Your search found 26 results.

Descriptors:
Replication (Evaluation); Intervention; Models; Data; Reading Comprehension; Reading Achievement; Urban Schools; Disadvantaged Schools; Rural Schools; Reliability; Generalization; Program Effectiveness; Indigenous Populations; Ethnic Groups; Pacific Islanders; Minority Group Students; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Intervention models based on data use can be effective in raising student achievement. This article presents 3 studies of one such model which had reported improved reading comprehension levels in 7 poor urban multicultural schools serving indigenous and ethnic minority communities. The intervention (the Learning Schools Model) used a process comprising critical discussions of achievement and teacher observation data to develop specific and contextualized content for fine-tune instruction. The reliability and generality of the effects of the model were tested in a cluster of "like" schools and a cluster of "unlike" schools. The growth models showed similar effects to the original schools, with gains of between 3 to 4 months additional progress per year over 3 years. The replications show that models that use data to design local program content can be reliably and generally effective, but also there is a need to examine differential effects. (Contains 8 figures, 6 tables, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Transfer of Training; Writing Instruction; Theories; Teaching Methods; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Design; Writing Teachers; Elementary School Teachers; Cultural Differences

Abstract:
This article examines the effects of using intertextual theories to refine writing instruction in culturally diverse contexts, in terms of transfer of learning. Within a wider, two-year intervention study in six schools, four teachers were observed for a term each to describe how intertextual theories resulted in refinements to writing instruction their Year 4-8 classes. These effective teachers of writing redesigned their writing programmes to create intertextual support for their writers. The nature of the changes resulted in writing instruction which allowed for incorporation of students' textual knowledge as well as an explicit focus on future applicability of their learning. The observed teaching practices arguably offered students a greater degree of authority over their situated textual knowledge than might otherwise exist. The results of the study offer possibilities for writing instruction to build students' knowledge through text inquiry as part of writing lessons. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Cluster Grouping; National Standards; Academic Achievement; Elementary Education; Literacy; Numeracy; Educational Improvement; Systems Approach; Administrative Organization; Academic Standards; Accountability; Professional Occupations; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Delivery Systems; Development; Educational Change; Program Evaluation; Achievement Gap; Ethnic Groups; Disadvantaged; Evidence

Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two recent examples of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's approach to reducing the persistent disparities in achievement between students of different social and ethnic groups. The first example is cluster-based school improvement, and the second is the development of national standards for literacy and numeracy across the primary sector. Design/methodology/approach: The evaluative framework used was derived from recent international analyses of the characteristics of school systems, which are either high performers or successful reformers on recent international surveys. Policy documents and evaluation reports provided the evidence on which the evaluation of the two New Zealand (NZ) examples is based. Findings: The six criteria associated with high system performance and/or reform success were: system-wide commitment to educational improvement; ambitious universal standards; developing capacity at the point of delivery; professional forms of accountability; strategic resourcing; and institutionalizing the improvement of practice. The present analysis of the NZ reform examples suggests that while there is a broad commitment to more equitable outcomes, a new resolve to introduce and report against national standards, and a high level of espousal of professional accountability, there are significant contradictions between school self-management and the work that needs to be done to reduce achievement disparities. Originality/value: This paper's evaluation of these two examples raises important policy questions about the assumptions that are made in the NZ self-managing system about teacher and leader capability and about where responsibility for school improvement lies. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
At Risk Students; School Effectiveness; Educational Research; Cultural Differences; Student Diversity; Educational Environment; Models; Research and Development; Psychological Patterns; Educational Change; Educational Improvement; Psychology

Abstract:
How can schools be better designed to enable equitable academic outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse children from communities lacking in economic, political and social power? Putting forward a robust "science of performance" model of school change based on a specified process of research and development in local contexts, this book: (1) lays out the traditions of optimism and pessimism about effective schooling for at-risk students; (2) reviews the international and national evidence for the effectiveness of schools and school systems in reducing disparities in achievement; (3) describes the challenges educational research must address to solve the problem of school effectiveness, proposes strict criteria against which effectiveness should be judged, and examines in detail examples where change has been demonstrated; and (4) proposes how researchers, professionals, and policy-makers can develop more effective systems. Bringing together structural and psychological accounts of the nature of schools, and establishing theoretically defensible criteria for judging effectiveness, this book is a critically important contribution to advancing the science of making schools more effective. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Intervention; Bilingual Education; Oral Language; Second Language Learning; Malayo Polynesian Languages; Language Acquisition; Bilingualism; English (Second Language); Literacy; Language of Instruction; Correlation; Transfer of Training; Teaching Methods; Measures (Individuals)

Abstract:
This article addresses an area of international concern, the need to enhance the development in reading comprehension for English Language Learners. We report results of an intervention to raise achievement in English (L2) in Samoan bilingual classrooms for 9-13 year old Samoan children. The general aim was to examine patterns of biliteracy and language development exploring relationships between targeted changes in L2 and levels of language and literacy in L1 (Samoan) in this special intervention context. The intervention results in substantially increased levels of L2 reading comprehension over two years compared with English medium Samoan children and reduced the "lag" in gains in L2 reading comprehension in bilingual classrooms apparent in baseline measures at the beginning. As predicted here was a strong relationship between L1 oral language levels and L1 reading comprehension. But there was no relationship between L1 oral levels and L2 reading comprehension levels. However, there was a significant positive relationship between L2 reading comprehension and L1 reading comprehension. This study suggests the possibility of transfer from L2 to L1 in reading comprehension. Given the nature of the intervention it appears the possible transfer would be likely due to specific aspects of instruction in this special bilingual context. (Contains 1 note, 4 tables, and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Urban Schools; Instructional Design; Economic Status; Educational Change; Foreign Countries; Malayo Polynesian Languages; Instructional Leadership; Teaching Methods; Models; Problem Solving; Primary Education

