Traditional High School Research Articles

SPATIAL ANALYSIS BETWEEN YOUTH AND ADULT EDUCATION AND LABOR MARKET REMUNERATION

This study analyzes the spatial distribution of migration from traditional high school to Youth and Adult Education (YAE) and its relationship with formal work remuneration. For this, the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) technique was used through global and local analyses. The results of the global analysis indicate a negative spatial autocorrelation between migration from regular secondary education to YAE and formal work remuneration. The local analysis indicated that the Northeast had the highest proportion of municipalities in the cluster with high migration of individuals in the YAE and higher remuneration in the formal market, while the South region had the highest concentration of municipalities with a low proportion of municipalities in the cluster with low migration of individuals in the YAE and high remuneration in the formal job market. Therefore, it is concluded that the low quality of YAE teaching leads individuals to enter the formal job market with a lower pay.

Dually Noted: Examining the Implications of Dual Enrollment Course Structure for Students’ Course and College Enrollment Outcomes

Dual enrollment (DE)—where students earn college credits during high school—is expanding rapidly. To facilitate DE, institutional actors across K-12 schools and colleges must build or repurpose structures across separate organizations to determine course offerings, assignments, modality, and composition. Yet the organization and implications of those structures remain a black box. Using statewide administrative data from Texas, we describe DE coursetaking and course characteristics for traditional Texas public high school students and examine how DE course characteristics predict students’ course performance and subsequent college enrollment. Our descriptive analyses illuminate striking differences between academic and career and technical education DE, both in students’ backgrounds and course structures. Our regression analyses illustrate how several malleable DE course characteristics predict student outcomes.

Generational Immigration Status Modifies the Association Between Psychosocial Distress and Substance Use Among Alternative High School Students

PurposeAlternative high schools (AHS) are designed to provide individualized education, more flexible scheduling, and smaller class sizes for students referred out of traditional high school. AHS students report higher levels of substance use (SU) and face disproportionately higher levels of trauma and toxic stress than their traditional high school peers. We sought to examine whether generational immigration (GenIm) status modifies the association of mental health and SU among AHS students using a longitudinal study of 1,060 Southern California AHS students. MethodsSubscales from the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were administered. Effect modification was examined by GenIm status defined as first generation (born outside of the United States), second generation (born in the United States with a parent born outside the United States), or third generation (born in the United States with US-born parent(s)). Main outcomes included the number of times different substances were used in the past year over a 3-year period. ResultsMultilevel, negative binomial, covariate-adjusted latent growth curve models generated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the time-varying association between depression, anxiety, or stress and the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, alcohol, or marijuana. Multiple-group models examined effect modification by GenIm status. DiscussionThe link between mental health and SU was stronger among first- and second-generation students than third-generation students. For example, a one-unit increase in stress relative to the average stress of students from the same school was associated with an increase in the rate of e-cigarette use among first-generation (IRR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.07–3.85), second-generation (IRR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.86–2.72), and third-generation (IRR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.31–2.16) students. Effective strategies tailored to subgroups of AHS students are needed to counter disparities between traditional and alternative school systems that may contribute to long-term trajectories of SU.

A Taxonomy of Subjective Control: Teachers‘ Narrative Accounts of a Teacher Evaluation System

