8,439 results on '"*POLITICAL affiliation"'
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2. A Sharp Turn Right: A New Breed of Charter Schools Delivers the Conservative Agenda
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Network for Public Education (NPE), Karen Francisco, and Carol Burris
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This investigation focused on two types of charter schools. The first is classical charter schools. These schools identify and market themselves as such, often including the word "classical" in the school's name. The second type of school offers a "back to basics" curriculum without necessarily identifying the curriculum as classical. These schools include right-wing clues on their website to attract families with Christian nationalist beliefs. The fastest-growing sector of right-wing charters combines both features. These schools are distinguished by a classical "virtuous" curriculum combined with hyper-patriotism for Christian nationalist appeal. The report identifies 273 currently open charter schools that offer a classical curriculum and/or have websites designed to attract white conservative families. Many are part of chains that are feature in the report. For-profit management corporations run twenty-nine percent of these charters, a percentage nearly twice as high as the charter sector as a whole.
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- 2023
3. Polarization, Partisan Sorting, and the Politics of Education
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David M. Houston
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Drawing on annual, nationally representative survey data from 2007-2022, I demonstrate that partisan gaps - the average differences in public opinion between Democrats and Republicans - have widened on many education issues. This pattern consistently exceeds what would be expected due to the changing demographic compositions of the parties alone. Widening partisan gaps are primarily attributable to sorting (alignment of one's party affiliation and one's issue positions) rather than polarization (increasing support for more extreme positions relative to more moderate positions). However, polarization is also increasing on some of the most divisive issues. Among those who are sorting, individuals are overwhelmingly switching their issue positions to align with their party affiliations rather than switching their party affiliations to align with their issue positions.
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- 2024
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4. Civic Education at a Crossroads: The Christian Nationalist Threat to Public Schools
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Bryan J. Henry and Bryan J. Henry
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This book turns to political theory as a framework for understanding the rise of political and religious extremism, and in particular the Christian Nationalist position, identifying solutions to civic challenges, and arguing for the vital role that public schools play in providing the civic education that prepares young people for participation in democratic self-government. Drawing on scholarly debates between liberal and republican political theorists, the author maintains that if we want to preserve our republic, then policymakers and educators must unapologetically promote a normative "vision of good citizenship" that cultivates in students the requisite civic virtue and rational autonomy needed to defend democracy from the rise of illiberal extremism. A timely contribution to academic debates about the role of civic education in the preservation of democracy, it will appeal to scholars, educators and policymakers concerned with the future of civic education, as well as the philosophy of education, political science, and educational policy.
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- 2024
5. Spring 2022 Survey of Stride K12 Families: Why Do Families Choose These Virtual Schools for Their Children? Working Paper No.12
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EdChoice and Scafidi, Ben
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In March 2022 a random sample of one third of Stride K12 families (37,856) were emailed a survey asking parents a series of questions about their families' experiences in their children's current Stride K12-powered online schools and their experiences in their children's former schools. 1,949 parents completed the survey, and of that total, 1,613 had Stride K12 students who had attended another school prior to attending their current online schools. These families reside in one of 28 states that have Stride K12-powered schools that were included in the survey. The purpose of the survey, and this report, are to learn more about what parents value regarding the education of their children, why they chose to enroll their children in a Stride K12-powered online school, their degree of satisfaction with various aspects of their current online schools, and their satisfaction levels with their children's Stride K-12 powered schools as compared with their former schools, when applicable. The survey results indicate that parents have overwhelmingly positive views of how their children are faring at their Stride K12-powered online schools and that their children who did migrate from other schools faced a variety of challenges in their former schools.
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- 2023
6. 'Undeserved' Grades or 'Underserved' Students? Faculty Anxieties and Eroding Standards in the Corporate University
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Horowitz, Mark, Haynor, Anthony L., and Kickham, Kenneth
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Unsustainable student debt and a precarious labor market continue to raise public doubts over the value of a college degree. Observers note decades of grade inflation, eroding confidence in academic standards. Yet little attention has been paid to the perceptions of professors themselves. This report fills the gap by surveying 223 tenured professors in U.S. public universities. We query faculty on sensitive questions central to debate over academic standards. Results show a substantial fraction of professors affirms the serious problems of grade inflation and declining standards. Moreover, political orientation is the best predictor of where faculty stand on these delicate questions. We close by encouraging viewpoint diversity in higher education and greater self-awareness among liberal faculty of our collective biases.
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- 2023
7. Race and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools: What Teachers, Teens and the U.S. Public Say about Current Curriculum Debates
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Pew Research Center, Luona Lin, Juliana Horowitz, Kiley Hurst, and Dana Braga
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Amid national debates about what schools are teaching, Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how public K-12 teachers, teens and the American public see topics related to race, sexual orientation and gender identity playing out in the classroom. The bulk of the analysis in this report is based on an online survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers conducted from October 17 to November 14, 2023. For the questions for the general public, 5,029 U.S. adults were surveyed, and for questions for teens, an online survey of 1,453 U.S. teens was conducted from September 26 to October 23, 2023, through Ipsos. Key findings include: (1) A sizeable share of teachers (41%) say the national debates have had a negative impact on their ability to do their job; (2) 71% of teachers say teachers themselves do not have enough influence over what is taught in public schools in their area while 58% say their state government has too much influence over this; (3) 38% of teens say they feel comfortable when topics related to racism or racial inequality come up in class (among those who say these topics have come up) while a smaller share (29%) say they feel comfortable when topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity come up; and (4) Among the American public, more say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about LGBTQ issues than say the same about topics related to race (54% vs. 34%).
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- 2024
8. Towards Inclusive Excellence: A Survey of Diversity on Campus
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Andrew Harvey, Michael Luckman, and Catherine Yuan Gao
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This paper presents findings from a campus climate survey conducted at an Australian university. Unprecedented compositional diversity now exists in higher education, with students enrolled from different religious, socio-economic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds. Despite this diversity, little research has been conducted into the ways that different student groups experience university, including marginalised and 'hidden' groups such as LGBTIQA+ students. The survey aimed to uncover the impact of diversity on student experiences, including the extent to which students associated with others from different backgrounds, the extent to which their own views and beliefs were challenged, and the extent to which they felt safe on campus. Findings suggest a need for more targeted research, particularly into the experiences of marginalised groups, and for reform of both institutional policy and curriculum. Further, we found that students are frequently thinking about identity, diversity, and bias, and their own voices need to be elevated within institutional strategies.
