11:00-11:50 a.m. CULTURE (Discussion Session) Salon A

Presider: Linda Coats, Mississippi State University

CURRICULUM REFORM TO ADDRESS MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Mary J Hayes and Valencia Price, Tennessee State University

             The over-representation of African American children and youth in special education programs has remained a persistent reality even after 25 years of recognition. There are a number of reasons for this difference in placement practices, which includes placement and testing procedures, cultural differences, parent and teacher training programs, economic factors, and the inability of schools to educate diverse populations adequately. The fact exists that disproportionately large numbers of African Americans are being persistently misdiagnosed as disabled and placed in special education programs. However, the root of the problem may be in how institutions of higher education (IHE) are preparing preservice teachers. Within traditional teacher programs, special and regular preservice teachers are educated in separate, but equal programs. New teachers in the regular classroom are too often ill-prepared to meet the challenges in today's diverse school environments.
             Coursework at the college level has not concentrated on classroom management techniques, modifications of curricula materials to address the needs of diverse learners, or collaborative strategies to promote dialogue among parents, students, and other educators. In order for IHEs to graduate teachers fully prepared to teach culturally and ethnically diverse students effectively in the 21st century, curriculum reform must be a priority.

A FREE, APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ASIAN-ORIGIN STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES - CULTURAL VARIABLES

Qaisar Sultana, Eastern Kentucky University

             According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all children with disabilities between the ages of three to 21 are entitled to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). According to IDEA, about 12% of school-age children have disabilities. IDEA contains several provisions to ensure non-discrimination. Yet, the number of Asian-origin children with disabilities continues to be lower than their proportionate school population.
             The under-identification of Asian-origin children with disabilities is attributed both to the Asian cultures and the lack of knowledge of Asian cultures among the educators. IDEA, 1997, has an increased emphasis on inclusion of students with disabilities in general education. For students of Asian origin it may mean an even greater degree of under-identification and failure to receive FAPE. It has also given the parents of students with disabilities a greater degree of participation and involvement in the education of their children. For many Asian families this participation may not be possible because of their linguistic and cultural differences.
             The purpose of this presentation was to assist in the development of an educational environment sensitive to and supportive of the rights of all students with disabilities as guaranteed under IDEA. Specific objectives of the proposed presentation were to: (1) present the relevant cultural values prevalent in many Asian countries, (2) sensitize educators of the dominant culture of these cultural differences and their effects on the behaviors of students of Asian origin and their families, (3) articulate the unique problems and needs of Asian-origin students with disabilities and their parents, and, (4) point out the additional responsibilities of the schools vis-a-vis Asian-origin students with disabilities for providing them a free appropriate public education.

ADDRESSING MINORITY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN KENTUCKY

Linda H. Frazer and Ivan L. Zabilka, Kentucky Department of Education

             The gap in performance between African American and white students has been present and persistent for decades. The gap is well documented nationally and is pervasive wherever sizable minority populations exist. National evidence were briefly summarized.
             Kentucky also exhibits the minority performance gap, yet Kentucky has some unique characteristics. Kentucky has a smaller percentage of African American students than other southern states (11%). The African American students are concentrated in five districts out of 186, with 50% residing in one district. The difference is smaller in reading than the other subject areas, presumably because of reading programs and initiatives, including Title I. Recent disaggregation of results for the 1999 Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS) has provided new information and the ability to identify schools that are successful in addressing the performance gap.
             The disaggregation was descriptive in nature, producing comparisons by gender, ethnicity, free or reduced lunch as an economic indicator, disability, and accommodations of those disabilities. The data were directed toward an initiative by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to address the performance gap. KDE assembled a Minority Student Achievement Taskforce, consisting of 70 stakeholders. The Taskforce met from May to August 2000. The procedures and results of the Taskforce procedures were summarized. Over 60 proposals were evaluated, and a final group for implementation was selected by the November MSERA meeting.
             Initial results of site visits to schools, which have succeeded in closing the gap, pointed to leadership, placing students in demanding courses, reducing the numbers of minority students placed inappropriately in special education, and class-size reductions in first through fourth grades. Evaluation of these components and additional initiatives will be the subject for additional research.

11:00-11:50 a.m. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (Discussion Session) Salon B

Presider: Daniel Surry, University of South Alabama

ACHIEVEMENT POWER: IS IT IN EXTENDED SCHOOL SERVICES?

