Structural indicators for inclusive systems in and around schools. Analytical Report

International evidence indicates that school systems need to change in order to tackle early school leaving and improve social inclusion in education and society. Policy-makers and school actors require practical tools to assist them in this process, made all the more urgent by the EU2020 headline target to reduce early school leaving. This report develops such practical tools; it is designed to inform strategic policy and practice by offering an innovative framework of structural indicators for early school leaving prevention and inclusion in school. It draws upon key European Council and Commission policy documents on early school leaving prevention, and also on the Paris Declaration 2015 on promoting common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education, which includes a focus on social marginalization

Applying an ecological perspective to interprofessional education: Attitude changes in students of the tri-alliance

In spring 2020, three partnering academic programs of the tri-alliance —occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology—immediately transitioned from hybrid interprofessional education(IPE) to uniprofessional, online learning experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This transition presented opportunity to compare attitude changes and understand student perceptions about interprofessionalcollaboration between two tri-alliance student groups: Case 2018, N = 119 and Case 2020, N = 95. By incorporating the Bioecological Theory of Human Development (BTHD) and the Ecology of Human Performance (EHP), a comparative mixed methods case study merged quantitative results from a natural experiment and qualitative findings from a case study to learn about ecological factors within IPE and their effects on studentlearning. A modified version of the Interprofessional Attitude Scale provided quantitative pre- and posttest results. Narrative responses to reflection questions provided insight into the students\u27 perceptions. These results were analyzed separately and then merged together for both Cases. The outcomes between Cases diverged and provided evidence that attitude changes and perceptions from Case 2018 were significantly more positive than from Case 2020. Based on the BTHD, ecological factors related to multiple levels of context influenced student engagement in their full IPE-based experiences, which ultimately affected development. However, after sample size modifications, the outcomes were similar and appeared to be more influenced by the person factors than context, in alignment EHP constructs. These outcomes provided evidence that ecological factors affect student engagement in and learning from IPE, and more attention is needed about student factors and teaching/learning contexts

Social Capital and Academic Achievement in Arkansas

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a more comprehensive understanding of the impact that a child’s broader context has upon his or her academic outcomes, and presumably, life. Using Bronfenbrenner’s theory of human development, this study examines the extent to which social capital and student achievement are correlated and whether an infusion of funding for schools that presumably lack social and economic capital might predict academic achievement in schools from economically depressed regions. Findings indicate that some aspects of social capital and funding initiatives have a demonstrated impact on student achievement but there is not a correlation with student achievement and per pupil funding. Additionally, indexed measures of social capital were found to have limitations, though some determinants of social capital index were more effective in predicting student achievement than others. This study suggests that there may be malleable community factors that could be leveraged to improve academic achievement that warrant additional research

Immersion as a lifeway: the cultural sustainment and humanization of Mandarin dual language immersion teachers

The U.S. is growing in its recognition of the value of multilingualism, and is rapidly expanding educational programs, such as dual language immersion (DLI), to that end (Singleton et al., 2018). However, the historical socio-political, regulatory, and cultural contexts have led to a current climate that may not demonstrate equivalent value of its multilingual teachers (Flores & Rosa, 2015). With a concerning teacher shortage that is exacerbated for teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (MacIntyre et al., 2019), it is critical to understand factors that impact the wellbeing and satisfaction of such teachers in the U.S. educational system. In particular, with the complexities of globalization (Schaeffer, 2009) and a growing anti-Asian backlash (Chen et al., 2020), this study is concerned with the possible impact on teachers in programs such as Mandarin DLI, coveted for its language as a resource (M. Heller, 2003), as there is great potential for their workplace experience to be driven by transactional exchanges, rather than the desired transformative interaction in such a commodified climate. Therefore, using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study focuses on the professional lived experiences of Mandarin language teachers within the ecological system (Bronfenbrenner, 1977) of their uniquely dual language immersion environment. Using the lenses of humanization (Freire, 1970; Todres et al., 2009) and cultural sustainment (Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2017), this study examines the connection between such interactions and the resulting value expressed by the teachers. Thirteen Mandarin dual language immersion teachers participated in semi- structured interviews that contributed to rich and thick descriptive findings. The teachers’ insight led to implications regarding the systemic features in schools that can create culturally sustaining lifeways, develop humanizing leadership, and cultivate school communities as places of love that can collectively support the wellbeing and retention of diverse teachers