US Educational System Research Articles

IS ALTERNATIVE TEACHER EDUCATION AN OPTION FOR UKRAINE?

The present paper is devoted to the study of alternative models of teacher education in the USA. Its relevance has recently grown owing to the political, sociological, demographic, and economic challenges Ukraine faces caused by the full-blown military intervention. As many as twenty-seven thousand teachers fled the country to seek refuge, which led to substantial teaching force shortages. Alternative pathways to the teaching profession can potentially alleviate some of the problems in education, as the US experience of non-traditional teacher preparation has demonstrated. The paper thus aims to highlight the organization of alternative teacher preparation in the US educational system and outline the possible venues for utilizing this experience to expedite the Ukrainian teacher preparation system. The study was carried out by applying the method of analysis of the available empirical, legislative, and educational documentary sources. Next, the comparative analysis method was used to look into the alternative pathways to the teaching profession in the USA and Ukraine. Finally, the extrapolation method helped uncover the perspectives and expediency of the US experience to leverage Ukrainian teacher education. Based on this, the organization of alternative programs of teacher preparation in the USA, including residency programs, was discussed. Their benefits and caveats were highlighted compared to traditional teacher education. The effect of the teacher preparation model on teacher outcomes and also the impact of the type of program on learner achievement were discussed on the basis of an extensive empirical database. Lastly, implications for Ukrainian policy and practice were assessed.

Special Issue Introduction: Demystifying Academic Understandings of Critical Race Theory to Transform Discourse With Policy Makers

In this introduction to the special issue, we describe the socio-political context that spurred our efforts to disrupt the anti-critical race theory (CRT) that has seeped into popular and political conversations about the US educational system. Noting the lack of preparation educational researchers have for sharing their nuanced, academic CRT understandings to policy-making audiences, we endeavored to address this issue. With use of funding support provided by the Spencer Foundation’s Conference Grants Program and in conjunction with Penn State University’s Research-to-Policy Collaboration, we identified a panel of CRT experts, facilitated their training in translating research into policy factsheets, and hosted a Day on the Hill conference during which the factsheets were shared with policy-making professionals. This introduction provides additional details about our process and about the resulting special issue which pairs together two written products covering the same CRT topic from each author, one written in the format of a traditional academic essay and the other as a two-page factsheet. Taken together, we hope that the paired publications serve as an example for how education researchers might demistify academic understandings of CRT in order to transform discourse with policy makers.

Familia, Comunidad y Maestros: How I Became a Latina Science Professor.

AbstractPeople of Mexican origin in the United States have long experienced discrimination in wages, housing, and schooling, which directly impacts their participation in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce. Using interviews of Latina scientists and teachers, autoethnography, family and newspaper archives, and history and social science research, I reflect on key aspects of Mexican and Mexican American history that contribute to the challenges faced by Latinos in the US educational system today. Analysis of my own educational trajectory reveals the hidden part that teacher role models in my community and in my family played in my journey to becoming a scientist. Latina teachers and faculty, middle school science programs, and the provisioning of stipends for undergraduate researchers are emphasized as strategies for increasing student retention and success. The article concludes with several suggestions for how the ecology and evolutionary biology community can amplify the educational success of Latinos in STEM by supporting the training of Latino and other minoritized science, math, and computer science teachers.

Journalism and Communication Education in United States and Britain and the Cultivation of International Communication Talents in China

In the current global situation and environment, international communication has become the core of soft power and external publicity. The development of modern Internet technology makes the communication between countries become more common, so we need to rely on international communication to convey the ideology, culture or other aspects of our country, letting the international community to form the correct cognition of China. In terms of international communication, the United States and Britain have rich experience, and the unique journalism and communication education system of the two countries has a very important reference value for the cultivation of international communication talents in China. So based on the enlightenment given US and UK educational system, this article analyzes the realistic difficulties faced by Chinese international communication talents training, and puts forward the concrete path for cultivating Chinese international communication talents in the new period, aiming at providing some reference value to solve the problem of Chinese international communication talents training in the new period.

