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A Longitudinal Examination of Latinx Students’ Kindergarten Readiness with High School Achievement and Discipline Violations
... The complexities of adapting to remote and hybrid teaching modalities, while maintaining the quality of education, have underscored the critical nature of their struggles. These challenges transcend geographical boundaries and resonate with educators worldwide, making the experiences of kindergarten teachers a subject of global significance (Swami et al., 2023). ...
Kindergarten teachers, as frontline educators responsible for shaping the early educational experiences of young learners, have encountered multifaceted hurdles in the wake of the pandemic. The study explored the struggles faced by kindergarten teachers in the Magsingal District of the SDO-Ilocos Sur post-pandemic. The research aimed to identify specific obstacles, including limited access to learning materials, classroom overcrowding, and inadequate training, lack of support for special needs students, administrative burdens, insufficient age-appropriate materials, behavioral management difficulties, and health and safety concerns. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed, using interviews and thematic analysis to gather in-depth insights from kindergarten teachers. Results highlighted significant resource constraints, the digital divide, and the socio-emotional challenges encountered in delivering quality education amidst unprecedented disruptions. The proposed action plan recommended increased funding, support for professional development, smaller class sizes, and streamlined administrative tasks to enhance teaching efficacy and create a more inclusive learning environment. This study provided valuable insights for educational policymakers, administrators, and stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of addressing these issues to support teachers in delivering quality education to young learners.
This study evaluated the sensitivity of maximum likelihood (ML)- generalized least squares (GLS) - and asymptotic distribution-free (ADF)-based fit indices to model misspecification under conditions that varied sample size and distribution. The effect of violating assumptions of asymptotic robustness theory also was examined. Standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR) was the most sensitive index to models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and Tucker–Lewis Index (1973; TLI)Bollen's fit index (1989; BL89) relative noncentrality index (RNI) comparative fit index (CFI) and the ML- and GLS-based gamma hat McDonald's centrality index (1989; Mc) and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) were the most sensitive indices to models with misspecified factor loadings. With ML and GLS methods we recommend the use of SRMR supplemented by TLI BL89 RNI CFI gamma hat Mc or RMSEA (TLI Mc and RMSEA are less preferable at small sample sizes). With the ADF method we recommend the use of SRMR supplemented by TLI BL89 RNI or CFI. Finally most of the ML-based fit indices outperformed those obtained from GLS and ADF and are preferable for evaluating model fit.
The field of psychology is coming toward a critical juncture; scholars are increasingly recognizing that race, ethnicity, and culture play important roles in their fields of study, but do not always have the language to integrate race and culture into their own work. Furthermore, common conceptions of race may systematically exclude those from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds in favor of fixed and discrete racial categories that ultimately perpetuate white supremacy. Meanwhile, as the Multiracial population of the U.S. is growing at an unprecedented rate, psychologists need language to acknowledge this population in their studies and pursue research to advance the field's knowledge of this diverse group and its many subpopulations. In an attempt to educate psychologists across subfields and disciplines, we provide a detailed account of preferred terms related to race and ethnicity with emphasis on ways to think about and talk about Multiracial populations in the United States. While preferred terms may change across time, the aim of this article is to provide psychologists with the tools to begin nuanced and necessary discussions about how race informs their research and the populations they work with in uniform and nonstigmatizing ways. By highlighting terminology related to those of multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds, we demystify and legitimize these rapidly growing but often hidden populations. Different perspectives on various terms are provided throughout to set psychologists on the path to beginning more race-conscious conversations and scientific inquiries into the experiences of Multiracial Americans and those from other marginalized racial-ethnic groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
The purpose of this exploratory interview study was to examine the perceptions and experiences of 12 teachers related to the suspension and expulsion of preschoolers in private early childhood programs. Thematic and constant comparative methods were used for data analysis. Results indicated that teachers had a range of experiences with suspension, from children being sent out in the hallway temporarily to out-of-school suspensions lasting up to a week. Most participants also had expelled a student because of challenging behavior. Themes that emerged regarding factors that influenced suspension and expulsion decisions were inadequate supports, safety concerns, perceptions of a child’s needs, and discipline policies and procedures. Teachers also discussed supports they had in place, supports that were lacking, and the effect that suspensions and expulsions had on their students and themselves. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
School‐wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is a multitiered support framework for preventing problem behaviors and increasing prosocial behaviors. There has been an increasing number of experimental group design research studies focused on the impacts of SWPBIS. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to update and extend prior reviews by including both published and unpublished studies and conducting a robust variance estimation meta‐analysis to examine the magnitude of the effect of SWPBIS on all available school‐level outcomes. A total of 29 studies were identified across the United States and Europe, including seven randomized controlled trials and 22 quasi‐experimental group design studies. Overall, statistically significant reductions in school discipline and increased academic achievement were found. Effect sizes were small to medium. Limitations and implications are discussed.
Despite focused efforts, achievement gaps remain a problem in the America's education system, especially those between students from higher and lower income families. Continued work on reducing these gaps benefits from an understanding of students' reading and math growth from typical school instruction and how growth differs based on initial proficiency, grade, and demographic characteristics. Data from 5,900 students in Grades 1-5 tested in math and reading at six points across two years were analyzed using cohort-sequential latent growth curve models to determine longitudinal growth patterns. Results indicated that students with low initial proficiency grew more quickly than students with higher proficiency. However, after two school years their achievement remained below average and well below that of students with higher initial proficiency. Demographic characteristics had small but significant effects on initial score and growth rates.
