A Call for Self-Study in Middle Level Teacher Education

To promote dialogue and in response to calls for rigorous, large-scale, empirical studies as the standard that will move the field of middle level education forward, a collaborative of middle level teacher researchers submit three counterpoints to the appeals for consideration by the research community: 1) the power of the insights the authors’ gained from using the alternative research method of self-study; 2) the authenticity of using alternative research methods that mirror the uniqueness of a field predicated on the distinctiveness of educating diverse young adolescents; and 3) a reframing of “generalizability” from a “results” perspective to one of generalizability of the process that self-study methodology offers

Finding the Humanity in Policy Work: A Teacher Educators’ Response to the 2023 AMLE Policy Agenda

[In the absence of an abstract, the conclusion is presented.] When I first opened the document containing the policy priorities, I was struck by the way that AMLE centered the voices of young adolescent students. By including direct quotes from 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, AMLE positioned the priorities as being about middle school students and not just problem solving to answer calls about teacher retention, class sizes, or other structural issues that need to be addressed. I believe that policy must be in pursuit of improving and meeting the needs of these young peoples’ lives. I am hopeful that as AMLE leads its membership into advocacy work, we will not lose sight of the human faces behind the documents. The personal stories, like those of the young people quoted in the introduction of the document, like my nephew, and like the millions of other students who are sitting in a middle school classroom today, must be at the center of any work we do. As a member of AMLE, the policy agenda reminds me that we are working to craft a future where no young adolescent feels lost or unsupported, and where middle schools are a place for innovation, growth, and possibilities beyond the academic curriculum, and into social and emotional well-being as well

Teaching Is Messy: Using Lesson Study to Reimagine Student-Centered Clinical Experiences

Teacher preparation is dependent on a clinical model of instruction where students apprentice with licensed teachers to gain experience in a classroom. It is not always easy to create these opportunities in schools that are local to the university, especially with a large middle-level program. This qualitative study examines how using lesson study in an early clinical experience can create high-quality experiences and develop innovative thinking around lesson design. This research answers the following questions: (1) What events do the preservice teachers identify as memorable in their interactions with students, peers, and teachers during a clinical experience that uses the lesson study model? (2) How does the lesson study model influence preservice teachers’ thinking about teaching? The results from the study suggest that a lesson study model is a viable option for middle-level teacher preparation programs. While it solves some practical issues, such as a lack of quality clinical experiences, it also creates an experience where students feel supported, scaffolded, and engaged

Retailers' perspectives on selling tobacco in a low-income San Francisco neighbourhood after California's $2 tobacco tax increase.

BackgroundCalifornia's tobacco tax increased by $2.00 per pack in 2017. Although such increases are among the most effective tobacco control strategies, little is known about their impact from the perspective of corner store owners in low-income neighbourhoods with high concentrations of tobacco outlets.MethodsWe interviewed 38 corner store owners and managers in San Francisco's Tenderloin, the district with the city's highest tobacco outlet density, 60-90 days following implementation of the tax increase. Questions focused on perceptions of the impact of the higher tobacco tax on their revenues, customers and tobacco company promotions. We used qualitative content analysis to identify, compare and reconcile key themes.ResultsMost retailers reported a decline in cigarette sales, with customers buying fewer cigarettes, switching to cheaper brands or other products like marijuana, or trying to quit smoking. Retailers described challenges associated with running a small business and selling tobacco and concerns about selling a product that is 'bad' for customers' health. Contrary to expectation, tobacco companies appeared to be offering few product promotions in this neighbourhood.ConclusionsSmall, independent retailers' concerns, about selling tobacco and about the health and well-being of customers, suggest that such retailers may be important allies in tobacco control efforts,particularly those focused on the point-of-sale

Healthy Retail as a Strategy for Improving Food Security and the Built Environment in San Francisco.

In low-income neighborhoods without supermarkets, lack of healthy food access often is exacerbated by the saturation of small corner stores with tobacco and unhealthy foods and beverages. We describe a municipal healthy retail program in San Francisco, California, focusing on the role of a local coalition in program implementation and outcomes in the city's low income Tenderloin neighborhood. By incentivizing selected corner stores to become healthy retailers, and through community engagement and cross-sector partnerships, the program is seeing promising outcomes, including a "ripple effect" of improvement across nonparticipating neighborhood stores

In a Spirit of Curiosity, Concern, Collaboration, and Humility: Considering the Work of Middle Grades Education in the Context of a Pandemic