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- 2024
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9. Teachers' Understandings of Indoctrination as 'Affective': Empirical Evidence from Conflict-Affected Cyprus
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Michalinos Zembylas, Xanthia Aristidou, and Constadina Charalambous
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This paper examines teachers' understandings of affective indoctrination in a conflict-affected society, focusing on how teachers' political orientations are entangled with these understandings. The exploration is conducted through a qualitative study of Greek-Cypriot primary and secondary school teachers who are identified as either conservative or progressive. The findings highlight that regardless of political orientation, teachers interpret the term indoctrination through a negative lens. However, teachers of progressive orientation view affective indoctrination as a part of everyday educational practices, whereas teachers of conservative orientation understand affective indoctrination as an exceptional case. The paper discusses the implications for teaching and teacher education. The relevance of teachers' political orientation makes it all the more necessary that teachers and teacher educators delve deeper into the political and pedagogical implications of the entanglement between political orientations and understandings of affective indoctrination in schools.
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- 2024
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10. The Political Polarization of Pre-Adolescents: Affective Polarization in America's Youth
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Rachel Hutchins
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Children may not yet understand political issues or be engaged in politics, but identification with social groups emerges early; indeed, nearly a third of first-graders report identification with a political party. As a result, it is likely that ingroup favoritism (or preference for members of one's own political group) and outgroup derogation (or animus toward members of other political groups) appear sooner than previously assumed. In this article, the author reports on a study that examined whether these attitudes appear as early as pre-adolescence, and if so, how youth affective polarization levels compare to adult levels.
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- 2024
11. College Students' Attitudes toward Denying Admission to Prospective Students with Criminal Records
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Alexander L. Burton, Haley N. Puddy, Sunmin Hong, Velmer S. Burton, and William T. Miller
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Each year, thousands of prospective students are denied admission to universities because they possess a criminal record. Prior research finds that university officials and faculty are generally accepting of those with records attending universities. To date, few studies have examined the perspectives of college students on this matter. The current study adds to this literature by examining college students' (n = 846) attitudes toward denying individuals admission to universities based on possessing a criminal record. The results reveal general opposition toward denying prospective students solely on the basis of possessing a record. However, divisions exist among students and fall on factors related to criminal justice system contact and racial, punitive, and political viewpoints.
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- 2024
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12. Updating a Time-Series of Survey Questions: The Case of Abortion Attitudes in the General Social Survey
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Sarah K. Cowan, Michael Hout, and Stuart Perrett
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Long-running surveys need a systematic way to reflect social change and to keep items relevant to respondents, especially when they ask about controversial subjects, or they threaten the items' validity. We propose a protocol for updating measures that preserves content and construct validity. First, substantive experts articulate the current and anticipated future terms of debate. Then survey experts use this substantive input and their knowledge of existing measures to develop and pilot a large battery of new items. Third, researchers analyze the pilot data to select items for the survey of record. Finally, the items appear on the survey-of-record, available to the whole user community. Surveys-of-record have procedures for changing content that determine if the new items appear just once or become part of the core. We provide the example of developing new abortion attitude measures in the General Social Survey. Current questions ask whether abortion should be legal under varying circumstances. The new abortion items ask about morality, access, state policy, and interpersonal dynamics. They improve content and construct validity and add new insights into Americans' abortion attitudes.
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- 2024
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13. The Public, Parents, and K-12 Education: A National Polling Report [November 2022]
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EdChoice and Morning Consult
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This poll was conducted between November 10-14, 2022 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) In November, economic issues dominated voting priorities at the local, state, and federal levels. Education had decreased in priority across those levels; (2) One out of three parents think their child's school is political. Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say their school takes a political viewpoint; (3) Three out of five parents believe their child's teacher does an effective job teaching English/Language Arts and Math; and (4) Roughly half of school parents think their own child is progressing 'very well' academically, socially, and emotionally. School parents are much more pessimistic about how their friends' children are doing in school, compared to their own children. This report highlights: (1) views on K-12 education; (2) views on schooling; (3) pods, tutoring, and extracurriculars; (4) school choice policies; and (5) the survey profile and demographics.
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- 2022
14. The State Innovation Exchange and Educational Policy
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Malin, Joel R. and Tan, Jing
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Especially since 2010, conservative interests' dominance at advancing their preferred policies across U.S. states has been clear, with large and escalating impacts in education. Although adversaries on the political left remain in catch-up mode, there have been auspicious developments. This study focuses on one of these, seeking to understand a uniquely positioned progressively state-focused policy organization called State Innovation Exchange (SiX). It was aimed to a) provide a valuable case study of perhaps the leading organization in this space, focusing on understanding its education policy footprint; b) further understandings of conflicts, tensions, and responses on the political left relative to education policy; and c) generate insights into contemporary sub-national policy mobility. We interviewed nine key stakeholders and analyzed electronic materials to address two research questions. Findings demonstrate SiX fulfills four main purposes: 1) building and sustaining cross-state progressive power; 2) acting as a counter; 3) fostering progressive leader development; and 4) advancing progressive policies/ideas. SiX shows an economics-focused agenda emphasizing working- and middle-class families, and education policy has not been a major, consistent area of emphasis. SiX does, however, play unique roles in education (as in other areas) by connecting state legislators and supporting their work. Specific to education, we surfaced some challenges SiX has faced in building alignment around a shared vision. We suggest, if SiX or a similarly situated organization can develop a clear education philosophy and policy agenda, it will be more effective at advancing its preferred policies, and in countering those being advanced by adversaries. Absent such shifts, we project continued conservative dominance of education policy at the state level.