There are significant racial and socioeconomic disparities in the use of suspensions and therapy/medication for childhood behavior problems. These disparities exacerbate inequalities elsewhere, including academic achievement. In addition, the unequal distribution of child social control also raises the question of whether unobserved heterogeneity between suspended and medicated children may explain the benefits of therapy/medication as an approach to child social control. In this study, I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979–Child and Young Adult Survey to examine the relationship between early suspension or therapy/medication and high school graduation. Results of logistic regression models show that suspended children have lower odds of graduation than non-suspended/non-medicated children and children who only received therapy/medication. However, results of sibling comparison models that better condition on unobserved factors associated with child social control and academic achievement yield no significant differences in the odds of high school graduation across medicated and suspended siblings.
This study tested the authoritative school climate theory that schools characterized by high structure and student support have greater levels of student engagement and that these factors are associated with higher academic achievement, as indicated by school graduation rates and school performance on state-mandated testing. The model was tested through a multilevel multi-informant structural model on a statewide sample of 60,441 students and 11,442 teachers in 298 high schools. Consistent with the authoritative school climate model, both structure and student support were associated with higher student engagement in schools. Moreover, student engagement was directly associated with academic achievement and operated as an intervening factor. Results provide new evidence that an authoritative school climate is associated with high school academic achievement.
In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools have introduced disciplinary reforms. However, even in schools where these reformative programs are present, many students continue to be subject to developmentally inappropriate discipline and striking racial gaps in disciplinary outcomes persist. Teachers’ implicit racial bias likely contributes to racial disparities in school discipline. In this article, I highlight two social psychological skills—perspective-taking and individuating—that have been found to reduce the effects of implicit bias in nonschool settings. I suggest that if developed in educators, these social psychological skills could also help reduce racial disparities in school discipline. I discuss implications for future research and policy.
Data from middle schools (n = 219), high schools (n = 200), and combined middle and high schools (n = 20) were used to examine individual- and school-level factors within a multilevel model associated with an increased risk of suspension for minority students and students with disabilities. Results indicate that the individual-level variables of race and disability status were associated with an increased risk of suspension. Multiple school-level factors were also found to be associated with an increased risk of suspension including school enrollment, attendance, mobility, the percent of highly qualified teachers, the percent of students receiving free and reduced priced meals, the percent of students receiving special education services, the school’s Title I status, the student-to-teacher ratio, English Language Arts state exam scores, and the percent of White students in the school. In both analyses, the majority of variance was associated with the multilevel model which indicates the importance of examining individual factors within the context of school-level factors when trying to understand and respond to disproportionate suspension practices.
Two studies examine the effect of bidimensional acculturation on academic outcomes among Latina/o college students. Findings suggest that, contrary to previous studies, academic outcomes are not related to immigrant generational status. However, students who adopt the integration acculturation strategy are more likely to have a positive school attitude, while students who use the assimilation strategy are more likely to have a negative school attitude. Students who use the integration strategy also score higher on school effort and educational values than students who use the assimilation strategy. High levels of school effort and educational values are related to both a higher grade point average (GPA) and a more positive school attitude. Conversely, low levels of parental involvement are associated with positive academic outcomes. Students who were thinking of dropping out of college scored lower on school attitude, school effort, and educational values than their counterparts. However, there was no difference in the GPA of the two groups of students. Previous studies on this topic have focused almost exclusively on unidimensional acculturation and school-age children or adolescents. Thus, these studies provide insight into the way that bidimensional acculturation affects academic variables such as GPA, school attitude, parental involvement, school effort, educational values, and bilingualism within a Latina/o college sample. The findings from these studies emphasize the importance of focusing on the values and beliefs of both the host and heritage cultures.
Moní, Y., Mealy, M., Del Ama, J. C., & Conway, J. M. (2018, January 25). Bidimensional Acculturation
and Academic Success Among Latina/o College Students. Journal of Latina/o Psychology.
Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lat0000098
Research on achievement gaps by race/ethnicity and poverty status typically focuses on each gap separately, and recent syntheses suggest the poverty gap is growing while racial/ethnic gaps are narrowing. In this study, we used time-varying effect modeling to examine the interaction of race/ethnicity and poverty gaps in math and reading achievement from 1986–2005 for poor and non-poor White, Black, and Hispanic students in three age groups (5–6, 9–10, and 13–14). We found that across this twenty-year period, the gaps between poor White students and their poor Black and Hispanic peers grew, while the gap between non-poor Whites and Hispanics narrowed. We conclude that understanding the nature of achievement gaps requires simultaneous examination of race/ethnicity and income.
Quantitative research enjoys heightened esteem among policymakers, media, and the general public. Whereas qualitative research is frequently dismissed as subjective and impressionistic, statistics are often assumed to be objective and factual. We argue that these distinctions are wholly false; quantitative data is no less socially
constructed than any other form of research material. The first part of the paper presents a conceptual critique of the field with empirical examples that expose and challenge hidden assumptions that frequently encode racist perspectives beneath the façade of supposed quantitative objectivity. The second part of the paper draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to set out some principles to guide the future use and analysis of quantitative data. These ‘QuantCrit’ ideas concern (1) the centrality of racism as a complex and deeply rooted
aspect of society that is not readily amenable to quantification; (2) numbers are not neutral and should be interrogated for their role in promoting deficit analyses that serve White racial interests; (3) categories are neither ‘natural’ nor given and so the units and forms of analysis must be critically evaluated; (4) voice and insight are vital: data cannot ‘speak for itself’ and critical analyses should be informed by the experiential knowledge of marginalized groups; (5) statistical analyses have no inherent value but can play a role in struggles for social justice.