Abstract:
A model of school change has been designed and implemented in a systematic replication series. Key principles are: that teachers need to be able to act as adaptive experts; that local evidence about teaching and learning is necessary to inform instructional design; that school professional learning communities are vehicles for changing teaching practice; that educative research-practice-policy partnerships are needed to solve problems; that instructional leadership in schools is necessary for community functioning and for coherence; and that effective programmes in schools are built by fine tuning existing practices. A three-stage model has been tested across three clusters of schools: two groups of urban schools serving Maori and Pasifika children from low socio-economic status communities and a third group comprising all the primary schools in a rural and remote region of New Zealand. The model has been extended to different academic areas (writing as well as reading) and to secondary schools since its initial testing. Evidence is provided for effectiveness for Maori and Pasifika children in urban schools and Maori students in rural and remote schools. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Intervention; Achievement Gains; Educational Change; Improvement Programs; Reading Improvement; Educational Improvement; Organizational Development; Educational Practices; Reading Achievement

Abstract:
Schooling improvement initiatives have demonstrated that moderate but significant achievement gains are possible with well designed interventions, but there is little research into whether these gains can be sustained. The present study examines the extent to which acceleration in achievement made during a three-year literacy intervention and the associated school-based practices were continued. Statistical modelling showed continued acceleration in student achievement (four months in addition to expected progress) at a rate similar to the intervention. The school-based practices associated with sustainability were part of a process of change (rather than a specific instructional programme) comprising two dimensions--organisational learning through ongoing inquiry into solving problems arising from teaching and learning and the development of professional learning communities to promote organisational learning. Effectiveness was enhanced by schools embedding the process into their normal school routines as part of a coherent instructional programme and the availability of expertise. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Achievement Gains; Reading Achievement; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Teachers; Foreign Countries; Longitudinal Studies; Quasiexperimental Design; Effect Size; Educational Cooperation; Observation; Reading Instruction; Intervention; Ethnic Groups

Abstract:
Schools with primarily indigenous and ethnic minorities in low socioeconomic areas have long been associated with low levels of achievement, particularly in literacy. This is true for New Zealand despite high levels of reading comprehension by international comparisons (e.g., PISA). Recent reviews of schooling improvement suggest small gains over the short term are possible with well-designed interventions, but for children in the middle primary school years, the criterion against which effective interventions need to be judged is sustained and systematic acceleration across levels of achievement in order to achieve equitable distributions of achievement. Plotting gains across time is also needed to examine whether "summer effects" can be overcome. The present quasi-experimental design study was a three-year research and development collaboration among schools, government, and researchers to raise reading comprehension through critical discussions of achievement and teacher observation data and linking research on effective comprehension practices to specific needs. The collaboration resulted in increased rates of achievement that were variable but sustained across three years. The growth model showed a step-like pattern with rapid gains over school months and a plateau over summer. Over three years this represented an average achievement gain across cohorts followed longitudinally of one year's progress in addition to expected progress over that period with stanine effect sizes of d = 0.62. The results show the significance of testing effects against the criterion of sustained and systematic achievement and the need to examine growth over multiple calendar years to better represent the pattern of gains. (Contains 6 figures, 7 tables, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Listening Comprehension; Bilingual Students; Bilingual Education; Oral Language; Monolingualism; Foreign Countries; Malayo Polynesian Languages; English (Second Language); Language Acquisition; Test Construction; Native Language Instruction; Language of Instruction; Second Language Instruction; Elementary School Students; Metacognition; Second Language Learning; Vocabulary Development

Abstract:
This paper examines language development of Samoan students in bilingual contexts in Aotearoa, New Zealand. In the absence of valid and standardized assessments tools in Samoan, one was designed to test reading comprehension and oral language development for Samoan students using common narratives as a base. For reading comprehension, the tool used a listening comprehension format to avoid possible decoding limitations and provided a gradient of difficulty with a surprising drop in both oral and reading comprehension at year 7. This drop was attributed to a change in competencies of some students entering the bilingual classroom at year 7. For example, the mixed levels of both L1 (Samoan) oral and L1 (Samoan) reading comprehension within and across years of schooling likely reflects the varied provision in the Samoan bilingual classes and the variations across cohorts in different degrees of bilingualism. We argue that this might be due to the make up of the two schools of which one was an Intermediate school of years 7 and 8 students and, the other was a full primary school with students from years 4 to 8. The patterns suggest two general instructional needs in Samoan bilingual classrooms. One is the need to develop metacognitive components and the need for deliberate and explicit instruction to build awareness of strategies and effectiveness. The other is the ubiquitous need identified in reading comprehension instruction generally to develop vocabulary both through oral and written forms. There was a highly significant relationship between L1 oral at L1 reading comprehension levels reflecting a general relationship found in other studies of monolingual in L2 (English) contexts. (Contains 4 tables and 4 footnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Comprehension; Reading Difficulties; Foreign Countries; Educational Improvement; Reading Programs; Program Effectiveness; Reading Achievement; Acceleration (Education); Intervention

Abstract:
This paper considers how some features of our recent schooling improvement research in New Zealand could be thought of using a Reading Recovery lens. Three powerful Reading Recovery concepts (among many in the Reading Recovery theoretical base) are used to reflect on our research and development work to increase achievement in reading comprehension in Years 4-8. The concepts of Acceleration, Roaming Around the Known, and "treatment integrity" (and the related concept of Sustainability) inform the ways we can look at schooling improvement, but also through the exercise, suggestions are made for how these concepts can be elaborated and refined further in Reading Recovery. (Contains 4 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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