Traditional High School Research Articles

Turning Down the Burner: Fear, Anxiety, and Art Education.

As art educators strive to promote social justice we may want to invite our students to embrace examples of art and the histories of artists who have resisted the oppressive forces in their respective eras. This article examines the role Czechoslovakian artists have played, and the works they created, in opposition to Soviet occupation in the city of Bratislava in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In addition to providing a cultural, political, and historical context for interpreting these works, the author advocates for the introduction of works of art that stem from this unique set of circumstances to high school students. The article also uses the discussion of unofficial Czechoslovakian art and artists of Bratislava to examine Conceptual and Performance Art and their implications in deviating from traditional high school art teaching practices.

Art and Resistance in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia 1968-1971: The Implications of Unofficial Art for Subverting High School Art Class

As art educators strive to promote social justice we may want to invite our students to embrace examples of art and the histories of artists who have resisted the oppressive forces in their respective eras. This article examines the role Czechoslovakian artists have played, and the works they created, in opposition to Soviet occupation in the city of Bratislava in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In addition to providing a cultural, political, and historical context for interpreting these works, the author advocates for the introduction of works of art that stem from this unique set of circumstances to high school students. The article also uses the discussion of unofficial Czechoslovakian art and artists of Bratislava to examine Conceptual and Performance Art and their implications in deviating from traditional high school art teaching practices.

Aztec Middle College: High School Alternatives in Community Colleges

The traditional high school model derived from the factory deficit model of the early 1900s has left many students, mainly minorities and/or low socioeconomic students, disenfranchised. This is evident in the poor school performance and high dropout rates of such students. Whereas the factory deficit model was created to promote only a few high school students to college, the rest of the students were trained for factory jobs. Today's job market requires that high school students go to college subsequent to their graduation. For this reason, middle college alternatives to traditional high schools are being adopted. Although research on middle colleges is limited due to their recent development, the results are encouraging: high school students who would otherwise have failed school or dropped out have high attendance rates and high graduation rates.

Improving Student Achievement: Can Ninth Grade Academies Make A Difference?

This study focused on student achievement in ninth grade schools or academies compared to ninth grade students enrolled in traditional high schools. Student achievement was measured by standardized test scores. Other variables tested were gender and ethnicity. All students used in this study were enrolled in the ninth grade during the 2005-2006 school year at one of six schools selected for this research. Participants were enrolled in Algebra I and/or Biology I course(s) and therefore took the standardized Subject Area Test in these disciplines. Data indicated students enrolled in ninth grade academies scored significantly higher then ninth graders enrolled in traditional high schools on both the Algebra I and Biology test. Further analysis of data revealed significant differences based on ethnicity in achievement of Biology I students in the ninth grade academies when compared to the Biology I students in the traditional high schools. The African American students in the ninth grade academies had a higher mean score on the Biology I SAPT than Caucasian and African American students enrolled in the traditional high schools. Additionally, the Caucasian students in the ninth grade academies scored only .03 higher than the mean score of African American students in the ninth grade academies.

Symbolic Boundaries and School Structure in New York and London Schools

This article shows that an ethnically diverse student population leads to blurred ethnic and racial boundaries in high schools. Still, students in New York distinguish themselves much more along ethnic and racial lines than do London students. The evidence presented suggests that, in addition to national‐level differences, traditional British school structure, which provides continuity of peers through the form class as well as time for socializing, leads to less emphasis on ethnic and racial boundaries than in the anomic structure of traditional urban American public high schools. It follows that, to promote ethnic and racial integration among teens, schools should not only serve integrated student bodies but also should maintain structures that present opportunities for students to bridge racial and ethnic boundaries. The study employs ethnographic data from schools in New York and London and 120 in‐depth interviews.