Barbara A. Kacer and James R. Craig, Western Kentucky University

             The Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 is a massive education reform bill that specified many new initiatives to improve public schools in Kentucky. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (Hall & Hord, 1987) of education innovation implementation is the theoretical basis of an evaluation based on a three-year longitudinal study that focused in part on the implementation of extended school services in selected Kentucky middle schools.
             A sample of 10 middle schools chosen to represent low, medium, and high initial student achievement baselines and the eight geographic regions of the state was identified and followed for three years. Seven of the middle schools had demonstrated a pattern of improvement in student achievement, while three had not.
             One of three diagnostic Concerns-Based Adoption Model assessment tools is the Innovation Configuration Component Map, which specifies key component features of an innovation and what "ideal" level to "in-use" means. The Extended School Services Innovation Configuration Component Map (ESSICC Map) was developed and field tested by teams of educators who systematically identified and evaluated the relevant components and component variations using procedures established by Heck, Steigelbauer, Hall, and Loucks (1981).
             The ESSICC Maps were completed by interviewing the Coordinator of Extended School Services in each school. Some map characteristics were verified via direct observation of extended school services activities. The ESSICC Map data provided a profile of extended school services use as related to overall student achievement in selected Kentucky middle schools. As a school's extended school services program more closely approximates what is conceived as the ideal model, overall academic achievement of the school tends to improve. A modified ESSCC Map has been created, and its use was discussed.

IT'S TIME TO DROP THE OTHER SHOE: THE EVIDENCE ON TEACHER AIDES

Charles M. Achilles, Eastern Michigan University, and Jeremy D. Finn and Susan Gerber, SUNY Buffalo, NY

             Teacher aides are common in education, especially in remedial and special-education classes, yet little is known about their effect on student outcomes. Project STAR is known for its class-size results, but few have inquired about the teacher-aide condition in this large (11,601 students), randomized (teachers and students), longitudinal (grades K-3) education experiment.
             In STAR, students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions within a school: (1) Small (S) class (average 15), (2) Regular (R) class (average 24), and (3) Regular Class with full-time aide (RA). Teachers (n=1340) were randomly assigned to classes. Annually, students took criterion-referenced tests (CRT) and norm-referenced tests (NRT). Results were compared using MANOVA (originally) and HLM (later). Other outcome measures (e.g., behavior, attendance) were also used.
             After students left the experiment (grade 4), they were followed through the grades. Available long-term data included achievement scores, high school records, grades, some behavior data, and ACT/SAT scores of students planning for college.
             With few exceptions, short- and long-term results of STAR show that, in general, the presence of a teacher-aide in the classroom is not associated with academic gains for students. Second, teacher aides are not associated with improved student behaviors. Finally, teacher aides are not associated with teachers' own sense of efficacy in the classroom -- regardless of the functions performed by the aides.
             Teacher aides are not a suitable substitute for small classes in the early grades. The teacher aide issue needs serious attention if aides are to remain a key element of programs for minority and hard-to-teach students. Recommendations for improving the current situation will be forwarded.

STUDENT COURSE-TAKING DELIVERED THROUGH A HIGH SCHOOL BLOCK SCHEDULE: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ACADEMIC CORE AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Nicholas L. Brake, Daviess (KY) County Public Schools, and University of Louisville

             This study examined high school student course-taking trends and achievement as a result of the curriculum delivered in two forms of "block" scheduling compared to a traditional schedule to determine: (1) if students are spending a significant amount of time studying subjects not in the academic core curriculum as a result of the choice a block curriculum gives students, (2) if the amount of time a student spends studying a core curriculum can successfully predict their postsecondary readiness, and (3) the course-taking trends that emerge as a result of the block curriculum compared to the curriculum associated with a traditional schedule.
             The researcher analyzed 300 transcripts from the graduating classes of 1995 and 2000 at two high schools tracking the hours students studied core academic subjects and elective subjects, including vocational and technical courses. Measures of academic achievement included: (1) grade-point average, (2) class rank, (3) pre-college aptitude test, and (4) post-secondary transition. Each school operated on a six-period traditional schedule in 1995 and switched to a version of block scheduling in 1996. School A used an alternating day 1/ day 2 schedule; School B used a 4 x 4 semester block schedule.
             Data were analyzed using ANOVA and linear regression to predict the significance of the time spent studying a core curriculum to the student's postsecondary readiness. Tentative conclusions were drawn. The findings of the study suggested implications for curriculum development and course offerings on a block schedule at the high school level.