Background or Context: Federal and state reforms have expanded accountability systems for school districts, schools, and teachers. However, there is little evidence that the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems relying on measures of student learning and measures of teaching practice, with differentiated performance categories and rewards and sanctions, have had broad positive influences on teaching practice and student learning. Purpose, Objective, Research Question, or Focus of Study: We seek to contribute to an understanding of the modest influence of teacher evaluation systems by focusing on the targets of the policies—teachers—and how they experience the evaluation systems. Drawing on principal-agent theory and control-value theory, each of which suggests that teacher control over their performance evaluations influences their behavioral responses to them, we develop a taxonomy of teachers’ narratives of their subjective control of their evaluations. Research Design: We interviewed 141 New York City teachers working in 27 traditional elementary, middle, and high schools in the 2015–16 school year, asking about their experiences with Advance, the New York City annual teacher evaluation system. We developed a thematic analysis system for coding and analyzing the interviews that began with a set of categories reflective of the larger project’s research questions and prior research on performance evaluation in general and teacher evaluation in particular. All told, we coded 4,077 excerpts from the 141 teacher interviews, an average of about 29 excerpts per interview. Findings: Seventy-one percent of the teachers in our sample indicated that they had no control over some aspect of their teacher evaluation ratings. Teachers noted three areas in their ratings that they deemed out of their control: other people’s behaviors, notably students, teachers, and the administrators observing and rating their classroom practice; the technology of teacher evaluation, especially the features of observation rubrics and student assessments, and for some teachers, statistical models; and the broader social context of the school, particularly the resources available to support teachers and students and the uncertainties of students’ home lives. A small number of teachers noted their control over their teaching practices and control over their own thoughts and behaviors. Conclusions or Recommendations: This study was situated in New York City at a time when many teachers believed the teacher evaluation system was designed to be punitive. Under these circumstances, teachers’ responses to the evaluation system hinge on their trust in school leadership and their perceptions of how much voice they have in the design and implementation of the system. This trust is enhanced when teachers have confidence that principals are able to observe their practice accurately and consistently.

Problems and Countermeasures of Senior High School English Vocabulary Teaching in the “Post-Method” Era

Vocabulary is the most basic material of language and the key to learn English well. Vocabulary teaching is the most difficult but also the most basic part of English teaching. However, in the traditional high school English vocabulary teaching, teachers and students are still limited by the shackles of “method”, and the phenomena of indoctrination and rote memorization are widespread. As the traditional teaching method system has been criticized and the “eclectic method” has been questioned as lacking a reliable theoretical basis, the field of foreign language teaching has come to the “post-method” stage proposed by Kumaravadivelu. This paper will be based on the three characteristics of the “post-method” teaching concept, and put forward corresponding countermeasures to the problems in high school English vocabulary teaching, in order to find a more concrete, real and dynamic approach to foreign language vocabulary teaching.

The Influence Of A STEM/STEAM Education Based High School on Students of The Ivoti Institute

The aim of this paper is to determine the difference between the STEM/STEAM education High School model and the Traditional Basic General education High School Model. Another important objective is to explain the benefits of the STEM/STEAM High School format being implemented in the Ivoti Institute, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. I start by giving the definition of STEM/STEAM education, and then talk about the New High School format that is being used in the Ivoti Institute. I explain all the benefits and opportunities that this educational setting brings to the students, and how it has affected my life, personally. STEM/STEAM education is the future of education, and will be extremely effective in the development of critical and autonomous individuals.

A Study of Interactive Teaching in High School English Classrooms

China's traditional high school English classroom teaching mode is teacher-oriented, based on the knowledge of the textbook, with a single learning method, and students are in a state of passively receiving knowledge in the classroom, unconsciously cooperating with the teacher to complete the classroom teaching tasks. Such a classroom in which the teacher can not well stimulate students' learning motivation, is not conducive to the play of student subjectivity, resulting in low student learning efficiency, the learning effect is not as satisfactory. At the same time, too single teaching methods are not conducive to the cultivation of students' spirit of exploration, creativity and practical skills. Based on this, this paper uses case analysis method to study how to improve teaching quality and students' learning enthusiasm through interactive teaching in high school English classroom, and concludes that the test-oriented teaching method should not be used in the interactive teaching of high school English classroom, and should pay attention to the interaction with students, and actively innovate teaching methods, among which game teaching method and scenario teaching method can effectively promote teacher-student interaction, and enable students to generate interest in learning and improve learning efficiency.

