Elizabeth McEneaney

State Implementation of Language Acquisition Policies and Reading Achievement Among Hispanic Students

National Assessment of Educational Progress data were analyzed to assess differences in reading achievement for Hispanic fourth graders across states with varying policies on language acquisition, controlling for student and school characteristics. Results indicated that (a) both Hispanic English language learner (ELL) and non-ELL students in states with stronger bilingual emphasis and more Title III funding have significantly higher reading achievement, (b) more preservice training on ELL issues and more professional development for working with diverse students had a significant effect on reading achievement among non-ELL Hispanics only, and (c) additional time to institutionalize immersion approaches did not narrow the reading achievement gap.

Language Instruction Educational Programs and Academic Achievement of Latino English Learners: Considerations for States with Changing Demographics.

Little research currently examines language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) in states with a more recent growth of the Latino English learner population. To meet this need, the authors examined the content each of the state LIEPs, focusing chiefly on the extent to which the types of language support, as well as the stipulations associated with them, are made explicit. Using US Census data from 1970 and 2009, the authors assessed LIEPs in the context of Latino population patterns and examined the relationship between the degree to which state LIEPs emphasize bilingual education and fourth-grade Latino English learners’ achievement patterns in reading, mathematics, and science achievement on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Latino English learners in states with a higher proportion of Latinos tend to have higher achievement outcomes when policies emphasize bilingual education, but these states also have a longer history of Latino presence. Implications for high-growth states are discussed.

Institutional Pressures on Primary Science and the New Ecosystem of Knowledge

This chapter considers the relatively long-standing effect of the broader institutional environment on what is taught and learned in primary science in a variety of East Asian systems. A stable institutional environment yields similarities across systems including emphasis on scientific literacy, constructivism, and inquiry/process skills. The chapter also addresses what the rapidly changing technical environment might mean for the primary science curriculum, arguing that developments in information and communication technology radically alter the “ecosystem of knowledge” in ways that curriculum makers must take into account explicitly if schooling is to empower pupils fully. Some educational systems are better positioned than others, in their guiding principles and particular practices, to prepare pupils to leverage their access to information technology for powerful science learning.

Predictors of Science Subject Discipline Identities: A Statistical Analysis

This quantitative study (n = 247) explores whether preservice science teachers express science-specific identities that reflect multiple areas of their beliefs (e.g., purpose for science teaching, inclusion of science-technology-society-environment issues into science teaching, and nature of science) as well as other individual characteristics (e.g., focus of university training, perception of self within professional communities, and interest in becoming a teacher). Hierarchical cluster analysis showed a three-cluster solution representing three subject-specific identities: Model Citizen, Model Science Teacher, and Model Non-Science Teacher. Additional analysis (multinomial logistic regression) revealed cluster membership associated with preservice science teachers’ most comfortable teaching subject.RésuméCette étude quantitative (n = 247) vise à déterminer si les futurs enseignants de sciences expriment une identité spécifique aux différentes disciplines scientifiques, reflétant des aspects multiples de leurs valeurs (par exemple la motivation qui les pousse à l’enseignement des sciences, l’inclusion de questions liées aux sciences, technologies, société et environnement dans leur enseignement, ou encore la nature des sciences) ainsi que d’autres aspects plus personnels (par exemple l’orientation de leur formation universitaire, leur image de soi au sein des communautés professionnelles et leur intérêt personnel pour l’enseignement). Une analyse par regroupements hiérarchiques met en évidence trois regroupements représentant trois identités spécifiques: le citoyen modèle, l’enseignant modèle en sciences et l’enseignant modèle dans les domaines non scientifiques. Une analyse plus approfondie (par régression logistique multinomiale) montre que les regroupements sont liés aux disciplines dans lesquelles les enseignants en formation se sentent le plus à leur aise.