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Social justice leadership, school climate, cultural capital and academic aspiration in Turkish high schools: contextual influence of gender and family income
Educational Studies
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the link among social justice leadership, school climate, cultural capital and academic aspiration in Turkish high schools. The study also aims at analysing the contextual influence of gender and family income on academic aspiration. The participants of the study include a total of 22.802 students from 210 schools located in twelve different regions of Turkey. The findings of the study reveal that social justice leadership, school climate and cultural capital predict academic aspiration at a statistically significant level. The results also suggest that the interaction between cultural capital and gender has a significant impact on academic aspiration, while the interaction between school climate and family income has a significant impact on academic aspiration. Based on the results, the researchers present some suggestions for further studies.
... Cultural capital built in families will have a significant impact on students' PISA test scores when culture and art are not an important part of the education system [64]. Cultural capital predicts student academic aspiration [65]. In addition, students who have cognitive competence are also related to social and cultural capital [66]. ...
Indigenous tribe students have difficulty in their education. Only a few of them managed to complete the tertiary level. This study aims to explore and understand deeply the efforts made by these first scholars in obtaining educational economic, social and cultural capital. This research is qualitative research with a phenomenological approach to understand deeply the economic, social and cultural capital of scholars from the Dayak Meratus Tribe. The data were collected through interviews with 17 participants such as first- generation scholars in the family, their parents, and teachers. The results showed that economic capital was built by parents through great effort on gardening, farming, and trading. Meanwhile, the social and cultural capital built by parents was very limited. Social capital and cultural capital are provided by the extended family, communities and non-profit institutions. Role of school is very limited to build social and cultural capital. The study recommends school administrators implement professional development programs for teachers and counsellors to improve their competence in building student social and cultural capital. Government should decide a policy to support indigenous tribe education not just financial support, but social and cultural capital support, and job opportunity for them in their community.
Cultural barriers affect students' academic performance. Cultural barriers reflect the cultural capital of education in the family. This study aims to verify the influence of gender, ethnicity, family economic background, and parents' education level on students' cultural barriers. The approach used is a quantitative approach with t-test analysis, Kruskal Wallis H test, and descriptive statistics. The research uses questionnaires and is distributed online with Google Forms. It uses convenience and snowballing sampling techniques. The study participants amounted to 391 students of Antasari State Islamic University Banjarmasin. This study found that gender, ethnicity, and education level of parents had a significant effect on the level of cultural barriers of students. Economic level or family income did not affect the level of cultural barriers of students. The study recommends future studies to verify the influence of gender, ethnicity, family economic background, and parental education level on student academic achievement by mediating student cultural barriers. In addition, this study suggests that the study be conducted in one country and a larger sample so that generalizations will be broader. Higher education administrators are recommended to provide academic and non-academic support services for ethnic minority students, underprivileged students, and other disadvantaged groups.
Bu araştırma okul müdürlerinin sosyal adalet liderliği davranışları ile okul iklimi arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden ilişkisel tarama modelinde desenlenen araştırmanın evrenini, 2020-2021 eğitim öğretim yılında Gaziantep ili merkez ilçelerinde devlete ait anaokulu, ilkokul, ortaokul ve lise kademelerinde görev yapan 20.937 öğretmenden oluşmakta iken örneklemini ise seçkisiz örnekleme yöntemlerinden tabakalı örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak evrenden seçilen 776 öğretmen oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada kullanılan veriler Bozkurt (2017) tarafından geliştirilen “Sosyal Adalet Liderliği Ölçeği(SALÖ)”, Canlı, Demirtaş, ve Özer (2018) tarafından geliştirilen “Okul İklimi Ölçeği” ve “Kişisel Bilgi Formu” aracılığı ile katılımcılardan toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizi için SPSS 24.0 paket programı kullanılmıştır. Okul müdürlerinin sosyal adalet liderliği davranışları ile okul iklimi arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesinde “Pearson Korelasyon”; sosyal adalet liderliği davranışının okul iklimi üzerindeki etkisinin belirlemek amacıyla “Regresyon” analizleri yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonucuna göre sosyal adalet liderliği davranışı ile okul iklimi arasında “pozitif yönlü yüksek düzeyde” anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu belirlenmiş; uygulayıcılara ve araştırmacılara yönelik önerilere yer verilmiştir.
