This page last modified August 29, 2000 (tca)
Title:Relationship-Based Practice in Early Intervention Settings: An Experimental Investigation of Impact and Effectiveness
Principal Investigator: Jeanne Wilcox (Arizona State University)
Total Award and Project Period: $1,309,383 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract: Early childhood practitioners in the United States use different models and approaches when providing services and supports to young children and their families. A family-centered approach is frequently used where the supports and services are custom-designed to meet the individual strengths and needs of the children and their families. Under this family-centered model, the needs of the child and family determine what services are provided, as opposed to the traditional model where families receive whatever practitioners happen to offer. Under the family-centered approach, relationships between and among the children, their families, and practitioners are a key feature. However, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of this approach to serving young children and their families.
This study will evaluate the effectiveness of family-centered early intervention practices that have a relationship-based perspective. Research activities will focus on documenting outcomes for the children, the families, and the practitioners themselves compared to control groups' outcomes. Study participants will include 200 early intervention professionals, 400 children and families served by the practitioners, and the program administrators. Practitioners will be recruited from programs that are currently using child - focused interventions. Programs such as Early Head Start, Healthy Families, and other early intervention programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who have disabilities or are at high risk of developing disabilities will be targeted.
Practitioners will be randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Those in the experimental group will receive twelve months of training that will focus on creating and implementing early intervention services that are reflective and relationship based.
It is anticipated that practitioners who have received training in a relationship-based approach to early intervention will exhibit significantly more family-centered behaviors compared to a control group. It is also expected that children receiving such family-centered services will have enhanced developmental outcomes when compared to children in the control group.
Title: Educational Risk and Resilience in Five Longitudinal Studies of Maltreated and Disadvantaged Children
Principal Investigators: Christine E. Cox and Desmond K. Runyan (University of North Carolina)
Total Award and Project Period: $320,297 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract: Issues surrounding the presence of at-risk students in schools, from improving their academic performance and subsequent opportunities for success, to discipline and school safety, are of major national concern. The study examines the educational experiences and outcomes of such children from ages 4 to 12 with a particular focus on how they interact with their school environment. Data are pooled from five geographically dispersed longitudinal studies that have used common instruments and protocols to collect a rich array of measures of child, caregiver, family, neighborhood, and school characteristics, and official maltreatment reports, at multiple intervals. Multilevel and repeated measures analyses are used to address the ways in which poverty, maltreatment, and other risk factors affect cognitive development, social adjustment, and behavior and academic performance, and how these relationships are modified by such contextual factors as the availability of supportive adults, and local communities, and services received. The findings of this work will inform efforts to improve educational outcomes for children at risk of failure and to reduce disruptive and delinquent behavior that affects the quality of the learning environment for all students.
Title: Effects of Inclusive Class Membership on Peers without Disabilities
Name of Principal Investigator: Christine Salisbury (Erickson Institute)
Total Award and Project Period: $1,741,680 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract:This project studies what happens to students without disabilities when students with disabilities are included in typical public school classrooms. The study will cover approximately 900 students without disabilities in 19 elementary schools across three school districts in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. The schools and districts will be chosen to provide adequate variation both demographically and with respect to inclusive practices. This project will study elementary age students without disabilities in classrooms that contain students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. The study will address the question: Does inclusive class membership affect the learning outcomes of peers without disabilities, and, if it does, how?
This study will examine school, classroom, and student factors related to inclusion practices. School level factors associated with the delivery of inclusive educational supports will be examined in all 19 elementary schools. The results from this initial study will be used to purposively select two elementary schools in each of the three districts for an in-depth investigation of learning opportunities related to inclusive class membership. A variety of measures will be used to assess classroom structures, instructional practices, instructional rigor, social contexts, and perceived classroom experiences, both for students with and without disabilities. The study's findings regarding how special education policies affect students without disabilities, will provide useful information to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, and parents interested in improving the quality of education for all children.
