No description available.

The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) requires schools to increase academic performance and close the achievement gaps between sub-groups of students. As schools work to increase student performance in all academic areas, educators must identify the needs of each sub-group of students they services and determine which instructional practices meet their unique needs. Students living in poverty enter school with a distinctive set of needs and therefore require instructional practices that meet these needs. The researcher in this study strived to identify instructional practices that were being used in high and low performing Title I schools and compared the similarities and differences between the practices. Data reported from the study might inform school leaders regarding what instructional practices are effective when working in schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty. This qualitative study of four Title I eligible schools in an urban district in southeastern Virginia, involved interviews and focus groups. Interviews and focus groups focused on instructional practices (strategies, programs, and other factors) that influence academic achievement of students in high and low performing Title I eligible schools. Findings revealed that high performing Title I schools used student performance data to drive instruction; focused on teaching students enriching vocabulary; used the strategies of note taking, explicit instruction, similarities and differences, nonlinguistic representation, graphic organizers, and cooperative learning; conducted mentorship programs for teachers and students; utilized computer based instructional programs with fidelity; believed in their students and cared about their students; provided professional development to teachers; and implemented student reward/recognition programs. / Ed. D.

This research sought to discover whether minority and economically disadvantaged students are underrepresented in gifted and honors programs. Another goal was to ascertain attitudes of students and teachers currently participating in gifted and honors programs regarding: admission criteria; adequacy of teacher preparation to meet special needs of gifted and honors students; levels of needs satisfaction of gifted and honors students; perceptions of students and teachers about program modification.

This study analyzed test scores of economically disadvantaged students who attended two elementary schools implementing different types of Title I models from 1999-2001. Test scores from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9) were analyzed. One school implemented the targeted assistance model (less than 50% poverty), which focused resources on students were identified as failing or at risk of failing. The other a schoolwide model (95% poverty), which used resources to help all students in a school regardless of whether they ware failing, at risk of failing, or economically disadvantaged. The quantitative approach was used with a causal comparative design. A cohort of continuously enrolled students was identified for the TAAS (n=169 and 189) and the ITBS/SAT-9 (n=49 and 87). Descriptive statistics such as the frequency, mean, and standard deviation, were used to measure differences on the Texas Learning Index (TLI) for the TAAS, and Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) on the ITBS/SAT-9. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to partially adjust for preexisting differences among the groups and because randomization was not possible. The independent variable was type of Title I model, targeted assistance or schoolwide. The dependent variable was the achievement measure, and the covariate was the initial achievement scores in third grade (pretest). The ANCOVA reports and descriptive statistics showed that economically disadvantaged students performed better in reading and math on TAAS and ITBS/SAT-9 at the targeted assistance school in 1999 and 2001, with mixed results in 2000. The academic performance of economically disadvantaged students at the targeted model was consistent all three school years. They scored slightly lower than the non-economically disadvantaged students, but higher than their peers at the schoolwide model. The students' third grade pretest score was the most significant predictor of future performance.

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess teacher perception of how economically disadvantaged students at White Pine School were being served. The results of this study may help educators at White Pine School determine how to support and improve learning conditions for economically disadvantaged students. Data collection techniques included individual interviews, focus group interviews, and document review. The following conditions were discovered in relation to economically disadvantaged students: positive home-school relationships; desire to become a full-service school; limited parent-training opportunities with limited participation; limited professional development opportunities; limited poverty discussion in professional learning communities; underuse of college partnerships; need for a mentoring program; need for programming to combat absenteeism; demand for additional early intervention programs; positive student-teacher relationships; a variety of opportunities for students of poverty to build confidence; teachers high expectations from teachers; importance given to enrichment opportunities; teaching strategies focused on active learning; assignment of small, meaningful doses of homework; limited tutoring opportunities; and use of multiple data-collection methods. Recommendations for improving how students of poverty are served include continuing to expand efforts concerning positive home-school relationships, investigating the possibility of becoming a full-service school, designing a powerful parent-training program, offering additional professional development training for teachers, developing poverty-related topics for professional learning communities, finding ways to improve partnerships with local colleges and universities, designing a quality mentoring program, finding creative ways to address absenteeism, finding additional means of providing early intervention, continuing to develop positive student-teacher relationships, finding additional ways to build confidence, maintaining high expectations of students of poverty, creating additional meaningful enrichment opportunities, searching for the best teaching strategies to improve learning, continuing to assign meaningful homework with assistance as needed, creating a comprehensive tutoring program, and collecting meaningful and useful data to help teachers increase students' achievement.

