US Public Schools Research Articles

The Labor Market for Teachers under Different Pay Schemes

Compensation of most US public school teachers is rigid and solely based on seniority. This paper studies the effects of a reform that gave school districts in Wisconsin full autonomy to redesign teacher pay schemes. Following the reform some districts switched to flexible compensation. Using the expiration of preexisting collective bargaining agreements as a source of exogenous variation in the timing of changes in pay, I show that the introduction of flexible pay raised salaries of high-quality teachers, increased teacher quality (due to the arrival of high-quality teachers from other districts and increased effort), and improved student achievement. (JEL J31, J45, J52, H75, I21)

Algebra-based high school physics

About 60% of all physics majors chose the field because of their positive experience in high school physics courses, according to a study by the American Institute of Physics presented at the 2018 summer meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. In most US public high schools, only the upper 35% of the student body is allowed or encouraged to enroll in algebra-based physics classes. Such restrictions often exclude many otherwise bright and capable youngsters—of all races and ethnicities—from that formative first step toward a future in physics.At one time, weakness in elementary mathematics, including fractions, decimals, and long division, and in basic algebra prevented even higher-level students from being successful in algebra- and trigonometry-based high school physics courses. Those mathematics deficiencies also have prompted a number of public high schools to discontinue entire physics programs. As a certified high school physics and chemistry teacher who taught mostly in Chicago inner-city high schools, where a majority of students were Black or Hispanic, from 1975 to 2001, I initially found a severe deficiency in elementary arithmetic skills. However, inexpensive electronic hand calculators have made it possible for many students to properly solve basic algebra problems that are common in physics and chemistry.Drills and practice with standard physics formulas helped my physics students remember their first-year algebra, if not learn those algebra skills in the first place. Many high school algebra-based physics texts have only a few problems of the same type, which often does not provide good learning experiences for students of any level. To enhance their learning, I would have students do about 10 physics problems per formula; I would go around the room and show the students how to do the first problem and then allow them to solve three more of the same type using the same formula. By solving for all the formula’s variables in the same manner, students learn or reinforce their algebra skills as they master their scientific problem-solving. After I retired I learned that Black students I had taught at Carver Area High School and Paul Robeson High School who entered nearby Chicago State University passed their university chemistry courses, and some even graduated with degrees in chemistry.I believe that inner-city Black and Hispanic students have great potential for majoring in physics and chemistry in higher education. About two-thirds of US high schools do not have a teacher who majored in physics or physics education.11. S. White, J. Tyler, Focus On: Who Teaches High School Physics?, American Institute of Physics (2014). Also, collegiate physics programs are being eliminated because of low enrollments. If high schools open algebra-based physics to all students and provide extra physics help—including mathematics remediation, which is done everywhere in the world except in the US—not only will many student lives be enhanced, but more students will major in physics, thereby helping rescue higher-education programs at risk of discontinuation, and there will be many more competent, certified high school physics and chemistry teachers.ReferenceSection:ChooseTop of pageReference <<1. S. White, J. Tyler, Focus On: Who Teaches High School Physics?, American Institute of Physics (2014). Google Scholar© 2021 American Institute of Physics.

Fostering relationships between elementary students and the more-than-human world using movement and stillness

We join scholars who criticize the Western separation of humans and the more-than-human (MtH) and believe that an emphasis on the MtH within students’ local community is supported by repeated exposure. We take an ethnographic approach to study a collaborative program between a university, a local nonprofit, and a US public elementary school that organizes field trips to a local arboretum three times per year, over students’ elementary career. We share longitudinal ethnographic data over four years, following the first cohort from K-4th grade, describing ways in which students appear to connect with the MtH. We propose a construct for building connection to the MtH that includes a balance between aspects and activities we call “Movement” and those we call “Stillness.” We suggest that shifting between movement and stillness requires scaffolded, embodied practice. We propose that including movement and stillness aspects in EE, when scaffolded over time, can help foster children’s connections to the MtH in their community.

Promoting Healthy Sexuality for Children and Adolescents With Disabilities.

