Suburban School Research Articles

School Transportation as Social Capital: Suburban School Leaders at the Wheel of Equitable Access

The roots of opportunity gaps in suburban schools often lie hidden in widely-accepted operational practices. Despite the importance of the informal curriculum to social capital development, suburban leaders sometimes underestimate how transportation restrictions can bar access to resources that are critical to advancing their Black, Brown, and lower-income students. This case illuminates how racism, classism, and housing segregation worked synergistically to create marginalizing transportation conditions in a majority-White suburban high school, and how the social-emotional impact ultimately led to the exclusionary discipline of two students. It addresses how race-neutral policies and deficit cultures contribute to unjust treatment of minoritized students, and underscores the need for suburban leaders to become racially literate and advocate for practices that ensure equitable access to capital-building resources for every student.

“Livonia is just all racism”: locating black families’ racial and spatial experiences, school choices, and educational agency in metropolitan Detroit

ABSTRACT Focusing on the metropolitan Detroit region, this paper examines how seven Black families’ racial and spatial subjectivities influenced their suburban school and community choices, and more broadly their acts of educational agency. Using a critical phenomenological approach, key findings show that families’ lived experiences of race and racism in the region, along with the increased presence and support of Black students, families, and educators in select suburban schools influenced their choices and efforts to make suburban schools aligned with their educational and communal priorities, revealing the dual nature in which Black families navigate unjust U.S. education landscapes. Implications address the ongoing challenges Black families encounter in U.S. regional education landscapes and the need for more just approaches that honor Black families’ educational agency and placemaking in local contexts.

Teachers' and Principals' Familiarity with School Wellness Policy: A Health Promoting Schools Assessment.

The current study explored teacher and principal familiarity with school wellness polices in primary schools, including who serves on school wellness committees, and who should implement and enforce wellness policies in the school. An electronic survey guided by the Health Promoting Schools framework was administered from February to May 2020 to teachers and principals from one urban and one suburban school district in the Midwestern United States. There were 450 participants; response rates were 28% (urban), 33% (suburban), and 51% (school principals). Only 41.7% of the aggregate participant pool were familiar with their wellness policy. Participants were more familiar in the suburban compared to the urban district (χ2 = 68.2, p-value ≤ 0.001). Teachers/health teachers, nurses, and principals were most likely to be on wellness committees, and the most preferred wellness champions were teachers, nurses, and food service staff. Teachers and nurses are integral to school wellness and health education as part of multiple systems that can promote school health. The Health Promoting Schools framework is useful for guiding examinations to improve understanding of school wellness within school communities.

Taking an argumentation approach to statistical investigations: developing student data-ing practices

AbstractResearch literature has provided considerable insight as to how young students might come to deeper understandings of statistical concepts, processes and representations through investigations. However, ‘data-ing’—the critical thinking aspects of decision-making while engaging in statistical investigations—has shown to be more difficult to grasp. Data-ing aspects of statistical investigations identified in literature as particularly challenging include: generating researchable questions, knowing when or how to apply statistical knowledge, seeing a need for evidence to support conclusions, and knowing how to use data as evidence. Argumentation practices necessitate a focus on the use of evidence to logically support a claim, thereby offering potential to focus students on the sufficiency and quality of evidence and the conclusions that can be drawn. As such, argumentation offers potential to support students to engage in data decision-making practices. In the research described here, an argumentation focus was used to guide a statistical investigation with a class of 9–10-year-old students in a suburban Australian school. Analysis of classroom interactions and children's work samples suggested that taking an argument-based focus supported students’ developing capacity to overcome the aforementioned challenges and to engage in critical, decision-making practices with authentic, messy data within the context of the investigation.

A study on translanguaging between Malaysia and China primary schools’ students in ESL writing classroom

This research investigates the efficacy of translanguaging on writing ability and the attitudes of students from Malaysia and China in English lessons. Writing ability, a combination of various skills, is explored through a mixed-method approach with a purposive sampling of 20 students—10 from Malaysia and 10 from China. Interviews were conducted with two teachers and three students from a Malaysian sub-urban school, and a teacher and two students from a primary school in China to gather qualitative data. The study also used a pre-experimental design, employing pre- and post-tests to assess the quantitative aspect. The findings suggest that classroom culture plays a crucial role in fostering positive attitudes toward multilingualism and second language acquisition. Translanguaging allowed students to bridge the gap between their home language (L1) and school language (L2), resulting in improved writing outcomes, particularly for students with low proficiency. It also led to more authentic, well-constructed work. However, some teachers expressed concerns about the influence of translanguaging on students' writing, particularly the risk of substituting L1 strategies for English ones. Despite these concerns, the research demonstrates that translanguaging can be a valuable tool for enhancing writing ability and building positive attitudes towards language learning.