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- 2022
15. The Public, Parents, and K-12 Education: A National Polling Report [June 2022]
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EdChoice and Morning Consult
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This poll was conducted between June 15-June 21, 2022 among a sample of 2,198 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) School parents were much more likely in June than in May to say that their children progressed very well last school year. Roughly half of parents believe their children progressed very well in terms of academic, emotional, and social development; (2) In June, nearly one-third of parents indicated they were participating in or seeking learning pods. Expressed interest in pods increased by four points since May; (3) In June, school parents' favorable views of homeschooling increased by six points; and (4) All school choice policies continue to see a lift in support when people are given a description. This report highlights: (1) views on K-12 education; (2) views on schooling; (3) pods, tutoring, and extracurriculars; (4) school choice policies; and (5) the survey profile and demographics.
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- 2022
16. Crying, 'Wolf!' The Campaign Against Critical Race Theory in American Public Schools as an Expression of Contemporary White Grievance in an Era of Fake News
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Benson, Keith E.
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The recent fervor over Critical Race Theory (CRT) in American public schools is the result of a confluence of contributing factors including: an eroded news media apparatus operating within a capitalist framework where an increasing portion of the American populace consume news through hyper-partisan cable news networks and social media that comports with their individual ideological preference; the decrying of CRT in schools as the latest iteration of historically-reliable White Backlash; and a highly-effective conservative messaging apparatus skilled in fomenting White Rage based on disinformation. In this essay I will, first, briefly survey America's collapsing contemporary news media industry before discussing contextualizing White Rage throughout American history. From there, I will transition the article's focus to the modern conservative media machine pushing fake news highlighting the (non-existent) issue of CRT in primarily suburban public schools as an exemplification of White Rage to protect whiteness and its hegemony for political gain.
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- 2022
17. Leftization of Education in South Korean Society Centering around the Authorized Textbooks
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Kim, Bok-rae
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In South Korea, education is no longer a place for learning, but a base for preparing ideological warriors, due to left-wing ideology education and fervent and conscientious teachers' union and strong left-leaning media. Since left-wing president Moon took office in 2017, omnidirectional "leftization" of education is ongoing in society. According to Prof. Chul-hong Kim, the current left-leaning "authorized" textbook system strenuously inculcates students with the appropriateness of materialistic historical views. A high school student engaged in the protest against the campaign of "state-designated" textbooks says at a press interview, "I'm a proletarian class. It's only the proletarian revolution that can change our social structure and its fundamental contradiction." For reference, there are three kinds of textbooks: (1) state-designated textbook published by state (so, its copyright belongs to state), (2) authorized textbook published by private publishing companies, on the condition of passing through the government screening system (inviting criticism for its "poor screening"), (3) free-published textbook left entirely to the private sector without any state intervention. Prologue The second authorized textbook system is a "compromise" plan between state-led and privately-led textbooks. The main motive for adopting authorized textbooks (from previous state-designated textbooks) was to introduce "diversity of views and opinions" in Korean education, but a conservative journalist Gap-je Cho concluded - from analyzing 14 authorized history textbooks - that "promoting educational diversity" by authorized textbook system ended in failure. Because a great majority of left-wing professors and teachers take part in writing historical textbooks on the basis of Marxist class struggle theory: that is, Koreanized "popular view of history" or populism-based historical perspective (language characters omitted). These authorized textbooks are adopted by almost 99% of high schools across the country. Moreover, they tend to implant one "monolithic" idea (historical materialism) in the consciousness of young students. According to Cho, the authorized textbook system mired in controversy is degraded into a "certificate" of antistate, pro-communist education, in place of diversity.
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- 2022
18. The Public, Parents, and K-12 Education: A National Polling Report [January 2022]
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EdChoice and Morning Consult
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This poll was conducted between January 15-January 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) Although there has been an ongoing surge of COVID cases with the emergence of the Omicron variant, the percentages of Americans who felt major disruptions to their lives -- personal, household, or community -- were still near pandemic-lows; (2) In January, the majority of school parents were still comfortable with their children attending school -- despite a decrease compared to the previous month; (3) Based on parent reports, the share of students who have had to quarantine from school increased substantially. In November and December, about a quarter of parents said they had a child who had to quarantine. But in January that number jumped to 37 percent. The vast majority of those parents -- 82 percent -- viewed quarantining as disruptive to their child's education; and (4) In January, three out of five school parents supported moving back to remote learning due to the Omicron variant. Democrats, Blacks, urbanities, and younger generations were the most supportive of shifting to remote learning. Republicans and those living in small town/rural areas were least supportive. This report highlights: (1) COVID-19 and schooling; (2) school choice policies; (3) views on K-12 education; and (4) the survey profile and demographics.
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- 2022
19. Young Adults' Distress about Police Brutality Following the Death of George Floyd
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Howard, Lauren C., Krueger, Evan A., Barker, Joshua O., Boley Cruz, Tess, Cwalina, Sam N., Unger, Jennifer B., Barrington-Trimis, Jessica L., and Leventhal, Adam M.
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Following the homicide of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, young adults participated widely in national protests against racism and police brutality. This study examined temporal trends and correlates of self-reported distress about police brutality from May 18 to August 3, 2020 among a cohort of young adults (ages 19-22; N = 2,080) from Los Angeles, CA. Bivariate and adjusted linear regression models estimated the association between survey completion date and distress about police brutality. Distress about police brutality increased substantially in the 2-weeks after Floyd's death (43% increase over baseline), but gradually declined over the ensuing 8 weeks to a 19% increase over baseline. Results suggest that police violence is contributing to stress and worry among young adults.
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- 2023
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20. Californians' Attitudes about College Access, Affordability, and Equity in the Time of COVID-19: Evidence from the 2021 PACE/USC Rossier Annual Poll
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Stanford University, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), Martinez, Mayra Nuñez, Shin, Grace Hae Rim, Kurlaender, Michal, and Rios-Aguilar, Cecilia
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The 2021 PACE/USC Rossier poll provides key insights into Californians' perceptions of higher education issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically equity and affordability. A large percentage of Californians acknowledge that college affordability is an important educational issue, and they generally express support for increased access to courses through remote options, increased funding for community colleges, loan forgiveness, and equitable admissions practices. However, public opinion on these issues is more nuanced; for example, Californians are concerned that increased access to educational opportunities could compromise the quality of higher education, and they believe that universities should consider only academic and extracurricular qualifications in admissions to college, not race or income. There are important differences in perceptions of these higher education issues across the lines of political affiliation and race.
