Kathryn M. Borman

Social Capital and the Diffusion of Innovations within Organizations: The Case of Computer Technology in Schools.

Although the educational community has learned much about better educational practices, less is known about processes for implementing new practices. The standard model of diffusion suggests that people change perceptions about the value of an innovation through communication, and these perceptions then drive implementation. But implementation can be affected by more instrumental forces. In particular, members of a school share the common fate of the organization and affiliate with the common social system of the organization. Thus, they are more able to gain access to each others expertise informally and are more likely to respond to social pressure to implement an innovation, regardless of their own perceptions of the value of the innovation. This article characterizes informal access to expertise and responses to social pressure as manifestations of social capital. Using longitudinal and network data in a study of the implementation of computer technology in six schools, the authors found that the effects of perceived social pressure and access to expertise through help and talk were at least as important as the effects of traditional constructs. By implication, change agents should attend to local social capital processes that are related to the implementation of educational innovations or reforms.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Pathways: High School Science and Math Coursework and Postsecondary Degree Attainment.

This article examines how high school science and mathematics course-taking creates pathways toward future baccalaureate degree attainment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors in Florida 4-year universities using Burkam and Lees (2003) course-taking categories developed using national student datasets. This study finds that even though women, overall, complete high-level courses, they do not complete the highest level science and mathematics courses. Even women who did complete high-level science and mathematics are less likely than men to obtain STEM degrees. Black and Hispanic students complete lower level high school courses, but Black and Hispanic students who did take high-level courses are as likely as White students to pursue STEM degrees. Findings suggest that gender disparities in STEM occur because women are less likely to pursue STEM, but racial disparities occur because fewer Black and Hispanic students are prepared for STEM in high school.

Accountability in a Postdesegregation Era: The Continuing Significance of Racial Segregation in Florida’s Schools:

In the wake of both the end of court-ordered school desegregation and the growing popularity of accountability as a mechanism to maximize student achievement, the authors explore the association between racial segregation and the percentage of students passing high-stakes tests in Florida’s schools. Results suggest that segregation matters in predicting school-level performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after control for other known and purported predictors of standardized test performance. Also, these results suggest that neither recent efforts by the state of Florida to equalize the funding of education nor current efforts involving high-stakes testing will close the Black-White achievement gap without consideration of the racial distribution of students across schools.

No Child Left Behind and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap : Sociological Perspectives on Federal Educational Policy

Table of Contents Preface Introduction George Bohrnstedt and Jennifer O Day Part I: Federal and State Educational Policy and NCLB 1. No Child Left Behind? Sociology Ignored! David Karen Part II. Accountability and Assessment * NCLB and the Complexity of School Improvement Jennifer ODay * Double Standards for Graduation Rate Accountability? Or None? Christopher B. Swanson * Who Counts for Accountability?: High-Stakes Test Exemptions in a Large Urban School District Jennifer Booher-Jennings and Andrew Beveridge * Inside the Black Box of Accountability: How High-Stakes Accountability Alters School Culture and the Classification and Treatment of Students and Teachers Katie Weitz White and James Rosenbaum Part III. Teaching and Teacher Quality 6. AIR, State Policy Activity under NCLB: Adequate Yearly Progress and Highly Qualified Teachers Kerstin Carlson Le Floch 7. Professionalism Under Siege: Teachers Views of the No Child Left Behind Act Steven Brint and Sue Teele 8. Teacher Quality: Educational Inequality and the Organization of Schools Richard Ingersoll 9. Teaching Quality as a Problem of School Change Joan Talbert and Milbrey McLaughlin Part IV. School Choice and Parental Involvement * False Promises: The School Choice Provisions in No Child Left Behind Douglas Lee Lauen 11. When School Choice Leaves Many Children Behind: Implications for NCLB from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Roslyn Arlin Mickelson and Stephanie Southworth * Non-Promotional School Change and the Achievement of Texas Students: Possible Public School Choice Outcomes under No Child Left Behind A. Gary Dworkin and Jon Lorence 13. Research Meets Policy and Practice: How Are School Districts Addressing NCLB Requirements for Parental Involvement? Joyce L. Epstein 14. Getting Families Involved With NCLB: Factors Affecting Schools Enactment of Federal Policy Steven B. Sheldon Part V. Federal Involvement, NCLB and the Reduction of the Achievement Gap 15. Learning from Philadelphias School Reform: The Impact of NCLB and Related State Legislation Elizabeth Useem 16. Can NCLB close achievement gaps? David Armor 17. Symbolic Uses of the No Child Left Behind Act: Reaffirmation of Equality of Educational Opportunity or De-Legitimization of Public Schools? Mary Haywood Metz 18. Conclusion: Sociological Perspectives on NCLB and Federal Involvement in Education Alan R. Sadovnik, A.Gary Dworkin, Adam Gamoran, Maureen Hallinan and Janelle Scott Contributors Index

Women in the workplace : effects on families

This volume constitutes a unique contribution to the cross-disciplinary field of family studies. It focuses on issues brought about by the movement of large numbers of women with children into the workplace; the impact of their employment on mens and womens traditional responsibilities and family roles; and the implications of these changing roles for public policy, employers, and social service agencies. The volume includes both historical and contemporary policy frameworks as important themes. Moreover, the issues and circumstances of more than one type of family are considered, including single worker and dual earner families.