The present study elaborates on the relationship between school principals' social justice leadership behaviors and student engagement in relation to high school students' opinions. The study was conducted on 968 high school students from two different school types: Anatolian and vocational high schools. The data was collected by Social Justice Leadership Scale and Student Engagement Scale. Data was analyzed by utilizing Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. Main results indicated that student engagement and school principal's social justice leadership has a moderate level of positive relationship; the support dimension of social justice leadership predicted 28 % of the variance in student engagement itself; and all demographics, and dimensions of social justice were found to predict 34 % of the variance in student engagement. Limitations are presented, and future implications for research and practice in the field of educational administration are discussed in relation to the results of the study.
Introduction
Research on the influence of academic self‐efficacy and educational aspirations on academic performance is underdeveloped in resource‐limited countries. This study replicates and expands on earlier research that investigated a complex network of relationships between academic self‐efficacy, educational aspirations, and academic performance.
Methods
Data from 4282 adolescents in Ghana and path analysis were used to test the causal pathways, and path invariance analysis was used to assess the moderation role of gender. Instrumental variable techniques were used to validate the path models.
Results
Increase in academic self‐efficacy indirectly accounts for improvement in academic performance through the mediational role of educational aspirations. The effects of self‐efficacy on educational aspirations, and educational aspirations were stronger for boys than for girls.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that in resource‐limited countries where the financial burden of schooling tends to be a demotivating factor, interventions that target adolescents' academic self‐efficacy may be an effective means to boost educational aspirations and academic performance. Interventions should be tailored to meet the needs of all students so that all children can think of school as an important part of their lives and aspire to achieve, now and in the future.
Previous research has demonstrated the link between school engagement and academic attainment, but there is less understanding of the relationship between school engagement and educational aspirations. Using the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), this study examines the association between emotional engagement and educational aspirations during secondary school, covering ages 14 to 16. On average, emotional engagement increased over time. A significant proportion of adolescents shifted from expressing uncertainty to aspiring to continue in education. Males were more likely than females to shift from aspiring to continue in education to planning to leave school early. Greater emotional engagement was associated with a lower likelihood of having low or uncertain aspirations, especially for high-achieving, ethnic minority, and male adolescents. Findings highlight the importance of emotional engagement, particularly for those at risk of uncertain educational aspirations and those least likely to continue in education following post-compulsory schooling.
In the present study, the relations among social justice leadership, attitudes towards school and school engagement were examined based on the high school students’ opinions. 530 students from 11 high schools located in 7 districts in the province of Ankara participated in the study. Participants filled in the Scale for Social Justice Leadership (SSJL), Scale for Attitudes towards School (SAS) and Scale for School Engagement (SSE). Data were examined with descriptive statistical techniques including arithmetical mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation and structural equation modelling (SEM) together with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis as well. Findings showed that principals perform social justice leadership moderately. Similarly, participants’ scores for attitudes toward schools and school engagement are also moderate. It was observed that there is a positive, moderate and significant correlations among research variables. The analysis of SEM revealed that social justice leadership is a significant predictor of attitudes towards school and school engagement. Path analysis results indicated that attitudes towards school has a partial mediating effect between social justice leadership and school engagement. It was concluded that social justice leadership is one of the crucial factors in shaping the students’ attitudes towards school and school engagement.
This study aims to determine the correlation between school climate and school effectiveness level in primary schools from the viewpoint of teacher perceptions. The research model of the study is descriptive, relational and causal. Proportional sampling method was used while sampling for the research. In this context, proportioning the number of schools and teachers in the district, sample group consisted of 400 teachers working in 21 primary schools in Adapazarı, Sakarya in 2013-2014 academic year.In the study, "The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire For Elemantary Schools- OCDQ-RE" developed by Hoy, Tarter ve Kottkamp (1991) was used to determine the school climate, and in order to determine effectiveness level of the schools a questionnaire "School Effectiveness Index" developed by Hoy (2009) was used. To analyze the data, descriptive statistical methods of arithmetic mean ( x ), standard deviation (s), percentage (%) together with Pearson Moments bidirectional correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis techniques were used.In school climate dimension, according to the results obtained from the response of the teachers in the sample group, they were found to display "professional teacher behaviour" most. In general, there was a moderate and significant correlation between school effectiveness and school climate in positive direction. According the results, teachers perception about level of school effectiveness was ''Agreed''. According to the results school climate was significant predictor of school effectiveness.
Keywords: School Climate, School Effectiveness.
Bu araştırmanın amacı ilkokulların iklimleriyle ilkokulların etkililik düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkiyi öğretmenlerin
algılarına göre belirlemektir. Çalışma betimsel türde tasarlanmış olup ilişkisel ve nedensel araştırma modelindedir.