When we envision the ideals of middle school, we so often think about the importance of physical setting. Physical setting helps to create a material space for so many of the tenets of the middle school mindset. For example, “a successful (middle) school for young adolescents is an inviting, supportive, and safe place---a joyful community that promotes in-depth learning and enhances students’ physical and emotional well-being. In a school (with a material, physical setting), human relationships are paramount.” (National Middle School Association, 2010, p. 33). With the outbreak of Covid-19 and pandemic conditions forcing so many to shelter-in-place, our collective thinking about this ideal has been forced to shapeshift. Without prerequisite planning, the physical setting has become a digital setting. What are the challenges of such a sudden and unexpected shift? What are the trending topics scrolling our personal and professional timelines? What are the solutions? This is the developing story, told in two voices, of middle grades educators reflecting on, living through, and teaching within the current reality of pandemic conditions that have shifted our personal and professional paradigms. In this essay, we will share some of our challenges and in-progress solutions. We consider shifts in our practices and professional mindsets as we seek to thrive and to serve middle grades educators and students in two different contexts. We pose questions that have incomplete answers and share our imperfect thinking as we seek answers. Our mindsets are evolving even as we write. We consider this topic in a spirit of curiosity, concern, collaboration, and humility

Higher Retail Prices of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages 3 Months After Implementation of an Excise Tax in Berkeley, California

Objectives. We assessed the short-term ability to increase retail prices of the first US 1-cent-per-ounce excise tax on the distribution of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which was implemented in March 2015 by Berkeley, California. Methods. In 2014 and 2015, we examined pre- to posttax price changes of SSBs and non-SSBs in a variety of retailers in Berkeley and in the comparison cities Oakland and San Francisco, California. We examined price changes by beverage, brand, size, and retailer type. Results. For smaller beverages (£ 33.8 oz), price increases (cents/oz) in Berkeley relative to those in comparison cities were 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.36, 1.03) for soda, 0.47 (95% CI = 0.08, 0.87) for fruit-flavored beverages, and 0.47 (95% CI = 0.25, 0.69) for SSBs overall. For 2-liter bottles and multipacks of soda, relative price increases were 0.46 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.89) and 0.49 (95% CI = 0.21, 0.77). We observed no relative price increases for nontaxed beverages overall. Conclusions. Approximately 3 months after the tax was implemented, SSB retail prices increased more in Berkeley than in nearby cities, marking a step in the causal pathway between the tax and reduced SSB consumption

Landbruget og Toldreformen.

Landbruget og Toldreformen

Design considerations for developing measures of policy implementation in quantitative evaluations of public health policy.

Typical quantitative evaluations of public policies treat policies as a binary condition, without further attention to how policies are implemented. However, policy implementation plays an important role in how the policy impacts behavioral and health outcomes. The field of policy-focused implementation science is beginning to consider how policy implementation may be conceptualized in quantitative analyses (e.g., as a mediator or moderator), but less work has considered how to measure policy implementation for inclusion in quantitative work. To help address this gap, we discuss four design considerations for researchers interested in developing or identifying measures of policy implementation using three independent NIH-funded research projects studying e-cigarette, food, and mental health policies. Mini case studies of these considerations were developed via group discussions; we used the implementation research logic model to structure our discussions. Design considerations include (1) clearly specifying the implementation logic of the policy under study, (2) developing an interdisciplinary team consisting of policy practitioners and researchers with expertise in quantitative methods, public policy and law, implementation science, and subject matter knowledge, (3) using mixed methods to identify, measure, and analyze relevant policy implementation determinants and processes, and (4) building flexibility into project timelines to manage delays and challenges due to the real-world nature of policy. By applying these considerations in their own work, researchers can better identify or develop measures of policy implementation that fit their needs. The experiences of the three projects highlighted in this paper reinforce the need for high-quality and transferrable measures of policy implementation, an area where collaboration between implementation scientists and policy experts could be particularly fruitful. These measurement practices provide a foundation for the field to build on as attention to incorporating measures of policy implementation into quantitative evaluations grows and will help ensure that researchers are developing a more complete understanding of how policies impact health outcomes

Re-Examining School Structures of People, Place, and Time to Promote Equity at the Middle Level

In 2018 we published a chapter entitled “Middle Grades Schools and Structures” (Ellerbrock et al., 2018a) in Literature Reviews in Support of the Middle Level Education Research Agenda (Mertens et al., 2013). Building on the earlier work of Ellerbrock et al. (2018a), this chapter reviewed literature between 2000 and 2018 that reported on the organizational structures of middle level education settings in the United States of America and Australia. Though the findings highlighted the dearth of research specifically examining the organizational structures of middle level education, the literature examined supported the original three key interconnected themes of people, place, and time (Ellerbrock et al., 2018b) as being key features necessary for the implementation of effective middle schooling practices. In our conclusion, we called for more robust research in this area to guide policy and enact practices across different jurisdictions. At the same time, Bishop and Nagle (2018) noted the many increasing disparities in access to quality education and invited readers to consider how schools can serve all students both equitably and well. Equitable access is first and foremost, but equitable outcomes for all students is paramount. At the time of publication of all of these works, no one could have predicted the significant negative impact of COVID-19 and the resultant exacerbation of the already challenging inequities in education across the globe. However, research over the last five years, and particularly since 2020, has placed a greater focus on policy, system, and grassroots pedagogical changes to bridge this widening gap. In light of this heightened focus, this essay aims to reexamine the three key themes of people, place, and time and, when implemented with integrity, the ways middle grades schools and structures can contribute to creating both developmentally responsive and equitable educational experiences for young adolescent learners