Beginning as early as preschool, race and gender are intertwined with the way US schools mete out discipline. In particular, black students and male students are much more likely than others to be suspended or expelled-punishments that we know can hold them back academically. These disparities, and the damage they can cause, have driven recent reforms, including some that incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) practices. Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus review federal and state mandates to cut down on punishments that remove students from school, and they show how some districts are embracing SEL in their efforts to do so. Yet even in these districts, large disparities in discipline persist. The authors suggest two reasons current discipline reforms that embrace SEL practices may hold limited promise for reducing discipline disparities. The first is that prevailing “colorblind” notions of SEL don’t consider power, privilege, and cultural difference-thus ignoring how individual beliefs and structural biases can lead educators to react harshly to behaviors that fall outside a white cultural frame of reference. The second is that most SEL models are centered on students, but not on the adults who interact with them. Yet research shows that educators’ own social and emotional competencies strongly influence students’ motivation to learn and the school climate in general. Gregory and Fergus describe how one school district is striving to orient its discipline policies around a conception of SEL that stresses equity and promotes both adults’ and students’ SEL competencies. Although such reforms hold promise, they are still in the early stages, and the authors call for rigorous empirical work to test whether such efforts can substantially reduce or eradicate racial and gender disparities in discipline.
American Indian students are disproportionately represented in school discipline referrals (ODRs) and administrative outcomes across general school populations (Brown and DiTillio in J Educ Learn 2(4):47–59, 2013; Whitford and Levine-Donnerstein in Behav Disord 39(2), 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine the ODRs and administrative outcomes of 1612 students in special education, with particular attention to American Indian students (29.2% of the sample). Results indicated, although proportionally referred to school administration for disciplinary action, American Indian students in special education were more likely to be given an out-of-school suspension and/or expulsion, than both White and Hispanic/Latino students in special education, for the same identifying behaviors. Implications for improved practice are provided.
Mediation analyses abound in social and personality psychology. Current recommendations for assessing power and sample size in mediation models include using a Monte Carlo power analysis simulation and testing the indirect effect with a bootstrapped confidence interval. Unfortunately, these methods have rarely been adopted by researchers due to limited software options and the computational time needed. We propose a new method and convenient tools for determining sample size and power in mediation models. We demonstrate our new method through an easy-to-use application that implements the method. These developments will allow researchers to quickly and easily determine power and sample size for simple and complex mediation models.
There is much discussion in the United States about exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions) in schools. According to a 2014 report from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, Black students represent 15% of students, but 44% of students suspended more than once and 36% of expelled students. This analysis uses seven years of individual infraction-level data from public schools in Arkansas. We find that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature and number of disciplinary referrals, but that most of the differences occur across rather than within schools. Across the state, black students are about 2.4 times as likely to receive exclusionary discipline (conditional on reported infractions and other student characteristics) whereas within school, this same conditional disparity is not statistically significant. Within schools, the disproportionalities in exclusionary discipline are driven primarily by non-race factors such as free-and reduced-price lunch (FRL) eligibility and special education status. We find, not surprisingly, that schools with larger proportions of non-White students tend to give out longer punishments, regardless of school income levels, measured by FRL rates. Combined, these results appear to indicate multiple tiers of disadvantage: race drives most of the disparities across schools, whereas within schools, FRL or special education status may matter more.
To improve our understanding of where to target interventions, the study examined the extent to which school discipline disproportionality between African American and White students was attributable to racial disparities in teachers’ discretionary versus nondiscretionary decisions. The sample consisted of office discipline referral (ODR) records for 1,154,686 students enrolled in 1,824 U.S. schools. Analyses compared the relative contributions of disproportionality in ODRs for subjectively and objectively defined behaviors to overall disproportionality, controlling for relevant school characteristics. Results showed that disproportionality in subjective ODRs explained the vast majority of variance in total disproportionality. These findings suggest that providing educators with strategies to neutralize the effects of implicit bias, which is known to influence discretionary decisions and interpretations of ambiguous behaviors, may be a promising avenue for achieving equity in school discipline.
Academic achievement gaps between high- and low-income students born in the 1990s were much larger than between cohorts born two decades earlier. Racial/ethnic achievement gaps declined during the same period. To determine whether these two trends have continued in more recent cohorts, we examine trends in several dimensions of school readiness, including academic achievement, self-control, externalizing behavior, and a measure of students’ approaches to learning, for cohorts born from the early 1990s to the 2000–2010 midperiod. We use data from nationally representative samples of kindergarteners (ages 5–6) in 1998 ( n = 20,220), 2006 ( n = 6,600), and 2010 ( n = 16,980) to estimate trends in racial/ethnic and income school readiness gaps. We find that readiness gaps narrowed modestly from 1998 to 2010, particularly between high- and low-income students and between White and Hispanic students.