Pedagogical translation for reading comprehension in mixed HL‐L2 secondary classrooms

AbstractThis exploratory, mixed methods study proposes that pedagogical translation be implemented for biliteracy acquisition in mixed heritage language (HL)‐second language (L2) secondary Spanish classrooms. It investigates the mediation of pedagogical translation for reading comprehension in two mixed HL‐L2 secondary Spanish classrooms at a suburban high school in the southwestern United States. The research question, How does pedagogical translation influence reading comprehension in a mixed HL‐L2 secondary Spanish classroom is addressed in this work. Findings indicated that through a pedagogical translation activity, heritage language learners (HLLs) and second language learners (L2Ls) demonstrated metalinguistic awareness and vocabulary learning, which are indicators of reading comprehension. Differing HLL and L2L learning approaches during the activities are discussed, followed by pedagogical and research implications.

Educational communities of rural schools in the arctic (on the example of the Murmansk oblast): A social justice perspective on inclusion

The article addresses the current problem of searching and substantiating mechanisms for the development of inclusive education. The research relevance is also determined by the Arctic context, which corresponds to the epistemological need of modern interdisciplinary knowledge in the development of inclusive education, the priorities of state policy, as well as to the expectations and demands of regional communities. The authors aim to study social interactions within rural schools in the Arctic from the standpoint of inclusion as an indicator of social justice (on the example of the Murmansk Oblast). To that end, rural schools are modelled and described based on the developed criteria. Difficulties experienced by the teachers in the course of inclusive educational process, including when using distance technologies, are typified. According to the results obtained, typical models of rural schools in the Murmansk Oblast include suburban schools and remote schools and their following variants: the school as a territorial cooperation, a border school, an isolated school, and an indigenous school. In all rural school models, under successful formation of external and internal social ties, a shortage of special education teachers is observed. The teachers face methodological, organizational, and social difficulties. In addition, the educational environment is not sufficiently accessible, which forms barriers to social justice. The revealed regional specificity of rural schools serves as a justification for a conceptual and substantive development of Arctic pedagogy. The results obtained are useful for further theoretical and empirical research in the field of inclusive education, as well as for the development of regional programs of inclusive educational practices, taking the differentiation of social conditions into account.

Disparities in allergy and asthma prevalence among schoolteachers

BackgroundEvidence suggests that school factors influence the prevalence of allergic diseases in students. However, very little is known about how such factors affect the health of teachers. ObjectiveWe sought to compare the prevalence of allergic and respiratory conditions among teachers from urban, suburban, and rural schools. MethodsElectronic survey data were collected from a random sample of Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 teachers in Massachusetts. Comparisons were made between teacher demographics and allergic respiratory symptoms. ResultsOf the 398 respondents, median age was 45 years (SD 12.32). 71.8% of teachers taught in suburban schools, 76.6% were female, and 87.1% were White, similar to teacher demographics collected by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Although there were more female teachers, males more frequently reported adverse breathing symptoms, such as wheezing (P=0.007). Over half of rural teachers (54.54%) experienced respiratory symptoms such as disrupted sleep due to coughing compared to 34.61% of suburban schoolteachers (P=0.03). Almost half (48.26%) of public schoolteachers experienced exercise-induced chest pain compared to 37.03% of private schoolteachers (p=0.05). A higher proportion of urban school teachers with asthma commonly missed school due to food allergy compared to suburban and rural schoolteachers with asthma (P=0.02). In teachers undiagnosed with asthma, associations existed between school absences and nighttime awakening due to trouble breathing (P < 0.0001), persistent cough (P = 0.002), and sore throat (P<0.0001) ConclusionsRural and public teachers reported proportionately more respiratory symptoms compared to suburban and private teachers, suggesting disparities. Future studies towards evidence-based solutions are needed.