The rise of remote work and its implications on US organizations and boards of directors

This study investigated the decision of international and non-international students when it comes to remote work preference at a southern private American university located in the Southeast United States and the implications of those decisions on the US educational system, job market, and board of directors’ strategic plans. For this purpose, a database that included 3001 full-time undergraduates at this southern American university was used. A chi-square test and a logit regression were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that there was no significant difference between international and non-international students regarding being decided on the remote work model. This study can help US colleges and universities, educational leaders, boards of directors, policymakers, and government officials, understand the needs and preferences of both American and international students, at the undergraduate level, which is a major pillar of the US labour force. An improved understanding of the students’ Work Model Preference will help the governing boards of American colleges and universities, and various US institutions to better allocate their human, financial, and physical resources in order to attract highly qualified candidates. Organizational leaders and boards of directors know full well that colleges and universities are a major source of candidates for their businesses. Organizations that provide those candidates with the work flexibility and work-life balance they demand will increase the likelihood of their competitive advantage and success

Do the effects of student engagement on the development of generic skills differ across nations?

ABSTRACT The student engagement framework, originally developed for the US educational system, has become increasingly recognised internationally as a means of fostering learning gains in higher education. Despite its recognition, some researchers raise a question about the applicability of this framework in other cultural contexts. Our research extends the existing literature on student engagement by filling the gap of knowledge about the cross-cultural applicability of the student engagement framework. Utilising multi-group structural equation modelling, this paper answers the question about the national differences in associations between student engagement dimensions and the development of generic skills. Data collected from 21 universities across the U.S.A., China, Japan, and Russia, were used. Relying on student engagement literature, four student engagement dimensions were constructed: (1) class engagement, (2) extra effort to meet course objectives or own learning tasks, (3) disengagement, and (4) collaborative learning. The findings support multi-group invariance of the associations between student engagement dimensions and the perceived gains in generic skills across all participating countries. Regardless of country specifics, the extra effort and collaborative learning significantly contribute to the development of generic skills while disengagement has a negative effect.

What Worked, What Did Not: University Instruction during a Pandemic

What Worked, What Did Not: University Instruction during a Pandemic

Readability of Online Patient Information Relating to Cleft Palate Surgery

It is important for health care education materials to be easily understood by caretakers of children requiring craniofacial surgery. This study aimed to analyze the readability of Google search results as they pertain to "Cleft Palate Surgery" and "Palatoplasty." Additionally, the study included a search from several locations globally to identify possible geographic differences. Google searches of the terms "Cleft Palate Surgery" and "Palatoplasty" were performed. Additionally, searches of only "Cleft Palate Surgery" were run from several internet protocol addresses globally. Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Readability Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index, and Coleman-Liau Index. Search results for "Cleft Palate Surgery" were easier to read and comprehend compared to search results for "Palatoplasty." Mean Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores were 7.0 and 10.11, respectively (P = .0018). Mean Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease scores were 61.29 and 40.71, respectively (P = .0003). Mean Gunning Fog Index scores were 8.370 and 10.34, respectively (P = .0458). Mean SMOG Index scores were 6.84 and 8.47, respectively (P = .0260). Mean Coleman-Liau Index scores were 12.95 and 15.33, respectively (P = .0281). No significant differences were found in any of the readability measures based on global location. Although some improvement can be made, craniofacial surgeons can be confident in the online information pertaining to cleft palate repair, regardless of where the search is performed from. The average readability of the top search results for "Cleft Palate Surgery" is around the seventh-grade reading level (US educational system) and compares favorably to other health care readability analyses.

Review of “Is That True?: Critical Thinking for Sociologists”

Reviewer: Gwen Sharp, Nevada State College, USA For decades, academics, politicians, and others have called for the US educational system to teach critical thinking skills (Dam & Volman, 2004), which they argue will turn students into informed citizens who critically evaluate candidates for office and proposed public policies. More recently, references to “alternative facts,” attempts to “unskew” political polls that do not predict someone’s preferred outcome, and the spread of conspiracy theories have increased these calls. Throughout Is That True? Joel Best makes the case for more critical thinking generally, and the application of those critical thinking skills within the field of sociology, specifically. He defines critical thinking as a mindset based on evidence and our ability to evaluate whether or not that evidence is persuasive. He also argues that sociologists are prone to the same cognitive biases as everyone else, and that more critical thinking and diversity...