This clinical report updates a 2006 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics titled "Sexuality of Children and Adolescents With Developmental Disabilities." The development of a healthy sexuality best occurs through appropriate education, absence of coercion and violence, and developmental acquisition of skills to navigate feelings, desires, relationships, and social pressures. Pediatric health care providers are important resources for anticipatory guidance and education for all children and youth as they understand their changing bodies, feelings, and behaviors. Yet, youth with disabilities and their families report inadequate education and guidance from pediatricians regarding sexual health development. In the decade since the original clinical report was published, there have been many advancements in the understanding and care of children and youth with disabilities, in part because of an increased prevalence and breadth of autism spectrum disorder as well as an increased longevity of individuals with medically complex and severely disabling conditions. During this same time frame, sexual education in US public schools has diminished, and there is emerging evidence that the attitudes and beliefs of all youth (with and without disability) about sex and sexuality are being formed through media rather than formal education or parent and/or health care provider sources. This report aims to provide the pediatric health care provider with resources and tools for clinical practice to address the sexual development of children and youth with disabilities. The report emphasizes strategies to promote competence in achieving a healthy sexuality regardless of physical, cognitive, or socioemotional limitations.

The Harms of Structural Whiteness on Weapon Carrying, Policing, and Child Health.

The Harms of Structural Whiteness on Weapon Carrying, Policing, and Child Health.

The Role of Korean Immigrant Churches in the Identity Development and Heritage Language Learning among Biracial Korean American University Students

ABSTRACT Korean immigrant churches are not only a place of worship, but a central place that provides cultural and social services as well. With Korean language education not widely available in US public schools, many Korean immigrant churches operate heritage language schools. This paper examines the experiences of biracial Korean American university students at Korean immigrant churches and church-based Korean heritage language schools; their experiences learning Korean before entering and during university; and how those experiences relate to their identities. Most participants perceived Korean immigrant churches as highly racialized and exclusive, and reported church-based Korean heritage language schools to lack resources, effective curricula, and cultural inclusion. The findings also show that the university setting was a space where participants felt safe to explore their Korean identities and learn the Korean language.

Special education teachers of color and their beliefs about dis/ability and race: Counter-stories of smartness and goodness

Teacher beliefs about race and dis/ability 1 are important in understanding how teachers educate and support students of color with dis/abilities. This is particularly critical because of the overrepresentation of students of color in special education, irrelevant curriculum, and poor post-school outcomes which continue to impact students of color with dis/abilities in US public schools. Using qualitative counter-stories of goodness and smartness, this study highlights the expressed beliefs of two special education teachers of color, Leena and Leonardo, who were completing a special education teaching credential program at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in Southern California. The teachers were asked to compose a series of short and long reflections as part of two courses centering dis/ability and race. They also participated in follow-up interviews in which they reflected on their beliefs and experiences with the intersections of dis/ability and race. Courses were intentionally restructured using Dis/ability Studies and Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), and analyses specifically focused on how participants were positioned through the framework of smartness and goodness. Findings revealed how the experiences of special education teachers of color across time and space were filled with examples of racism and ableism that shaped their beliefs and identities as teachers of color and teachers committed to racial and dis/ability justice. Each counter-story also highlights the challenges special education teachers of color face because of their experiences of multiple and intersecting oppressions.

Reframing temporality in participatory visual research with timelapse video

In this article, the authors offer ‘timelapse’—removing frames from video footage to effectively ‘speed up’ visual activity—as an experimental method for engaging in the practice of seeing the emergence and contingency of activity across different timescales and in collaboration with participants. Building on previous calls to zoom up and out in analysis in order to understand the cumulative impact of moments, events, and episodes across different timescales, this article frames timelapse video as a means of visually representing activity in a way that emphasizes not only its multimodal dimensions but its temporal ones. The authors explicate how the ‘zoomed out’ temporal perspective of timelapse video offers two intertwined analytic affordances in qualitative research: (1) insight into how activity is coordinated across micro-, meso-, and macro-timescales, and (2) insight into how activity is emergent from and contingent upon macrosocial factors. They argue that these analytic affordances of timelapse are particularly well suited to being collaboratively realized alongside participants, illustrating these participatory affordances through data collected from a two-year study about literacy and arts-based practices in a US public high school. This article suggests that the participatory practice of seeing what circulates across different scales of time in timelapse video not only highlights the contingency and partiality inherent in all visual representations, thus unsettling notions of video as depicting ‘reality’ or ‘truth’, but also emphasizes the importance of multiscalar perspective taking for considering how macrosocial dimensions of meaning unfold across longer timescales and in relation to micro-interactional ones.