本研究之研究目的為以「經濟弱勢兒童」為對象、「學校生活經驗」為範疇，試圖「由兒童個體本身」出發，探究經濟弱勢兒童的學校生活經驗（對學校的態度、人際適應、學習適應、常規適應及自我概念情形），期能穿透經驗地了解經濟弱勢兒童的想法與感受，由其立場、角度體察其在教育歷程中的需要，以提供教育工作者及福利政策實務更多來自經濟弱勢兒童本身的觀點。 本研究採「質性研究方法」與「個案研究方法」，以參與觀察為主，訪談與實物蒐集為輔，蒐集一位來自經濟弱勢家庭的國小高年級兒童的學校生活經驗相關資料。分析後依序呈現其在學校生活經驗的諸多面向—對學校的態度、人際適應、學業適應、常規適應及自我概念情形。 來自經濟弱勢家庭的故事主角，透過各種生理、行為及心理上的表現，表達對學校內畏懼事務的無力與恐懼，形成對學校「懼學、拒學」的態度。而長期遲到及未能持續上學，不只影響了她的學習表現，更使其從班級活動中漸漸被排除，尤其當老師視其為特殊分子而以標準外的態度相待，即使是出自善意，卻使弱勢者的處境更形孤立，同儕對其弱勢身分的烙印更加強烈，班級裡的「社會排除」使其由主流分離，面臨了更加邊緣的弱勢處境。然而，老師的愛心關懷、善意協助卻無助改善其學校生活，中產階級與經濟弱勢階級的價值差異及未經理解的企圖改變，致使師生間未能產生實質交流，本故事的主角依然朝氣蓬勃地拒絕上學。而逃避上學的結果則使其在學習上不得輪迴的永處失敗區，儘管在看似絕望的學習態度下，偶仍有學習動機，但面對強大、難以招架的習得無助感，幾乎使她喪失信心，失去勇氣，形成對上學無助又無奈的態度。在常規適應上，安份守己、「不會惹事」是她最引以為豪的事，然而所謂的安份守己、「盡量」不惹事卻也隱含了對同學欺侮和輕蔑態度的忍耐壓抑，及對學校或老師能主持正義或終止欺凌失去信心。此外，長期處於孤單、被排除及習得無助感的打擊，面對學校生活，她也出現抑鬱、自我貶抑的情況。 最後，除了對研究初衷的反省與思考，亦分別對教育實務與後續研究提出若干建議。在教育實務上，除設置「學校社會工作師」協助家庭、教師和學校整合地處理弱勢兒童問題外，亦可減輕教師教學事務負擔，以增進班級導師和經濟弱勢學生的互動品質，而教師亦應試以「轉化型知識份子」的角色，協助經濟弱勢兒童自我增能，並思考如何突破種種結構體制上的限制，創造一個可協助弱勢者「增能」的學習體制。在後續研究上，建議未來相關研究，可在理解之虞，更進一步探究學校場域中，教師和經濟弱勢兒童的師生關係、互動歷程及在互動歷程中如何協助其增能的可行策略，並對經濟弱勢兒童的街頭世界進行認識與理解。 / The purpose of this study is to explore the school experience (including attitude toward school, interpersonal adaptation, academic adaptation, regulation adaptation, and self-concept) of an economically disadvantaged child who is a high-grade elementary school student from a low-income family. Educators and welfare policy makers can refer to this study to better understand the outlook and feelings of children from similar backgrounds. This is a qualitative case study that uses participant observation as the main source of data, complemented by interviews and document analysis. After collecting the relevant information on this economically disadvantaged child, her school experience is presented in accordance with her attitude toward school, interpersonal adaptation, academic adaptation, regulation adaptation and self-concept. The character of this story expresses her powerlessness and fear in school physically, behaviorally and psychologically, and exhibits fear and unwillingness with respect to her studies. She is often tardy and is unable to attend school regularly. This not only affects her academic performance, but also results in that she is tending to be excluded from class activities by classmates, especially when the teacher gives her special treatment. By treating her differently, even if out of goodwill, the teacher is making her situation worse in that her classmates increasingly identify her as belonging to a “minority group”. In a sense, exclusion in the classroom is no different from social exclusion. Though teachers are willing to help, there is still no improvement in her school life. It seems that value differences between the middle class and the economically disadvantaged, as well as attempts to bring about change without fully understanding the circumstances in a student’s life, are not conducive to effective teacher-student communication. She is energetic, yet resists going to school and shows a poor academic performance. Even though she occasionally exhibits motivation for learning, the sense of helplessness she brings from home robs her of confidence in her schooling. In regulation adaptation, she takes pride in abiding by school rules and staying out of trouble. However, this implies that she might be enduring bullying from her classmates and that she lacks confidence in the ability of her teachers and her school to prevent it. Due to the resulting sense of isolation and helplessness, she exhibits depression and self-deprecation in her school life. In addition to a discussion on the original intent of this study, recommendations for educators and for future studies are also offered. In education practice, school social workers can help families, teachers and schools to collectively address the problems that disadvantaged children face. At the same time, we should lighten the burden on teachers and improve relationships between teachers and economically disadvantaged students. Furthermore, teachers should try to be “transformative intellectuals” who can empower these children, by considering methods that can surpass the limitations of contemporary institutions. In future studies, researchers may explore teacher-student relationships, interactive processes between teachers and economically disadvantaged children, as well as feasible strategies that can empower economically disadvantaged children. Another topic for future studies would also be to understand the street life of economically disadvantaged children.