Araştırmada örneklem seçiminde seçkisiz oranlı örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Bu bağlamda Sakarya ili Adapazarı
ilçesinde bulunan okul ve öğretmen sayısına göre oranlamaya gidilerek toplamda 21 ilköğretim okulu ve 2013-2014
eğitim öğretim yılında bu okullarda görev yapan 400 öğretmen, örneklem grubunu oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada
ilkokullardaki okul iklimlerini belirleyebilmek amacıyla Hoy, Tarter ve Kottkamp' ın (1991) ilkokullar için
geliştirdikleri ''Örgütsel İklim Betimleme Anketi'' (OCDQ-RE), okulların etkililik düzeylerini belirlemek için ise
Hoy’un (2009) hazırladığı ''Okul Etkililiği'' (School Effectiveness İndex) anketi kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde
betimsel istatistik yöntemlerinden aritmetik ortalama ( x ), standart sapma (s), yüzde (%) işlemleri ile Pearson
Moments çift yönlü korelasyon analizi ve çoklu regresyon analizi teknikleri kullanılmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre
örneklem grubundaki öğretmenlerin cevapları doğrultusunda okul iklimine ilişkin en çok mesleki öğretmen
davranışlarını sergiledikleri görülmüştür. Genel olarak okul iklimi ile okul etkililiği arasında pozitif yönde, orta
düzeyde ve anlamlı bir ilişki vardır. Bulgular öğretmenlerin öğretmenlerin okul etkililiğine ilişkin algılarının
''Katılıyorum'' düzeyinde olduğunu göstermektedir. Araştırmanın bulgularına göre okul iklimi okul etkililiğini
yordamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Okul İklimi, Okul Etkililiği
This study tested the association between school-wide measures of an authoritative school climate and high school dropout rates in a statewide sample of 315 high schools. Regression models at the school level of analysis used teacher and student measures of disciplinary structure, student support, and academic expectations to predict overall high school dropout rates. Analyses controlled for school demographics of school enrollment size, percentage of low-income students, percentage of minority students, and urbanicity. Consistent with authoritative school climate theory, moderation analyses found that when students perceive their teachers as supportive, high academic expectations are associated with lower dropout rates. (PsycINFO Database Record
Research Approach: This cross case study describes the challenges that two principals working in one urban school district addressed while attempting to transform their school cultures to embrace an inclusion model. Analysis of interviews and observations in each school revealed the actions, values, and orientations of the individual leaders and the influences of conflicts and dilemmas that exist in social justice work. Findings: The article describes how two principals enacted social justice leadership by making decisions that addressed resistance and challenges to inclusion. Implications for administrator preparation, future research, and theory are presented.
Young people today face a great deal of uncertainty regarding their career opportunities, yet relatively little information is known about the correlates and consequences of uncertain aspirations. Drawing upon the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) born in 1989/90, this study examined a pathway model investigating whether uncertain career aspirations and other associated variables mediate the link between socioeconomic status and prior achievement and later educational outcomes. Gender differences were also examined. Findings indicate that adolescents who had lower prior achievement and were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to have uncertainty in their career aspirations. The hypothesized model was supported to some extent, indicating that uncertain career aspirations and other associated variables were significant mediators. Unexpectedly, adolescents with uncertain career aspirations had higher academic performance at age 16 and a greater likelihood of educational enrollment at age 18 compared to those with high, certain aspirations, when parental educational expectations, school motivation, perceived academic ability and useful career advice were taken into account, suggesting that these young people may benefit from an extended period of moratorium in their career choice.
For more than a century, there has been a growing interest in school climate. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Educational Sciences, a growing number of State Departments of Education, foreign educational ministries, and UNICEF have focused on school climate reform as an evidence-based school improvement strategy that supports students, parents/guardians, and school personnel learning and working together to create ever safer, more supportive and engaging K–12 schools. This work presents an integrative review on school climate research. The 206 citations used in this review include experimental studies, correlational studies, literature reviews, and other descriptive studies. The review focuses on five essential dimensions of school climate: Safety, Relationships, Teaching and Learning, Institutional Environment, and the School Improvement Process. We conclude with a critique of the field and a series of recommendations for school climate researchers and policymakers.
The influence of students' affective development-especially student aspirations-upon academic and life achievement is gaining significant attention in the literature. However, psychometrically sound instruments that measure student aspirations and students perceptions ofschool climate characteristics that influence aspirations are not available for use by educators attempting to guide school reform efforts. The Student Aspirations Survey was administered to 1,160 students in two rural middle and two rural high schools. Responses were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis, and results suggest that evidence ofconstruct validity is considerable for student responses to the aspirations scales and very limited for student responses to the school climate scales (possibly due to the very high factor correlations). A small to moderate method effect may be present among student responses to the aspirations scales. Suggestions for improvement of score interpretation are provided. In the current era of educational reform, techniques and agendas for educational improvement are quite common. In particular, the influence of student affect upon student achievement and general well-being receives a significant amount of attention in the educational and psychological literature, certainly more than was present a decade or two ago (cf.