Development of a sexual consent intervention for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Tailored sexuality education for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities is a crucial, yet unmet, need as this population is particularly at risk for sexual abuse and victimisation. However, there are no evidence-based interventions to specifically address this need. This paper presents the development of an intervention framework to address equity in sexuality education and support adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities to understand and provide sexual consent, a foundational aspect of sexuality education and sexual health. The Sexual Health Equity Project team used a Community-Based Participatory Research approach to develop a four-module sexual consent intervention for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We leveraged a diverse, interdisciplinary team in a suburban Midwestern school district, and used Backward Design to create objectives and assessments which were rooted in findings from qualitative data by special education teachers. The resulting sexual consent intervention, Ask Me First-Choices, is comprised of four modules covering topics including definition of sexual consent; decision-making strategies and practice; communicating consent and refusal, identifying situations of consent and non-consent; and legal issues surrounding consent. Each module is divided into five components for content delivery: (1) introduction, (2) lecture, (3) supplemental activity, (4) assessment, and (5) conclusion. We detail the intervention's unique aspects, emphasising areas where we used Universal Design for Learning principles to support teachers' instruction and students' learning. Our efforts to create a sexual consent intervention directly address sexuality education equity issues. We offer commentary on our design process and decisions, as well as recommendations for future groups who want to develop sexual health interventions in similar contexts for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Next steps include further testing and validation of the sexual consent intervention to build the evidence-base of sexuality education for adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Exploring the role of virtual exhibition and media design rhetoric in learning history

This paper investigates the intersection of media and design literacies in learners becoming more competent in developing complex ideas within a history classroom. Drawing from multiliteracies, design literacy, and media literacy, this paper conceptualizes media design rhetoric as a process. It utilizes a virtual exhibition as a facilitator to deepen the understanding of propaganda. We accumulate qualitative data from artifacts created by 10th and 11th graders (age range: 15–17) in a history classroom within a suburban high school in Western Canada, with written reflections on their artifacts. artefact analysis is followed by thematic and subject analysis in NVivo 12. Results show that media design rhetoric supports learners in deepening their understanding of propaganda, critically reading media, and creatively communicating messages. Results suggest that virtual exhibitions can be pivotal in creating new artifacts with complex but interest-driven topics. This research introduces media design rhetoric as a bridging concept (between multiliteracies, design literacy, and media literacy) and situates virtual exhibitions as a facilitator for developing complex ideas. This research highlights the significance of critical thinking and creativity in the media design rhetoric, as students critically engaged with historical content and creatively adapted it to modern contexts.

Teachers’ use of mobile devices in suburban under-resourced secondary schools in Nepal

This study examined how secondary teachers used mobile devices for teaching and learning activities in under-resourced secondary schools in Napal. Twelve secondary teachers from three schools in the suburbs of one Himalayan district in Nepal were interviewed using qualitative research methods. The information gathered through observation of their classes supplemented the information gathered through interviews. Findings show that using mobile devices is productive for developing digital content, getting access to internet resources, and delivering lessons in the classroom. The degree of teachers’ technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge was reflected in how they used their mobile devices for information access, language games, dictionaries, and specific learning applications. In the absence of desktop computers and laptops, this study demonstrated how mobile devices improved teachers’ teaching and learning activities. Teachers could exhibit a greater level of proficiency in using technology if they received training on its usage in teaching and learning, and administrative support.

Effect of Anchoring Vignettes on Reliability and Validity as a Measure of Motivation and Emotion in Mathematics

In mathematics, the importance of emotion and motivation has long been appreciated. Meanwhile, the measurement of these constructs needs to be carefully developed. Indeed, many previous studies employed questionnaires and self-rating to investigate emotion and motivation in mathematics. However, researchers stressed that self-rating and questionnaires are vulnerable to different biases, such as cultural bias, social desirability bias, and individual reporting behavior, which could influence the reliability and validity of the responses. The present study employed an anchoring vignette approach and self-rating to measure emotion and motivation to examine its effect on reliability and validity. The study sample consisted of 308 Grade 8 students from urban, suburban, and rural schools in Mongolia. The students were administered two vignette sets and their respective self-rating items in 45 minutes. The study found that the anchoring vignette approach increased two types of reliability coefficients, including composite reliability and Cronbach's α, and two types of validity, such as convergent and discriminant validity. In sum, the results of the present study concluded that the anchoring vignette approach has the potential to improve the reliability and validity of tools to measure emotion and motivation in mathematics.