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- 2021
21. The New Right: Conservative Student Political Repertoires and Intragroup Conflict
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Havey, Nicholas
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This qualitative single-site case study explores how students identifying as conservative position themselves within the discursive field of their campus, how they understand their rhetorical and discursive development in relation to their more liberal peers, and what increasing political polarization means for college campuses. I find that the differences within the conservative student group studied are stronger and more concerning than how they describe differing from their liberal peers, particularly as the conservative student group I analyzed radicalized and became overtly racist and nationalistic. This is worrisome, as my participants noted this was not "a local problem" and mentioned that this was happening at a state and national level. This reality was evidenced by the recent insurrection at the Capitol.
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- 2021
22. How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of Social-Emotional Learning
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Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, YouGov, and Tyner, Adam
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Whether a response to lackluster academic gains in our nation's schools or longstanding beliefs about the wider purposes of schooling, social and emotional learning (SEL) has gained a massive following in education circles. Further, the mental health challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have strengthened the demand that schools do more to support students' social and emotional needs. Yet as educators embrace SEL as an essential part of a child's education, too little is known about how parents view it and the extent to which its terminology can be nebulous, obscure, and off-putting to some, particularly to parents who want schools to stick to basic academics. To better understand parents' take on SEL and to explore possible pitfalls in communicating with them about SEL and its place in schools, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute commissioned this nationally representative poll of 2,000 parents of children in grades K-12. Although it finds that parents overwhelmingly support the essence of SEL and recognize its rightful place in America's schools, some differences of opinion break along partisan lines. It also reveals genuine challenges in getting the terminology right. Ultimately, results from the survey can help educators, policymakers, and philanthropists gain parental support for their efforts. [Foreword written by Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli.]
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- 2021
23. Teacher Attitudes toward Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Students: Evidence for Intergroup Contact Theory and Secondary Transfer Effects
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Gegenfurtner, Andreas, Hartinger, Andreas, Gabel, Sylvia, Neubauer, Jule, Keskin, Özün, and Dresel, Markus
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This article presents two studies that tested the predictive validity of intergroup contact theory and secondary transfer effects related to pre-service teacher attitudes toward sexual minority youth in classrooms. Multiple regression of feeling thermometer scores in Study 1 (N = 989) suggested that more favorable attitudes are present among younger, female, bisexual or homosexual, less religious, politically left-wing pre-service teachers with lesbian, gay, and bisexual contacts. Associations with family membership and hometown size were nonsignificant. Analyses of variance in Study 2 (N = 406) showed statistically significant secondary transfer effects. For instance, teacher candidates with no lesbian women contacts showed less sexual prejudice toward lesbian students if they were in social contact with gay men and bisexual people. Implications for teacher education, teacher professionalism, and the need to create safe spaces in school for LGBTQIA+ students are discussed.
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- 2023
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24. The Worsening Political Divide: Adult Education as Part of the Cure
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Nabb, Lee W., Tan, Fujuan, and Privott, Daryl R.
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The US is experiencing extreme social and political polarization not seen since the Civil War. This divisiveness is causing civil unrest and governmental dysfunction which threatens the stability of the nation. Four major causes of the current state are party realignment, the deregulation of news broadcasting, algorithmic personalization of electronic information, and an unknowing public. Adult education can and should be part of the remedy reducing or eliminating harmful polarization. Knowledge of authoritative systems is key to the solution. To promote such knowledge, adult educators can create practical and theoretical learning experiences about authoritative systems and incorporate such knowledge into existing courses and programs. Breadth of the field should produce myriad ways to do so particular to each educator's practice. [For the complete volume, "American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Inaugural 2020 Conference Proceedings (Online, October 27-30, 2020)," see ED611534.]
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- 2021
25. Essential Educators: Teacher and Parent Views on COVID-19. Findings from a Public Agenda National Survey
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Public Agenda, Schleifer, David, Silliman, Rebecca, and McNally, Erin
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After a challenging fall semester, a national survey from Public Agenda finds that K-12 teachers and parents are largely on the same page regarding education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just over half of both teachers and parents feel that their communities value teachers more now than before the pandemic. While only one-third of parents think that they can fill teachers' roles, most parents and teachers think in-person teaching during the pandemic is risky. Most parents and teachers also think teachers themselves should have a voice in deciding whether to hold in-person classes. However, both parents and teachers feel torn over whether in-person classes are worth the risks. As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue to roll out, somewhat more teachers than parents favor requiring both teachers and students to be vaccinated in order to hold in-person classes. Somewhat more teachers than parents also favor suspending standardized testing during the pandemic. However, both teachers and parents feel strongly that schools must provide teachers with the resources to effectively teach online and to support themselves and their students socially and emotionally.
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- 2021
26. COVID-19 on YouTube: Debates and Polarisation in the Digital Sphere
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Luengo, Óscar, García-Marín, Javier, and de-Blasio, Emiliana
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Social media has significantly transformed how political discussions and deliberations occur, mainly by providing a digital realm for the public sphere. This study aims to analyse the extent of polarised opinions across Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom regarding COVID-19 during 2020 within social media. To do this, we examined YouTube comments (n=111,808) using automatic analysis and machine-learning techniques based on algorithms. This methodological strategy denoted an innovative and unique quantitative approach for this field of study. In line with previous research, the hypothesis was that the degree of polarization does not crystallize in the same manner in different countries' digital spheres. Therefore, it could be said that higher levels of polarization occur amongst Southern European countries like Spain and Italy (both countries adhering to a polarised pluralism model), compared to other countries ascribing to the liberal model (the United Kingdom in our study), which provides evidence supporting previous research studies. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the polarization of digital deliberation between Spain and Italy is higher than in the United Kingdom. But, also, the findings based on more disaggregated analysis suggest that the most polarized attitudes are even rewarded by other users in Mediterranean countries.