This article considers the relationship between distributed leadership and school improvement. Drawing upon empirical evidence from two contemporary studies of successful school leadership and recent studies of school improvement, it explores the extent to which distributed forms of leadership can contribute to school improvement. The article argues that the distributed perspective offers a new and important theoretical lens through which leadership practice in school can be reconfigured and reconceptualized. It concludes by suggesting that, while evidence would suggest that distributed forms of leadership can assist capacity building within schools which contributes to school improvement, further research is needed to confirm a relationship between distributed forms of leadership and improved student learning outcomes.
While academic self-efficacy is widely considered an individual cognitive variable, it may be influenced by a sense of belonging and connection to others in the school community. Using a correlation and multiple regression design, the study in this article examined the relationship between perceptions of school belonging, educational aspirations, and academic self-efficacy among 40 African American male high school stu- dents. Results indicated that feeling encouraged to participate and educational aspirations were signifi- cant, positive predictors of academic self-efficacy. Other components of perceptions of school belonging were not significant in predicting academic self-effi- cacy. Recommendations for future research and prac- tical suggestions for school counselors are discussed.
This multilevel study examined the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and student perceptions of school climate on academic achievement at the student and school levels. Data used were from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. The sample included 9,518 students enrolled in 584 public high schools. The results revealed that student-level predictors, such as gender, race, SES, academic risk factors, high school programming, and student perceptions of school climate, play a significant role in math achievement scores. A school-level variable (e.g., school SES) was also a significant predictor in math achievement scores. The findings have important implications, specifically, they point to a need for measuring school climate at the student level and using data to inform climate improvement strategies and interventions at the student level, especially for those living in poverty and exposed to multiple risks.
Early adolescents make early career decisions in the form of curriculum choices for high school, and these choices can influence future postsecondary education and career paths. This exploratory study examined relationships between school and demographic variables and 522 eighth graders’ choices of high school academic tracks. Analysis of variance and chi-square analyses identified statistically significant relationships between curricular choices and various school and demographic variables. The potential for aspiration gaps and implications for school counselor educational and career planning are discussed.
While academic self-efficacy is widely considered an individual cognitive variable, it may be influenced by a sense of belonging and connection to others in the school community. Using a correlation and multiple regression design, the study in this article examined the relationship between perceptions of school belonging, educational aspirations, and academic self-efficacy among 40 African American male high school students. Results indicated that feeling encouraged to participate and educational aspirations were significant, positive predictors of academic self-efficacy. Other components of perceptions of school belonging were not significant in predicting academic self-efficacy. Recommendations for future research and practical suggestions for school counselors are discussed.
Background:
Mental health problems among youth have increased in Sweden in recent decades, as has competition in higher education and the labour market. It is unknown whether the increasing emphasis put on educational achievement might negatively affect adolescents' mental health. We aimed to investigate the relationship between adolescents' academic aspirations and expectations and the risk of mental health problems.
Methods:
We studied 3343 Swedish 7th grade adolescents (age 13), who participated in the first two waves of the KUPOL longitudinal study; participants answered a questionnaire encompassing the five-item Future Aspirations and Goals (FG) subscale of the Student Engagement Instrument, two questions about their own academic aspirations and expectations and two mental health instruments: the Center for Epidemiological studies for Children (CES-DC) (α=.90) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (α=.78). The association between aspirations and expectations at baseline and mental health at follow-up was analysed using logistic regression models adjusting for baseline mental health, socio-demographic and family factors.
Results:
The FG subscale was inversely and linearly associated with the odds of high CES-DC score [adjusted OR (odds ratio) 0.71, 95% CI (confidence interval): 0.59-0.86], total Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire score (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.49-0.71), and its internalizing (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.59-0.84) and externalizing problems scores (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.48-0.71).
Conclusions:
Adolescents with high individual academic aspirations have less mental health problems at 1-year follow-up. Future studies should investigate whether interventions aimed at increasing aspirations and engagement in school may prevent mental health problems in adolescence.
