Education -- Child Development

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a university's freshman year community-based service-learning experience on the achievement of standards articulated for teacher candidates. Standards assessed included knowledge of community-based resources, demonstration of reflective processes, and recognition of the importance of collaboration with community-based professionals. Findings indicated that this early field experience facilitated achievement of professional development goals related to service identification; participants also demonstrated reflection on practice. A challenge revealed by this investigation, however, was related to the facilitation of collaborative dispositions in preservice teachers.

This paper examines pre-service teacher outcomes associated with service learning in domestic and international settings. Participants included upper-division, undergraduatelevel pre-service teachers who participated in service learning experiences in either local, domestic settings (Orange County, CA) or international settings (Shanghai and Changshu, China). Outcomes initially considered included academic achievement, civic engagement, career goal clarification, and the development of cultural competencies. Pre/post-experience surveys and course reflections were analysed to identify within and between group differences in participant reports. Findings indicated positive outcomes across contexts in respect to academic achievement and opportunities for career goal clarification. The international service learning context appeared to facilitate enhanced outcomes in relation to development of professional skills and strategies as well as personal development. The international service learning context was also generally rated by participants as more 'impactful' than the domestic service learning context. Experiential learning is supported by constructivist theoretical principles recommending that students have an active role in learning where authentic tasks are introduced. In teacher preparation, experiential learning is frequently situated in classroom or community-based contexts where participants have opportunities to interact with children, adolescents, and/or families with support from experienced teachers and university faculty and staff. In research investigations of outcomes associated with experiential learning, undergraduate students report that these field-based experiences are beneficial to their professional development ) and contribute to their understandings of multicultural and urban settings . Empirical studies indicate that service learning, a specific form of experiential learning where there is alignment between participant academic and professional development goals and community needs, has the potential to impact academic achievement, career goal clarification, civic engagement, and the development of cultural competencies (e.g.

This study explored the perspectives of high school students, high school teachers, undergraduate and graduate students in preservice teacher education programs, and university professors about how a high school teacher assigns grades. The study also asked whether these different groups gave more or less weight to completing an assigned task than demonstrating mastery of the subject in the assignment of grades and whether a stand-alone measurement course made a difference among educators' perspectives on grading. A survey was developed to collect perspectives through a case study of a realistic grading dilemma. Data were collected from 153 preservice teachers (mostly undergraduates), 49 preservice teachers in a graduate course, 81 practicing high school and elementary school teachers in 2 states, 34 education professors, and 288 high school students in 2 states. Participants responded in a similar way to the case study, but there was a difference in the perceptions of high school students and those of other groups. Educators and students agreed that homework as for practice, but most respondents would consider homework in grading the student. Generally respondents had similar views of the purpose of a grade. Educators who had taken a measurement course were more likely to consider homework as a requirement that should affect grading. Implications for teacher education How the multiple functions of grades influence their validity and value as measures of academic 2 achievement

This study investigated preservice, inservice, and college teachers' reasons for making assessment and grading decisions. A survey examined their perspectives about a case study that presented a grading dilemma in which a teacher, "Sarah", assigned grades based on criteria that were potentially invalid and unreliable. Participants analyzed the case and provided solutions and a rationale for their decisions. The dilemma was that Sarah had given the most knowledgeable student in her math class, "James", a grade of B because he never turned in homework. James' parents wanted Sarah to change James' grade to an A to reflect his mathematics knowledge. Participants discussed: whether Sarah should change James' grade, what grade James deserved, and what they believed was the purpose of homework and grades. Most respondents believed James' grade should not be changed because of the teacher's homework requirement. Results highlight the need to help teachers make good grading decisions based on fundamental measurement principles. In situations in which a teacher must summarize and communicate a student's classroom progress in an academic subject through one grade, there must be consensus that the grade represents the most accurate statement of the student's academic achievement, and only academic achievement. (Contains 57 references and 4 figures.) (SM)

Preceded by the many suicides in the LGBT youth community, along with alarming trends in assault and bullying of this population, The FAIR Education Act was passed into law in 2012. The purpose of this law was to mandate the inclusion of LGBT history into the K-12 curriculum of our public schools with the intent of creating safer school climates. This study considers the implementation of California's curriculum inclusion law in a sampling of California high schools. With a focus on teachers as implementers the goal was to discover if teachers were implementing and if so, explore supports and barriers for teachers as well as a path forward towards fuller implementation. Using a mixed methods sequential approach, an initial survey was sent to gather data from social studies and history teachers in a sampling of high schools, to which 83 districts across Northern California responded. In-depth interviews further explored the process of implementation as it was found. Using the implementation model of James A. Banks (1990) implementation levels were assessed in both the survey and the interviews. Ernest House's (1998) framework, borrowing from Transaction Cost Economics, was used as a means for measuring likely success of SB 48 and for looking at barriers to implementation from the teacher's perspective. Finally, the lens of xii Sociotransformative Constructivism, a nascent theory blending Multicultural Education and Crtitical Pedagogy, was used as a social justice lens to create a path forward towards fuller inclusion and safer schools for LGBT youth. Results from this study add to the knowledge of not only why educational reforms often fail to create the intended change, but how we can create the necessary supports for teachers who are currently self-supporting their own implementation. A multiple regression analysis was performed which identified six independent variables that could account for 39% of the variance for the dependent variable Currently Implementing. Further findings point to shared characteristics of teachers implementing at all four levels, as well as primary barriers to be found in lack of time, resources and general knowledge. This study strongly suggests that while much of the responsibility for implementing this policy is within the responsibility of teachers, leadership will need to play a key role if this policy is to create the change as intended in school climates for LGBT youth. xiii

Preceded by the many suicides in the LGBT youth community, along with alarming trends in assault and bullying of this population, The FAIR Education Act was passed into law in 2012. The purpose of this law was to mandate the inclusion of LGBT history into the K-12 curriculum of our public schools with the intent of creating safer school climates. This study considers the implementation of California's curriculum inclusion law in a sampling of California high schools. With a focus on teachers as implementers the goal was to discover if teachers were implementing and if so, explore supports and barriers for teachers as well as a path forward towards fuller implementation. Using a mixed methods sequential approach, an initial survey was sent to gather data from social studies and history teachers in a sampling of high schools, to which 83 districts across Northern California responded. In-depth interviews further explored the process of implementation as it was found. Using the implementation model of James A. Banks (1990) implementation levels were assessed in both the survey and the interviews. Ernest House's (1998) framework, borrowing from Transaction Cost Economics, was used as a means for measuring likely success of SB 48 and for looking at barriers to implementation from the teacher's perspective. Finally, the lens of xii Sociotransformative Constructivism, a nascent theory blending Multicultural Education and Crtitical Pedagogy, was used as a social justice lens to create a path forward towards fuller inclusion and safer schools for LGBT youth. Results from this study add to the knowledge of not only why educational reforms often fail to create the intended change, but how we can create the necessary supports for teachers who are currently self-supporting their own implementation. A multiple regression analysis was performed which identified six independent variables that could account for 39% of the variance for the dependent variable Currently Implementing. Further findings point to shared characteristics of teachers implementing at all four levels, as well as primary barriers to be found in lack of time, resources and general knowledge. This study strongly suggests that while much of the responsibility for implementing this policy is within the responsibility of teachers, leadership will need to play a key role if this policy is to create the change as intended in school climates for LGBT youth. xiii