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- 2021
27. An Exploration of the Effects of Social Media on Youth Online and Offline Sociopolitical Engagement
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Zyad, Hicham
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On April 20th, 2018, Moroccan youths launched a boycott campaign on social media targeting three commercial brands. This incident has reinvigorated the debate on youth engagement in civic activism. Thus, this article compares Moroccan college-level students' civic engagement through formal processes and online social networking as well as predicting students' levels of engagement based on their demographic characteristics and political orientation variables. The analysis revealed that social media use was significantly correlated with youth virtual civic activities. Political interest and self-efficacy also had a significant impact on youth civic engagement. However, of the five demographic variables involved, only two were found to be significantly correlated with youth online civic activities. The study therefore identifies evidence corroborating other researchers' finding that Moroccan youth play a role in influencing policy and decision-making through informal channels of civic engagement.
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- 2023
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28. Raising a Politically Engaged Generation: When Parental Influence Matters Most
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Bacovsky, Pavel and Fitzgerald, Jennifer
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At what ages are young people most open to political influence? We test the "formative years" model that underscores the importance of childhood experiences for political development against the "impressionable years" model that asserts the primacy of lessons learned during adolescence. To assess the relative merits of these competing models, we develop a new analytical strategy: the Retrospective Family Context approach. We estimate the political engagement levels of 18-year-olds as a function of annual measures of their parents' political engagement levels over the course of the prior decade. German household panel data analysis shows that parental cues sink in quite effectively during late childhood, ages 9 to 11, and during the late teens. These results illuminate an essential dimension of political development, and they can inform efforts to encourage young people's political participation.
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- 2023
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29. The Impact of Polarization on the Political Engagement of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers and Their Teaching
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Keegan, Patrick and Vaughan, Kelly P.
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This instrumental case study of Generation Z preservice teachers enrolled in elementary teaching methods courses in social studies and literacy explores the impact of polarization on their political engagement and teaching. Using the 2020 presidential election as a teachable moment, participants developed and taught literacy-infused civics units in order to bring to light their understandings of their role in preparing elementary students as political actors. This study has important implications for how teacher educators can better facilitate elementary preservice teachers' own political engagement, thereby ensuring equitable democratic learning opportunities for students.
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- 2023
30. Theorizing Necropolitics in Social Studies Education
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Varga, Bretton A., Helmsing, Mark E., van Kessel, Cathryn, and Christ, Rebecca C.
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This article engages with three commonly traversed social studies topics--depictions of violence and death from the French Revolution, during the Vietnam War, and regarding U.S. histories of racial segregation--through the lens of Achille Mbembe's "necropolitics" (i.e., political and social machinations of power that determine who lives and who dies). In particular, this article theorizes how specific necropolitical concepts (e.g., "necropower," "the living dead," and "slow death") can be a generative and powerful form of analysis for social studies educators and their students that exposes intersecting complexities between life, death, political alliance, and power. While this article argues that social studies curriculum is replete with undertheorized moments of death and underutilized opportunities to engage with death, this scholarship is guided by the questions: "What place is given to life, death, and the human body (in particular the wounded or slain body)? How are they inscribed in the order of power?" The overall aim of a necropolitical engagement is to foster a deeper understanding of why/how death continues to disproportionately come into being again and again for specific, targeted peoples.
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- 2023
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31. 'Parents Care Deeply about Their Kids' Education, but Perhaps Not so Deeply about the Education of Other People's Kids'
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Kretchmar, Kerry
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Parents make choices about their children's education within a neoliberal, racist system. Measurable metrics are used to evaluate school quality within a competitive, market-based system, yet those indicators often do not align with parents' definitions of a good school, and they obscure the role of race. This paper examines how white, privileged parents understand school quality and justify their educational decisions, illuminating how white parents subtly reinforce racial and socio-economic hierarchies.
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- 2023
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32. Stolen Elections: How Conspiracy Beliefs during the 2020 American Presidential Elections Changed over Time
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Wang, Haiyan and van Prooijen, Jan-Willem
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Conspiracy beliefs have been studied mostly through cross-sectional designs. We conducted a five-wave longitudinal study (N = 376; two waves before and three waves after the 2020 American presidential elections) to examine if the election results influenced specific conspiracy beliefs and conspiracy mentality, and whether effects differ between election winners (i.e., Biden voters) versus losers (i.e., Trump voters) at the individual level. Results revealed that conspiracy mentality kept unchanged over 2 months, providing first evidence that this indeed is a relatively stable trait. Specific conspiracy beliefs (outgroup and ingroup conspiracy beliefs) did change over time, however. In terms of group-level change, outgroup conspiracy beliefs decreased over time for Biden voters but increased for Trump voters. Ingroup conspiracy beliefs decreased over time across all voters, although those of Trump voters decreased faster. These findings illuminate how specific conspiracy beliefs are, and conspiracy mentality is not, influenced by an election event.
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- 2023
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33. Resentment and Admiration: Public Opinion Toward Teachers and Public Sector Employees in Ontario
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Chris Erl, R. Michael McGregor, Jack Lucas, and Cameron D. Anderson
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Public opinion toward teachers and other public sector workers is an important factor in Ontario provincial politics. This article uses public opinion data to measure, and identify the correlates of, resentment and admiration of these groups, and to identify the relationship between these attitudes and support for political parties in Ontario. Survey data from over 4,000 Ontarians, collected at the time of the 2022 provincial election, show that Ontarians have greater admiration for, and less resentment toward, teachers than toward other provincial government workers. The data also reveal several factors related to these attitudes, including comparative assessments of compensation and workload, and relationships with members of these groups. Finally, the data show that attitudes toward teachers, but not other public sector workers, are related to provincial vote choice, with negative attitudes toward teachers predicting PC Party support. Teachers are clearly a more salient "target" of resentment in Ontario provincial politics. These findings have implications for educational policy and the tactics of teacher unions.
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- 2023
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34. Far-Right Narratives of Climate Change Acceptance and Their Role in Addressing Climate Skepticism
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Balša Lubarda and Bernhard Forchtner
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As research on far-right climate change communication focuses on climate skepticisms, little is known about how the far-right justifies climate acceptance--and what this might mean for environmental education and counter-communication. To initiate a discussion of communicative strategies through which far-right actors might become more accepting of climate mitigation, we, first, reconstruct the narrative structure underlying far-right climate acceptance. Drawing on insights this reconstruction provides and assuming that such acceptance contains lessons for persuasive communication with far-right skeptics, we, second, discuss a number of axioms for counter-communication to be used in environmental education and teaching practice.