This study utilized latent class analysis (LCA) to identify 5 discernible profiles of Latino children's (N = 1,253) social-emotional, physical, and cognitive school readiness at the time of kindergarten entry. In addition, a growth mixture modeling (GMM) approach was used to identify 3 unique literacy achievement trajectories, across Grades 2-5, for these students. A latent transition analysis (LTA) approach was used to examine how Latino children's readiness profiles at kindergarten entry were related to longitudinal literacy achievement trajectories in Grades 2-5. Results provided evidence that Latino students enter kindergarten with discernible readiness profiles and that these profiles predicted longitudinal literacy achievement trajectories through Grade 5. Specifically, children with higher levels of readiness at kindergarten entry had greater probabilities of following favorable literacy achievement patterns than those students who were rated with lower levels of readiness. Results also provided evidence suggesting that Latino children's cognitive readiness levels were particularly predictive of longitudinal literacy achievement patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record
This study examined the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP), a brief screening tool designed for use as a universal school readiness assessment. Teachers rated the readiness of 10,031 children during the first month of kindergarten in four ethnically diverse, medium-sized school districts in central California. From the total sample, two random, independent subsamples were identified. First, S1 (n = 5,050) was utilized to conduct a CFA. Results yielded evidence supporting a two-factor structure encompassing children’s social-emotional and cognitive readiness; similar to previous studies examining the KSEP with less diverse student samples. Next, a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted using S2 (n = 4,981) to replicate the structure identified in the first CFA with an independent subsample and to test the measurement invariance of the KSEP across two sets of categorical variables: (a) gender and (b) parent education levels. Results from both sets of CFAs showed adequate fit to the two-factor structure, with the KSEP exhibiting measurement invariance across both gender and parent education levels. The results of this study provide additional psychometric evidence supporting the validity of the KSEP as a universal level school readiness screener. Practical implications are also discussed.
Although college readiness is a centerpiece of major educational initiatives such as the Common Core State Standards, few systems have been implemented to track children's progress toward this goal. Instead, college-readiness information is typically conveyed late in a student's high-school career, and tends to focus solely on academic accomplishments—grades and admissions test scores. Late-stage feedback can be problematic for students who need to correct course, so the purpose of this research is to develop a system for communicating more comprehensive college-readiness diagnoses earlier in a child's K-12 career. This article introduces college-readiness indicators for middle-school students, drawing on the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of educational inputs, contexts, and outcomes. A diversity of middle-school variables was synthesized into six factors: achievement, behavior, motivation, social engagement, family circumstances, and school characteristics. Middle-school factors explain 69% of the variance in college readiness, and results suggest a variety of factors beyond academic achievement—most notably motivation and behavior—contribute substantially to preparedness for postsecondary study. The article concludes with limitations and future directions, including the development of college-readiness categories to support straightforward communication of middle-school indicators to parents, teachers, and students.
Racial disproportionality in school discipline and its related adverse outcomes remain one of the biggest challenges in education, particularly among students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore regional differences in the suspension of racially and ethnically diverse students with disabilities, as well as the predictive role of school support staff. Using Poisson regression to analyze a national dataset (N=97,763), results show that Black students with disabilities in the Southern United States were subjugated to all types of suspension at higher rates than their peers in the Northern United States. Additionally, there is an inverse relationship between the number of school psychologists and social workers and the rate of students with disabilities subjected to suspension, but the results vary by race and type of suspension. This information has the potential to improve collaboration among educators, practitioners, and policymakers and encourage the development of a restorative approach to school discipline
In the 40‐plus years since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special education has grown in the number of students and amount spent on services. Despite this growth, academic performance of students with disabilities remains troublingly low compared to general education students. To some extent, these differences reflect persistent underlying disabilities, but they also may reflect ineffective services. Does special education improve academic outcomes for students with disabilities? There is surprisingly little evidence to guide policy and answer this question. This paper provides an answer for the largest disability group, students with specific learning disabilities (LDs), using rich New York City public school data. Because the majority of LDs are classified after school entry, we observe outcomes before and after classification, allowing us to estimate impacts using within‐student pre/post comparisons (student fixed effects) and an intent‐to‐treat specification. We find that academic outcomes improve for LDs following classification into special education and impacts are largest for those entering special education in earlier grades. Attendance, however, shows little change after classification. Results are robust to alternative specifications and falsification tests bolster confidence in a causal interpretation. Differences in impacts by gender, race/ethnicity, grade of classification, and settings illuminate possible mechanisms.
The transition to formal schooling is a large contextual change, which for many children in U.S. begins with the year of kindergarten. To better understand the challenges of this transition, the present study examines the extent to which children experience transition difficulties in five salient areas: making friends, following schedules, meeting academic demands, working within groups, and being organized.
Using a sample of 688 kindergarteners from 45 classrooms, we found that challenges in the transition to kindergarten were prevalent based on teacher report. More than 70% of the children were reported to have difficulty in at least one area, and over 30% of children had challenges in all five areas. Meeting academic demands and being organized were two of the most common challenges kindergarteners experienced. Gender and IEP status consistently predicted transition difficulties, in that boys struggled more than girls, and children with disabilities (on the basis of IEP provision) were more likely to have difficulties than those without IEPs. Overall, this work highlights the need to support children during the transition to kindergarten.
The present study examines whether teacher-rated self-regulation skills exhibited within the classroom context and directly assessed individual executive function abilities at kindergarten entry uniquely contribute to kindergarten and third grade achievement gaps among children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking English-Language learners (ELLs). We used nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K: 2011) in hierarchical nested regression models to describe the achievement gaps and subsequent reductions in the achievement gaps once child covariates, classroom self-regulation, and executive function skills were added to the models. Classroom self-regulation explained a moderate proportion of the kindergarten math and literacy gaps, but only among children from economically disadvantaged families. After accounting for classroom self-regulation, executive function skills explained a more substantial proportion of kindergarten achievement gaps for children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking ELLs. Moreover, although executive function skills continued to explain achievement gaps in third grade for both groups, effect sizes were small. Results highlight the independent contribution of classroom self-regulation and individual executive function skills for school readiness gaps in kindergarten among children from economically disadvantaged families and suggest that improving executive function abilities prior to kindergarten could be effective for attenuating initial achievement gaps. Applications to policy and practice are discussed.
