Henry Jay Becker

Parent Involvement: A Survey of Teacher Practices

The Elementary School Journal Volume 83, Number 2 ? 1982 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 001 3-5984183/8302-0009

Equity in School Computer Use: National Data and Neglected Considerations.

01o.00 Teachers approach their instructional tasks with a variety of perspectives and strategies that emphasize certain aspects of teaching and deemphasize others. For example, some teachers teach language skills using organized games, while other teachers teach the same skills by direct instruction. Teachers adopt different approaches to the same subject matter partly because their teaching situations differ. Their students may have different learning problems or their classrooms may have varied resources and facilities. Even in the

Computer-Based Integrated Learning Systems in the Elementary and Middle Grades: A Critical Review and Synthesis of Evaluation Reports

Since schools began using computers for instruction, social critics have questioned the equity of the apportionment of computer resources by sex, race, and social status. Data from our national survey of schools describe how computers are used with different groups of students. We find that the use of school computers differs most dramatically by student interest and ability. Boys and “better” students tend to dominate computer use. But the evidence is weak on the actual consequences of differential uses of computers. We raise, without resolving, the issue of whether schools should reallocate computer resources toward girls and less able students. A fair policy depends upon the relative value of computer-based instruction to fill the educational needs of all children. We need more experimental research to assess the relative value of computer applications in education.

A challenge to vocational psychology: How important are aspirations in determining male career development?☆

Currently, schools are investing substantial funds in integrated learning systems (I.L.S.s)—networked comprehensive basic skills software from a single vendor. Although rational arguments can be made for the effectiveness of I.L.S.s, districts want—and vendors are supplying—empirical evidence for decisionmaking. This article reanalyzes results reported in thirty evaluations of I.L.S.s by using a common “effect size” statistic and correcting, where possible, for deficiencies in the original designs and reports. Some studies (including the most widely cited) substantially over-report I.L.S. effectiveness. On average, I.L.S.s show a moderately positive effect on student achievement. However, the poor quality of most evaluations and the likely bias in what does get reported at all provide too weak a platform for district purchasing decisions.

The Importance of a Methodology That Maximizes Falsifiability: Its Applicability to Research About Logo:

Abstract Nationally representative longitudinal data on 1394 employed white men aged 15 to 24 in 1966 were used to assess whether job opportunities or vocational aspirations are the more important determinants of later job held. Support was found for two hypotheses: (a) men more often achieve congruence between their aspiration and their field of employment by changing aspirations to match the job rather than vice versa; and (b) aspirations for field of work generally are not as useful as actual job field for predicting the field of jobs held 1 to 5 years later. Contrary to expectation, middle-class young men were no more able to attain their aspirations either for field of employment or for status level of occupation than were lower-class male youths. These results suggest that although aspirations have some predictive power, the opportunity structure—which both conditions aspirations to narrow ranges early in life and affects the direction of early career development—is too often neglected by vocational psychology. One suggestion for counseling practice is that interest and maturity assessments be used as sources of information to both client and counselor about past influences. Attempts to actually counteract those influences should be clearly specified as such and separated from the assessment process.

Men and Women as Computer-Using Teachers

the support of thousands of people of good will who hold no strong views about how education should be done, but who believe in its importance and want the best for their children. This broad center constituency is not enthralled by the intrinsic charms of the Logo culture and it will not be won over by anecdotes. But it might be won over by convincing evidence that children benefitted from Logo in some objectively demonstrable way. Resistance on the part of advocates to efforts to collect such evidence is likely to be interpreted, and perhaps with good reason, as defensiveness. I hope for all our sakes that Professor Papert throws the enormous weight of his prestige and intellect behind the effort to search systematically for objective evidence of the benefits he believes Logo promises for children.

History, theory and research concerning integrated learning systems

Education is one institutional arena in which women professionals comprise a majority of adult computer users. Using data from a national survey of schools, it was found that women comprise two-thirds of the “primary” computer-using teachers (PCUTs) in elementary schools, and the proportion of women in this role in secondary schools is nearly the same as the proportion of women among secondary school teachers as a whole. Elementary schools whose primary computer-using teacher was a woman used their computer more for programming instruction and less as a drill-and-practice tool than where a man was the PCUT. Microcomputers were used for more hours of the day and with more positive consequences at elementary schools whose PCUT was a woman. In contrast, at the secondary level, schools with men PCUTs had more extensive programs of microcomputer use in nearly every aspect measured.

The Effects of Computer Use on Children's Learning: Limitations of Past Research and a Working Model for New Research*

Abstract Computer-based integrated learning systems (ILSs) constitute one of the major ways in which computers are used for instruction in schools today. Deriving from behaviorist learning theory and with several decades of development behind them, they have become particularly prominent in recent years, with the spread of networkable microcomputers and the pressures on schools to accomplish efficient teaching of basic skills for increasingly heterogeneous student populations. This chapter presents the theoretical background and the history of ILSs, their current state in schools, a summary of previous research and evaluation of these systems, and an overview of the chapters in this issue.

Integrated learning systems: Problems and potential benefits

Abstract This review examines three sources of evidence about the effects of school instructional uses of computers on student achievement: national surveys of utilization practices, research reviews of the effectiveness of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI), and recent experimental studies of CAI. The review concludes that existing evidence of computer effectiveness is scanty, and existing studies provide little guidance for schools to decide how to use computers for instruction. A new research initiative is described that combines the benefits of survey research and field experimental research to produce more conclusive findings.

Curricula of associate degree mental health/human-services training programs

Abstract Research on integrated learning systems provides explanations for their variable success in school settings. The work in this issue identifies four critical themes that reappear in the research literature: methods of implementing the computer software system, the role of the teacher vis a vis the machine in directing student learning and effort, prior achievement levels and other variations in the student clientele, and the user interface, broadly conceived, between the teacher and the management system.