Search

Purpose: The socialization literature has identified the importance of school administrator support in physical education teachers' work experiences. The purpose of this study was to understand how principals' own socialization influences their perspectives on and support for physical education. Methods: Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 29 school principals (14 males and 15 females) and 15 physical educators (11 males and four females) matched at the schools from which principals were recruited. Results: Qualitative data analysis resulted in four intersecting themes: (a) Administrators' prior socialization and subjective theories frame support for physical education; (b) supportive principals are visible, engage with their teachers, and hold them accountable; (c) stress is exacerbated when principals and physical educators' values and beliefs differ; and (d) school and policy constraints influence administrators' vision and support for physical education. Discussion and Conclusion: Educational leadership programs should consider preparing principals to support the work of physical education teachers.

In times of increased global interdependence, producing inter-culturally competent school leaders who can engage in informed, ethical decision-making when confronted with problems that involve a diversity of perspectives is becoming an urgent leadership priority. Helping school leaders form and internalize a global perspective requires today's leadership preparation programs to assist future leaders in developing the capacity to think with complexity taking into account multiple cultural perspectives. Yet, while an understanding of cultural patterns, social stratification mobility, principles of human development, and racial dynamics are often cited as markers of successful student preparation for leadership for global interdependence, these learning outcomes are often poorly defined and not well integrated into the curriculum for educational leadership. Study abroad, the primary mechanism by which students experience foreign cultures, has become a seminal vehicle for global learning. Education abroad has become an increasingly important educational program experience in global learning and development, intercultural competence, intercultural maturity, and intercultural sensitivity. This article presents a framework for how to use global learning to develop in today's educational leaders the conceptualization and disposition to bring about the revolutionary changes that eliminate marginalizing practices in schools. By providing a global framework to guide this development, tomorrow's educational leaders will be provided with the learning they need to address the problems they will face in the future. Such a strategy aims to revitalize educational leadership preparation programs and increase student engagement by showing the relevance of global knowledge to education's most urgent social, ethical, and civic challenges. (Contains 3 tables and 4 charts.)

This study assessed whether and how self-explanation reading training, provided by iSTART (Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking), improves the effectiveness of comprehension processes. iSTART teaches students how to self-explain and which strategies will most effectively aid comprehension from moment-to-moment. We used RSAT (Reading Strategy Assessment Tool) to assess how iSTART changes the relation between important self-explanation reading strategies--bridging and elaboration--and online comprehension, and how often they are produced. College and high school students received iSTART and were administered RSAT prior to and post-training. Results from three experiments showed that iSTART primarily benefits bridging inferences when self-explaining. The frequency of bridging inferences was higher post training than prior to training, but only in the experiments involving college students. Additionally, prior to exposure to iSTART, RSAT bridging scores did not predict comprehension performance, whereas they did after iSTART, suggesting that iSTART may improve comprehension processes by teaching students how to appropriately use self-explanation to address comprehension difficulties. Finally, the results from this study suggest that RSAT may provide a valuable computer-based assessment of the effectiveness of self-explanations that could be used in conjunction with iSTART and in future research on self-explanation. (Contains 8 tables and 1 footnote.)

Schools are often criticized for their role in creating the dropout problem. This article illustrates that with the right resources and approach, educational programs could become sites of transformation rather than reproducers of social inequality. Narrative and thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with graduates of a nationwide program that serves high school dropouts reveals that its asset-based, mission-driven approach touched many aspects of these students' lives and produced changes in elements of their habitus. Aspects of the program that appeared to be central in changing participants' habitus include the development of self-esteem, the ability to accomplish something of value, and the capacity to contribute to the welfare of others. Implications of these findings for influencing the habitus of school dropouts and improving upward social mobility are discussed. (Contains 8 notes and 2 tables.)