Complementary curriculum: the work of ecologically minded teachers

Myriad international efforts exist to infuse and reform schools with ecological perspectives, but in the US those efforts remain largely on the fringes of schooling. The purpose of this study is to offer a perspective on this issue from inside schools. If one looks to the future success of environmental education, one must consider the work of teachers. To that end, this qualitative study explores the intentions and practices of three ecologically‐minded teachers in traditional public high schools in the US. The research methodology used was eco‐educational criticism, an arts‐based inquiry method with an ecological lens. The teachers were interviewed about their intentions for their students, and then observed to see how those intentions were manifested in the classroom. A follow‐up interview then synthesized the connection between their ecological beliefs and their general intentions for students.

A Brief Report on the Association of Academic Tracking With Depressive Symptoms in High School Students in Jamaica

There has been limited research on academic tracking and depressive symptoms among high school students in Jamaica. Students enrolled in Grade 10 of traditional and nontraditional high schools in Jamaica were surveyed ( N = 278). Students completed the Beck Depression Inventory—II along with several other measures. Seven in every 10 students reported some symptoms of depression. Results of hierarchical regression analyses controlling for social class found that students attending nontraditional high schools reported significantly higher Beck Depression Inventory—II depression scores than students in traditional high schools. This was particularly true for male students attending nontraditional high schools. The strong emphasis on academic achievement and the tracking of students may have a negative association with Jamaican students’ depressive symptoms.

Preparing Graduate Students to be Outreach Family Life Educators

Upon graduation, many family science graduate students will have opportunities to work with lay audiences in educational settings outside the traditional university and high school classroom. To succeed in educating lay audiences requires a somewhat different skill set than that which students currently gain in many family science programs. Thus, for graduates in family life education to succeed well in educating the public requires different skills than teaching students in traditional classroom settings. This article reports the development, implementation, and evaluation of a course, called Outreach Class, as an example of what family science graduate programs can do to assure that students gain the skills they need. Evaluation data show the course is experienced as a positive, hands-on learning experience. It is suggested that through a course like this, students gain practical educational experiences that arm them to become more effective ambassadors of family science scholarship to citizens of the world. Upon graduation, many family science graduate students will have opportunities to work with lay audiences in educational settings outside the traditional university and high school classroom. Some may be involved in field agent or campus-based specialist work within the Cooperative Extension System. Others may work as family outreach experts in human service or media contexts. Those with an entrepreneurial spirit may develop their own family life education business. Still other students may assume traditional university positions that include some outreach expectations. To succeed in educating lay audiences requires a somewhat different skill set than that which students currently gain in many family science programs, even those that have family life education emphases. For example, although the author was trained by leading family life education mentors, he still found himself somewhat ill-prepared for the nature of family life education in outreach settings. needs and motivations of the general public in outreach family life education settings usually differ from the traditional family science college students, who are likely more concerned with earning an acceptable grade than benefit for their personal life. general public involvement in a family life education offering is more likely to be motivated by a personal or family need (e.g., see Knowles, 1990). Thus, for students of family life education to succeed well in educating the public requires a somewhat different skill set than teaching students held captive in traditional classroom settings (Duncan & Goddard, 2005). Students need practical, educational experiences in their college curriculum that arm students to become more effective ambassadors of family science scholarship to citizens of the world. This article presents information about a professional preparation course, Outreach Family Life Education (hereafter termed The Outreach Class), as a prototype of what could be done to address this need through university family life education curricula. broad goal of this

Small High Schools on a Larger Scale: The Impact of School Conversions in Chicago

This study examines 4 years of small school reform in Chicago, focusing on schools formed by converting large traditional high schools into small autonomous ones. Analyzing systemwide survey and outcome data, the authors assess the assumptions embedded in the reform’s theory of change. They find that these schools are characterized by more collegial and committed teacher contexts and more academically and personally supportive student contexts. There is some evidence of decreased dropout rates and increased graduation rates for the first cohort of students but not for the second cohort. The authors do not find stronger instruction, nor do they find student achievement has improved. They discuss implications for reformers and policy makers who are interested in small schools in particular and high school reform in general.