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- 2023
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35. College Students' Willingness to Accept COVID-19 Vaccines
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Brunson, Emily K., Rohde, Rodney E., and Fulton, Lawrence V.
- Abstract
Objective To assess college students' willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccines and the factors that influence their decisions. Participants: Traditional (aged 18-23) undergraduate students at a university in central Texas. Methods: An online survey was administered in fall 2020 to 614 students stratified by sex and race/ethnicity. Results: 40.9% of students planned to take the vaccine as soon as possible, 37.1% eventually, 11.4% only if required, and 10.6% did not intend to be vaccinated. Analyses indicated that gender, major/minor, political affiliation, receiving a flu shot in the preceding 12 months, perception of risk for COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy were all associated with willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion: Results confirm that no one-size-fits-all approach to promoting COVID-19 vaccination among college students is possible. Instead, administrators interested in increasing vaccine uptake should address concerns of specific groups, while also utilizing the prosocial beliefs of college students (e.g., being vaccinated will protect others).
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- 2023
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36. How College Students Can Depolarize: Evidence for Political Moderation within Homogeneous Groups
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Yasmeena Khan and Alice Siu
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This paper demonstrates that, after deliberation, college students showed immense moderation potential and affective depolarization, especially even given their homogeneity as a bloc within American politics and within the overwhelmingly liberal sample for this paper. These findings offer optimism for future research in homogeneous groups through understanding that group polarization, while a very worrisome phenomenon, can be avoided with the right precautionary measures. It is clear that college students are capable of engaging constructively across differences and that deliberation, through Deliberative Polling in particular, can serve to build the capacity to do so.
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- 2023
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37. Using Narrative Cycles to Advance Teacher Educators' Emotional Work and Practice in an Era of Affective Polarization
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Cutri, Ramona Maile, Whiting, Erin Feinauer, and Bybee, Eric Ruiz
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"Affective polarization" refers to the amount of negativity that people feel for those who belong to a political party other than their own. This self-study reports on our particular use of a narrative cycle model and documents its validity as a tool for doing the emotional work of exploring contradictions in one's practice without the pressure of engaging in public emotional discourses. We focused on the contradiction between our intention to teach anti-oppressive teacher education and inadvertently silencing students who exhibited affective polarization. Our narrative inquiry analysis documented patterns of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that we assert could help improve the practice of anti-oppressive teacher educators from a variety of political leanings and pedagogical orientations responding to affective polarization. They are 1) recognizing the ineffectiveness of persuasion, 2) recognizing a commonality of emotions, and 3) recognizing an ethical commitment to all students. Practically, our narrative cycle model is a tool to inquire into the emotional work of exploring contradictions in one's practice. Our findings offer a more nuanced understanding of the emotional work involved in responding to affective polarization while enacting anti-oppressive education ideals. Our model also advances a theoretical understanding of how to interrupt the immediacy of time, place, and sociality in the classroom to allow teacher educators to confront their own discomforting emotions. We assert that our narrative cycle tools can help teacher educators turn and face their own emotional and intellectual reactions to affective polarization in the classroom and do so in a manner that upholds the ideals of anti-oppressive teacher education.
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- 2023
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38. An Update on State Legislation Supporting Menstrual Hygiene Products in US Schools: A Legislative Review, Policy Report, and Recommendations for School Nurse Leadership
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Francis, Lucine, Meraj, Shafkat, Konduru, Divya, and Perrin, Eliana M.
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Access to menstrual products is important to support adolescent health. Advocacy to increase access to menstrual products in schools is growing; however, ideal access requires policies that will require schools to support the menstrual health of menstruating students. We conducted a legislative review on the existence and status of state legislation related to the provision of menstrual products in US schools and categorized by state's political control (political party affiliation of governors and state legislature). Of 50 states and 6 territories, 21 had legislation to support menstrual products in schools, 7 had bills pending, 10 had bills failed, and 18 states had no policies introduced in the state legislature. States with Democrat control have significantly more menstrual product state laws compared to states with Republican control [z = 2.54, p = 0.01]. There is a need, especially in Republican states, to accelerate efforts to pass laws that will support menstrual product access in schools.
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- 2023
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39. Endorsement of Critical Social Justice and Privilege: Heterosexual and Cisgender Privilege Awareness among Social Work Students in the US
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Atteberry-Ash, Brittanie, Holloway, Brendon T., and Walls, N. Eugene
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Despite its central role in social work practice and education, little is known about how social justice is operationalized within the discipline. One aspect that may shed light on how the field engages the construct of social justice is through understanding more about recognition of privilege. This study examines how demographic differences, psychosocial predictors, and social work program variables may be related to increased levels of heterosexual and cisgender privilege awareness among social work students. In the heterosexual privilege model (N = 585), increased privilege awareness was associated with identifying as a cisgender woman, a more liberal political orientation, completing a course on power, privilege, and oppression, a critical endorsement of social justice, and being a 2-year MSW or doctoral student. In the cisgender privilege model (N = 758), predictors of increased privilege awareness included identifying as a cisgender woman, identifying as gay, a more liberal political orientation, completing a course on power, privilege, and oppression, a critical endorsement of social justice, and being a 2-year MSW or doctoral student. The findings demonstrate the importance of understanding social justice from a critical perspective and for educators to effectively communicate the connections between social justice and social work practice. Effective strategies to do this are discussed.
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- 2023
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40. Varying Degrees 2020: New America's Fourth Annual Survey on Higher Education
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New America, Fishman, Rachel, Nguyen, Sophie, and Francisco, Myra
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"Varying Degrees" is New America's annual effort to gauge opinions about education after high school. In the four years since the publication of this survey, there has been an economic boom. This year, that boom came to an abrupt and tragic end. Unlike previous recessions, this one has been caused by a global pandemic, and it is unclear how the economy will be able to restart with so many Americans social distancing. This survey provides an important baseline to judge how attitudes and perceptions change in the face of this public health and economic crisis. As in previous years, the survey shows unifying themes, as well as differences, among various demographics when it comes to questions about value, funding, and accountability. Since the United States is gearing up for a presidential election in the fall, special attention was paid to the political affiliations of respondents. COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge to colleges and universities, shifting the way that students learn and how institutions of higher education function. But it is more important than ever to ensure that there are viable, quality educational pathways for everyone, since even after the pandemic ends, the economic wounds are likely to remain for a long time. Understanding the value Americans place on education opportunities after high school and where funding should be prioritized so that students have broad access will be important moving forward. [For the 2019 survey, see ED617234.]
