Dual Enrollment Policies and Practices

The James Irvine Foundation joins educators and policymakers across the country who share a growing interest in the potential of dual enrollment. In particular, when high school students take college courses to earn transferable college credits, how are they positioned to succeed in college and career? How can we expand this opportunity to a broader range of students? Irvine's Youth program seeks to help increase the number of low-income youth in California who complete high school on time and attain a postsecondary credential by age 25. To ensure access to better educational and economic opportunities for a diverse group of students, our funding supports multiple pathways to the same destination: success in high school, college and careers. The multiple pathways approach integrates rigorous academics with demanding career and technical education, comprehensive student support services and relevant work-based learning opportunities, so that all high school students are prepared for both college and career. Research suggests that career-focused dual enrollment programs can improve secondary and postsecondary academic outcomes for a variety of students. In this context, the Concurrent Courses initiative was created to demonstrate the feasibility of using dual enrollment to enhance career and technical education pathways -- particularly for low-income youth who are struggling academically or who are within populations historically underrepresented in higher education. The Concurrent Courses initiative is being managed by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) housed at Teachers College, Columbia University. We would like to thank and recognize the authors of this brief: Joanne Wang Golann, who is a Senior Research Assistant and Katherine L. Hughes, who is the Assistant Director for Work and Education Reform Research at CCRC. The authors conducted extensive research on the dual enrollment environment in California in preparation for Concurrent Courses. This brief shares their analysis with the field to clarify the opportunities and challenges for supporting promising pathways to college

First-Year Maternal School Attendance and Children’s Cognitive Abilities at Age 5

Although there has been extensive research on the effects of early maternal employment on children’s outcomes, there have been surprisingly few studies examining the relationship between early maternal school attendance and children’s well-being, despite the fact that a large percentage of mothers return to school following the birth of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,133), this study finds that mothers who attend four-year colleges or graduate schools in their children’s first year confer a significant advantage to their children’s cognitive development by age 5. Working while attending school does not appear to have any adverse effects on children. Contrary to expectations, no mediation effects are found for parenting or child care. Results imply that encouraging mothers to continue their education soon after their children’s births may be an effective strategy to improve the outcomes of both mothers and children.education, early childhood, intergenerational transfers, parenting, schools, Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing

NEPC Review: Charter Schools and the Achievement Gap

A report, Charter Schools and the Achievement Gap, finds that, though charter schools on average perform no better than traditional public schools, urban &ldquo;no-excuses&rdquo; charter schools&mdash;which often use intensive discipline to enforce order&mdash;demonstrate promising results. It recommends that these schools and their practices be widely replicated within and outside of the charter school sector. We find three major flaws with this conclusion. First, the report&rsquo;s recommendations are based solely on the academic success of these schools and fail to address the controversy over their use of harsh disciplinary methods. No-excuses disciplinary practices can contribute to high rates of exclusionary discipline (e.g., suspensions that push students out of school) and may not support a broad definition of student success. Second, the recommendation that schools replicate no-excuses practices begs the question of what exactly should be replicated. It does not confront the lack of research identifying which school practices are effective for improving student achievement. Third, the report does not address many of the underlying factors that would allow no-excuses schools and their practices to successfully replicate, such as additional resources, committed teachers, and students and families willing and able to abide by these schools&rsquo; stringent practices. Thus, while the report is nuanced in its review of charter school impacts, it lacks this same care in drawing its conclusions&mdash;greatly decreasing the usefulness of the report.</p

Scripting the Moves: Class, Control, and Urban School Reform

What does it take to equalize opportunities for disadvantaged students? The highly regimented disciplinary system adopted by high-achieving no-excuses urban charter schools is premised on the idea that disadvantaged students benefit from greater social control. Yet progressive educators have argued that these tight strictures reproduce social class inequalities by reinforcing working-class skills. In this dissertation, based on 15 months of fieldwork between 2012 and 2013 in a no-excuses middle school I call Dream Academy, I detail the everyday experiences of students, teachers, and administrators inside the school to understand the costs and benefits of a highly structured disciplinary system. Schools must provide a safe and orderly environment for teaching to occur. I show how a strict disciplinary system establishes order where shared norms are lacking but also reinforces inequalities in students’ social and behavioral skills. I argue that Dream Academy, contrary to conventional scholarly explanations, emphasizes conformity, rule-following, and deference not because of teachers’ low expectations for their students, but because of their high expectations for their students, their belief that schools can and must close the achievement gap. Yet, while school leaders believe that what works for disadvantaged students is just such a highly scripted, step-by-step approach, in practice, I found that what worked best was teachers’ ability to diminish the need for authoritarian structures by commanding moral authority. Despite school leaders’ desire to create a teacher-proof system, it was the teachers themselves who moderated the rigid systems, learning when to show discretion and how to balance strictness with warmth. It was the authoritative presence of the best teachers that earned them the respect and trust of students, and created an order that was durable and welcomed. In contrast, teachers who stuck too closely to school systems were perceived by students as unfair and out to get them. Thus, while the school’s tight procedures and enforcement appeared to maintain order, these were only tools in the hands of the teacher, and often provoked more resistance than compliance. To establish order without impinging so heavily on students’ autonomy, I argue that authoritarian schools must give way to authoritative teachers