This article explores diversity models pertaining to race and cultural identity content in US-based social work education. To date, cultural competence remains the dominant framework and is often located in independent, isolated courses that incorporate content on race, culture, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, language, and nationality. In this article, I argue that cultural competence is a mastery-based model that tends to generalize or overlook the ways in which intersecting identities are affected by systems of oppression. Diversity courses, while valuable, often fail to ask essential, reflective questions or promote change at the personal/professional and structural levels. This article proposes anti-oppressive practice and intersectionality theory as alternative frameworks to cultural competence and suggests that such content ought to be infused throughout the curriculum in order to engage professionals and institutions in a lifelong commitment of accountability. Anti-oppressive practice draws from critical theories and other social justice-informed approaches to understanding the root causes of social problems and highlights the practice of cultural humility. This article uses the Latino Critical Race Theory methodology of testimonio, as a case example of this author’s experiences of implicit and explicit bias in social work education.
Even the least severe forms of exclusionary discipline are associated with detrimental effects for students that attend schools that overuse them. With a nationally representative longitudinal study of high school students, we utilize propensity score weighting to limit selection bias associated with schools that issue high numbers of in-school suspensions. Accounting for school social order and individual suspensions, we find that high-suspension schools are negatively associated with students’ math achievement and college attendance. We also find that when we account for high and low-suspension schools, attending an urban schools is associated with an increase in both math achievement and college attendance.
The majority of the research on school suspension practices has focused on individual student-level factors and their relationship to school suspension practices. A substantial number of studies have examined race and/or disability status as predictors of suspension (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018 Camacho, K. A., & Krezmien, M. P. (2018). Individual- and school-level factors contributing to disproportionate suspension rates: A multilevel analysis of one state. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 106342661876906. doi:10.1177/1063426618769065[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Krezmien, Travers, & Camacho, 2017 Krezmien, M. P., Travers, J. C., & Camacho, K. A. (2017). Suspension rates of students with autism or intellectual disabilities in Maryland from 2004 to 2015. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(11), 1011–1020. doi:10.1111/jir.12406[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Sullivan, Klingbeil, & Van Norman, 2013 Sullivan, A. L., Klingbeil, D. A., & Van Norman, E. R. (2013). Beyond behavior: Multilevel analysis of the influence of sociodemographics and school characteristics on students' risk of suspension. School Psychology Review, 42(1), 99–114.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Vincent, Sprague, & Tobin, 2012; Wright, Morgan, Coyne, Beaver, & Barnes, 2014 Wright, J. P., Morgan, M. A., Coyne, M. A., Beaver, K. M., & Barnes, J. C. (2014). Prior problem behavior accounts for the racial gap in school suspensions. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(3), 257–266. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.01.001[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). They have consistently found that African American students and students with disabilities are more likely to be suspended from school compared to White students and students without disabilities. Fewer studies have focused on school-level factors that are associated with disproportionate suspension practices. These studies have found that secondary schools suspend more students than elementary schools (Butler, Lewis, Moore, & Scott, 2012 Butler, B. R., Lewis, C. W., Moore, J. L. I., II., & Scott, M. E. (2012). Assessing the odds: Disproportional discipline practices and implications for educational stakeholders. Journal of Negro Education, 81(1), 11–24.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Camacho & Krezmien, 2018 Camacho, K. A., & Krezmien, M. P. (2018). Individual- and school-level factors contributing to disproportionate suspension rates: A multilevel analysis of one state. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 106342661876906. doi:10.1177/1063426618769065[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Schools with lower academic achievement (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018 Camacho, K. A., & Krezmien, M. P. (2018). Individual- and school-level factors contributing to disproportionate suspension rates: A multilevel analysis of one state. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 106342661876906. doi:10.1177/1063426618769065[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Skiba et al., 2014 Skiba, R. J., Chung, C.-G., Trachok, M., Baker, T. L., Sheya, A., & Hughes, R. L. (2014). Parsing disciplinary disproportionality: Contributions of infraction, student, and school characteristics to out-of-school suspension and expulsion. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 640–670. doi:10.3102/0002831214541670[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), higher retention rates (Christle, Nelson, & Jolivette, 2004 Christle, C., Nelson, C. M., & Jolivette, K. (2004). School characteristics related to the use of suspension. Education & Treatment of Children, 27(4), 509–526. [Google Scholar]), and more highly qualified teachers (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018 Camacho, K. A., & Krezmien, M. P. (2018). Individual- and school-level factors contributing to disproportionate suspension rates: A multilevel analysis of one state. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 106342661876906. doi:10.1177/1063426618769065[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Losen, Simmons, Staudinger-Poloni, Rausch, & Skiba, 2003 Losen, D. J., Simmons, A. B., Staudinger-Poloni, L., Rausch, M. K., & Skiba, R. (2003). Exploring the link between low teacher quality and disciplinary exclusion. Boston, MA: Harvard University Civil Right Project and Northeastern University Institute on Race and Justice. [Google Scholar]) had lower suspension rates. Schools with higher percentages of Black students (Skiba et al., 2014 Skiba, R. J., Chung, C.-G., Trachok, M., Baker, T. L., Sheya, A., & Hughes, R. L. (2014). Parsing disciplinary disproportionality: Contributions of infraction, student, and school characteristics to out-of-school suspension and expulsion. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 640–670. doi:10.3102/0002831214541670[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), higher dropout rates (Christle et al., 2004 Christle, C., Nelson, C. M., & Jolivette, K. (2004). School characteristics related to the use of suspension. Education & Treatment of Children, 27(4), 509–526. [Google Scholar]), and higher mobility rates (Camacho & Krezmien, 2018 Camacho, K. A., & Krezmien, M. P. (2018). Individual- and school-level factors contributing to disproportionate suspension rates: A multilevel analysis of one state. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 106342661876906. doi:10.1177/1063426618769065[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Hemphill, Plenty, Herrenkohl, Toumbourou, & Catalano, 2014 Hemphill, S. A., Plenty, S. M., Herrenkohl, T. I., Toumbourou, J. W., & Catalano, R. F. (2014). Student and school factors associated with school suspension: A multilevel analysis of students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States. Children & Youth Services Review, 36, 187–194. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.11.022[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) placed students at higher risk for suspension. Despite these consistent findings, there has been relatively little research examining school discipline policies (Fenning et al., 2008 Fenning, P., Golomb, S., Gordon, V., Kelly, M., Scheinfield, R., Morello, T., … Banull, C. (2008). Written discipline policies used by administrators: Do we have sufficient tools of the trade?. Journal of School Violence, 7(2), 123–146. doi:10.1300/J202v07n02_08[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and the relationship between school discipline policies and discipline outcomes.