Middle school girls PE: pushed to compete or pushed aside

ABSTRACT Physical education (PE) class can be the first-time students experience structured physical activities, and competitive activities may comprise the majority of activities. If a student experiences success they may want to continue participation; however, after middle school, female participation declines sharply. The framework used in this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour, guided the examination of the perceptions and experiences of middle school female students in competition in PE. Forty-six seventh- and eighth-grade students identifying as female, from four suburban northeastern school districts, participated in focus groups and were observed during competitive activities in PE. Informal interviews with the PE teacher were conducted. Two major themes emerged: (1) students had insight into organizing teams and skill development and (2) pushed to compete or pushed aside. This study suggests students identifying as female in middle school have well-developed perceptions based upon their experiences in PE and provide a strong indication that how teachers organize class and behaviour management influence these perceptions.

‘To Explore the World of Sound’: Music, silence and nation-building in Bing Bang Boom (1969)

The National Film Board documentary Bing Bang Boom (1969) depicts Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer (1933–2021) teaching seventh-grade students in a suburban public school in Scarborough, Ontario. A close study of the film informs the larger trajectory of the composer’s previous and later writings and compositions over the next several decades, while a deeper dive into archival materials and concurrent productions from Canada’s National Film Board (NFB) illuminates the organisation’s strategy of nation-building at a crucial moment in the country’s history. Together, Schafer and the NFB illuminate Canada’s problematic relationship to Indigenous peoples, places and sounds.

Using Songs to Improve Vocabulary Among Year 3 Learners in A Suburban School in Sabah

Since vocabulary is the fundamental building block of a language, learning it has become crucial in order to become fluent in that language. However, most learners struggle to master vocabulary. This problem has made it challenging for learners to communicate clearly in person and in writing as well as to thoroughly comprehend a book. Using songs for learning vocabulary has been very effective and popular nowadays. Different studies revealed that songs are beneficial in vocabulary learning because they enhance learners’ ability to memorise words, improve their communicative skills and also to enhance their motivation. The mixed-methodology approach is used for this case study. It aims to explore how songs help improve primary school learner’s vocabulary acquisition and also how the use of songs help increase learners’ motivation in learning English as a second language. There are 35 Year 3 learners of a suburban school in Papar, Sabah involved in this case study. Data were collected by using a pre and post-test, interview and a questionnaire to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of songs in vocabulary learning. This study is proposed to create awareness of the benefits using songs in order to make learning and teaching new vocabulary more effective. The main findings have shown that the results from the pre-test and post-test have a significant difference where the learners’ marks in the post-test were higher than the pre-test. Thus, the findings depicted that the use of songs can improve the learners’ vocabulary effectively.

Effectiveness Of The Process-Genre Approach In Writing Instruction On The Narrative Essays Of ESL Students

The significance of writing in language learning and development is undeniable and this is recognised globally. Among Malaysian secondary school students, the recognition of subpar performance, especially in English essay writing, highlights the need for a comprehensive reassessment of teaching methods. This study's primary goal is to investigate the influence of ‘training Malaysian ESL students in applying process-genre writing knowledge and strategies, particularly’ within the context of narrative essays. The focus is on evaluating the efficiency of process-genre-oriented writing instruction in enhancing students' proficiency in organizing and developing content, critical aspects of proficient essay writing. The research design employed in this study is quasi-experimental, encompassing both a pre-test and post-test. Thirty students from a Form Four class in a suburban secondary school engaged in process-genre-oriented writing practices over a 10-week period. The research aims to shed light on the benefits of incorporating process-genre writing approaches into Malaysian ESL classrooms and their subsequent impact on students' writing skills. The findings indicate a positive impact of the process-genre approach on students' writing skills.

CCM in the choral classroom: Pedagogical practices of two high school music educators

This study aims to enrich the discourse on integrating contemporary commercial music (CCM) genres into vocal music education. Despite existing methodologies by vocal pedagogues, there is a pressing need for a formalized CCM pedagogy. Developing such a pedagogy requires understanding and possibly drawing inspiration from the pedagogical practices and philosophical beliefs of current vocal music educators teaching these styles. To delve deeper, the author conducted a qualitative case study with two suburban high school music educators proficient in CCM vocal techniques. Each participant underwent a 30- to 40-minute semi-structured interview and an observed rehearsal, and provided course materials. Analysis revealed key themes: Caroline’s motivation, teaching techniques and community response; and Matt’s musical background, motivation, beliefs, teaching practices and community response. Despite contextual differences, both shared musical backgrounds and positive community feedback. These findings offer insights for vocal music educators and teacher education programmes.

