Lee Shumow

Parental efficacy: Predictor of parenting behavior and adolescent outcomes.

Objective. This research study tested a social cognitive model in which family socioeconomic status (SES) and neighborhood quality predicted parental efficacy, which then predicted the academic and social-emotional adjustment of adolescents through 3 parental behaviors (monitoring, parental involvement, and parent-adolescent communication). Design. The study investigated parental efficacy among a stratified random sample of 929 parents and their adolescent children in the United States. Parents and adolescents provided reports through telephone interviews. Structural equation modeling tested the model fit for the overall sample and for European American (n = 387), African American (n = 259), and Latin American (n = 283) subsamples. Results. The model fit for the overall sample and for each racial or ethnic group. Paths within each model also were examined. For the overall sample, neighborhood quality predicted parental efficacy, parental efficacy predicted reported parental involvement and monitoring, both of which predicted academic and social-emotional adjustment of adolescents, and parent-adolescent communication predicted social-emotional adjustment. Some racial or ethnic differences in paths emerged. Conclusions. Overall, the study supported predictions made by social cognitive theory. Given the link between parental efficacy, parenting behaviors, and adolescent outcomes, 1 important goal of programs for parents of adolescents might be to bolster parental efficacy.

Parents’ At-Home and At-School Academic Involvement with Young Adolescents

A process-person-context model was used to investigate parental academic involvement with a nationally representative sample of young adolescents. Fathers of young adolescents were less involved at school than were mothers but similarly involved academically at home. Parents of struggling students were involved more in homework assistance and parents of successful students were involved more at school than were other parents. Parent educational level operated as a main effect and as a moderator. High school graduates helped their children with homework more than did parents who were not high school graduates; college-educated parents were involved more at school. Parents’ academic involvement at home was associated negatively with young adolescents’ academic grades and a standardized achievement test score, but associated positively with young adolescents’ school orientation. Parental at-school involvement was associated positively with young adolescents’ academic grades but not with either the standardized achievement test score or school orientation.

Science education in an urban elementary school: Case studies of teacher beliefs and classroom practices

Through a case study approach, the state of science education in an urban elementary school was examined in detail. Observations made from the perspective of a science education specialist, an educational psychologist, and an expert elementary teacher were triangulated to provide a set of perspectives from which elementary science instruction could be examined. Findings revealed that teachers were more poorly prepared than had been anticipated, both in terms of science content knowledge and instructional skills, but also with respect to the quality of classroom pedagogical and management skills. Particularly significant, from a science education perspective, was the inconsistency between how they perceived their teaching practice (a “hands-on,” inquiry-based approach) and the investigator-observed expository nature of the lessons. Lessons were typically expository in nature, with little higher-level interaction of significance. Implications for practice and the associated needs for staff development among urban elementary teachers is discussed within the context of these findings.

Promoting parental attunement to children's mathematical reasoning through parent education

A total of 35 parents participated in a five month long study of parent involvement in reform mathematics. All parents received newsletters describing typical development of childrens mathematical reasoning and accompanying homework that utilized common family activities. Half of the parents also participated in 4 conversations about their childs individual mathematical development with a researcher who observed children at school and studied childrens homework returned to school. A detailed analysis of parental assistance to children solving challenging homework problems was conducted both before and after the program. Initially, parents were highly directive and controlling of the childrens solutions. All parents decreased in directive control (conversely increasing in collaborative guidance) between the pre and post homework sessions, but parents in the conversation-added group decreased to a greater extent than parents who learned solely through text. Parents in the conversation component also displayed more knowledge about their childrens mathematical reasoning on observations they recorded and returned on homework towards the end of the program compared to parents who learned through text. In addition, parents indicated that they applied the information by asking their children to do more reasoning in the context of daily family activities than they had done prior to participating.

School choice, family characteristics, and home-school relations : Contributors to school achievement ?

Urban low-income 5th-graders participated in a school-choice study. Families utilizing choice schools (N = 73) were more likely to be African American, lower-income, and high-risk neighborhood residents than families whose children attended assigned schools (N = 100). Firm-responsive parenting, family togetherness, and family supportiveness also were linked positively to utilization of choice. Parent involvement in childrens schooling was higher in neighborhood schools. School choice positively predicted childrens mathematics achievement and school orientation. Parents who chose schools rated the teachers as practicing more parent-involvement strategies than parents of assigned students, but teachers reported equal practices. Parent ratings of school quality did not differ between conditions, nor did teachers or parents report better relationships in either condition.

Academic and Behavioral Characteristics of Young Adolescents in Self-Care.

This study examines characteristics of young adolescents who experience self-care, associations between self-care and academic achievement, and whether associations of self-care with academic adjustment vary by child, family, or community characteristics. Using data from the nationally representative 1999 National Household Education Survey, hierarchical log-linear models assessed how self-care was associated with several academic and behavioral measures for 9- to 13-year-olds. Overall, more self-care was significantly associated with lower academic performance and with school behavior problems, although those associations varied by gender, parent-child communication, and whether young adolescents in self-care also participated in some supervised out-of-school activities. Findings are discussed in light of Bronfenbrenners ecological systems theory.

Multiple Perspectives on Student Learning, Engagement, and Motivation in High School Biology Labs

We present three studies pertaining to learning, engagement and motivation during laboratory lessons in three high school biology classrooms. In the first, quantitative methods are used to compare students’ in-the-moment reports of learning, engagement, and motivation during laboratory with other classroom activities. Data were collected with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Students reported equivalent learning, less engagement, lower relevance and more enjoyment and interest during lab than during other activities. In the second study, video data from one laboratory lesson pertaining to pH in those classes was coded using event sampling and discourse analysis in an effort to understand the students’ reports. A scientist with expertise in the lab topic also watched the videos while thinking aloud. Results showed that the lab was limited in terms of practices promoting learning, engagement and relevance. Finally, responses from an interview with each teacher and the scientist about the goals and relevance of the laboratory for students were analyzed to shed further light on the findings from the first two studies. Results are discussed in terms of how laboratory lessons might be improved to enhance student learning, engagement, and motivation.

How Is My Child Doing?: Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Engage Parents through Assessment.

The aim of this study was to help pre-service teachers develop basic knowledge and skill for partnering with families on assessment-related issues. An assessment class for teacher educators (experimental group) participated in role-playing activities designed to expand their understanding and skill in a way that would help them learn how to partner with parents. Role playing included situations related to student assessment. A pre-post measure design was used to test whether the experimental group improved relative to another section (control group) of the assessment class that did not participate in the role-playing activities. Results indicated that participants in the experimental group gained more knowledge about parental engagement and communicating with parents than the control group. Coding and analysis of the students’ role-playing assignments demonstrated that most students gained valuable skills in working with parents on assessment issues, and students in the experimental group endorsed the role-playing activities as valuable for their education as teachers. Results are discussed in terms of possible contributors to the change and of implications for teacher education.

Testing a mindset intervention as a resilience factor among Latino/a students in science

ABSTRACT Latinos/as experience underachievement and underrepresentation in science. Mindset beliefs contribute to positive academic outcomes among students generally, but are understudied among Latinos/as in science. In this quasi-experimental study, Latino/a students expressed initial mindset-related beliefs shown to be less generative of success in science than their non-Latino/a classmates. A six-week mindset intervention positively influenced Latinos/as’ mindset beliefs and self-perceptions compared to a control group. Gains were generally similar in magnitude for Latino/a and non-Latino/a students, suggesting that mindset may be compensatory rather than protective among Latino/a youth. Gender differences in initial mindset beliefs and response to the intervention are discussed.