Student Accountability for Objective Evaluations of Faculty

ABSTRACT Student Evaluation of Faculty (SEF) is an important component of the US educational system and an indispensable tool to keep track of the faculty’s role to make the institution’s academic practice more engaging, objective and effective. SEF also allows institutions to assess faculty performance, future career stability, advancement and promotion. Unfortunately, SEFs generally exempt students from any responsibility in their own academic outcome. The article presents an analysis of a study based on a modified version of the current SEF form utilised by the Bronx Community College. This modified form includes questions about a student’s responsibilities, to measure their accountability making the evaluation more objective using a descriptive research design method. Results confirmed that students must play an active part in the process by assuming their own responsibilities of regularly and timely attending class, increasing study time, utilising the resources of tutoring, faculty office hours, and extended recitation to improve their own outcome and produce a valid faculty evaluation.

Student Accountability for Objective Evaluations of Faculty

Student Evaluation of Faculty (SEF) is an important component of the US educational system and an indispensable tool to keep track of the faculty’s role to make the institution’s academic practice more engaging, objective and effective. SEF also allows institutions to assess faculty performance, future career stability, advancement and promotion. Unfortunately, SEFs generally exempt students from any responsibility in their own academic outcome. The article presents an analysis of a study based on a modified version of the current SEF form utilised by the Bronx Community College. This modified form includes questions about a student’s responsibilities, to measure their accountability making the evaluation more objective using a descriptive research design method. Results confirmed that students must play an active part in the process by assuming their own responsibilities of regularly and timely attending class, increasing study time, utilising the resources of tutoring, faculty office hours, and extended recitation to improve their own outcome and produce a valid evaluation of faculty.

New Directions in Latino/a/x Histories of Education: Comparative Studies in Race, Language, Law, and Higher Education

The twenty-first century has seen a surge in scholarship on Latino educational history and a new nonbinary umbrella term, Latinx, that a younger generation prefers. Many of historian Victoria-María MacDonald's astute observations in 2001 presaged the growth of the field. Focus has increased on Spanish-surnamed teachers and discussions have grown about the Latino experience in higher education, especially around student activism on campus. Great strides are being made in studying the history of Spanish-speaking regions with long ties to the United States, either as colonies or as sites of large-scale immigration, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. Historical inquiry into the place of Latinos in the US educational system has also developed in ways that MacDonald did not anticipate. The growth of the comparative race and ethnicity field in and of itself has encouraged cross-ethnic and cross-racial studies, which often also tie together larger themes of colonialism, language instruction, legal cases, and civil rights or activism.

Выборная система курсов в англосаксонской традиции образования

The article deals with one of the key characteristics of the American education, the elective system of courses that was a reply for the community demands. Also, it became the outcome of relationship of educational institutions with various social groups whose support was crucial for the survival and well-being of American colleges and universities. For the American educational system, the abovementioned characteristics was the result of its historic process of the national educational system development. The author argues that this feature, sometimes aggressively imposed in Russia, might become destructive and bring to the deterioration and even destroy the unique educational system built in absolutely opposite principles than the educational system of the USA. The article analyzes the given characteristic of the US educational system and shows the critique of the American educators and experts, which gives an opportunity to ponder in depth and make a responsible decision in terms of copying the feature into the Russian educational system.

Strangers in the School: Facilitators and Barriers Regarding Refugee Parental Involvement

Parental involvement has been deemed one of today’s most important topics in educational spheres. Refugee parents face many challenges upon resettling in the US, impacting their engagement in the US educational system. This study explores Muslim refugee parents’ experiences with schools and the facilitators and barriers for their engagement. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 Muslim refugee parents from Syria and Iraq who resettled to the US. Facilitators of parental involvement included a welcoming and inclusive environment cultivated by educators who shared racial and ethnic similarities to refugee families. Barriers to their involvement included a lack of English language proficiency and discrimination and xenophobia instigated against their children, which caused parents to develop a level of distrust in the school staff. A major resource for educators, mental health specialists, and other stakeholders, this research augments understanding of the experiences of Muslim refugee parents and sheds light on the challenges, needs, and vulnerabilities of this understudied population.

Educating refugee and Hurricane displaced youth in troubled times: countering the politics of fear through culturally responsive and trauma-informed schooling

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of interdisciplinary scholarship on the traumas inherent in forced migration and the corresponding educational and mental health needs of displaced youth. Yet, there is limited empirical research on how political and normative culture affects this relationship. This article presents findings from a larger multi-method qualitative case study that utilized observations, document collection, interviews, and focus groups to investigate how US high school personnel leveraged available policy and programmatic supports to address displaced student educational needs. Educator knowledge of student cultural histories coupled with awareness of how trauma can disrupt social and cognitive development was found to support anti-deficit thinking among staff and positive student transitioning into the US educational system within the current political environment. Building on literature concerned with the politics of education and ways to address structural oppression through culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices, this research develops a framework for understanding important intersections between schooling practices, context-specific resettlement culture, and student experience.