Shifting perspectives: High school students' evaluations of a social norms campaign to reduce bullying and sexual harassment and promote helping behavior

AbstractBullying and sexual harassment are commonly experienced by secondary students, yet these behaviors are seldom targeted for intervention in high schools. Norms and Bystander Intervention Training (NAB IT!) is a program designed to address bullying and sexual harassment through promoting prosocial norms and helping behaviors among high school students. This mixed methods study examined students' receptivity to and perceptions of the NAB IT! social norms campaign. The campaign was delivered over 7 weeks in a suburban high school (grades 9–12) in the northeastern United States. Twenty‐eight students (60.7% females; 25.0% males; 7.2% genderqueer/gender non‐conforming/transgender) participated in focus group discussions and provided quantitative ratings of the campaign. Participants were White (82.1%), Asian (7.1%), Multiracial (7.1%), and African American (3.6%). Students appreciated the prosocial messaging and believed that the campaign raised awareness of bullying and sexual harassment. Students reported that the campaign elicited greater self‐reflection and discussion about potentially harmful behaviors. Nonetheless, some students doubted the credibility of the messages and noted incongruence between the messages and what they have observed in the school. Students indicated the need for more skills training for themselves and for faculty.

Response Rate Patterns in Adolescents With Concussion Using Mobile Health and Remote Patient Monitoring: Observational Study.

A concussion is a common adolescent injury that can result in a constellation of symptoms, negatively affecting academic performance, neurobiological development, and quality of life. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies, such as apps for patients to report symptoms or wearables to measure physiological metrics like heart rate, have been shown to be promising in health maintenance. However, there is limited evidence about mHealth engagement in adolescents with a concussion during their recovery course. This study aims to determine the response rate and response rate patterns in concussed adolescents reporting their daily symptoms through mHealth technology. It will also examine the effect of time-, demographic-, and injury-related characteristics on response rate patterns. Participants aged between 11-18 years (median days since injury at enrollment: 11 days) were recruited from the concussion program of a tertiary care academic medical center and a suburban school's athletic teams. They were asked to report their daily symptoms using a mobile app. Participants were prompted to complete the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI) 3 times (ie, morning, afternoon, and evening) per day for 4 weeks following enrollment. The primary outcome was the response rate pattern over time (by day since initial app use and the day since injury). Time-, demographic-, and injury-related differences in reporting behaviors were compared using Mann Whitney U tests. A total of 56 participants were enrolled (mean age 15.3, SD 1.9 years; n=32, 57% female). The median response rate across all days of app use in the evening was 37.0% (IQR 27.2%-46.4%), which was significantly higher than the morning (21.2%, IQR 15.6%-30.5%) or afternoon (26.4%, IQR 21.1%-31.5%; P<.001). The median daily response was significantly different by sex (female: 53.8%, IQR 46.2%-64.2% vs male: 42.0%, IQR 28.6%-51.1%; P=.003), days since injury to app use (participants starting to use the app >7 days since injury: 54.1%, IQR 47.4%-62.2% vs starting to use the app ≤7 days since injury: 38.0%, IQR 26.0%-53.3%; P=.002), and concussion history (participants with a history of at least one prior concussion: 57.4%, IQR 44.5%-70.5% vs participants without concussion history: 42.3%, IQR 36.8%-53.5%; P=.03). There were no significant differences by age. Differences by injury mechanism (sports- and recreation-related injury: 39.6%, IQR 36.1%-50.4% vs non-sports- or recreation-related injury: 30.6%, IQR 20.0%-42.9%; P=.04) and initial symptom burden (PCSI scores greater than the median score of 47: 40.9%, IQR 35.2%-53.8% vs PCSI scores less than or equal to the median score: 31.9%, IQR 24.6%-40.6%; P=.04) were evident in the evening response rates; however, daily rates were not statistically different. Evening may be the optimal time to prompt for daily concussion symptom assessment among concussed adolescents compared with morning or afternoon. Multiple demographic- and injury-related characteristics were associated with higher daily response rates, including for female participants, those with more than 1 week from injury to beginning mHealth monitoring, and those with a history of at least one previous concussion. Future studies may consider incentive strategies or adaptive digital concussion assessments to increase response rates in populations with low engagement.

Fourth Graders’ Guided Inquiry into Local Public Issues of Birmingham

In this manuscript, the authors discuss a seven-day research project that occurred within the Birmingham metropolitan area where fourth graders researched the role that public issues played in the creation of two suburban school systems in their city. We coded student work samples to look for themes. Emergent themes from student work samples are described in the findings section. We conclude in our discussion section with some recommendations for future research studies to teach issues of race in U.S. history based on our findings.