11:00-11:50 a.m. TEACHER EDUCATION (Discussion Session) Meeting Room 1

Presider: Kathy Franklin, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

THE KNOWLEDGE OF LEGAL ISSUES NEEDED BY TEACHERS AND STUDENT TEACHERS

Dana R. Monts, Arkansas Tech University

             There are numerous legal issues that must be considered in a school by the administration and teachers. Teachers and student teachers are strongly advised to learn about these issues as their best protection against becoming involved in a court case. The training of a student to be a teacher is a multifaceted process. The legal responsibilities of the teaching profession is one to those facets, yet it is rarely offered as an academic course.
             A full understanding of the legal responsibilities of a teacher is part of becoming a truly professional educator. According to the literature, the majority of colleges and universities do not provide a separate academic course or even a section of a course, to teach these responsibilities. As can be seen in the news media, teachers do not always avoid the bad judgments, indiscretions, and honest mistakes that lead to judicial proceedings. Without such a course or section of a course, new teachers are being short-changed by licensing them with little or no awareness of the serious legal pitfalls that they may encounter or ways to avoid them.

MOVING PRESERVICE TEACHER'S BELIEFS ALONG A RATIONALITY CONTINUUM: IRRATIONAL TO RATIONALIZED TO RATIONAL

Bonita C. White, The University of Memphis

             Beliefs about teaching, learning, students, and content affects the practice of teachers. The beliefs with which prospective teachers as a whole enter teacher education are transmissive in nature and are incongruent with "best practice." Teacher educators have attempted variously to positively affect these beliefs. Typically, however, prospective teachers exit teacher education with their beliefs relatively intact. Beliefs are not readily amenable to change.
             To facilitate the restructure of beliefs, teacher educators have long recommended helping prospective teachers gain active awareness of their beliefs. Active awareness is necessary. Prospective teachers should also know why they believe what they do and should be able to justify their beliefs via informal reasoning. Only then will they be able to recognize inconsistencies, bias, and local interpretation in their own beliefs and in the actions that emanate from them, and only then will beliefs be amenable to coherent change.
             An empirical basis for this claim has been established by framing beliefs in terms of epistemology. Building on the work of Kuhn (1998), King and Kitchener (1994), and Perkins (1991), a foundation for our position was established by identifying critical thinking, metacognition, and informal reasoning as essential aspects of the desired level of epistemology. Each was described. Descriptive research on epistemology of adults and on its correlates with other constructs, e.g., critical thinking, metacognition, motivation, age, and level of education, was presented. Then, the thinking related related to knowledge and knowing for each of three superordinate levels of epistemology (corresponding to irrational, rationalization, and rational) was described. Embedded in this description are critical thinking, metacognition, and informal reasoning.
             Conclusions were based on identifying what prospective teachers could learn to help them move in a positive direction along the rationality continuum. Recommendations for needed research were based on this claim.

INFORMATICS AS A FIELD OF STUDY IN EDUCATION: A NEEDS ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Robert G. Stewart, East Tennessee State University

             Information has long been a sine qua non in the affairs of humankind. Its recent predominance has led many to proclaim that the "information age" is at hand. Indeed, the impact of this new age on medicine is such that a new field informatics has emerged out of efforts to study and ameliorate its effects (e.g., information overload). The central aims of medical informatics are to design, test, and disseminate educational and decision-support applications. To date, the field boasts a unified knowledge base, an organized group of scholars, a dedicated journal, and funded graduate study programs.
             In this paper, the tenability of informatics as a field of study in education was explored along two lines of inquiry: (1) "Are the nature and extent of information problems in education comparable with the disciplinary aims of informatics?" and (2) "What research is needed to develop an educational informatics program?" With regard to the former, a needs analysis of all educational levels (primary, elementary, secondary, postsecondary) and constituencies (students, parents, faculty, community, administrators) was conducted. Based on these findings, a typology of information problems in relation to the aims of informatics was described.
             With regard to an emerging field, initial research efforts should focus on definition and differentiation with regard to related disciplines. More specifically, studies should be exploratory, descriptive, and comparative in design. Based on these prescriptions and findings from the needs analysis, a research agenda was described.
It is unlikely that education's information problems will be resolved through current efforts (viz., occasional and coincidental research). What is more likely, however, is that these problems will continue to increase in complexity and severity over time. Based on this investigation, it was advocated that informatics be pursued as a field of study in education.