Adolescent Parenthood Through Educators' Eyes

This study examines how educators in traditional and alternative public high school settings conceptualize the experiences of their pregnant and parenting students. Educators' narrative responses are qualitatively analyzed to identify their perceptions of students' worries and the types of support educators provide students. Results suggest that educators' perceptions and supportive actions, although not systematically related to variables of race or gender, are related to number of years of teaching experience and differences in school environment. Findings surrounding the ways in which educators make meaning of their students' experiences and serve as social support figures are discussed.

Bridging the Great Divide: Approaches That Help Adults Navigate From Adult Education to College

America is becoming a less educated nation (National Commission on Adult Literacy, 2008). While this is frequently measured through comparisons of the number of adults with college degrees, strategies to address sagging educational attainment statistics in the United States are typically focused on K-12 reforms--mostly through expanded definitions of college readiness. In the past, college readiness has been defined primarily in terms of high school courses taken and grades received along with scores on national tests as its primary metrics (Conley, 2008, p. 5). Creating a more robust definition of college readiness is important, yet K-12 efforts do not provide a model that supports adults attempting to access and succeed in college, especially first-time college-goers. Focusing solely on youth will not fill the nation's widening education and skills gap (Strawn, 2007). Currently, two-thirds of our workforce is beyond the reach of virtually all K-12 reform efforts. Of those, 88 million adults in our current workforce have at least one major barrier to further education: no high school diploma, no college experience, or limited proficiency in English (National Commission on Adult Literacy, 2008). Thinking in terms of college readiness for adults is particularly compelling for U.S. colleges and universities. Over 70% of current undergraduates are considered nontraditional: older students, parents (especially single parents), students who work fulltime, students who are financially independent, and/or students who come to college without a traditional high school diploma (U.S. Department of Education, NCES, 2002). Entering college with basic skills needs requiring more than a year of reading remediation significantly lowers the likelihood of success (Adelman, 1998). This paper examines a subset of those nontraditional students--individuals from adult education programs, and describes a study of program models designed to better prepare adults for college. About Adult Education As required by federal funding, all states provide Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE) or General Educational Development (GED) preparation, and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. State adult education departments may also provide other programs, such as Family Literacy and EL/Civics (integrated instructional programs and services that incorporate both English literacy instruction and civics education). Overall, federal funding represents 25% of the total spending on adult education, with state resources accounting for the remaining funds; seven states account for approximately 80% of total state investment in adult education, giving a range of total cost per student falling between $350 and $2,100. The average yearly total cost per student is $812 (Duke, 2007). Governance and service provision varies from state to state. Thirty-one states administer adult education through their K-12 department, 14 through a postsecondary agency, and 5 through departments of labor (Morest, 2004). Services may be delivered through school districts, colleges and universities, community-based organizations, libraries, housing authorities, correctional facilities, to name a few. Are Adult Education Students Interested in College? Providing formal transition supports and services is a relatively new area of concern for adult education. In looking at this activity, the first question that should be asked is: what evidence do we have that adult education students actually want to go on to college? One way to document student interests is by the goals students set while they are in adult education programs. This is theoretically possible for adults participating in federally-funded adult education programs because federal guidelines require that programs document student goals and outcomes. The National Reporting System (NRS) is the state-administered accountability system used by the Office of Adult and Vocational Education, U. …

Using Internet Communication Technologies by Low-Income High School Students in Completing Educational Tasks Inside and Outside the School Setting

This qualitative research study examines the home use of Information and Communicative Technologies (ICT) by high school students living in economically disadvantaged households. The students' use of ICT was for the purpose of completing assigned and unassigned homework outside of the traditional high school setting. Student participants in the interview phase of the study explained their choice to use ICT as being due both to its ease of use and to their perception that utilizing ICT as a resource results in tasks being accomplished at a quicker rate. The widespread use of ICT as a supplemental resource in the completion of traditional homework assignments was a notable pattern in the findings. However, the multi-tasking capabilities of their selected computer technologies were found to be both facilitating and hindering factors in these students' use of ICT outside of school. Finally, teachers surveyed in the study were found to assign ICT-based homework to students, regardless of the perceived levels of Internet access in the students' households.