This study examined the effectiveness of participating in special education on the academic outcomes of students with disabilities. A sample of 575 students from a large, urban school district were followed longitudinally as they transitioned between general and special education to evaluate whether receiving special education services was associated with improvements in academic trajectories. Using student fixed effects models of within-person change over time, individuals’ performance on standardized tests were compared before, during, and/or after special education placement. Results indicate that test scores of students with disabilities improved after being enrolled in special education. Additionally, students exiting special education exhibited a sustained trajectory of academic growth, suggesting that participation in special education in this district was associated with enduring improvements over time.
We examined the predictive value of early spelling for later reading performance by analyzing data from 970 U.S. children whose spelling was assessed in the summer following the completion of kindergarten (M age = 6 years; 3 months). The word reading performance of most of the children was then tested after the completion of Grade 1 (age 7;5), Grade 2 (8;5), Grade 4 (10;5), and Grade 9 (15;5). A computer-scored measure of postkindergarten spelling was a significant predictor of later reading performance even after taking into account postkindergarten phonological awareness, reading, and letter-sound knowledge and prekindergarten vocabulary. The results suggest that, by the end of kindergarten, spelling is more than just a proxy for phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge. Given the information that spelling provides, it should be considered for inclusion when screening children for future literacy problems.
Purpose
Multicultural teacher education (MTE), self-efficacy, and satisfaction are all important for teachers, especially as they relate to their engagement in practices that are beneficial for culturally and linguistically diverse children. Yet, it remains to be seen how these important constructs work together to predict teaching practices once teachers enter the field. The purpose of this paper is to explore how MTE, teacher efficacy, teacher satisfaction, and culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices are related among early childhood teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
Specifically, the paper will address the connections between these variables via a path analysis. Previously collected data from 105 public early childhood teachers (PreK-2) in a single county in the Southeast United States was analyzed for the study.
Findings
Results suggest that CRT in early childhood is a three-faceted construct with teacher efficacy having a direct effect on all dimensions of CRT, and teacher satisfaction having a direct effect on two dimensions of CRT. MTE did not have any direct effect on teacher efficacy, teacher satisfaction or CRT.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature in that it is especially necessary to examine how teacher education influences teachers’ efficacy and practices with culturally and linguistically diverse students. There is limited research on how these variables work together in the early childhood setting.
There are racial/ethnic disparities associated with school punishment practices and academic progress. In addition, research suggests that urban schools have stricter school punishment practices and higher grade retention rates. What remains unknown, however, is the relationship between race/ethnicity, school punishment practices, and retention rates across urban, rural, and suburban schools. Thus, this study draws from the Texas Education Agency’s Public Education Information Management System and Critical Race Theory to investigate if there is link between school punishment practices and academic progress, as well as establishing if there are racial/ethnic disparities in urban, rural, and suburban contexts.
Although a large body of research has documented racial/ethnic gaps in academic achievement at school entry, less is known about the interaction between race and poverty as achievement gaps develop. This study examined developmental trends in academic achievement gaps between poverty and race/ethnicity groups from school entry to middle school using two large longitudinal data sets. We used time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) to estimate how the associations among race/ethnicity, poverty status, and math and reading achievement vary across continuous age from age 5 to age 15. Poor White students consistently outperformed poor Black and poor Hispanic students, with gaps widening around ages 7–8. Furthermore, we found that within-group variation increased across time, which indicated that a standardized difference in later grades translates to a larger difference in knowledge in later grades. The results highlight the importance of studying race and poverty in interaction when measuring achievement gaps.
Critics of school disciplinary policies have long noted that African American, male, low-achieving, and special education students experience higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions. However, research that seeks to estimate the effects of suspensions on student outcomes rarely accounts for the preexisting differences that distinguish students who are and are not suspended. Using quasi-experimental methods and longitudinal data from New York City, we estimated the associations between suspension and academic outcomes and found that, even with more sophisticated methods, the negative relationships between suspension and outcomes persist. Specifically, we found that suspended students had weaker attendance, course completion rates, and standardized test scores; were more likely to drop out; and were less likely to graduate within 4, 5, or 6 years.