Catholic Jesuit educational mission: Catholic social teaching and Arrupian justice approach in pursuit of racial justice at traditional Jesuit schools

ABSTRACT Results from a case study school are reported. The mission of a Catholic, Jesuit High School consists of teaching and living the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching as a way to love one’s neighbor. This involves ensuring the human dignity of all human beings. Traditional American Jesuit High Schools continue to pursue the human dignity and be in right relationship with all underrepresented and underserved communities despite societal and demographic challenges and political headwinds. This manuscript presents a perspective of racial justice that interweaves Catholic Social Teaching with the social justice vision of Pedro Arrupe. Arrupe is the former Jesuit Superior General of the Jesuits and the inspiration behind Traditional Jesuit high schools incorporating the principles of Catholic Social Teaching within their schools. This article explores how the Catholic Jesuit mission specifically as it pertains to issues of racial justice can be animated within the traditional Jesuit educational institutions in substantive and most transformative ways requiring greater prophetic governance and leadership.

A Mixed Methods Exploration of Texas School Nurses' Involvement in Addressing Substance Use and Sexual/Reproductive Health Among Students in Alternative High Schools.

Students in alternative high schools (AHSs) have higher levels of substance use and risky sexual behaviors than students in traditional high schools. In this mixed methods study, we examine school nurses' efforts in Texas AHSs to address substance use and sexual/reproductive health. The nurses addressed substance use and sexual reproductive health mostly at the individual level, after students initiated risky behaviors. Nurses' efforts were influenced by district, school, and community factors (e.g., understaffing, outdated programs that weren't evidence-based or tailored to AHS students' behaviors, and family involvement). Usually, nurses were not practicing to their full scope as outlined by the National Association of School Nurses Framework. Substance use was a common reason for AHS placement and could contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, and AHSs did not always have Narcan on campus to address drug overdoses. Our findings suggest implications for providing equitable health services to this underserved, understudied student population.

Optimal GED Student Recruitment: Perceptions of Program Directors

Much is unknown about those who do not finish high school and there is a need to understand who enters and completes alternative high school completion programs, such as the HiSet (High School Equivalency Test), GED (General Education Development Test), or growing number of state sponsored high school equivalency programs. The purpose for conducting the study was to describe the perceptions of adult education program coordinators about how to best categorize potential high school credential alternative completers. Using a phenomenological framework and semi-structured interviews, 12 adult education program administrators were interviewed about who enrolls in and completes their programs. A thematic analysis of these responses indicated distinct categories of individuals including opportunists (those looking for better opportunities), exceptionals (those with exceptionalities such as a disability that prevented the individual from completing a traditional high school diploma), immigrants (those validating learning in another country or language learners), and those who have been reformed in some way (eg, those with a history of difficulty with legal situations). By identifying these initial categories of adult learners taking part in high school equivalency programs, recruitment efforts as well as the programs themselves might be better structured to correspond to learner needs.

Fair Housing: A Blueprint for Equity in Life: Proceedings from the 2022-2023 High School Big Data ChallengeUnder the patronage of Canadian Commission for UNESCO

In the STEM Fellowship High School Big Data Challenge, students have the opportunity to engage in independent research projects and acquire fundamental data science skills – an essential skill set for a young researcher in the digital age. The program is inquiry-driven and experiential. This year, we invited students to explore issues of Fair Housing at the Individual and Community Levels and to suggest their own evidence-based solutions, using Open Data and the principles of Open Science. Students explored many topics, ranging from a New Framework for Public Rental Housing in Toronto to A Statistical Analysis on Thawing Permafrost and Its Effects on Housing. We designed in-depth learning modules for students as a means of bridging the gap between traditional high school courseware and digital reality and computational science. Students learned how to uncover hidden patterns and trends in structured and unstructured data using a range of data analytics tools and programming languages. Python, R, LaTeX, and machine learning were some of the tools the students learned and used. On behalf of the STEM Fellowship, we extend our sincere congratulations to all students who participated in the challenge, and wish them the best for their future endeavours. We want to express our appreciation to all the mentors and volunteers. This program would not be possible without patronage of CC UNESCO and generous support of our sponsors: RBC Future Launch, Let’s Talk Science, Digital Science, Infor, SCWST, CISCO Networking Academy, Canadian Science Publishing, and the University of Calgary Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking. We were privileged to witness first-hand the analytical capabilities of the data-native generation of students, and we are confident they will demonstrate excellence throughout their academic and professional careers.