Title: Beyond Program Effectiveness Research: Explaining Low Achievement in Limited English Proficient Students
Principal Investigator: Jeff MacSwan (Arizona State University)
Total Award and Project Period: $693,083 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract: A number of research studies have been conducted that seek to determine whether English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs or bilingual education (BLE) programs are more effective for Limited English Proficient (LEP) children in the United States. In contrast to these investigations, this study seeks to identify specific components of bilingual and ESL programs that explain achievement differences among LEP children. In particular, the study will use a structural equation modeling approach to evaluate more definitively how ongoing academic exposure to the first language, proficiency in the first language, and exposure to the second language contribute to language proficiency and academic achievement in the second language environment. These particular avenues have been chosen because they reflect popular, though as yet insufficiently tested, theories of bilingual education already proposed in the literature. The results of the study will be used to select among competing theories regarding the underlying causes of academic failure among LEP children, and to identify particular components of programs that are most effective in promoting achievement in this student population.
Title: National Board Certification: Who Chooses to Become Nationally Board Certified and What Are the Consequences for Students
Principal Investigator: Dan Goldhaber (The Urban Institute)
Total Award and Project Period: $464,198 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract: National Board Certification is a new way for the teaching profession to define and recognize highly accomplished practice. Unlike state licensure, which is a prerequisite to teaching and is designed to ensure a basic level of competence to practice, National Board Certification is awarded to a teacher who has been judged by his or her peers as a teacher who meets high and rigorous professional standards. The certification process, under the jurisdiction of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), has the potential not only to give the teaching profession more autonomy, but ultimately to raise the standards by which teachers practice and subsequently improve student learning.
This study assesses the impact of the National Board Certification by examining detailed data from North Carolina, a state that has roughly a quarter of all National Board Certification teachers. The study focuses on three major questions: (1) what factors affect the decision of individuals to seek Board certification, (2) what determines the success of applicants for Board certification, and (3) what is the ultimate impact of Board Certification on student achievement?
The study analyzes data on the applicants for the National Board Certification, identifies the determinants of the decision to seek Board certification by estimating multivariate models, uses statistical techniques to estimate the likelihood of successful Board certification, and examines how success rates vary across districts and schools. The study also matches teacher data with student test score data to assess how the performance of students of National Board-certified teachers compares with those students whose teachers are not National Board-certified. The study will lead to a better understanding of whether the assessment process for the certification accurately identifies exemplary teachers and whether participation in the process itself improve teaching performance and consequently student achievement. Numerous states and localities have opted to help National Board Certification candidates to pay for assessment by the Board; some jurisdictions raise the pay of Board-certified teachers. The findings of this study should help determine the value of investing in Board-certified teachers.
Title: Community Influences on School Safety and Capacity for Prevention Program Implementation
Principal Investigator: Gary D. Gottfredson (Gottfredson Associates)
Total Award and Project Period: $297,782 (7/01/00 to 6/30/02)
Abstract: Past studies have suggested a relationship between community characteristics and the ability of schools to successfully implement prevention programs. For example, researchers have observed that school administrators and staff tend to develop certain attitudes toward student behavior in communities with characteristics such as high rates of unemployment, crime, welfare female headed households, or students behind grade level. In some schools serving such communities, the faculty and administrators tolerate rates of rough play and aggressive interpersonal physical and verbal interaction that are uncharacteristic of other schools. And some such schools fail to take action in response to instances of tardiness and truancy that other schools would respond to immediately as serious problems. Educators in some of these schools do not expect parents to be helpful in controlling student problem behavior and do not systematically request assistance, whereas in other schools faculty immediately request the assistance of parents in regulating student conduct. And in some schools serving such communities, members of the faculty do not expect other faculty members or administrators to take responsibility for solving problems and putting effective practices in place.
The specific objective of this research is to increase understanding of the extent to which community characteristics influence (a) the types of delinquency prevention programs attempted and the practices and activities employed by schools, (b) the quality and quantity of prevention services and of arrangements to promote orderly schools, and (c) school capacity to promote safe environment and implement prevention programs and arrangements - including expectations of educators for students and families.
