Understanding the Education Trajectories of Young Black Men in New York City: Elementary and Middle-School Years

Making targeted decisions about how, when, and where to intervene to improve educational outcomes for black males requires understanding the complex pathways that shape these outcomes. This study, undertaken for the Black Male Donor Collaborative, uses longitudinal data on a cohort of black males from New York City Schools to gain insights about the different possible student paths, with specific focuses on middle school and math scale scores

Coordinated analysis of age, sex, and education effects on change in MMSE scores

Objectives. We describe and compare the expected performance trajectories of older adults on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) across six independent studies from four countries in the context of a collaborative network of longitudinal studies of aging. A coordinated analysis approach is used to compare patterns of change conditional on sample composition differences related to age, sex, and education. Such coordination accelerates evaluation of particular hypotheses. In particular, we focus on the effect of educational attainment on cognitive decline.Method. Regular and Tobit mixed models were fit to MMSE scores from each study separately. The effects of age, sex, and education were examined based on more than one centering point.Results. Findings were relatively consistent across studies. On average, MMSE scores were lower for older individuals and declined over time. Education predicted MMSE score, but, with two exceptions, was not associated with decline in MMSE over time.Conclusion. A straightforward association between educational attainment and rate of cognitive decline was not supported. Thoughtful consideration is needed when synthesizing evidence across studies, as methodologies adopted and sample characteristics, such as educational attainment, invariably differ. © 2012 The Author

From Expectations to Experiences: Using a Structural Typology to Understand First-Year Student Outcomes in Academically Based Living-Learning Communities

This longitudinal study investigated to what extent noncognitive variables (e.g., expectations for college) and the college environment (i.e., academically based living-learning communities) influence students\u27 college experience. This research goes beyond grouping all living-learning students into one category, which has dominated much of the literature, by using an empirically derived structural typology for living-learning communities (Inkelas, Longerbeam, Leonard, & Soldner, 2005). Results suggest that being a student in a collaborative living-learning community is more likely to predict greater peer academic interactions and an enriching educational environment. Implications for practice and future research are discussed

Bridging the Data Divide: Understanding State Agency and University Research Partnerships within SLDS

This report examines this question through an analysis of state agency-university researcher partnerships that exist in State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS). Building state agency-university researcher partnerships is an important value of SLDS. To examine state agency-university researcher partnerships within SLDS, our analysis is guided by the following set of questions based on 71 interviews conducted with individuals most directly involved with SLDS efforts in Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Washington. The findings from this analysis suggest that each state’s SLDS organization and governance structure includes university partners in differing ways. In general, stronger partnership efforts are driven by legislative action or executive-level leadership. Regardless of structure, the operation of these partnerships is shaped by the agency’s previous experience and cultural norms surrounding the value and inclusion of university researchers

New and Developing Research on Disparities in Discipline

This briefing paper describes the results of new research in the area of disciplinary disparities, and identifies remaining gaps in the literature that can guide researchers and funders of research. The brief is organized into two sections:1) What Have we Learned? Key New Research Findings describes research from leading scholars across the nation commissioned by The Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA's Civil Rights Project with the support of the Collaborative, findings from projects supported by the Collaborative Funded Research Grant Program, and other new research on disproportionality in school discipline in the peer-reviewed literature.2) Future Research Needs describes gaps that remain in the research base. Although there has been considerable new knowledge generated in recent years, significant gaps remain, especially in identifying and evaluating intervention strategies that reduce inequity in discipline for all students

From participation to dropout

The academic e-learning practice has to deal with various participation patterns and types of online learners with different support needs. The online instructors are challenged to recognize these and react accordingly. Among the participation patterns, special attention is requested by dropouts, which can perturbate online collaboration. Therefore we are in search of a method of early identification of participation patterns and prediction of dropouts. To do this, we use a quantitative view of participation that takes into account only observable variables. On this background we identify in a field study the participation indicators that are relevant for the course completion, i.e. produce significant differences between the completion and dropout sub-groups. Further we identify through cluster analysis four participation patterns with different support needs. One of them is the dropout cluster that could be predicted with an accuracy of nearly 80%. As a practical consequence, this study recommends a simple, easy-to-implement prediction method for dropouts, which can improve online teaching. As a theoretical consequence, we underline the role of the course didactics for the definition of participation, and call for refining previous attrition models

Cognitive function in childhood and lifetime cognitive change in relation to mental wellbeing in four cohorts of older people

Background: poorer cognitive ability in youth is a risk factor for later mental health problems but it is largely unknown whether cognitive ability, in youth or in later life, is predictive of mental wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cognitive ability at age 11 years, cognitive ability in later life, or lifetime cognitive change are associated with mental wellbeing in older people.Methods: we used data on 8191 men and women aged 50 to 87 years from four cohorts in the HALCyon collaborative research programme into healthy ageing: the Aberdeen Birth Cohort 1936, the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, the National Child Development Survey, and the MRC National Survey for Health and Development. We used linear regression to examine associations between cognitive ability at age 11, cognitive ability in later life, and lifetime change in cognitive ability and mean score on the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and meta-analysis to obtain an overall estimate of the effect of each.Results: people whose cognitive ability at age 11 was a standard deviation above the mean scored 0.53 points higher on the mental wellbeing scale (95% confidence interval 0.36, 0.71). The equivalent value for cognitive ability in later life was 0.89 points (0.72, 1.07). A standard deviation improvement in cognitive ability in later life relative to childhood ability was associated with 0.66 points (0.39, 0.93) advantage in wellbeing score. These effect sizes equate to around 0.1 of a standard deviation in mental wellbeing score. Adjustment for potential confounding and mediating variables, primarily the personality trait neuroticism, substantially attenuated these associations.Conclusion: associations between cognitive ability in childhood or lifetime cognitive change and mental wellbeing in older people are slight and may be confounded by personality trait difference

Teacher education for inclusive education: a framework for developing collaboration for inclusion of students with support plans

A study was conducted to explore the impact of professional development related to the individual education plan (IEP) process on teachers’ understanding and practices in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). This paper reports on part of that research, focusing on teachers’ collaborative practices in the IEP process. In the RoI, teachers working as special education teachers (SET) can avail of State-funded professional development through an award-bearing model provided by universities. The study combined survey of three cohorts of teachers who undertook this professional development course in one university with follow-up focus groups, observation and documentary analysis in five schools. Challenges to effective team functioning were identified in relation to the constructs of joint instructional work, communication, and values and ethics. Building on these constructs, this paper proposes a framework for developing competencies in collaborative practice for inclusion of students with IEPs with implications for practice and for teacher educators

The Middle Grades Principal: A Research Agenda

Advocates for middle grades education suggest that principals are critical to the implementation of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and organizational structures that meet young adolescent needs. Yet, there is little evidence associating principal practices outlined by middle grades proponents to outcomes or how principals learn the knowledge and practices middle grades advocates propose. This essay explores the limited research connecting middle grades principal leadership with school and student outcomes, how middle school principals learn the practices outlined by proponents of middle grades education, and proposes a research agenda and questions about middle grades principal learning