11:00-11:50 a.m. EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP (Discussion Session) Meeting Room 2

Presider: Fred Groves, University of Louisiana at Monroe

INTERVIEWING PRACTICING ADMINISTRATORS: AN UNDERUTILIZED FIELD-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Jack J Klotz, The University of Southern Mississippi, and Pat Joachim, The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Campus

             This paper presented a perspective that addressed the value of designing and incorporating an instructional strategy of field-based administrator interviews by master's degree graduate students in a cohort program in educational administration. The paper further provided examples of how components of educational administration instructional programs can be correlated to specific interview questions allowing students to gain further insight of how such theoretical components as motivational theory, instructional leadership, school governance, formative and summative assessment, collaboration, school-community relations, technology utilization, facility usage, and maintenance, to name but a few, are translated into action by field based administrators.
             The presentation centered on the resulting analysis of three such cohort group experiences with field-based interviews of practicing school administrators. Comparisons and contrasts between recorded responses relative to reported administrative practice by elementary, middle/junior high, and high school administrators were presented. Additionally, graduate student reactions and reflections regarding their findings and the possible impact on the students' conceptual leadership platforms were shared.

MENTORING DESCRIPTIONS AND OUTCOMES OF PRESERVICE ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM STUDENTS

John D. Light, University of North Alabama

             In 1992 the Alabama State Board of Education implemented new administration certification requirements that included a 300-hour internship field-based practicum under the mentoring of practicing administrators. The State Board of Education's original proposal included a training component for practicing administrators to qualify as mentors and a service stipend for each intern accepted. The training and service stipend elements were eliminated from the adopted rules.
             At the conclusion of the administration program requirements at the University of North Alabama, the intern participates in an exit interview with the administration faculty to discuss barriers, hardships, and the manner faculty members can be of better service. Frequently, the interns have discussed the difficulties of working with the mentor administrator. A range of issues was mentioned to include mentoring skills, expectations of the administration intern, and communication needs for both the intern and mentor.
             The purpose of this study was to assess and classify the issues interns were experiencing in the mentor-intern relationship. A survey instrument was developed to collect data in the following areas: (1) mentoring practices, (2) mentoring behavior, (3) learning through mentoring behavior, and (4) factors affecting the mentoring relationship. The instrument was piloted among student interns who were near completion of the administration program but outside the sample.
             Eighty-one surveys were distributed in September 1999 to student interns who had completed the administration program between the terms of spring 1993 and summer 1999. Thirty-five instruments were analyzed via ANOVA to discern the degree of importance literature driven mentoring practices and behaviors should exist in contrast to whether interns agreed such practices and behaviors were experienced in the students internship. Gender and years of experience in education demonstrated significant variances in practices in communications and interest in the intern's career advancement.

ASSESSING PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES USING PORTFOLIOS WITH GRADUATES ENROLLED IN AN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP CLASS

Jerry Brooksher Gee, Nicholls State University

             Professors in Educational Leadership programs have in the past utilized performance-based outcomes as a partial means of assessing whether graduate students have reached pre-set standards with performance outcomes. Additionally, a significant number of accreditating agencies and state boards of education are moving toward performance-based assessment.
             The purpose of this study was to direct graduates: (1) in meeting the specifications of three standards/objectives, with performance outcomes commonly utilized in "School-Community Relations" courses, and (2) to have these students reflect on articles taken from the media, professional journals, and Internet as attributes of evidence, using portfolios as a viable means of assessment.
             Guidelines established by The Northwest Evaluation Association regarding utilization of portfolios for student assessment were used in this study. These guidelines recommend student participation in selection of portfolio content, process for selection of materials, criteria for judging merit, and attributes of evidence for reflection by the student.
             The methodology in this study involved 28 graduates enrolled in a "School-Community Relations" course during spring 2000 semester. Portfolios were cooperatively constructed consisting of articles from the media, professional journals, and the Internet. The materials were organized according to four categories: (1) understanding the community, (2) administering the program, (3) relations with special publics, and (4) communication tools and strategies."
             The results of the study revealed that a standard/objective requiring a graduate to have knowledge of current principles and practices of "School-Community Relations" could be witnessed by the student's ability to cite, describe, and discuss, as specified, "current happenings," as performance outcomes. This ability would have been acquired from the student's reflections of the articles in the portfolio collection. The reflections would be the attributes of evidence. "What have I learned from this experience?"