The importance of community in public school success: Community engagement and high school performance in Florida

ABSTRACT This research examines whether extensive community engagement activities are associated with increased institutional-level public high-school performance controlling for contextual factors and any regional nesting effect. Analyzing community-level data for 302 traditional Florida public high schools, three multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses are performed for dependent variables representing standardized testing-related metrics (FCAT factors score), non-standardized testing-related metrics (Non-FCAT factors score), and adequate yearly progress (AYP). For each analysis, community-level socioeconomic factors are significantly associated with institutional-level performance, however county-level nesting effect only shows a small significant association with the FCAT factors score. Achieving the Florida Five Star School award, which recognizes a wide range of family and community engagement criteria, is found to have a significant positive association with both the FCAT factors score and Non-FCAT factors score, controlling for socioeconomic and other contextual factors. Despite no significant association found with the final performance indicator, AYP, the results suggest that intensive community engagement practices may improve institutional-level academic performance.

Using Descriptive Inquiry to Make and Do Philosophy in School

This piece describes how the faculty of City-As-School used Descriptive Inquiry to generate shared educational principles during the 2020–21 school year during the coronavirus pandemic. City-As-School is a public experiential learning school in New York City serving older adolescents seeking an alternative to traditional high school. Descriptive Inquiry is an inquiry process developed by Patricia Carini and faculty at the Prospect School in Bennington, Vermont, that supports educators in understanding children and their own educational practice to teach for human dignity, ethical well-being, and holistic growth. The piece provides an introduction to City-As-School and briefly describes how faculty members have used Descriptive Inquiry to foster whole school professional learning and growth. The piece then details how the faculty used Descriptive Inquiry to surface and concretize shared educational principles during the 2020–21 school year, a poignant example of Patricia Carini’s notion of “making and doing philosophy in a school.”

Schools of Choice and Neighborhood Schools: A Texas Statewide Investigation into the Academic Achievement of Their Students of Color

Differences between schools of choice and neighborhood high schools were examined in terms of the performance of their students of color on the Texas state-mandated English I and Algebra 1 exams for three school years. Hispanic students from neighborhood campuses outperformed their peers from the schools of choice at the Approaches and Meets Grade Level standards but not at the Masters Grade Level standard on the English I exam, and on the Algebra I exam except at the Meets Grade Level standard. Black students from schools of choice outperformed their peers from the traditional high schools on the English I exam but not on the Algebra I EOC exam. Implications and recommendations for future research were discussed.

Signalling new opportunities? An analysis of UK job adverts for degree apprenticeships

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to gain insight into the degree apprenticeship labour market and employers' strategies for apprenticeship recruitment using job advertisement data. Specifically, this study identifies the skills, attributes, experience and qualifications that employers look for in IT apprentices. The study also identifies the salaries and responsibilities of apprentices and considers the alignment between the advertised jobs and apprenticeship definitions.Design/methodology/approachDegree apprenticeship job adverts (n = 290) were collected from the official websites used by employers in England and Scotland to advertise apprenticeship roles, between March 2019 and March 2020. Data was analysed using content analysis to systematically elicit salaries, candidate requirements in terms of skills, qualifications and experience and specific job details from these adverts.FindingsA wide variation in advertised salary was found. Entry routes were similar to the traditional high school qualifications (A-levels or Highers) sought by universities. The skills and attributes being sought at recruitment were the same skills that employers were seeking in graduates and the same skills that the apprenticeships were designed to develop. Most adverts focused on the training that the apprentices would be receiving, rather than work tasks, which were rarely specified.Originality/valueThis is the first study of how apprenticeship roles are advertised to potential candidates and thus contributes to ongoing research into this new work/degree-level education model. By analysing job adverts we share insights into how employers position apprenticeships to attract candidates.

Analysis of English teaching in Jinzhou City-take Yixian High School as an example

Under the background of the new curriculum reform, the importance of English Teaching is becoming more and more prominent, and the teachers are always exploring the efficient English teaching mode. However, with the introduction of the new college entrance examination English reform and the double reduction policy, the disadvantages of the traditional high school English teaching mode of middle and high school English connection fault and other disadvantages have also emerged. Starting with the new college entrance examination reform background, this paper discusses the new scheme of English teaching in Liaoning Province.

