A Report on Research Sessions at the 1980 NWSA Convention

I cannot stress how important for . . . the future of human experience it is to take the development and explication of a feminine perspective in ... research seriously and to devote all our talents and energies collectively to its accomplishment. -Jane Anton As research on women has increased, researchers have become increasingly concerned about how appropriate the existing research methodologies are for the study of women. In one of the earliest critiques, Rae Carlson argued that current research paradigms, which she characterized as involving manipulation, quantification, and control, not only impose restraints on the understanding of female psychology, but also lead to a general impoverishment in the capacity to say anything meaningful about human personality. Concomitantly, feminists began to question the widespread use of socioeconomic status as an independent variable. Marie R. Haug, for instance, pointed out that traditional measures of social class miscategorize about a third of all families because the characteristics of women, particularly working wives, are neglected in the allocation of class position to individuals and families

School Climate Development Survey

Over the last twenty-five years the Consortium on Chicago School Research has engaged in systematic study of more than 400 Chicago Public Schools to determine organizational traits that are related to improvement in student learning. This effort was designed to help explain widely divergent levels of student success between very similar schools in the Chicago system. Initial discussions with educators at all levels, reviews of previous research, pilot studies, and field studies led to the identification of five school contextual factors – the 5Essential Supports – determined to be critical to school success: (1) effective leaders, (2) collaborative teachers, (3) involved families, (4) supportive environment, and (5) ambitious instruction. The framework of the 5Essential Supports served as a theoretical basis for a survey effort designed to measures and report on facets of school culture that could then be used by school leaders and practitioners to guide school improvement efforts. Research related to the 5Essential Supports consistently demonstrates a strong relationship between the presence of these supports and gains in student achievement. Led by Dr. James McMillan and Dr. Charol Shakeshaft from VCU’s School of Education, the purpose of this MERC study was (1) to develop a shortened version of the 5Essentials staff climate survey for the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium schools, (2) to pilot test the new survey with teachers and administrators, and (3) to determine effective methods of dissemination to support schools use f the survey data for school improvement purposes. The piloting and validation phase of the study demonstrated that the core constructs underlying the 5Essentials maintained high levels of validity and reliability in the shortened version. MERC also piloted and received feedback from school leaders on formats for reporting school climate results

Online Learning: Exploring the Landscape

The Policy and Planning Council of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) rightfully identified online learning as an area ripe for study. This report summarizes findings from both phases of the research is the first report of the study that was ultimately commissioned. After a brief review of the literature, this report includes a description of the survey research portion of the study as well as findings from the statewide survey that was undertaken and then phase 2, which consisted of case studies of four Virginia school divisions. The report concludes with a brief summary of the findings and some policy and research recommendations

West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains from a Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program

This report describes West Virginia\u27s Basic Skills/Computer Education (BS/CE) program and connects its features to gains in student test scores that are practically and statistically significant. The program consists of three components: (1) software that focuses on the state\u27s basic skills goals in reading, language arts, and mathematics; (2) enough computers in the schools so that all students will be able to have easy and regular access to the basic skills software; and (3) professional development for teachers in the use of the software and the use of computers in general. Data were collected from all fifth graders (n=950) in 18 elementary schools selected to represent the range of variables that might influence technology use and student achievement. Survey data were also collected from 290 teachers. Results were analyzed using a model that includes access to software and computers, attitudes toward technology, and teacher training and involvement. The relationship of BS/CE to student achievement, as measured by the Stanford-9 achievement test, is examined. Findings suggest that the BS/CE program had a powerfully positive effect, especially in those schools that used it most intensively. Ten figures and tables illustrate findings. (AEF

Necessary but not Sufficient: The Continuing Inequality between Men and Women in Educational Leadership, Findings from the AASA Mid-Decade Survey

The gender of school leaders makes a difference in career paths, personal life, and characteristics of workplace. There is additional evidence that men and women are appointed or elected to lead different kinds of educational jurisdictions. Even if those differences did not exist, equitable access to leadership positions for people of different backgrounds would make this an important issue. This article reports gender-related findings from the American Association of School Administrators 2015 Mid-Decade Survey. Findings confirm many of the trends in research on the superintendency over the past 15 years. The profiles of women superintendents are becoming more like their male counterparts. Both men and women appear to be less mobile than in the past. Men and women are spending about the same time as teachers before becoming superintendents, women and men appear to experience stress similarly, and women are receiving mentoring much more than in the past. There are few data to support the beliefs that women superintendents, more than men, are limited by family circumstance although this survey sheds no light on perspectives of women aspirants. This survey also confirms that there are a variety of paths to the position providing opportunities for women who have not necessarily had the typical teacher/principal/central office administrator trajectory. Nevertheless, significant differences still exist. Most important is that men are still four times more likely than women to serve in the most powerful position in education, and both women and men of color are still grossly underrepresented

NWSA News and Views

Elaine Reuben FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE Summer is traditionally known as a slow season in the Washington area, and an organization like NWSA, involving so many students and teachers, also seems to take a break between semesters. I can\u27t speak for the Federal folk—except to note that July\u27s march on the Capitol was followed by their extending the deadline for ratification of the ERA—but our work continued

Immersive, interactive, web-enabled computer simulation as a trigger for learning: The Next Generation of Problem-based Learning in Educational Leadership