Associations between insufficient sleep and prescription opioid misuse among high school students in the United States

The aim of this study was to estimate the association between insufficient sleep and prescription opioid misuse among US high school students. Participants were 6,884 high school students who self-reported on sleep duration and prescription opioid misuse in the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Sleep duration was categorized by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines as follows: recommended sleep duration (8-9 hours) vs insufficient sleep (< 8 hours). Participants also reported whether they had any prescription opioid misuse during their lifetime and whether they had prescription opioid misuse within the past 30 days. Most (79.4%) participants reported sleeping less than 8 hours per night. Among all youth, 12.9% reported lifetime prescription opioid misuse and 6.2% reported current prescription opioid misuse. Prevalence of both lifetime and current opioid medication misuse was higher among those also reporting insufficient sleep compared to those reporting recommended sleep duration (14.3% vs 7.7%, P < .0001 for lifetime misuse and 6.6% vs 4.3%, P = .0091 for current misuse). In multivariate models, insufficient sleep was associated with an increased odds of lifetime prescription opioid misuse (adjusted odds ratios = 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-1.2; P = .006); however, we did not find an association between sleep duration and current prescription opioid misuse in multivariate analysis. Sleep duration is associated with lifetime opioid misuse among US youth. Longitudinal studies are needed to test whether causal relationships exist, and to understand biobehavioral mechanisms that underlie associations between sleep deficiency and opioid misuse in adolescents. Groenewald CB, Rabbitts JA, Tham SW, Law EF, Palermo TM. Associations between insufficient sleep and prescription opioid misuse among high school students in the United States. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(11):2205-2214.

Examining STEM Teaching at the Intersection of Informal and Formal Spaces: Exploring Science Pre-service Elementary Teacher Preparation

ABSTRACT There is a growing emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education focused learning spaces vis-à-vis science education in the US public schools. These STEM learning spaces mostly take place in informal learning spaces such as STEM makerspace, coding academies, and STEM camps. With this emphasis, teachers teaching science in elementary grades may find themselves being asked to teach in STEM focused learning spaces that lay outside of their areas of expertise in science teaching to teach STEM concepts and skills (e.g., computational thinking, 3-D Modeling, TinkerCAD). This problem is further compounded by the fact that many informal spaces (e.g., STEM makerspaces) are now being integrated into formal school structures and schedules. This paper shares findings by examining the preparation of elementary pre-service teachers for teaching in one informal space—a STEM makerspace. We used an exploratory qualitative design method and share results that indicate including preparation in informal STEM teaching may be beneficial in one elementary teacher preparation program.

Factor Analysis Reduces Complex Measures of Nutrition Environments in US Elementary and Middle Schools into Cohesive Dimensions in the Healthy Communities Study

BackgroundAlthough it has been recommended that schools be the hub of efforts to improve child nutrition, research describing school nutrition environments in US public schools and their associations with child health is limited. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the applicability of factor analysis methods to characterize school nutrition environments by identifying underlying factors, or dimensions, in the observed data and to examine the relation between school nutrition environment dimensions and child anthropometric and dietary outcomes. MethodsThis study examined a cross-sectional sample of 4635 US children aged 4–15 y from 386 US elementary and middle schools from the Healthy Communities Study (2013–2015). Data collected from schools were used to create 34 variables that assessed the school nutrition environment. To identify dimensions of school nutrition environments, exploratory factor analysis was conducted with orthogonal rotation, and factor scores were derived using methods to account for sporadic missing data. Mixed-effects regression models adjusted for child- and community-level variables and clustered by community and school examined the associations of school nutrition environment dimensions with child anthropometric and dietary outcomes. ResultsSix dimensions of school nutrition environments were derived: nutrition education, food options, wellness policies, dining environment, unhealthy food restriction, and nutrition programs. The unhealthy food restriction dimension was negatively associated with added sugar intake (β = –1.13, P < 0.0001), and the wellness policies dimension was positively associated with waist circumference (β = 0.57, P = 0.01). ConclusionsThis study demonstrates how factor analysis can reduce multiple measures of complex school nutrition environments into conceptually cohesive dimensions for purposes of assessing the relation of these dimensions to student health-related outcomes. Findings were mixed and indicate that the restriction of unhealthy foods in school is associated with lower added sugar intake. Additional, longitudinal studies are needed to substantiate the utility of this method for identifying promising school nutrition environments.