This research builds upon an ongoing program of research to collect and analyze data about the community context within which schools implement programs to prevent problem behavior and create safe and orderly environments. Data have been collected and analyzed from a national sample of 1,287schools (elementary, middle/junior, and high) in urban, suburban, and rural communities. These data provide information about the schools and delinquency prevention programs in these schools. This research will draw from Census data to add measures of community context to the data base.
The practical applications of this work will be to move attention away from the technical content of prevention "programs" toward building school capacity by changing expectations and practices. By identifying practices and mechanisms through which community characteristics relate to interventions for reducing violence and other forms of disorder in schools, the research will suggest approaches to breaking the cycle that perpetuates unsafe schools and disorderly learning environments.
Title: The Role of Civil Rights Challenges in Shaping State and Federal Standards-Based School Reform
Principal Investigator: Jorge Ruiz-de-Velasco (The Urban Institute)
Total Award and Project Duration: $268,033 (7/1/00 to 12/31/01)
Abstract: Virtually all states have adopted content standards in the core academic subjects, and administer some form of statewide test to measure student performance. Nineteen states now make high school graduation contingent on passing statewide tests. Rights-based organizations are now beginning to mount challenges to these reforms. In 1994 civil rights advocates mounted a legal challenge to Ohio's implementation of an exit examination for high school seniors on behalf of minority students who had a record of failing the test in disproportionate numbers. The central allegation was that minority students would be denied high school diplomas because they did not have a fair opportunity to meet state standards. In response, state officials agreed to penalize school districts that did not adequately prepare students for the test and to fund additional instruction for students who fail the exit test. Similar legal challenges were mounted in 1977 in Texas and North Carolina, and more recently in Florida and New York.
This study examines the claims and strategies that rights-based groups are advancing in response to standards-based reforms. The central question of this study is: How are legal and political challenges from civil rights organizations affecting the design and implementation of standards-based school reforms at the state and federal levels of government? Sub-questions include: Which standards-based reform policies elicit civil rights challenges?" How are these challenges framed (on whose behalf are the complaints launched, what evidence is brought to bear)? How do state and federal policymakers respond? and What are the implications of these challenges and the subsequent responses?
The work includes a series of case studies at the federal level and in four states where initial legal challenges have been advanced: Ohio, Texas, Florida and New York; a set of interviews with advocacy group leaders, litigators, policy makers and reform experts; and an analysis of statutory claims and policy responses focusing around three domains: the legal domain (clarification of rights), the political domain (clarification of public priorities), and the professional domain (clarification of technical, pedagogical, and organizational issues).
The study is intended to surface replicable policies and practices about curricula and content standards, about assessments or assessment strategies, about school accountability provisions or other policy and practice strategies that have been able to achieve the goals of standards-based reform while also addressing civil right concerns.
Title: Bridges in the Lives of Youth with Disabilities: Community Adjustment and Transition.
Principal Investigator: Linda D. Goetze (Utah State University)
Total Award and Project Period: $957,557 (7/01/00 to 6/30/03)
Abstract: The ultimate goal of education is to improve the life prospects of students after graduation and to enable them to meet the challenges of adult living in the broader community. This study will describe the degree of community adjustment of youth with disabilities and evaluate the influence of school inclusion, and student and family characteristics on levels of community adjustment. The measure of community adjustment covers a number of areas including personal satisfaction, employment, need for support services, recreation/leisure, social networking, and residential integration.
Information on approximately 300 students, age 11 to 19, with a variety of mild, moderate, and severe disabilities, including multiple disabilities, mental retardation, specific learning disabilities, and orthopedic, speech and language, and hearing and visual impairments will be examined. An existing longitudinal database on these students includes a number of early childhood variables such as child health, family support and additional services. It also includes measures of school services, including degree of inclusion and intensity of support services provided to these students throughout their school life. This study adds new data from youth and their families about their community experiences and adaptation. A statistical model will be developed to examine the effects of inclusion and child, family, and community characteristics on community adjustment. The information will be particularly helpful to those making decisions about the timing and merits of inclusion, the role and optimal use of community services, school placement and curriculum issues, and Individualized Educational Plans and transitional services for students with disabilities.