11:00-11:50 a.m. TEACHER EDUCATION (Display Session) Meeting Room 4

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN AN ELEMENTARY PRESERVICE TEACHER PROGRAM

Bobbie K. Richardson and Mary E. Howe, Mississippi State University

             The ACHIEVE Mississippi Project is a collaborative effort involving Mississippi State University, Alcorn State University, three community colleges, and 24 local educational agencies. This project features the implementation of problem-based learning to prepare quality preservice teachers in the state of Mississippi.
             Problem-based learning is a strategy that utilizes critical and problem solving skills along with content knowledge to solve real-life, open-ended problems. Learning becomes active, student-centered, and integrated across the curriculum. By utilizing this strategy in the elementary teacher program, graduates will be better prepared to make ethical decisions as classroom teachers.
             The significance of using problem-based learning in a teacher preparation program is that it: (1) enhances knowledge, critical thinking, and learning in relevant and authentic settings, (2) develops team building skills, and (3) improves students' communication skills. In addition, the existing elementary curriculum is being modified to reflect pedagogy based on a theory of teaching and learning. Thus, the college faculty's role will change from didactic classroom manager to facilitator of learning. The students become more responsible for their own learning, and learning becomes more intense and meaningful.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHERS' BELIEFS ABOUT DISCIPLINE

Ann E. Witcher and Janet Filer, University of Central Arkansas; Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Valdosta State University; and Jan Downing, Eastern Kentucky University

             Student behavior is perceived to be one of the most, if not the most, serious problem facing our nation's schools. Because appropriate behavior is crucial to everything that happens in a classroom, one's approach to classroom discipline can make or break a teacher. Discipline techniques range from those that are highly teacher oriented to those that are highly student oriented. Indeed, Wolfgang and Glickman (1980) categorized discipline styles as being either non-interventionist, interventionist, and interactionalist.
             Non-interventionists believe that children are capable of managing their own behaviors. Non-interventionist teachers take on a supportive and empathetic role, and compromise is a common strategy. Interventionists stress teacher authority and practice behavior modification strategies to conform student behaviors. Rules are established, and consequences are enforced (e.g., via corporal punishment, reinforcement) because the teacher believes that the environment shapes student behavior. Interactionalists combine strategies used by non-interventionists and interventionists. The interactionalist maintains constant interaction between teacher and student, and both must be willing to compromise.
             In examining studies that have compared these three teacher discipline styles, one finds conflicting results. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine characteristics (i.e., gender, ethnicity, age, teaching status, school level, teaching experience, and number of offspring) associated with teachers' views on discipline. Participants were 201 students at a large university who were either preservice (77.0%) or inservice (23.0%) teachers. Findings revealed that older individuals were less interventionist and more non-interventionist than were their older counterparts. Second, those who had the most teaching experience were less interventionist and more non-interventionist than were their counterparts. Third, inservice teachers were less interventionist and more non-interventionist than were preservice teachers. Fourth, secondary school teachers were more non-interventionist than were elementary school teachers. Implications are discussed. Finally, no differences in interventionism, non-interventionism, and interactionalism were found with respect to gender, ethnicity, and number of offspring.

11:00-11:50 a.m. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (Training Session) Meeting Room 5

IS IT TRUE THAT NOTHING IS QUITE SO PRACTICAL AS A GOOD THEORY?

Scott C Bauer, University of New Orleans

             Lewin (1945) observed, "There is nothing quite so practical as a good theory." If that is true, then why do so many educators believe that theory and educational research have little to offer them to guide their professional practice? Is there value in grounding one's research in an established theoretical framework, or in generating new theoretical models?
             This interactive training session was designed to promote a dialogue among graduate students and scholars on the perceived gap between theory and practice in education. During the session, the nature of the theory-practice gap was discussed in what are its sources and why does it persist? What is theory to begin with, and what claims are made about its utility for scholarship and professional practice? Finally, is there a gap between theory and practice? What can we, as scholars, do to bridge this gap?
             This is an especially important topic of discussion for burgeoning researchers, who on the one hand struggle with the question of selecting a theoretical framework and researchable questions, and on the other hope that their research will have an impact in schools.