This study aims to determine whether or not eighth graders' level of success in Turkish classes changes according to some variables such as their facilities at home, mothers' level of education, gender, and the number of brothers or sisters. In line with the aim of the research, a 25-item Turkish test and a questionnaire to specify the students' personal traits and views were designed and developed, and thus relevant data were obtained The research is concerned with all the eighth grade students attending the primary schools in Turkey. According to the findings, an increase in students' facilities at home caused an increase in their achievement; girls were better at verbal courses like Turkish; the level of mothers' education occupied an important place in children's success; mothers' high level of education along with high level of facilities increased achievement more; and higher number of brothers/sisters reduced achievement. In conclusion, convenient educational environment must be prepared at home, girls who would-be mothers must be facilitated to benefit from educational services to the maximum, and parents must have number of children at which they can afford to educate.
The first known reference to distributed leadership was in the field of social psychology in the early-1950s. The concept then lay dormant for more than three decades until it surfaced briefly once again in social psychology, and then again in the early-1990s in organisation theory. Awareness of distributed leadership amongst educationalists also dates from about this time. Roughly a decade later, interest in distributed leadership had quickened to the point where at least one national professional association for school administrators had incorporated the concept into its leadership priorities for the new millennium. The association in question, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), was one of two national bodies in the USA, the other being the National Policy Board in Educational Administration (NPBEA), at the forefront of the reform movement during the 1990s to introduce national standards for school leaders. The joint efforts of the CCSSO and the NPBEA finally bore fruit in 1996 when the 24 member states comprising the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) adopted the document Standards for School Leaders. In its statement of priorities for 2000, the fourth of the six undertakings to which the CCSSO committed itself was to ensure that a range of key educational stakeholders have “leaders working effectively in ‘multiple leadership’ or ‘distributed leadership’ teams” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2000, p. 5).
Research in the United States has found that peers and parents play an important role in shaping students' educational aspirations. Little research has examined the extent to which these findings apply in other countries or whether the role of significant others varies according to the organization of national educational systems. This article examines the effects of peers' and parents' attitudes regarding academic performance on students' educational aspirations in 12 countries. The results indicate that peers and parents influence educational aspirations in countries with relatively undifferentiated secondary schooling, like the United States, while the influence of significant others is negligible in societies with more differentiated secondary education. In these latter systems, it appears that aspirations are largely determined by the type of school the student attends; there is little room for interpersonal affects. The effects of significant others on students' aspirations depend, in large part, on the structural features of the educational systems in which they operate.
Early adolescents make early career decisions in the form of curriculum choices for high school, and these choices can influence future postsecondary education and career paths. This exploratory study examined relationships between school and demographic variables and 522 eighth graders' choices of high school academic tracks. Analysis of variance and chi-square analyses identified statistically significant relationships between curricular choices and various school and demographic variables. The potential for aspiration gaps and implications for school counselor educational and career planning are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to examine factors predicting lower secondary school students' digital competence and to explore differences between students when it comes to digital competence. Results from a digital competence test and survey in lower secondary school will be presented. It is important to learn more about and investigate what characterizes students' digital competence. A sample of 852 ninth-grade Norwegian students from 38 schools participated in the study. The students answered a 26 item multiple-choice digital competence test and a self-report questionnaire about family background, motivation, and previous grades. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of the hypothesised relationship between family background, mastery orientation, previous achievements, and digital competence. The results indicate variation in digital competence among the ninth-graders. Further, analyses showed that students' conditions at home, i.e., language integration and cultural capital, together with mastery orientation and academic achievements predict students digital competence. This study indicates that that there is evidence of digital diversity between lower secondary students. It does not seem like the development of digital competence among the students happens automatically. Students' family background and school performance are the most important factors. Therefore, as this study shows, it is necessary to further investigate how schools can identify students' level of competence and to develop plans and actions for how schools can help to try to equalize differences.
The goal of this study is to determine school climate from the point of the high school students’ perceptions and to develop solution offers according to the data obtained. The data collection tool that was used in the research, “The Questionnaire of School Climate”, consisted of 76 items and 15 dimensions and adapted into Turkish by Acarbay (2006), of these 51 items and 9 dimensions were used. The universe of research were determined general high schools in Sincan District. The sample, which consists of 1246 students, was selected randomly. While analyzing the secondary problems of the research, t-test, Single Factor ANOVA (analysis of variance) were applied and the values of frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation were calculated. A significant relationship was found among the general high school students’ positive perceptions levels regarding the school climate and the variances as “class level”, “The number of family members”, “economical level of the family” mother’s educational level”, and “ father’s educational level”. According to this finding it is expressed that as long as the levels of the related variances increase, the students’ positive perceptions level regarding the school climate increases. The views about the school climate is also varied related to “ Gender” variance and male students, compared to female students, evaluate the school climate positively in terms of “students’ relationships”.