Statistical mediation analysis has become the technique of choice in consumer research to make causal inferences about the influence of a treatment on an outcome via one or more mediators. This tutorial aims to strengthen two weak links that impede statistical mediation analysis from reaching its full potential. The first weak link is the path from mediator to outcome, which is a correlation. Six conditions are described that this correlation needs to meet in order to make plausible causal inferences: directionality, reliability, unconfoundedness, distinctiveness, power, and mediation. Recommendations are made to increase the plausibility of causal inferences based on statistical mediation analysis. Sweetspot analysis is proposed to establish whether an observed mediator-outcome correlation falls within the region of statistically meaningful correlations. The second weak link is the communication of mediation results. Four components of informative communication of mediation analysis are described: effect decomposition, effect size, difference testing, and data sharing. Recommendations are made to improve the communication of mediation analysis. A review of 166 recently published mediation analyses in the Journal of Consumer Research, a reanalysis of two published datasets, and Monte Carlo simulations support the conclusions and recommendations. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Journal of Consumer Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
This study is a brief psychometric report examining the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP). Multiple regression models were tested examining associations between kindergarten teachers’ ratings of children’s social-emotional and cognitive readiness during the first month of kindergarten with academic and social-emotional outcomes almost 6 years later. Significant associations (p < .05) were identified between children’s cognitive readiness at kindergarten entry and reading fluency in Grade 5, as well as between children’s social-emotional readiness and multiple aspects of their social-emotional well-being in Grade 5. This study provides evidence supporting the long-term predictive validity of KSEP screener ratings and highlights the importance of screening for social-emotional, as well as cognitive, indicators of readiness when children enter kindergarten. Practical implications are discussed.
Objective:
To explore predictors of 8-year school-based behavioral outcomes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods:
We examined potential baseline predictors of school-based behavioral outcomes in children who completed the 8-year follow-up in the multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD. Stepwise logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified baseline predictors that were associated with a higher risk of truancy, school discipline, and in-school fights.
Results:
Stepwise regression analysis explained between 8.1% (in-school fights) and 12.0% (school discipline) of the total variance in school-based behavioral outcomes. Logistic regression identified several baseline characteristics that were associated with school-based behavioral difficulties 8 years later, including being male (associated with truancy and school discipline), African American (school discipline, in-school fights), increased conduct disorder (CD) symptoms (truancy), decreased affection from parents (school discipline), ADHD severity (in-school fights), and study site (truancy and school discipline). ROC analyses identified the most discriminative predictors of truancy, school discipline, and in-school fights, which were Aggression and Conduct Problem Scale Total score, family income, and race, respectively.
Conclusions:
A modest, but nontrivial portion of school-based behavioral outcomes, was predicted by baseline childhood characteristics. Exploratory analyses identified modifiable (lack of paternal involvement, lower parental knowledge of behavioral principles, and parental use of physical punishment), somewhat modifiable (income and having comorbid CD), and nonmodifiable (African American and male) factors that were associated with school-based behavioral difficulties. Future research should confirm that the associations between earlier specific parenting behaviors and poor subsequent school-based behavioral outcomes are, indeed, causally related and independent cooccurring childhood psychopathology. Future research might target increasing paternal involvement and parental knowledge of behavioral principles and reducing use of physical punishment to improve school-based behavioral outcomes in children with ADHD.
This study examined the third-grade outcomes of 11,902 low-income Latino children who experienced public school pre-K or child care via subsidies (center-based care) at age 4 in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Regression and propensity score analyses revealed that children who experienced public school pre-K earned higher scores on standardized assessments of math and reading in third grade and had higher grade point averages than those who attended center-based care 4 years earlier. The sustained associations between public school pre-K (vs. center-based care) and third-grade outcomes were mediated by children's kindergarten entry preacademic and social–behavioral skills, and among English-language learners, English proficiency. Implications for investing in early childhood programs to assist with the school readiness of young Latino children in poverty are discussed.
This study examined a sample of primary and secondary school students with alternate school outcomes of high school graduation and school dropout. Using secondary administrative data from a state department of education and a state department of juvenile justice, two models are examined in the current study. Utilizing hierarchical mixed-effects logistic regression models, the relative impacts of demographic characteristics (race, gender, birth year), school-related factors (grade failure, free lunch status, average number of days missed per year, expulsions) and juvenile justice involvement were examined on graduation and dropout outcomes. Across models, juvenile justice contact and school expulsion were the best predictors of negative school outcomes; The findings also demonstrate that race was not as predictive of dropout as were other factors. Findings suggest that interventions, practices, and policies in schools that may prevent negative behavior and subsequent consequences (expulsion and/or juvenile justice contact) may impact the more distal outcomes of high school graduation and dropout.
Racial disparities in rates of exclusionary school discipline are well documented and seemingly intractable. However, emerging theories on implicit bias show promise in identifying effective interventions. In this study, we used school discipline data from 1,666 elementary schools and 483,686 office discipline referrals to identify specific situations in which disproportionality was more likely. Results were largely consistent with our theoretical model, indicating increased racial and gender disproportionality for subjectively defined behaviors, in classrooms, and for incidents classified as more severe. The time of day also substantially affected disproportionality. These findings can be used to pinpoint specific student–teacher interactions for intervention.
School dropout has been extensively studied in the literature as a correlate of negative life outcomes. A precursor to school dropout is truancy, the unexcused or illegitimate student absence from school. Few studies have examined the relationship between truancy and involvement in crime and adjustment more generally over the life-course. This study extends previous work by exploring whether truancy at age 12 to 14 is related to later life outcomes such as crime, aggression, and adjustment using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Results indicate that truancy has long-lasting associations with negative life outcomes, especially for non-violent crime and problem drinking. Importantly, these findings hold for certain outcomes controlling for a comprehensive host of environmental and individual childhood risk factors.