- Published
- 2020
41. The Struggle of Lebanese Teacher Unions in a Neoliberal Period
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Ghosn, Emma and Akkary, Rima Karami
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Teacher unions worldwide are being criticized for disregarding their responsibility as professionals towards education and students. Critics have claimed that teacher unions tend to protect incompetent teachers, place their own needs and interests above their students, and continuously demand for financial increases even when there is more urgency to elevate teacher professionalism and improve teacher quality. This statement does not take into consideration the political, social and economic aspects that influence unions' decisions. Therefore, this study utilizes a qualitative research design, specifically a grounded theory approach to investigate the challenges facing teacher unions in Lebanon from the perspective of union leaders and union members. Data was collected from seventeen public school union leaders and twenty-one teachers. Findings have revealed that teacher unions have assumed a social justice role limited to raising awareness. There are organizational, legal, political, educational, social, and economic barriers that prevent teacher unions in Lebanon from assuming a more active role as a union.
- Published
- 2020
42. Higher Institution Engagement in Partisan Politics: Perspective of Bangladesh
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Shiddike, Mohammad Omar and Bockarie, Abu
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The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which teacher engagement in partisan politics in Bangladesh higher education institutions have influenced their teaching as well as the learning of their students. The study also examined the teachers' perceptions of the benefits and challenges arising from their engagement in partisan politics. A case study methodology was adopted for this study with the goal of capturing each participants' individuality and ensuring that in-depth information for each case was presented. One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted directly with teachers in Bangladeshi higher institutions in order to explore their engagement in partisan politics. The study found that the higher institution teachers' engagement in partisan politics took time away from their professional responsibilities and accountabilities, which had serious implications for their teaching and their students' learning. In addition, while their engagement in partisan politics resulted in personal rewards for the teachers, it also undermined the status of teachers in general, as well as the reputation of higher learning institutions.
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- 2020
43. America after 3PM: Demand Grows, Opportunity Shrinks
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Afterschool Alliance
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The Afterschool Alliance's fourth edition of "America after 3PM" provides a detailed accounting of the circumstances and conditions of U.S. children during the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. and compares afterschool program participation and unmet demand statistics for 2020 with results from 2004, 2009, and 2014. It identifies trends in afterschool program offerings, parent satisfaction with their child's afterschool program, and overall parent perceptions of afterschool programs. Additionally, this report looks at traditionally marginalized communities, including children in low-income families and children of color, to examine opportunity gaps. The need for increased investment in afterschool is especially urgent with the coronavirus pandemic forcing many schools to move to a distance-learning model or operate on a hybrid schedule of in-person and virtual classes. The October 2020 survey of parents found that more than 3 in 4 agree that Congress should provide additional funding for afterschool programs to help provide a supervised, enriching environment during virtual school days. [For the 2014 edition, see "America after 3PM: Afterschool Programs in Demand" (ED611371). Additional funding for this report was provided by the Altria Group.]
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- 2020
44. Can We Bridge the Divide? Right-Wing Memes as Political Education
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Keehn, Gabriel
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Many on the contemporary Left assume that the Right has irrevocably taken control of cyberspace. Many believe that the terrain of online memetic discourse, from 4chan to Russian interference in the 2016 election via social media, is now the domain of trolls, fascists, and neo-Nazis. In this article, Gabriel Keehn argues against that assumption, tracing the ways in which the Right won the meme war and arguing for the educative and liberatory potential of a left counteroffensive in this still contested space.
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- 2022
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45. Fear or Competition? Antecedents to U.S. Business Student Immigration Attitudes
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Maloni, Michael J., Gligor, David M., Blumentritt, Tim, and Gligor, Nichole
- Abstract
Immigration is an important and contemporary topic in management education given its impact on labor, wages, innovation, and diversity. However, extant research offers few insights into the antecedents to student immigration attitudes. Survey data from undergraduate students taking business courses at two large public universities in the southeast U.S. reveal that while student attitudes toward immigration are more moderate than the general U.S. population, these attitudes differ by gender, political affiliation, and immigration background. Following realistic conflict theory and social identity theory, these student immigration attitudes are a function of both fear and competition. First, their attitudes are confounded by conflicting antecedents in perceived personal competition for resources with immigrants (e.g., jobs, wages) versus immigration benefits (e.g., costs, labor base, innovation). Second, xenophobia (fear of immigrants) is a remarkably powerful influencer of one's immigration attitude and its antecedents. With these points, management educators must engage students in critical thinking about immigration to prepare them to effectively work with diverse colleagues and business partners while leading global organizations. We, therefore, present four cross-disciplinary areas of intersection between immigration and management education, including diversity and cultural intelligence, human resource management and ethics, entrepreneurship and innovation, and finally, economic and socioeconomic impacts.
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- 2022
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46. An Exploration of How Gender, Political Affiliation, or Religious Identity Is Associated with Comfort and Perceptions of Controversial Topics in Bioethics
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Edwards, Baylee A., Roberts, Julie A., Bowen, Chloe, Brownell, Sara E., and Barnes, M. Elizabeth
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Bioethics is an important aspect of understanding the relationship between science and society, but studies have not yet examined undergraduate student experiences and comfort in bioethics courses. In this study, we investigated undergraduate bioethics students' support of and comfort when learning three controversial bioethics topics: gene editing, abortion, and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Furthermore, student identity has been shown to influence how students perceive and learn about controversial topics at the intersection of science and society. So, we explored how students' religious affiliation, gender, or political affiliation was associated with their support of and comfort when learning about gene editing, abortion, and PAS. We found that most students entered bioethics with moderated viewpoints on controversial topics but that there were differences in students' tendency to support each topic based on their gender, religion, and political affiliation. We also saw differences in student comfort levels based on identity: women reported lower comfort than men when learning about gene editing, religious students were less comfortable than nonreligious students when learning about abortion and PAS, and nonliberal students were less comfortable than liberal students when learning about abortion. Students cited that the controversy surrounding these topics and a personal hesitancy to discuss them caused discomfort. These findings indicate that identity impacts comfort and support in a way similar to that previously shown in the public. Thus, it may be important for instructors to consider student identity when teaching bioethics topics to maximize student comfort, ultimately encouraging thoughtful consideration and engagement with these topics.