Feedback choices and their relations to learning are age-invariant starting in middle school: A secondary data analysis

The ability to seek feedback about one's learning is an essential skill for independent learners. Although educational researchers have focused on feedback assigned to students, little research has investigated feedback-seeking, and no previous investigation has explored feedback-seeking in relation to both learning and age. This secondary data analysis study examines the effect of age on choices to seek critical feedback and to revise digital posters as well as on learning outcomes for n = 764 students across six US public schools. Previously reported data from three middle schools were merged with new data from a middle school, a high school, and a community college to sample a larger age range. Students played a digital assessment game, Posterlet, which measured their choices to seek critical feedback and to revise posters. This study examines critical feedback-seeking across age, starting in middle school, and it demonstrates that it is possible to capture and measure learning choices (e.g., behaviors that students employ while learning) using the same assessment, Posterlet, across age. The results revealed that, starting in middle school, (1) age did not influence the frequency of critical feedback-seeking, as students' feedback choices were stable across age; (2) critical feedback-seeking correlated with learning of graphic design principles, poster performance, and students' choices to revise their posters; and, importantly, (3) age did not moderate the relation between critical feedback-seeking and learning behaviors and outcomes across a large developmental sample. Thus, critical feedback-seeking is stable from middle school through adulthood and the benefits of seeking critical feedback have the same impact on learning outcomes regardless of age.

The effects of empathy on support for Christmas music performance in public schools

PurposeDespite an ever-diversifying student population, it is still commonplace for US public schools to present Christmas concerts. These concerts can force minority students to choose between their own religious convictions and school participation. For some students, participation in public-school Christmas concerts can damage their personal identity and assimilate them into ways of being that are not their own. This study aims to test a method for teaching preservice teachers to empathize with minority students.Design/methodology/approachUsing the framework of action research, the study followed a one-group pretest-posttest design. Participants (N = 19), all of whom identified as some kind of Christian, were asked to perform a concert featuring Satanic Worship prayers and a children’s Christmas song. This intervention was meant to induce empathy for religious minority students who feel uncomfortable performing Christmas songs because they are antithetical to their own faiths. Participants’ perceptions of public-school Christmas music performance was measured before and after the intervention.FindingsThe intervention effectively increased empathy for minority students. As a result, participants expressed altered teaching philosophies that were inclusive of religious minority perspectives.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the effectiveness of empathy-fostering interventions as tools for teaching teachers to work with diverse student populations. The intervention tested in this study is of the researcher’s original design.

Disproportionate Bullying Victimization and Perpetration by Disability Status, Race, and Gender: A National Analysis

Bullying is a widespread problem in schools that has been linked to poor psychological, social, and academic outcomes for school-aged children. Individual risk factors such as disability status, race/ethnicity, and gender increase the likelihood of involvement in bullying behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore disproportionate bullying victimization and perpetration utilizing data from all US public schools as reported to the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. We used data from over 90,000 US public schools. All schools reported bullying-related incidents by race, gender, and disability status. We calculated school-level risk ratios and estimated a series of robust variance estimation models to evaluate disproportionate bully-related discipline incidents. We found that students with disabilities, Black students, and Hispanic students were significantly more likely to be victims of bullying (e.g., students with disabilities were 32% more likely of being a victim of bullying than their peers without disabilities). Students with disabilities, Black, Hispanic, and male students were all also significantly more likely to be disciplined for bullying (e.g., students with disabilities were over 41% more at risk than their peers without disabilities). The results reiterate that youth from traditionally marginalized backgrounds are at escalated risk for bullying involvement, and they are more likely to experience bullying and be disciplined as a function of their disability, race or ethnicity, or gender.

Preventing teacher violence against children: the need for a research agenda

Preventing teacher violence against children: the need for a research agenda

An examination of educator multicultural attitudes before and after a diversity dinner dialogue

PurposeThe demographic make-up of students in US public schools is becoming increasingly diverse, and a need exists to train teachers in multicultural competence. Despite this need, little research addresses multicultural competence training for in-service teachers. In this pilot study, we aimed to implement an intervention, known as a diversity dinner dialogue (DDD), in which elementary and university educators read the same diversity-related book, then gathered over dinner to discuss the book and its implications in their work.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a pre-experimental study and measured participants’ reactions to the intervention, as well as changes in multicultural attitudes immediately and six months after the training.FindingsFindings indicated that participants had positive reactions to the DDD, yet multicultural attitudes decreased after the training, a potential indication that participants encountered racial identity development processes during the intervention.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed on DDDs and interventions affecting educator multicultural attitudes in K-12 schools and higher education.Originality/valueThis study contributes a new potential intervention for use in K-12 school and university partnerships that may support the development of culturally responsive teaching practices and catalyze participant experiences in racial identity development processes.