Studies of the effects of cultural capital on the educational success of male and female students have reached contradictory conclusions, and few studies have considered the role that habitus plays in educational outcomes. This article analyzes the cultural participation of eighth-grade boys and girls and presents a model that includes a measure for habitus. Through a detailed analysis of cultural practices that have typically been grouped together as a single scale, the author found that female and higher-SES students are more likely to participate in cultural activities. In addition, in both standard ordinary least squares and fixed school-effects models, she found that cultural capital has a positive, significant effect on the grades of female students, both with and without controlling for Bourdieu's notion of habitus. For male students, the effect is weaker and present only in the fixed-effects models. Habitus itself has a strong effect for both male and female students in all models. The author argues that traditional gender stereotypes play a role in the lack of cultural participation by male students and that female students may be more encouraged to make use of their cultural capital to succeed in school.
Family background has been prominent in models of educational attainment. In most research, family background has been measured by socioeconomic indicators (e.g., parents' education, family income), to the exclusion of other family characteristics that also affect educational attainment. This paper argues that parents use resources to create a home environment conducive to higher attainment in education. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 are used to test several hypotheses concerning the impact of educational resources. The results support the notion that educational resources increase educational attainment.
Aspirations can be important for young children as well as adolescents. However, there is little research on the determinants of aspirations in young children. We carried out this study to investigate the early contextual (neighbourhood, school and family) determinants of occupational aspirations in primary school children. Our sample comprised children from the Millennium Cohort Study who lived in England in the beginning of our study period (n = 10,086; 5,126 boys). Occupational aspirations were measured at age 7 years, while their contextual determinants were measured in the previous data sweeps, at ages 3 and 5 years. We fitted structural equation models to test the role of family and neighbourhood socio-economic status (SES) and child ethnicity in predicting aspirations both directly and via their associations with parental involvement, household chaos, school-level achievement and child cognitive ability. We found that the only significant determinants of aspirations at age 7 years were family SES and ethnicity, and only in boys. Family SES and ethnicity were also related to parental involvement, household chaos, cognitive ability and school-level achievement, but none of these factors predicted aspirations. Supplementary analysis showed that family SES was a particularly powerful determinant of the aspirations of white compared to non-white boys.
A number of schools have been relying on effective schools research as the framework for their school improvement program. After three or four years, many claim that they have successfully met the criteria described in the research on the correlates of effective schools. These educators ask if there is anything that comes after, or goes beyond, these standards. The concept of second generation correlates attempts to incorporate the recent research and school improvement findings and offers an even more challenging developmental stage to which schools committed to the Learning for All mission ought to aspire. There are two underlying assumptions to keep in mind: First, school improvement is an endless journey. Second, the second generation correlates cannot be implemented successfully unless the first generation correlate standards are present in the school. In one sense, the second generation correlates represent a developmental step beyond the first and, when successfully accomplished, will move the school even closer to the mission of Learning for All.
This study examined the influence of gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity on the career aspirations of over 22,000 8th and 10th grade youth. The top five occupations identified by youth as aspirations included artist, lawyer, musician, FBI agent, and actor/actress. Top occupations were also reported for each gender×socioeconomic status×race/ethnicity group. Aspirations were coded by social prestige level, minimum education requirements, and median salary. Results revealed significant main effects for socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity as well as significant interaction effects. Further, significant gender main effects and a significant gender×ethnicity interaction were found for occupational prestige and educational requirements.
The present study investigates the relationships among a variety of school-level climate variables and mean school achievement in a random, sample of Michigan elementary schools. School-level SES, racial composition and climate were each highly related to mean school achievement; only a small proportion of the between-school variance in achievement is explained by SES and racial composition after the effect of school climate is removed. The climate variable we have called Student Sense of Academic Futility had the largest correlation with achievement. An observational study of four schools with similar SES and racial composition but different achievement tended to support the more analytical findings and suggest the processes by which climate affects achievement.