Differences Between General and Talented Students’ Perceptions of Their Career and Technical Education Experiences Compared to Their Traditional High School Experiences

Career and technical education represents an important and understudied educational option for high school students. This qualitative study utilized data from one exemplary career and technical education (CTE) center to address the question of how talented and general education students’ part-time CTE experiences differed from their traditional high school experiences. The secondary students in this study simultaneously attended both the CTE center and a traditional high school. Through interviews with students, a trend emerged: students explicitly compared these two educational experiences. Both talented and general students commented favorably on their CTE experiences and negatively on their traditional high school experiences. The four major themes from their comments included autonomy; effective, caring teachers; students with similar interests; and relevant content in an applied setting. Students appreciated the ability to choose courses and determine the order or type of assignments, to self-pace the curriculum, and to experiment with a profession (autonomy). They also commented on the presence of teachers who had high expectations, sought student's strengths, showed personal interest in the students, and had professional experience (effective, caring teachers) in the CTE setting. The student's perspectives included the observation that at the CTE center they were exposed to other students who demonstrated mature and committed behaviors, showed interest in their course of study, and participated in Career and Technical Student Organizations (students with similar interests). Finally, the learning environment at the CTE center offered curricular connections to the profession, hands-on learning, and professional treatment of students in a job-like setting (relevant content in an applied setting).

A Real Alternative: Tragedy and hope in an urban immigrant community

Uvaldo enrolled at Dugan, located in Back of the Yards, a predominantly Mexican immigrant community on Chicago’s south side, after leaving a traditional high school because he felt unsafe. Other students have their own stories. Tony was ordered to attend an alternative school after repeated suspensions – once for being caught on school grounds with two ounces of marijuana. Karina was arrested and advised not to return to her high school after taking part in a lunchroom fight with another girl. Manuel can’t point to a specific reason why things didn’t work out at his former school. ‘I just stopped going,’ he tells me. ‘Over there they don’t really care if you go or not.’

Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação para ampliar e motivar o aprendizado de Física no Ensino Médio

Neste trabalho descrevemos uma experiência didática em que foi introduzido o uso de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação no Ensino de Física em nível médio a fim de ampliar as possibilidades de produzir ganhos na aprendizagem dos estudantes. Especificamente, criou-se um sítio sobre gravitação e temas afins e utilizou-se a plataforma de educação a distância TelEduc para se criar um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem potencialmente significativo para a aprendizagem deste tópico por parte de estudantes da primeira série do Ensino Médio de uma escola particular e tradicional de Porto Alegre, tendo como fundamentação especialmente a Teoria de Aprendizagem Significativa de Ausubel.

A Study of Well-Being and School Satisfaction Among Academically Talented Students Attending a Science High School in Korea

The purpose of this study was to examine whether academically talented adolescents attending a residential science high school in Korea had different levels of psychological well-being or school life satisfaction than their high-ability peers in regular high schools. The participating high-ability students ( n = 299) were in their second year of high school and were attending either a science high school ( n = 111) or a regular high school ( n = 188) in the same province in Korea. Both groups completed the Psychological Well Being scales (Ryff, 1989a) and a researcher-constructed Satisfaction With School Life scale. In addition, the science high school students responded to open-ended questions about their experiences in the science high school. No statistically significant differences were found in psychological well-being, but there were statistically significant differences in school life satisfaction favoring the science high school group. The responses of the science high school sample to the open-ended questions indicated that they appreciated the advanced curriculum and the expertise of their teachers. They also reported satisfactory relationships with teachers and peers. Overall, the study suggested that the residential science high school was meeting the educational needs of these talented Korean students, at least better than traditional high schools. However, this study could not confirm its primary expectation that the specialized schooling for gifted students would enhance psychological well-being. Implications of the study for research and practice are discussed.

