Department of Curriculum and Instruction

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Browsing Department of Curriculum and Instruction by Subject "ACHIEVEMENT"

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    Counternarratives of students' experiences returning to comprehensive schools from an involuntary disciplinary alternative school
    (Routledge, 2018) Kennedy, Brianna L.; Acosta, Melanie M.; Soutullo, Olivia; Utrecht University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; State University System of Florida; University of Florida
    Educators' excessive uses of exclusionary discipline have led to increased placements of students in disciplinary alternative schools, but few studies examine student experiences after their alternative school placements. Using a theoretical framework informed by critical race theory and the role of the discourse of safety in student discipline, we compose the counternarratives of nine middle school students' experiences with the transition from an involuntary disciplinary placement back to a comprehensive school. We then analyze across cases to identify commonalities in their stories. Findings show that students experience dehumanization and exclusion that reflect second-class citizenship. We discuss how educators can resist perpetuating this under class even as the overtly racist rhetoric of populist nationalism replaces the neoliberal color-blind version of the discourse of safety.
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    Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs
    (Springer, 2021) Lakin, Joni M.; Ewald, Mary Lou; Hardy, Emily E.; Cobine, Paul A.; Marino, Janie G.; Landers, Allen L.; Davis, Virginia A.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Auburn University; Old Dominion University
    Science and Engineering (S&E) fairs are a valuable educational activity and are believed to increase students' engagement and learning in science and engineering. However, due to differences in resources, many schools do not implement fairs to achieve these benefits for their students. This study reports the findings of a program intended to increase the participation of students from low-achieving and under-resourced schools in a regional fair program that feeds into the international fair competition. We found that the number of schools and projects participating in our regional fair increased dramatically since the start of the program. Teachers had mostly positive expectations for the project and expressed buy-in for the effort the project would take. They recruited a diverse pool of students to participate in the school fairs. Quasi-experimental methods allowed us to explore the impact of completing S&E fairs on student gains on science self-efficacy, interest and value perceptions. Controlling for pre-existing differences in these attitudes, we found that students not completing projects showed declines in their science attitudes during the year. Students who completed projects maintained similar attitudes, while those whose projects advanced to the regional fair had substantial gains on all three variables. It is unknown whether this gain can be attributed to the experience of engaging with a quality project, from being the kind of student who completes a quality project, or some other factor. Future research with greater experimental control could address these questions.