Search

High schools across the country are restructuring their curricular frameworks to meet the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which emphasize an understanding of cultural diversity in addition to critical thinking and literacy. Despite curricular variance among high schools, the significant roles non-white races have played in constructing a pluralistic America, and the increasing importance of U.S. minorities in global economic sectors, many history/social studies courses fall short of presenting culturally diverse material to students. This paper presents a theoretical argument for using New Historicism, a method of literary criticism, in high school literature/ English education courses to meet the goals of the CCSS while generating greater discussion about and appreciation for the contributions of diverse cultural narratives. Using three case studies, one on a U.S. history textbook analysis, another in an English classroom, and a third on a letter written in 1852 by two Asians to the then Governor of California, this paper reveals a striking lack of discussion about cultural diversity in the secondary curricula and demonstrates the historical and cultural richness that can be illuminated in the classroom via New Historicism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about how diverse learning needs of ethnic minority students could be better fulfilled. This study examines local teachers’ constructs of assessment classroom environments. Using qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with 32 teachers from three secondary schools, this study shows ways in which summative assessment influences teachers’ formative assessment practices. Cultural responsiveness in this study is not limited to the notion of multiculturalism. It can be constructed under the ethos of respect, care and equality. The culturally responsive approach to assessment described in this study foregrounds considerations of cultural influence in teachers’ beliefs regarding assessment. Principles of culturally responsive assessment identified include: (i) integrating the ‘part’ of assessment with the ‘whole’ of teaching, (ii) managing the diverse learning needs of students, (iii) removing language barriers from the assessment process and (iv) examining the influence of the public examination on teachers’ classroom assessment practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increased academic self-efficacy can facilitate educational progress and success as well as minimize the risk of dropping out for adolescents. However, there are sex, racial, and ethnic disparities associated with the risk of dropping out of high school. What remains unknown is if increased academic self-efficacy can minimize sex, racial, and ethnic disparities linked to the risk of adolescents dropping out. This study utilizes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modeling techniques to examine the impact of academic self-efficacy on dropping out. The results indicate that racial and ethnic minorities have relatively lower levels of academic self-efficacy; however, increased academic self-efficacy can ameliorate sex, racial, and ethnic dropout disparities. The implications of the evident sex, racial, and ethnic disparities in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and dropping out are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many Hong Kong schools are concerned about their growing numbers of ethnic minority students. When these students are enrolled in Hong Kong secondary schools, how their cultural diversity is catered for becomes critical. This article examines how teachers narrate the cultural diversity of ethnic minority students, who come from Pakistan, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, through which the narratives of twenty-four teachers from four secondary schools were explored. The study showed that to address cultural diversity, a ‘connected’ classroom should be established by promoting interpersonal relationships, developing adaptive teaching strategies, keeping the balance between guidance and discipline and strengthening home-school collaboration. Implications for the development of teacher education will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors aim to describe student attendance–mobility within a large urban district in ways that are meaningful and useful to schools and the community. First, the prevalence of mobility and nonattendance in Grades 1–12 across all students and by gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic subgroups is presented. Second, the impact on student mathematics achievement is examined. Results show that nonattendance–mobility negatively impact mathematics achievement as measured by the state's assessment, even after controlling for socioeconomic status and gender. Interestingly, there is not a differential impact across ethnicities. Black and White subgroups show similar patterns of achievement across attendance and mobility levels. Finally, the authors take a closer look at the 10 district high schools to determine where nonattendance–mobility is of particular concern. Implications for districts are discussed in terms of targeting the extent of the problem and where it is occurring, using that information to improve attendance and reduce mobility, and finally, instituting systematic approaches to deal with student movement in and out of schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the last two decades, Puerto Ricans have been moving rapidly in large numbers to the Central Florida region. Research suggests that this migration is partially due to a search for better economic and educational opportunities (Duany and Matos-Rodriguez, 2006). This study explores the schooling experiences of a group of Puerto Rican students in a Central Florida high school. Observations and interviews indicate that for many of these students, an overcrowded, often culturally irrelevant, and linguistically racist school environment has tainted the promise of greater educational opportunities in Central Florida. Moreover, a high stakes test known as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is making receiving a high school diploma an overwhelmingly daunting task. Finally, implications for Latina/o sociology of education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, it was thought that religion would disappear with the development of society and the freedom not to believe in religion was stressed. During the Cultural Revolution religion became the object of oppression. However, from the end of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s to date, the long-term existence of religion came to be accepted. Searching for cooperation between socialism and religion, ways in which religion could effectively contribute to modernisation began to be put forward. In comparison with the previous situation, the current period is marked by a much more tolerant policy. If one looks at religion in education, first, at the level of legal codes, the separation of public education and religion is extolled based on the rule of separation of religion and state. And, it is clearly forbidden to engage in activities that use religion to interfere with educational activities. This applies to ethnic minorities as well. Second, be this as it may, religion is touched upon at all levels of education. For example, at the level of high school education, the distribution of the three major world religions is explained and many other religions are introduced. Moreover, the culture and customs of some religions are introduced. In higher education, in universities and graduate schools, the Religious Studies major has been created for the training of those in charge of regulating religions as well as scholars. Third, several of the religions recognised by the Chinese government have developed institutions to train personnel. Furthermore, some of these institutions are working in cooperation with institutions of higher education to offer programmes of study. In this way, especially following the end of the Cultural Revolution, cooperation between socialism and religion was sought. And, coexistence with ethnic minority groups, which believe in a number of different religions, was considered. And yet, within school education, the treatment of religion