Career Academies as a Professionally Engaging and Supportive Teaching Experience

The career academy experience challenges the assumptions of traditional high school about the role of schooling for students’ career and college transitions and stresses contextual and integrated teaching. This alternative educational approach encourages teachers to focus more collectively on preparing students through their curriculum, instructional practices, and working relationships. The National Academy Foundation (NAF) supports an intensive and coherent academy model using teacher professional development, curriculum materials, technical assistance, and linkages to industry-specific employers. Using survey results of 34 teachers in 10 career academies and 26 comparison teachers in the same high schools, coupled with case study findings of the 10 academies, this article shows the positive relationship between commitment to the academy program focus, organizational support, teachers’ collaborative work, and perceived effectiveness with students. NAF’s resources uniquely influence these outcomes for participating teachers, demonstrating the added benefit of intermediary support in fostering instructional coherence, student-centered instruction, and teacher effectiveness.

When a High School Goes to College

his beautiful hybrid child was born in 2001. Its parents-Broward County (Florida) Public Schools, the nation's sixth largest district, and Broward Community College-collaborated to create The College Academy as one response to the national call to reinvent traditional public high school education. The urgency of reforming secondary was brought to the national forefront in 2001 when the National Commission on the High School Senior Year published its findings and confirmed what many college leaders were already suggesting-too often the senior year of high school is wasteland (Riley, par. 8). In introducing the report, former secretary of Richard W. Riley described the senior year as a lost opportunity: year where we have significant drift and disconnection (par. 8). Secretary of Education Rod Paige followed the report with an October, 2003, US Department of Education summit to initiate and promote national dialogue about transforming high schools and creating seamless transitions into and through postsecondary education (US Department). The Broward County Public School District, enrolling over 276,000 students and employing more than 15,000 teachers, agrees that one-size-fits-all approach is an ineffective model and has worked to expand student options by creating charter, magnet, technical, and virtual schools-and full-time dual-enrollment

Effects of a Classroom-based Asthma Education Curriculum on Asthma Knowledge, Attitudes, Self-efficacy, Quality of Life, and Self-management Behaviors among Adolescents

Asthma education interventions primarily target young children and adults, and a few target adolescents. Several constructs of the social cognitive theory were used to design a classroom-based high school asthma education curriculum and to determine if the curriculum would improve asthma knowledge and attitudes among 10th grade students, as well as improve the quality of life, self-efficacy, and self-management behaviors among asthmatic students. Using a nonequivalent control group design with delayed intervention (three-week delay) in one group, we surveyed a sample of 122 10th grade health academy students. Twenty-four students (20%) reported having doctor-diagnosed asthma. Statistical data analysis determined that asthma knowledge mean scores and self-efficacy mean scores significantly improved for students who received the curriculum. Most students held favorable attitudes towards asthmatics before the intervention, with a slight decrease in positive attitudes after the intervention. There were also slight, insignificant improvements in quality of life among asthmatic students. This study demonstrated that the asthma curriculum improved knowledge among asthmatic and nonasthmatic students and self-efficacy among the asthmatic students. Asthma education, based on a theoretical framework, can be effectively incorporated into a traditional high school curriculum.

Professionalism, Sense of Community and Reason to Learn: Lessons from an Exemplary Career and Technical Education Center

With current focus on academic proficiency, career and technical education (CTE) programs have received less emphasis as an alternative to traditional high school curricular experiences. Yet, this study found that when compared to peers in general high school settings, students in one rural CTE high school center perceived significantly more appeal, challenge, choices, meaningfulness and self-efficacy in their classrooms. Thus, an extensive qualitative study provided insights into this environment that distinguished it from more traditional secondary school settings. Themes of professionalism, sense of community, and reason to learn emerged in data analyses. Results offer methods that secondary educators can use to engage students in meaningful, challenging learning. Further, data revealed the experiences of students in this center’s CTE programs. Findings led to the conclusion that efforts to leave no children behind should include CTE as part of the continuum of educational