School climate has been studied with a multitude of variables, methodologies, theories, and models, resulting in a not easily defined body of research. This analysis of the school climate literature, based on over 200 references, uses an organizational theory taxonomy to organize the diverse body of research and to draw conclusions about common findings. The history of school climate research is reviewed, noting the influence of climate instruments developed to study climate in settings other than the total school building, such as business, college, and classroom settings. The difficulty of defining school climate is reflected in the diversity of climate typologies that have evolved, despite their often common roots. The debate about school climate is tied to differences among researchers in theory base, variables to study (and their hypothesized interrelationships), unit of measurement choices, and the validity of subjective and qualitative data (based on participant or observer perception). Some common conclusions about school climate (considered as an independent, intervening, or dependent variable) do emerge in the literature. The paper concludes with a summary of the methodological issues common to school climate studies and suggestions for dealing with the concomitant problems
The social justice discourse in education has been critiqued by Bowers and others for its lack of attention to a broad range of related ecological issues. This article analyzes and critiques the current discourse of social justice in the field of educational leadership and offers an expanded concept of socioecological justice in schools. Arguing that pedagogy is a critical vehicle for addressing socioecological justice, the authors develop a model for a critical pedagogy of place and describe specific instructional methodologies associated with the model. The article concludes with suggestions for a critical leadership of place intended to enhance socioecological justice in schools.
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to suggest the structure and content of an educational leadership program whose aim is to prepare principals for social justice work. Research Design: The authors have conceptualized foundational components for a comprehensive principalship program focused on social justice. They assert that educational leaders for social justice must have three goals at the forefront of their efforts: (a) They must raise the academic achievement of all the students in their school, that is, high test scores do matter; (b) they must prepare their students to live as critical citizens in society; and (c) both of these goals can only be achieved when leaders assign students to inclusive, heterogeneous classrooms that provide all students access to a rich and engaging curriculum. The components addressed for this social justice—oriented principalship preparation program include (a) how students should be selected for such a program and (b) an outline of the knowledge and content for educating social justice leaders. The importance of induction/praxis after students graduate from these programs is discussed.
Conclusions: The aim of this article is to provoke a discussion in the field and spark faculty to engage in ongoing conversations and thinking about their own programs and to imagine new avenues for future research in this area. Faculty also can use these suggestions as a guide to assess their efforts and to bolster program quality, sensitive to the unique needs and schooling contexts of their particular students.
Purpose : A subgroup of principals—leaders for social justice—guide their schools to transform the culture, curriculum, pedagogical practices, atmosphere, and schoolwide priorities to benefit marginalized students. The purpose of the article is to develop a theory of this social justice educational leadership.Research Design: This empirical study examined the following questions: (a) In what ways are principals enacting social justice in public schools? (b) What resistance do social justice—driven principals face in their justice work? (c) What strategies do principals develop to sustain their ability to enact social justice in light of the resistance they face in public schools?Data Collection and Analysis: A critical, qualitative, positioned-subject approach combined with principles of autoethnography guided the research methods. Seven public school leaders who came to the principalship with a social justice orientation, who make issues of race, class, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and other historically marginalizing factors central to their advocacy, leadership practice, and vision, and who have demonstrated success in making their schools more just, were studied through interviews.Findings:A description of (a) how the principals enacted social justice, (b) the resistance they faced as well as the toll the resistance had on them, and (c) the strategies they developed to sustain their social justice work is provided in detail. Implications for administrator preparation are made at the close of this article.
This study uses data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to test a conceptual model that integrates aspects of sociological and econometric frameworks into a traditional status attainment model for educational aspirations. Using descriptive and logistic analyses, this study advanced understanding of the patterns and stability of aspirations; characteristics of students who increase, decrease, and maintain aspirations; predictors of 12th-grade aspirations; and variations in predictors of 12th-grade aspirations by race/ ethnicity. The study's findings have implications for policy, practice, and research. Specifically, the findings reinforce the need for policies and practices geared toward enhancing existing high school reform efforts. The study also identifies recommendations for future research.
Hip hop culture is typically excluded from conventional educational spaces within the U.S. Drawing on the experiences of an educator who works with urban high school students and university level pre- and in-service educators, this article examines the role of hip hop culture for student engagement in two settings—an alternative high school setting and the university classroom. The article explores how dialogue, as a core element of hip hop culture, is used in disrupting traditional vehicles of engagement, particularly between youth connected to hip hop culture and educators who are traditionally disconnected from the culture. Drawing upon dialogical pedagogy and analyzing an actual dialogue between urban youth and preservice teachers, the author examines the ways in which the student-researchers were “dissed” (disrespected) during and after the dialogue. Implications for practice and policy are explored.
This paper uses evidence about transformational forms of leadership in schools provided by 32 empirical studies published between 1996 and 2005 to answer questions about the nature of such leadership, its antecedents, and the variables that both moderate and mediate its effects on students. Results indicate significant, primarily indirect effects of this form of leadership on both student achievement and engagement in school. These effects are mediated by school culture, teachers’ commitment and job satisfaction, and a small number of other variables. Few studies have examined the antecedents or moderators of transformational school leadership.