Longitudinal caries prevalence in a comprehensive, multicomponent, school-based prevention program

BackgroundGlobally, children’s caries prevalence exceeds 30% and has not markedly changed in 30 years. School-based caries prevention programs can be an effective method to reduce caries prevalence, obviate traditional barriers to care, and use aerosol-free interventions. The objective of this study was to explore the clinical effectiveness of a comprehensive school-based, aerosol-free, caries prevention program. MethodsThe authors conducted a 6-year prospective open cohort study in 33 US public elementary schools, providing care to 6,927 children in communities with and without water fluoridation. After dental examinations, dental hygienists provided twice-yearly prophylaxis, glass ionomer sealants, glass ionomer interim therapeutic restorations, fluoride varnish, toothbrushes, fluoride toothpaste, oral hygiene instruction, and referral to community dentists as needed. The authors used generalized estimating equations to estimate the change in the prevalence of untreated caries over time. ResultsThe prevalence of untreated caries decreased by more than 50%: from 39% through 18% in phase 1, and from 28% through 10% in phase 2. The per-visit adjusted odds ratio of untreated caries was 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.73 to 0.85). Conclusions and Practical ImplicationsThis school-based comprehensive caries prevention program was associated with substantial reductions in children’s untreated caries, supporting the concept of expanding traditional practices to include office- and community-based aerosol-free care.

Athletic Training Employment in US Secondary Schools by Geographic Setting and School Size.

The Athletic Training Locations and Services (ATLAS) Annual Report suggested that athletic trainer (AT) employment status differed based on geographic locale. However, the influence of geographic locale and school size on AT employment is unknown. To determine if differences existed in the odds of having AT services by locale for public and private schools and by student enrollment for public schools. Cross-sectional study. Public and private secondary schools with athletics programs. Data from 20 078 US public and private secondary schools were obtained. Data were collected by the ATLAS Project. Athletic trainer employment status, locale (city, suburban, town, or rural) for public and private schools, and school size category (large, moderate, medium, or small) only for public schools were obtained. The employment status of ATs was examined for each category using odds ratios. Logistic regression analysis produced a prediction model. Of the 19 918 public and private schools with available AT employment status and locale, suburban schools had the highest access to AT services (80.1%) with increased odds compared with rural schools (odds ratio = 3.55 [95% CI = 3.28, 3.85]). Of 15 850 public schools with known AT employment status and student enrollment, large schools had the highest rate of AT services (92.1%) with nearly 18.5 times greater odds (odds ratio = 18.49 [95% CI = 16.20, 21.08]) versus small schools. The logistic model demonstrated that the odds of access to an AT increased by 2.883 times as the school size went up by 1 category. Nationally, suburban schools and large public schools had the greatest access to AT services compared with schools that were in more remote areas and with lower student enrollment. These findings elucidate the geographic locales and student enrollment levels with the highest prevalence of AT services.

Face Mask Policies of US Public School Districts in States without Statewide Mandates

Objective: We developed categories of the degree of restrictiveness of public schoolboards’ face mask policies in 10 US states that had no statewide mask mandates at any time during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data on schoolboards’ mask wearing policies for the individual boards in these states. Methods: We obtained school reopening plans found on school district webpages. We abstracted district mask policies and sorted them into groups indicating whether mask wearing was required or recommended. Results: Overall, 44% of boards mandated masks in school settings. There was a wide variation of policies within and between states. Conclusions: When left to their own resources, schoolboards will follow a variety of policies, many of which are a departure from state recommendations.

Anti-Racist Curriculum and Digital Platforms: Evidence from Black Lives Matter

In this paper, we examine the impact of racially charged events on classroom curriculum in US public schools. We use requests made by teachers on DonorsChoose.org, the largest crowdfunding platform for public school teachers, as a measure of demand for anti-racism curriculum in the classroom. We use the precise timing of high-profile police brutality and related events in the US (2010-2020) to identify their effect on anti-racism requests relative to a control group. We find a significant increase in anti-racism book requests following the killing of George Floyd in 2020, and a null effect for all other events in the decade. In just a few months following George Floyd's death $3.4 million worth of books featuring Black authors and/or Black protagonists were successfully funded, reaching over half a million students. The effect is strongest for teachers whose students are younger than 10 years old. Though the Black Lives Matter movement was only focused on racism directed towards African-Americans, we also find a sharp increase in requests for books that depict Latinx, Asian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures, suggesting a general shift towards a more inclusive curriculum. Event studies suggest a causal impact of local protests such that protest incidence in a city leads to to a significantly larger impact on teacher requests. Text analysis of impact notes posted by teachers months later imply that hundreds of thousands of young students are being engaged in positive, constructive discussions about the representation and acceptance of African-Americans and other minority groups.