital in the traditional regression growth pushed the researchers to search in different directions: refining the measurement of human capital, adding measures of quality of schooling, etc. The paper copes with the econometric side of the regression of human capital on GDP per capita investigating the characteristics of the time series represent- ing human capital. The usual regression techniques assume a linear relationship between the dependent variable and the independent ones, and the independent and identical distri- bution hypothesis on residuals. The paper shows that this is not the case, for both the conditions, in the series of secon- dary school enrollment rate to the population of the same age in Italy from 1881 to 1991. Therefore using standard econometric techniques to investigate the role of human capital on GDP is incorrect. As an alternative approach, the paper proposes a kernel regression which is a non paramet- ric method by which observations are weighted according to a particular function. The results are comfortable. The re- gression finds a non linear relationship between economic growth and human capital, showing that human capital is significative for Italian GDP growth since 1965, when the Reform of Secondary School (1962) displayed its effects. The paper extends this method to the traditional factors (K;L) and finds a similar relationship and timing for labour, while only capital time series show a linear relationship as is usually presumed in the standard production function.

Human Capital Convergence: A Joint Estimation Approach

In the growth literature, evidence on convergence of per capita incomes is mixed. In the development literature, health and education indicators are often used to measure countries' development progress. This study examines whether average stocks of health and education are converging across countries and calculates the speed of their convergence using data from 84 countries for 1970-90. A three-stage least-squares (3SLS) procedure is used in a joint analysis of human capital convergence. The results confirm that investments in education and health are closely linked. The study finds unconditional convergence for life expectancy and infant survival, and for the stock of education as measured by average levels of total and secondary schooling in the adult population.

For Home, Country, and Race: Constructing Gender, Class and Englishness in the Elementary School, 1880-1914.

The crucial role of compulsory schooling in the fostering of national identities is dynamically demonstrated in Stephen Heathorn's study of the elementary school system in England at the turn of the century. His book analyses how a specific ideal of English national heritage was consciously nurtured by the professionalizing educational establishment of the period. Implicit within this ideal was an ideology that reinforced gender, class, and race distinctions. Heathorn bases his work on extensive primary material, including more than 450 different elementary schoolbooks. He unpacks the potent symbols and narratives of imperial-nationalist social prescriptions and establishes the centrality in the classroom of a racialized notion of Englishness dependent on middle-class assumptions about 'appropriate' class and gender roles. According to Heathorn, these social prescriptions marked a subtle shift from the mid-Victorian liberal discourse of self and moral improvement. This insightful, well-documented study showcases the multifaceted nature of gender history, and explores the intersection of social, political, and cultural factors in the history of schooling and identity construction.

Efficacité relative des écoles publiques et privées à Madagascar : étude d'une période de restriction budgétaire

Cet article étudie les différences d'efficacité entre écoles primaires publiques et privées de la capitale malgache. Nous cherchons à voir si la baisse relative des inscriptions dans les écoles publiques s'est accompagnée d'une perte de qualité relative de l'enseignement public à Madagascar. Nous développons une procédure d'estimation correspondant à une variation de la procédure d'Heckman. Une première équation de type probit rend compte de la sélection des élèves qui choisissent une école privée. Simultanément, une seconde équation analyse les déterminants de la réussite scolaire, la réussite scolaire étant mesurée par le nombre d'années d'études réussies, l'obtention du diplôme ou le taux de redoublement. Il apparaît qu'au niveau des écoles primaires, les parents accroissent significativement les chances de réussite de leurs enfants en les inscrivant dans des écoles privées. L'examen des résultats de ces dernières années indique en outre que l'écart entre écoles privées et écoles publiques est allé en s'accroissant.

Undergraduate oncology nursing education in the Balkans and the Middle East.

The levels of undergraduate oncology nursing education in the Balkans and the Middle East had not been determined. The authors used a questionnaire to survey representatives of nine Balkan and Middle East countries about the oncology nursing education available in undergraduate nursing programs in their countries. Admission criteria, the educational requirements for teachers providing the education, and the levels of nursing credentials in the country were investigated. Years of schooling needed for admission ranged from eight to 12. Requirements for teachers varied widely, from none to academic degrees and experience, as did levels of nurses in the countries. Israel, Slovenia, and Greece had fairly substantial oncology nursing education programs, while some countries, especially in the Balkans, offered none at all. There is a need for routine inclusion of required oncology training in the nursing programs of these countries.

Home Schooling: The Ameliorator of Negative Influences on Learning?

The modem home school movement appears to be making a noticeable mark on society in general and on education in particular (Clark, 1994; Kantrowitz & Wingert, 1998; Lines, 1994; Toch, 1991a). Home schooling is the practice in which the education of children is clearly parent-controlled or parent-directed (and sometimes student-directed) during the conventional-school hours during the conventional-school days of the week. Although it did not begin a resurgence in the United States until the 1970s, parent-led and homeand family-based education have been practiced by many cultures throughout history, and it never disappeared in some of them. Gordon and Gordon (1990) made it clear that education centered in and around the home and family has played a key role throughout the history of Western civilization. An examination of education in America indicates that home education, in one form or another, was prevalent until the late 19th century. "In general, then, seventeenth and eighteenth century parents-particularly the father-bore the primary responsibility for teaching their children. ... Christian doctrine, vocational skills, and how to read and, to a lesser extent, write and figure" (Carper, 1992, p. 254). During the 19th century, "the school was a voluntary and incidental institution: attendance varied enormously from day to day and season to season" (Tyack, 1974, p.

Global prospects for education: development, culture, and schooling

Global prospects for education: development, culture, and schooling

Intelligence, schooling, and society.

Intelligence, schooling, and society.

The Implications of Expanded School Choice

The determinants of school choice have significant implications for a variety of public policies including the impact of school vouchers. This article presents a conceptual and empirical model of individual-level school choice over public in-district and transfer schooling, religious private and nonreligious private school ing, and home schooling. Using a unique survey data set for the state of Tennessee, the authors estimate the impact of own- and cross-price elasticities on the actual schooling choice measured by school district within the state. They find that these elasticities are important determinants of school choice. Using the empirical results, simulations suggest that a hypothetical $500 school voucher would reduce public school enrollment in city school districts by 8%.