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- 2022
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47. Varying Degrees 2019
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New America, Fishman, Rachel, Nguyen, Sophie, Acosta, Alejandra, and Clark, Ashley
- Abstract
Americans' opinions about higher education are complex. Understanding this complexity is important for learning how to talk about the value of educational pathways after high school and crafting thoughtful policy solutions to meet the needs of today's students. This is the reason we engage Americans every year, asking questions other surveys do not delve into, and digging deep to reveal the sentiments and nuance of people's thoughts about higher education, its value, who should fund it, and what the government's role should be. This report marks the third year of New America's groundbreaking "Varying Degrees" survey, and represents a complete overhaul. Given the great strides online survey research has made, we transitioned to an online/telephone design using AmeriSpeak, a representative panel developed by NORC at the University of Chicago. AmeriSpeak allows us to capture better representation of harder-to-reach populations such as young adults, current students enrolled in higher education programs, and oversamples of African American, Latinx, and Asian American populations. [For the 2018 survey, see ED617236.]
- Published
- 2019
48. Education Reform's Deep Blue Hue: Are School Reformers Right-Wingers or Centrists--or Neither?
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American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Greene, Jay P., and Hess, Frederick M.
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This new analysis, which examines the political campaign contributions from those most active in education reform, finds that the movement is populated by individuals who support Democratic candidates for public office. The bottom line: The leading participants in the school-reform "wars" are mostly engaged in an intramural brawl, one between union-allied Democrats and a strand of progressive Democrats more intent on changing school systems. Depictions of school reform have become remarkably detached from the reality of who populates the education-reform world. To gauge the partisan composition of the reform movement, researchers examined the political campaign contributions of a large sample of individuals working in education-reform organizations. A list of Bill and Melinda Gates and Walton Family Foundation grantees was compiled for the sample. In total, researchers found 2,625 political campaign contributions from the staff of Gates grantees. Of those contributions, 99 percent supported the Democratic Party of Democratic candidates. Researchers found that 87 percent of contributions from employees from organizations that receive support from the Walton Family Foundation went to Democrats. 74 percent of the funds in total contributions went to Democrats. Although school reform is routinely portrayed as a right-wing enterprise and the education-reform community defends itself as bipartisan, school reformers are decidedly left-leaning. Political giving by school reformers and reform-minded scholars is about as one-sided as that in other liberal precincts, such as Hollywood and public-employee unions, which suggests that education reformers are far more left-leaning than the nation's educators are. The lopsided political makeup of education reform risks creating an echo chamber, hinders reform efforts in red and purple states, and can create challenges when anticipating and addressing the concerns of right-leaning constituencies.
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- 2019
49. Citizen Trustee Survey: Selected Results and Analysis
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Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
- Abstract
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) "Citizen Trustee Survey" is the most current look at the individuals providing leadership to community colleges across the country by serving on those institutions' governing boards. By conducting this survey, ACCT sought to gain a better understanding of trustees' backgrounds, roles, and challenges in serving community colleges and their students. This information can educate community college leaders themselves, policymakers, and the public about who is leading these institutions which serve nearly 40 percent of all postsecondary students. This summary report presents selected data points from the survey that will be particularly valuable to those working in higher education, policymakers, and the public. This report addresses four questions: (1) What are the demographic characteristics of trustees?; (2) What was trustees' prior relationships with their community college and their motivations for serving?; (3) What are trustees' priorities?; and (4) What do trustees view as the primary challenges facing their college and community? A key finding from the survey is that the demographic backgrounds of trustees, particularly with regard to gender and race and ethnicity, are starkly different from the backgrounds of community college students. While the data reveal important demographic differences between trustees and students, they also describe trustees' strong commitment to service.
- Published
- 2018
50. Social Identity Information in Projection Inferences: A Case Study in Social and Semantic-Pragmatic Meaning
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Taylor Mahler
- Abstract
This dissertation investigates whether social identity information modulates the interpretation of non-entailed clausal complement content (CC) in utterances of sentences such as (1): (1) Ken didn't hear that the minimum wage is too high. The focus of this dissertation is the listener 's inference that the speaker is committed to the truth of the CC, e.g., that the minimum wage is too low; to the extent that this inference holds, the CC is said to "project". I ask whether the social identities and beliefs of the interlocutors -- speaker and listener -- can influence projection inferences. With respect to the speaker, I ask whether the speaker's identity modulates these inferences. For example, are listeners more likely to infer that the speaker is committed t o a "conservative" CC such as the minimum wage is too high when the speaker is a Republican than when the speaker is a Democrat? With respect to the listener, I first ask whether listeners incorporate their own beliefs into their interpretations. Two type s of beliefs are investigated: listener beliefs about the speaker and listener beliefs about the CC. For listener beliefs about the speaker, the question is whether listeners ' beliefs about the speaker's beliefs, identity, and other social characteristics of the speaker modulate projection inferences. The second type of listener belief that I investigate is the listener's belief about whether the CC is true. For example, are listeners more likely to infer that the speaker is committed to a "liberal" CC if t hey themselves believe that the CC is true, compared to listeners who believe that it is false? I investigate these questions in a series of three experiments. Three speaker social identities that are stereotypically associated with political beliefs are explored: the speaker 's political affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat; Experiment 1), regional background (rural Southerner vs. nonrural non 2) and regional dialect (Southern accented vs. non-Southerner; Experiment Southern accented speakers; Experiment 3). This research contributes to our understanding of how social identity information shapes linguistic interpretation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2022
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