Case Studies of Effective Learning Climates for Civic Reasoning and Discussion

While the national media continues to highlight the tensions of cultural politics in education, there is a need for young people and educators to be equipped for the daunting local, national, and global challenges that mark their everyday lives. Many educators and young people alike are interested in engaging youth in civic reasoning and discourse that prepares them to meet those many challenges. This article highlights applications of civic reasoning and discourse in three contexts: a traditional high school social studies classroom, a hybrid school-community action project, and an out-of-school Youth Participatory Action Research program. We argue that these case studies show a path forward for developing students’ civic reasoning and discourse skills because the students turn toward and lean into what we define as moments of critical dissonance: in each case, the students and educators work together to engage, rather than avoid, complex sociopolitical realities, even while holding a variety of racial, ethnic, political, and cultural identities.

Blending in and standing out: College-going rates across charter and traditional public high schools

Schools provide theoretical and methodological puzzles around complex stratification and organizational dynamics. Using organizational field theory, and the Schools and Staffing Survey, we study characteristics of charter and traditional high schools that are correlated with school rates of college-going. We first use Oaxaca-Blinder (OXB) models to decompose shifts in characteristics between charter and traditional public high schools. We find that charters have come to look more like traditional schools which may account for some of charters’ increase in college-going rates. Then we use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to examine how the combination of certain characteristics may create unique “recipes” that help some charters outpace traditional schools. Without both methods, we would have drawn incomplete conclusions, because the OXB results highlight isomorphism while QCA emphasizes variation in school characteristics. We contribute to the literature by showing how conformity and variation simultaneously yield legitimacy in an organizational population.

Determinants of the Intention to Use MOOCs as a Complementary Tool: An Observational Study of Ecuadorian Teachers

New technological advances and globalization have undoubtedly given rise to new forms of learning. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which are a kind of evolution on e-learning, have the endorsement of prestigious universities around the world, and are transforming the traditional teaching–learning process. In Ecuador, these online courses are based on the Basic General Education system and are neither popular among students nor widely used by teachers in their teaching method, thus, this teaching system is not considered as an official qualification. The inclusion of this tool in the Ecuadorian educational system as a learning resource would expand access to equal opportunities to students and teachers from all over the country. Therefore, our proposal is to use the MOOCs as a source with all the instructional contents of the subject and as classwork based on the flipped-classroom method. In this way, such resources can be an aid to traditional high school classes, and the average grade achieved by students through this platform, as well as the student’s participation, may be part of the formal evaluation system in any institution. With the purpose of measuring the level of confidence in online education and the usage of MOOCs as a tool for teachers’ work, a descriptive and analytical approach has been taken in this study. A quantitative survey was administered to 696 Basic General Education teachers who took used this type of course. The results of this investigation show that 93.9% of the teachers trust the online education; 89% are ready to use MOOCs as a teaching–learning resource and 79% would use MOOCs as part of the final grade. These data prove that MOOCs could be a complementary tool for Basic General Education in Ecuador, so they could contribute to improve learning outcomes and the development of traditional education.

Validating HiSET® Tests as High School Equivalency Tests That Improve Educational, Vocational, and Quality‐of‐Life Outcomes

Results from two studies provided strong evidence for the validity of the HiSET® tests, thereby demonstrating that HiSET is a well‐developed battery of tests with passing and college and career readiness (CCR) standards that, when met, provide a pathway to postsecondary education, better employment opportunities and wages, and a better quality of life to those who are unable to experience a traditional high school education. Positive relationships exist between HiSET scores and both high school grades and ACT scores, including high levels of agreement between HiSET CCR indicators and ACT CCR indicators. Therefore, evidence supports the claim that HiSET scores are measures of high school equivalency, preparedness for middle skills jobs, and college readiness. Furthermore, there is evidence that passing the HiSET provides value to stakeholders. Passing the HiSET battery is associated with gaining academic and personal skills, college enrollment, employment gains (e.g., obtaining employment, obtaining more full‐time employment, wage increases, and improvement in a job or position), and quality‐of‐life improvements.