Sexism and Sex Discrimination in Education

In the decade following the 1972 passage of Title IX,1 girls and women have actively sought legal redress through anti-discrimination suits brought against school systems, colleges, and universities. While minimally successful in altering school structures, these legal actions have resulted in a mass of evidence clearly documenting discrimination in many forms: sex bias in texts and curricula; biased patterns of staffing (women in the lower ranks of teaching and administration, men in the higher ranks); and sexist hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions in post-secondary education. While documentation of these practices is critical, many forms of institutional sexism, equally damaging, have not been well documented. This is primarily because the most insidious forms of discrimination are the most elusive. The best records of these damaging practices are not in school system archives. Rather they are evident in studies of the sexist language, attitudes, and behaviors which pervade classrooms and corridors in all educational institutions. In this article we turn our attention to both the public, legal record and to the research evidence to characterize institutional sexism. In ex

Teacher Preparation Programs

The landscape of teacher preparation must address the enormous pressures that face today’s teachers. In the United States currently, teachers are under intense scrutiny while addressing the changing needs of students who are both increasingly diverse and polarized with respect to their socioeconomic status. Moreover, teachers face stringent requirements for accountability under the rubric of No Child Left Behind (US Department of Education, 2007). Furthermore, teacher preparation leader Darling-Hammond suggests the call for a national policy to facilitate schools in addressing the intellectual needs of the twenty-first century (Darling-Hammond, 2007). Students need access to quality education and teachers to prepare them for their futures. Research indicates that a knowledgeable teacher is better equipped to facilitate student learning then teachers who have not been academically prepared (Olson, 2000). To address these complexities, colleges of education are attempting to adapt their traditional models of teacher education. In addition, new alternative routes to certification of teachers are being implemented throughout the nation (Bradley, 2007). These reform efforts have had varying degrees of success. Teachers’ formidable task is to prepare youth to take their places in a global society that continues to change dramatically. No one can accurately predict what US society will look like in coming decades; however, children in US schools today will be expected to take their places, accept leadership roles, populate the workforce, solve world problems and pass a useful legacy to coming generations of youth. According to a recent survey as many as two-thirds of Americans believe that if we fail to make appropriate reforms with the US education system, our ability to remain globally competitive will be compromised within the next decade. This is particularly true in the area of mathematics and science if the United States wants to maintain an edge in the global economy and be competitive with nations such as China, India and Japan. High school graduates must be better prepared for college and technical jobs in this ever changing modern economy (Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. and Winston Group, 2006). All this will happen in a complex, interconnected technological world that we can only imagine but for which we must assist in guiding the preparation

Gender Differences Associated with Playing High School Varsity Soccer.

Despite the increased participation of girls in competitive high school athletics, it is unclear that play on sports teams holds the same meaning for adolescent boys and girls. This study investigated school, grade, (freshman and sophomore vs junior and senior), and gender differences associated with a range of factors related to participation in high school varsity soccer play among 65 students attending two high schools, one emphasizing achievement, the other emphasizing competitive involvement in athletics, including soccer. Also of interest was the relationship between both soccer involvement and soccer knowledge and school climate, empathy, occupational interest, and perceived parent behavior. Because gender differences were found in comparative and correlational analysis, it is concluded that play on varsity soccer teams holds different meanings and values for adolescent boys and girls.

Sociological Studies of Child Development: A Research Annual, Vol. 3.

Part 1 Early childhood care: early intervention - a field moving toward a sociological perspective, Rosalyn Benjamin Darling and Jon Darling non-parental child care environments - differences in preschool cognitive skills by type of care, Marlena Studer quality of centre care and cognitive outcomes - differences by family income, Marlena Studer parent involvement in early childhood education and day care, Rena Shimoni. Part 2 Childrens peer groups: negotiations of norms and sanctions among children, Hans Oswald the attainment of peer status - gender and power relationships in the elementary school, Steven Kless. Part 3 Family influence: social status and interactional competence in families, Scott Pimley family and friend relationships of only children - a study of Chinese adults, Gary Huang and Craig Howley women and money - cultural contrasts, Jerome Rabow et al.

Deciding to Collaborate and Selecting our STEM Project

In 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established a new awards program (