The mediation effect of student self-efficacy between teaching approaches and science achievement: findings from 2011 TIMSS US data

Over the past two decades, researchers consistently demonstrated the importance of science teaching approaches and student self-efficacy in influencing their science achievement. These findings have become the foundation of science education reform. However, empirical supports of these relationships are limited to direct relationships and small-scale studies. Therefore, little is known about the mechanism of how teaching approaches and student self-efficacy affect student achievement. In order to fill these gaps, this study used a multilevel structural equation modeling approach to analyze the direct and indirect relationships between teaching approaches, student self-efficacy, and science achievement by using the data of US eighth grade students in the 2011 TIMSS assessment. The results indicated that none of the teaching approaches identified in this study were directly associated with student science achievement, but significant mediation effect was found between generic teaching and student science achievement through student self-efficacy. Implications of these results for US educational system and reform were discussed.

Re-designing Mathematics Education for Social Justice: A Vision

With a recent push within recent years incorporate issues of social justice within mathematics classrooms, it is important to consider the practicality of addressing these issues in classrooms. Using a theoretical framework developed through a historical analysis of mathematics and its development in school systems around the world, this paper addresses aspects of the current US educational system that limit the feasibility of incorporating social justice in mathematics classrooms. The author also provides recommendations for the field that might pave the way for progress towards a socio-analytical focus in mathematics classrooms in the future.

The Lived Experience of International Graduate Nursing Students Engaged With the US Educational System.

Strategies are needed to address social and cultural challenges faced by international students pursuing education at American universities. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of graduate international nursing students enrolled in a graduate nursing program. This descriptive phenomenological study explored the experiences of twelve international graduate nursing students. Through the use of Colaizzi's (1978) method of qualitative data analysis, five emergent themes were identified: Experiencing Cultural Differences, Taking on the New Role, Navigating Challenges, Reaping Benefits, and Unfulfilled Wishes. Within these themes, unique ideas of 'wanting to do good for their home country', strategies students used for 'cultural adjustment', and 'unmet or conflicting expectations' were present that have implications for nurse educators and program administrators. Future recommendations for faculty include front loading professional writing support for students, exploring opportunities for increased intercultural interactions in and out of the classroom, and workshops to increase faculty cultural awareness. The theme of 'unfulfilled wishes' provides a rich understanding of goals that international students bring to the learning environment. Additional research studies are needed to explore the experiences of international nursing students in other fields and after they return home to their native country.

Two Models for Teaching ESL Developmental Readers in College: A Question of Effectiveness

Finding an effective instruction mode for ESL students in the US educational system has not been an easy task. The country’s secondary and tertiary institutions continue to struggle to meet the needs of their large non-native student populations. The article revisits the debate whether sheltered instruction is an effective model to follow. In our study, a sheltered section of a college-level reading class was more effective in improving students’ reading abilities compared to mainstream sections where the international students were mixed with native speakers.

Responsible action research for the pursuit of justice

The pursuit of justice has concerned human beings for centuries and, despite its importance, often remains outside the boundaries of our educational systems. This article reports on a study of an action research seminar for a group of teacher leaders in a position to instigate positive change within their educational context, and make their actions occasions for justice. In order to better understand the textual data generated by the teacher leaders, we devised an analytical lens that draws from modern rabbinical scholarship, eco-political (socio-political) studies, and existentialism. We found at this intersection that, despite the teacher leaders recognizing injustice, and at times protesting against it, their ability to act, formulate solutions, and conduct action research – and even their very concept of justice – was heavily influenced and constrained by the dominant political regime of the US educational system. An explanatory framework emerged that sheds light on the dynamic interplay among justice, politics, and beliefs, while also revealing the constraints to pursuing justice from within a leadership structure. We conclude that for action research to be a means for teachers and teacher leaders to begin to modify their practice so they are sensitive to the voices of the marginalized, to see their actions as opportunities for justice, and to provide collaborative experiences that help other teachers develop their ways of thinking, acting, and interacting in pursuit of justice, those who teach action research must be willing to do the very same.