is strictly limited. Only education that aims at a basic knowledge of religion is conducted. There are significant national differences in the relationship between education and religion. It would be fruitful for China to reconsider this relationship, taking account of developments in other countries, in the present situation where the Chinese government has a more tolerant policy towards religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth from low-income, minority backgrounds have often been marginalized from introductory courses, advanced study and careers in physics. Cultivating student agency may have the potential to improve access for diverse groups of learners. However, the implications of this lens for student learning have been minimally examined in the physics education literature. In this ethnographic study situated in a ninth-grade conceptual physics classroom, I discuss students' critical goals—the intentions, motivations, and desires for change that youth held. These critical goals were related to learning, voice, and participation in relationships and the world. I also describe how student goals demonstrate the idea of “critical subject-matter agency” in physics: students positioning themselves as powerful learners envisioning subject knowledge as a tool for change in their own lives and world. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed92:252–277, 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is a high-stakes test that public school students must pass to be eligible for graduation from high school. Previous research suggests that high-stakes tests have a differential effect on students by race and ethnicity. This study finds that in one Florida school district African American and Hispanic students coming from poorer, less educated, or higher mobility households are less likely to meet graduation requirements than their higher socioeconomic, White, suburban counterparts. African American students and students from the lowest income households are also the most likely to encounter a negative graduation effect because the passing score on the FCAT rises each year. School characteristics also affect the probability of student success. High schools that hire more teachers with advanced degrees or offer a magnet program have better student FCAT scores. This results in higher probabilities that all categories of students will meet graduation requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cross-cultural research on minority school achievement yields mixed findings on the motivational impact of future goal setting for students from disadvantaged minority groups. Relevant and recent motivational research, integrating Future Time Perspective Theory with Self-Determination Theory, has not yet been validated among minority students. Aims. To replicate across cultures the known motivational benefits of perceived instrumentality and internal regulation by distant future goals; to clarify when and how the future motivates minority students' educational performance. Sample. Participants in this study were 279 minority students (100 of Turkish and 179 of Moroccan origin) and 229 native Dutch students in Dutch secondary schools. Methods. Participants rated the importance of future goals, their perceptions of instrumentality, their task motivation and learning strategies. Dependent measures and their functional relations with future goal setting were simultaneously validated across minority and non-minority students, using structural equation modelling in multiple groups. Results. As expected, Positive Perceived Instrumentality for the future increases task motivation and (indirectly) adaptive learning of both minority and non-minority students. But especially internally regulating future goals are strongly related to more task motivation and indirectly to more adaptive learning strategies. Conclusion. Our findings throw new light on the role of future goal setting in minority school careers: distant future goals enhance minority and non-minority students' motivation and learning, if students perceive positive instrumentality and if their schoolwork is internally regulated by future goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports observational research in six High School Puente 9th and 10th grade classrooms in four schools in Northern and Southern California during fall, winter, and spring visits in 2000-2001. After two opening vignettes, observations are summarized in five categories: curriculum and teaching, socialization into habits of mind and habits for life, teacher perceptions of differences between Puente and non-Puente classes, Puente events outside the classroom, and how the four teachers learned to be Puente teachers. Finally, three conceptual frameworks are suggested for these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the school careers of Dutch pupils of ethnic minority background in the first 5 years following the transition to secondary education. The database used is VOCL89 of the Dutch Central Statistics Office (CBS). In line with previous findings, in the case of equal achievements pupils of ethnic minority background are advised to select higher types of secondary education than Dutch pupils. Furthermore, pupils of ethnic minority background more often select a school higher than advised than Dutch pupils. With control for social background, pupils of ethnic minority background are also found to display a more favourable career after the 1st year of secondary education. Path model construction results in consistently positive effects of ethnic minority origin at every transition. Further analysis demonstrates that even the most vulnerable subgroups of pupils of ethnic minority background, the Turkish and Moroccan pupils born in their motherland, show both absolutely and compared with the advice a career on a higher level than Dutch pupils with a similar social background. A point of discussion concerns the extent to which social background, defined as the parental educational level, refers to the same concept for Dutch people and people belonging to ethnic minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the implementation of Career Academy program for a diverse high school population in the United States. Context of the Career Academy program; Problems faced by education due to the influx of immigrants; Contribution of education system to poor performance of urban high school students; Influence of societal changes on workplace skills of students.

Reports on the results of a survey conducted by the author on the teaching practices of middle school teachers in Houston, Texas, which affect the student performances of females and minorities. Rice Model Science Lab as study sponsor; Teachers involved in the study; Data collection; Discussion of results; Recommended strategies for change in teaching methods.

This article examines the effect of Catholic secondary schooling on high school graduation rates, college graduation rates, and future wages. The article introduces new measures of access to Catholic schools that serve as potential instruments for Catholic school attendance. Catholic secondary schools are geographically concentrated in urban areas, and Catholic schooling does increase educational attainment significantly among urban minorities. The gains from Catholic schooling are modest for urban whites and negligible for suburban students. Related analyses suggest that urban minorities benefit greatly from access to Catholic schooling primarily because the public schools available to them are quite poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study that focuses on the significance of curriculum reform in the modern day American high school with the aid of previous researches done by prominent researchers on the same field including John Franklin Bobbit, John Dewey, and Ralph W. Tyler. The author believes that the subject matter of the school curriculum should mark a gradual differentiation out of the primitive unconscious of social life. The author also adapts and discusses the Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction by Tyler. In conclusion, it states that the need to implement a rigorous, default curriculum that will include courses are essential in order to prepare high school students for college and workforce.