Title: Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students
Principal Investigator: Linda Serra Hagedorn (University of Southern California)
Total Award and Project Period: $1,078,139 (8/01/00 to 7/31/03)
Abstract: What makes for successful transfer or completion of an associate's degree at a community college, particularly in large urban community college districts with many students from lower socioeconomic status, minority, and second language backgrounds? Present rates of transfer to 4-year colleges and/or program completion in such districts leave much room for improvement.
This longitudinal study will follow 5,000 first-time students from the nine campuses of the Los Angeles Community College district (LACCD) for three years to isolate and determine factors promoting success and those that hinder progress. The LACCD is a particularly rich setting for the investigation: everyone is a minority, language backgrounds range from Russian to Spanish to Arabic to Korean, the age of beginning students ranges from 17 to 47, attendance is principally part-time in both day and evening sessions, and a majority of the students are the first in their families to continue their education beyond high school. If we can understand how to assist these students through to a meaningful conclusion to their undergraduate studies, the lessons will be transferable to other urban community college districts that serve an increasing proportion of the nation's postsecondary population.
The longitudinal study will begin with a survey of the 5,000 students utilizing a modified form of the Cooperative Institutional Research Project's Freshman Survey. As these students matriculate and move through their educational careers, the research team will use follow-up surveys, interviews, and transcript records to document the processes of retention and transfer. The interviews will focus, in particular, on students who are no longer associated with the campus at which they began their studies and who neither transferred to a 4-year college nor completed a community college degree. Both the data and the interviews will allow for analysis of the roles of remediation, reverse transfer, social integration, instructional practices, course taking patterns, outside employment, and family circumstances in persistence. The results of the analysis will identify specific classroom, college environment, advisement, and supportive services that can enhance the success of students from different backgrounds in community colleges.
Title: New Uses of Technology in Assessing Culturally Diverse College-Bound Students
Principal Investigator: Clifford Hill (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Total Award and Project Period: $677,643 (9/01/00 to 8/31/03)
Abstract: As the number of culturally diverse students seeking admission to higher education increases, their lower performance on admissions tests such as the SAT becomes an increasingly important national problem. There is widespread concern that the ethnic and cultural gap on testing is likely to become even greater as technology plays a more important role in testing and assessment. This concern is well founded, because culturally diverse students generally have less access to technology.
This study will develop and evaluate technology-based assessment tasks that are designed to assure that performance on the tasks accurately reflects the knowledge and skills of all students, particularly the knowledge and skills of African American and Hispanic/Latino American students. The researchers will initially draw a small sample of 30 students in metropolitan New York who are in the College Board's Pacesetter Program, a strong college preparatory program that also provides participants with basic technological competence. These students will participate in a pilot test of a wide range of assessment tasks. Then, based on that pilot, a more limited set of assessment tasks will be administered to a large sample of 720 Pacesetter students in three sites - a Western site, a Midwestern site, and an Eastern or Southern site. Scores from that larger assessment will be compared to the same students' scores on the PSAT to see if the cultural/ethnic gap is narrowed or eliminated. Also, individual responses on the technology-based assessment will be analyzed to determine the degree to which they reflect important skills such as the ability to engage in critical thinking.
The researchers hope that national organizations such as the College Board will use the results of this work to develop national assessment systems that provide more relevant and accurate information for the college admission process. Such a new system will permit all students, and particularly culturally diverse students, to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that are masked by traditional print tests and that may also be hidden by technologically-based assessments that are not properly constructed. The results of this work can promote more culturally appropriate use of technology in assessment, which, in turn, will lead to greater cultural diversity in higher education.
This page last modified August 29, 2000 (tca)