Prendre en compte les référentiels des enseignants dans la réforme éducative aux États-Unis

Les politiques d’obligation de reddition de compte à enjeux élevés sont devenues une pièce maîtresse controversée de la réforme éducative aux États-Unis. Cette étude de cas qualitative d’une école sous contrat (charter school) appliquant une approche dite « sans excuses » examine la manière dont les enseignants réagissent aux efforts des établissements visant à contrôler étroitement leurs pratiques. Afin de rendre compatibles les méthodes pédagogiques et disciplinaires prescrites par l’établissement et leurs propres valeurs et pratiques préexistantes, les enseignants réagissent de différentes manières, choisissant de se conformer à la politique de l’établissement, de l’imiter, de l’adapter ou de la rejeter. Les résultats suggèrent que les décideurs politiques et les administrateurs doivent prendre en compte les référentiels culturels des enseignants, en leur laissant suffisamment d’autonomie et de pouvoir de décision pour modifier les pratiques, afin de les aligner sur leurs propres valeurs et compétences.High-stakes accountability policies have become a controversial centerpiece of American education reform. This qualitative case study of a “no excuses” charter school examines how teachers respond to school efforts to tightly control their practice. To find a fit between the school’s prescriptive pedagogical and disciplinary methods and their own preexisting values and practices, teachers exhibited a variety of responses, choosing to conform, imitate, adapt to, or reject school policy. Our findings suggest that policymakers and administrators need to take into account teachers’ cultural toolkits, allowing teachers sufficient autonomy and discretion to modify practices to align with their values and skills.Las políticas de obligación de rendición de cuenta frente a retos elevados se han convertido en una de las piezas claves controvertidas de la reforma educativa en Estados Unidos. Este estudio de caso cualitativo de una escuela bajo contrato (charter school) que aplica una aproximación llamada « sin disculpa » examina la manera con la que los docentes reaccionan frente a los esfuerzos de los establecimientos que procuran controlar estrechamente sus prácticas. Para hacer compatibles los métodos pedagógicos y disciplinares prescritos por el establecimiento y sus propios valores y prácticas preexistentes, los docentes reaccionan de diferentes maneras, mediante la decisión de conformarse a la política del establecimiento, de imitarla, de adaptarla o de rechazarla. Los resultados sugieren que los dirigentes políticos y los administrativos deben tomar en cuenta los marcos referenciales culturales de los docentes, dejándoles bastante autonomía y poder decisional para modificar sus prácticas con motivo de alinearlas sobre sus propios valores y competencias

DOES THE ¿MISMATCH HYPOTHESIS¿ APPLY TO HISPANIC

This paper was prepared as a forthcoming chapter in The Education of the Hispanic Population, edited by Richard Verdugo and Billie Gastic, volume 2 in a series on The Hispanic Population. Partial support for this research was provided by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant #5R24HD047879). We are grateful to Valerie Fitzpatrick for preparing the tables and to Joann Donatiello and Elana Broch for bibliographic assistance

Croyances et pratiques professionnelles des enseignants

Pourquoi les enseignants croient-ils que certaines pratiques valent mieux que d’autres ? Pourquoi critiquent-ils, voire refusent-ils, certaines pratiques dont l’efficacité a (parfois) été démontrée par la recherche ? Les articles réunis dans ce dossier, proposent d’interroger ensemble pratiques et croyances des enseignants dans dix systèmes scolaires et contextes socioculturels contrastés. Si le dossier met d’abord en lumière la variation des acceptions de ces deux termes, il interroge surtout le changement en éducation et les dilemmes que celui-ci soulève, entre acceptation des consignes institutionnelles et expertise professionnelle issue de la pratique. Why do teachers believe some practices are better than others? Why do they criticize, or even reject, certain practices whose effectiveness has (sometimes) been demonstrated by research? The articles in this dossier aim to simultaneously interrogate the practices and beliefs of teachers in 10 school systems and contrasting sociocultural contexts. While the dossier initially highlights the variation in the meanings of these two terms, it primarily interrogates change in education and the dilemmas that this raises – between acceptance of institutional instructions and professional expertise resulting from practice. ¿Por qué los docentes creen que ciertas prácticas son mejores que otras? ¿Por qué critican, hasta rechazan, algunas prácticas cuya eficacia ha sido demostrada –en ciertos casos– por la investigación? Los artículos reunidos en el presente dossier proponen interrogar conjuntamente prácticas y creencias de los docentes en diez sistemas escolares y contextos socioculturales diversos. Si el dossier pone en evidencia primero la variación de las acepciones de estos dos términos, interroga sobre todo el cambio en educación y los dilemas que éste suscita, entre aceptación de las consignas institucionales y competencia profesional nacida de la práctica