This study examined the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP) when used to rate the school readiness of children from different ethnic backgrounds (Latino or White, non-Latino), as well as from households where a different language was predominant (Spanish or English). Teachers rated the readiness of 9,335 children during the first month of kindergarten in four ethnically diverse, medium-sized school districts in central California. From the total sample, two overlapping subsamples (S1 and S2) were identified. First, a series of confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with S1 (n = 7,787) to examine the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the KSEP with children who identified as either Latino or White at the time of kindergarten enrollment. Next, the same set of analyses were replicated with S2 (n = 9, 234) to examine whether results held for students from households where the primary language spoken was Spanish or English. Results yielded evidence supporting a two-factor structure encompassing social-emotional and cognitive dimensions of children's readiness. In addition, results showed the KSEP exhibited measurement invariance across student ethnicities (Latino/White) and home languages (Spanish/English). The results of this study provide psychometric evidence that is particularly important for a universal school readiness screener.
Given the negative outcomes associated with suspension, scholars and practitioners are concerned with discipline disparities. This study explored patterns and predictors of suspension in a sample of 2,750 students with disabilities in 39 schools in a Midwestern district. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling demonstrated that disability type, gender, race/ethnicity, and free/reduced lunch status were significant predictors of suspension among students with disabilities. Adjusting for gender and race/ethnicity attenuated suspension risk associated with disability type, and adjusting for student-level socioeconomic variables attenuated risk associated with race/ethnicity, but significant disparities remained. School characteristics were not predictive of suspension risk, but their inclusion in the models was associated with increased risk of suspension among students with emotional disturbance. Results underscore the value of multilevel modeling when identifying predictors of suspension and the need to explore a wider variety of classroom and school factors that may account for inequitable discipline.
The education of language-minority students is a constitutional right. Throughout this article, the authors synthesize recent literature addressing two main questions: (1) What are secondary teachers’ attitudes toward English language learners (ELLs)? and (2) To what extent are secondary teachers being prepared to teach content effectively to this student population? Secondary teachers’ attitudes about ELLs vary, but are generally positive. The lack of teacher preparation—especially at the secondary level—to teach ELLs effectively is widespread. Thus, it is not surprising that secondary teachers feel ill-prepared to scaffold or differentiate instruction to meet these students’ language and academic needs. Since attitudes, preparation, and practice are interrelated, the authors also provide numerous implications for future practice at various levels: teacher-preparation programs, school district support, and classroom teaching.
In this wonderful new volume, Geneva Gay makes a convincing case for using culturally responsive teaching to improve the school performance of underachieving students of color. Key components of culturally responsive teaching discussed include teacher caring, teacher attitudes and expectations, formal and informal multicultural curriculum, culturally informed classroom discourse, and cultural congruity in teaching and learning strategies. This is an excellent resource for anyone who cares about improving and recognizing the factors that shape culturally responsive teaching and learning.
We examined 2009-2010 data on exclusionary discipline practices from one state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States across students' racial/ ethnic backgrounds and disability status. Our focus was on proportionate representation in exclusionary discipline actions and in the duration of those disciplinary actions. Descriptive outcomes indicated that among students with disability American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students were over-represented in removal to alternative education. Among students without a disability, Hispanic students were most notably over-represented in all exclusionary discipline practices. African-American students with and without disability lost approximately twice as many days as White students to exclusionary discipline. Follow-up Chi-Square tests showed that non-White students were statistically significantly over-represented in most exclusionary practices. ANOVA results indicated that both disability status and race significantly impacted the duration of exclusions. Recommendations for future research are provided.
This longitudinal study tested the roles of pre-kindergarten executive function (EF) and learning-related behaviors as predictors of the level and rate of growth in children's academic performance and social adjustment from kindergarten through third grade. Growth curve models were used to estimate direct pathways between EF and trajectories of academic skill development (math, reading, overall academic functioning) and social-emotional adjustment (social competence, aggression), controlling for child gender, race, verbal IQ, and pre-kindergarten baseline scores. In addition, indirect pathways were explored, in which the association between pre-kindergarten EF and elementary school adjustment was mediated by learning-related behaviors. Pre-kindergarten EF directly predicted the level and rate of growth of later math skills and the level of teacher-rated academic functioning. Pre-kindergarten learning-related behaviors directly predicted the level and rate of growth of later reading skills, and the level of teacher-rated social competence and aggression. In addition, pre-kindergarten EF indirectly promoted later reading skills, social competence, and reduced aggression, via its association with learning-related behaviors. Findings from the present study suggest that a parallel focus on EF and learning-related behaviors is warranted in efforts to promote school readiness and adjustment.
Demographic and student discipline data were used to examine the influence of multi-level risk and protective factors on exclusionary school discipline outcomes. Participants included all youth (n = 87,997) in grades K to 12 who were enrolled in Denver Public Schools (n = 183) in 2011–2012. The dataset included measures of risk and protective factors for exclusionary school discipline outcomes such as race, family poverty, special education status, emotional disability, participation in gifted and talented programs, homelessness, office referral reasons over the course of one school year, participation in in-school suspension, a behavior contract, or restorative approaches, and school composition. Multilevel logistic regression modeling was used to estimate students' likelihood of receiving one or more office disciplinary referrals, suspensions, expulsions, and/or law enforcement referrals. Findings indicate that student racial background and school racial composition are enduring risks across key decision points of the school discipline process. Conversely, participation in restorative interventions and in-school suspensions protects students from out-of-school suspensions. This study suggests that ongoing attention to issues of racial inequity in school discipline outcomes is warranted, and that restorative practices have potential as an inclusive strategy to improve school discipline outcomes without excluding students from the classroom.