Abstract from ERIC: This paper describes the use of advanced computer technology in an innovative educational leadership program. This program integrates full-motion video scenarios that simulate the leadership challenges typically faced by principals over the course of a full school year. These scenarios require decisions that are then coupled to consequences and scored in the background to create a profile of learner strengths and needs. Because the content has been filmed in an operating school and because of the unique choice-consequence sequences, the immersive and interactive simulation triggers more potent learning than is possible with either previous paper-and-pencil or discussion-based techniques. The scenarios are embedded in a Web-enabled framework that facilitates the provision of individualized feedback tailored to the specific choices made by the learner, and supports the collection of multiple metrics that relate to the performance of the learner and the learning framework itself. Project Authentic Learning for Leaders (ALL) demonstrates the future of teaching and learning in either hybrid (face-to-face instruction plus digital teaching and learning) or in individual anywhere, anytime learning. (Contains 5 figures.

School Employee Sexual Misconduct: Red Flag Grooming Behaviors by Perpetrators

The sexual exploitation of students is a worldwide problem. In the U.S., the problem is three-fold: (1) Ten percent of public school students report being sexually abused by a school employee. (2) There is little in the existing research that identifies and describes the school culture, patterns, and conditions in which educator sexual misconduct occurs. (3) Because no one has systematically documented the school culture and the behaviors and patterns of adults who sexually abuse children in schools, school professionals fail to understand what patterns and behaviors should trigger concern, supervision, investigation, and/or reporting. Stopping sexual misconduct directed toward students means understanding the process that adults use to prepare students to be abused so that they do not tell, do not fight, and acquiesce. This process, called grooming, has the purpose of gaining student trust, as well as the trust of parents and colleagues. This study examines school employee sexual misconduct toward students in school in the United States and is based upon an analysis of 222 cases of school employee sexual misconduct toward a student where a school employee was convicted of student sexual abuse. The findings identify red flag grooming patterns used with students, colleagues, and parents

Dissertation research on women in educational administration : a synthesis of findings and paradigm for future research

Vita.Within the field of educational administration, the study of women administrators has increased remarkably. However, although the woman administrator has become one of the most researched topics in the discipline during the 1970s, no definitive work which discusses the results of this research has been undertaken. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap by analyzing dissertation literature from 1973-1978 on women in educational administration for the purpose of identifying issues which have been treated, determining the quality of the research, integrating the findings of this research, and formulating a paradigm for future research. This study uses four major strategies for integrating the findings: listing factors, taking a vote, averaging the statistics, and a meta-analytic approach. Additionally, a content analysis is performed on both the dissertation literature and the general managerial and social science literature on women in administration to identify the issues and trends in the research. The major units of analysis for this inquiry are doctoral dissertations on women in educational administration completed and abstracted from January 1973 through January 1979. The final sample consists of 114 studies. The average dissertation analyzed in this study is written by a female working with a male major advisor. She is a feminist who has earned her Ph. D. in a department of educational administration. She is likely to have been the only person at her university to write a dissertation on women in educational administration from 1973 to 1978, and she also is likely to be attending a university that is not a UCEA institution, but that does have a women's studies program. The average dissertation is likely to investigate the profile of the woman administrator, be approximately 175 pages in length, not be organized according to APA style, not test hypotheses, and to have been completed in 1976. The representative dissertation queried administrators at the K-12 level using the survey method with a paper and pencil questionnaire as the primary means for data collection. The results are analyzed according to the descriptive methods of frequency, percentages, or measures of central tendency, and hence, have excluded all forms of inferential statistics as well as bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques currently employed in survey analysis..

Dissertation research on women in educational administration : a synthesis of findings and paradigm for future research

Vita.Within the field of educational administration, the study of women administrators has increased remarkably. However, although the woman administrator has become one of the most researched topics in the discipline during the 1970s, no definitive work which discusses the results of this research has been undertaken. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap by analyzing dissertation literature from 1973-1978 on women in educational administration for the purpose of identifying issues which have been treated, determining the quality of the research, integrating the findings of this research, and formulating a paradigm for future research. This study uses four major strategies for integrating the findings: listing factors, taking a vote, averaging the statistics, and a meta-analytic approach. Additionally, a content analysis is performed on both the dissertation literature and the general managerial and social science literature on women in administration to identify the issues and trends in the research. The major units of analysis for this inquiry are doctoral dissertations on women in educational administration completed and abstracted from January 1973 through January 1979. The final sample consists of 114 studies. The average dissertation analyzed in this study is written by a female working with a male major advisor. She is a feminist who has earned her Ph. D. in a department of educational administration. She is likely to have been the only person at her university to write a dissertation on women in educational administration from 1973 to 1978, and she also is likely to be attending a university that is not a UCEA institution, but that does have a women's studies program. The average dissertation is likely to investigate the profile of the woman administrator, be approximately 175 pages in length, not be organized according to APA style, not test hypotheses, and to have been completed in 1976. The representative dissertation queried administrators at the K-12 level using the survey method with a paper and pencil questionnaire as the primary means for data collection. The results are analyzed according to the descriptive methods of frequency, percentages, or measures of central tendency, and hence, have excluded all forms of inferential statistics as well as bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques currently employed in survey analysis..