Most school restructuring initiatives assume significant capacity development on the part of individuals, as well as whole organizations; they also depend on high levels of motivation and commitment to solving the substantial problems associated with the implementation of restructuring initiatives. Transformational approaches to leadership have long been advocated as productive under these conditions, and evidence suggests that transformational practices do contribute to the development of capacity and commitment. Much less evidence is available, however, about whether these socio-psychological effects actually result in organizational change and enhanced organizational outcomes. Survey data from an achieved sample of 1818 teachers and 6490 students from 94 elementary schools in one large district were used to replicate an earlier study of the effects of transformational leadership practices on selected organizational conditions and student engagement with school. Similar in most respects to our earlier study, results demonstrated strong significant effects of such leadership on organizational conditions, and moderate but still significant total effects on student engagement.
This review of related literature and research prompted the development of a framework for understanding the role of the principal as an instructional manager. A number of links between school-level variables and student learning are proposed. The discussion includes consideration of instrictional organization, school climate, influence behavior, and the context of principal management.
The aims of this study were to test the structure of attitudes to school subjects and to test the causal relationship between attitudes, level of aspiration (goal) and achievement with SEM procedures. A total of 280 high school students participated in the study. Items measuring attitude towards each subject matter clustered around one factor indicating that each school subject is unique, but related, to other subjects. These distinct, but related, factors seemed to be underlined by a higher-order construct: 'attitudes to school'. The structural analysis revealed that 'attitudes to school' influence achievement, but only indirectly. Level of aspiration had significant direct effect on achievement and mediated between 'attitudes' and achievement.
The present study was an investigation of Asian Australian and Anglo-Celtic Australian parents' educational expectations of, and aspirations for, their children. It was predicted that parents from Asian backgrounds would have higher academic standards and higher aspirations for their children's education, compared with Anglo-Celtic Australian parents. These hypotheses were largely supported by a survey of 239 Australian parents from Chinese, Vietnamese and Anglo-Celtic cultural backgrounds. There was evidence of a preference for university education among the Chinese and Vietnamese parents, while Anglo-Celtic Australian parents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to prefer their children to attend TAFE or complete an apprenticeship. The results are discussed in terms of the role of parental factors in children's academic achievements.
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a model to predict educational aspirations of Canadian adolescents. Participants were a national sample of 4,034 students from grades 8-13 (2,037 males, 1,973 females). Results of a modified structural model included three sets of influences: a) a background factor comprised of parental occupation and education; b) a family involvement factor consisting of parental personal and school-based involvement with adolescents; and c) a personal factor with school marks, school and course perceptions, extracurricular reading and parental educational expectations as indicator measures. Educational aspirations was the main outcome variable. Results indicated that the personal factor had a strong direct influence on educational aspirations (β = 1.17, p
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for social justice leadership as praxis and to explore the implications of this framework for leadership preparation programs. Conceptual Argument: The conceptual framework for social justice leadership is grounded in a review of literature and organized around three central concepts. First, leadership for social justice is conceived as a praxis, in the Freireian sense, involving both reflection and action. Second, leadership for social justice spans several dimensions, which serve as arenas for this praxis. These dimensions include the personal, interpersonal, communal, systemic, and ecological. Third, each dimension within the framework requires the development of capacities on the part of the leader, capacities for both reflection and action. The author argues that the central purpose of leadership preparation programs is to develop these capacities in aspiring school leaders. Implications: At present, the literature on social justice leadership and most preparation programs address some of the capacities for social justice leadership well (e.g., critical consciousness about social justice issues) but others poorly or not at all (e.g., the actual skills needed for leadership praxis). The praxis framework proposed in this article facilitates a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of the capacities needed by contemporary school leaders working for social justice and therefore how preparation programs might be designed and delivered.
Previous research on the high school achievement of Mexican Americans has documented substantial under achievement. However, recent immigrants appear to be achieving at a somewhat higher level. In a longitudinal study, we examined the school experience of talented immigrant students to identify the behavioral process by which they became successful. We found that family educational values had an important effect on achievement when these values translated into participation in a math/science enrichment program, which led to substantial gains on related ACT subtests. We also found that scores on ACT-Natural Sciences were strongly related to length of U. S. residence. Length of residence affected reading skills, and poor readers took fewer advanced science courses. The significance of "extra learning" to underachievers is discussed. We concluded that, although immigrant students achieved below their native-born counterparts prior to high school, their strategies for increasing learning during high school enabled them to perform better on standardized achievement tests, though not on grade point average.