Search

Current research typically uses surveys to study parental preferences but examines the responses in isolation from each other. A key insight from the sociology of culture and political psychology, however, is that the meaning of responses in opinion data comes from their relationships with one another. To make progress in understanding the meaning of parental preferences, it is necessary to study their educational belief systems -- the structural configuration of their attitudes related to schools. Using data from Phi Delta Kappa's annual survey on education, I employ correlational class analysis to identify three subsets of parents whose members configure their beliefs about integration, standardized testing, and enhanced academics in distinct ways. These three groups of parents are "convergents," who see testing and integration as being aligned; "integration divergents," who see standardized testing and integration as being in opposition; and "academic divergents," who see standardized testing and enhanced academics as being in opposition. Compared to the full sample, these subgroups display more structure in the associations among their preferences. I also examine if the relationships between preferences and sociodemographic characteristics vary across subgroups and if political ideology predicts belief systems. I conclude with a discussion of implications for policy and future work.

During adolescence, young people develop crucial capacity for emotion regulation, and family context can be a risk or protective factor for adolescents developing affective disorders. We leveraged data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (N = 7664) to propose adolescent emotion regulation as a mediator between family conflict, family protection, and adolescent depressive symptoms in the social development model. Latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent regulation of negative emotions mediated the relationship between family conflict and depressive symptoms--adolescents with higher family conflict had more emotion regulation difficulties and more depressive symptoms. Adolescent age was a moderator such that associations between family protective factors and reduced depression, and between family conflict and emotion regulation difficulties were weaker in high school compared to middle school. Findings highlight the importance of youth emotion regulation processes and family emotional context in reducing adolescent depressive symptoms.

The changing educational landscape requires new organizational frameworks to understand how schools and universities make sense of and respond to broader institutional forces like accountability, diversity, and the market. In this article, we draw on recent innovations in organizational theory to propose a model that identifies two general processes through which pressures from the environment shape educational practice in schools: filtering and local adaptation. We review three areas where researchers have studied filtering and local adaptation--routines, sensemaking, and networks--to illustrate how these processes are currently being applied in education and how this work can be extended. We also identify studies that have begun to integrate these different areas of scholarship and propose directions for future research. This article offers education researchers new to the field conceptual tools for guiding their analysis and assists more seasoned researchers in situating their studies in a broader context of institutional maintenance, change, and heterogeneity.

Faculty members' network characteristics influence their teaching and the types of information they acquire. Given the gap in empirical knowledge on agriculture university faculty members' teaching-focused networks, this mixed-methods study focused on identifying characteristics of agriculture university faculty members' teaching-focused personal networks. We also investigated why faculty members communicated and what topics they discussed with their teaching-focused contacts. Social network theory (Borgatti & Halgin, 2011) and social capital theory (Lin, 2001) guided this study. Utilizing egocentric network analysis, we found that agriculture university faculty members typically communicated with a few close individuals within their departments and in the same discipline. Further, the qualitative study indicated that faculty members' main rationales for interacting with their teaching-focused contacts were their contacts' expertise in teaching and subject matter, personal and professional relationships, and approachable personality. In addition, faculty members communicated with their contacts for advice and feedback, information and resources about teaching, administrative matters, and emotional support. The findings showed that faculty participants' teaching-focused contacts significantly benefited their teaching enhancement and professional development. The study offers valuable insights into faculty members' teaching-focused personal networks and implications for faculty instructional development.

The social aspects of faculty instructional development programs are increasingly recognized because the programs' impact is greatly influenced by social interactions among faculty participants. These interactions allow faculty members to reflect on and improve their teaching practices. Although the literature has shown that effective instructional development programs help develop faculty's educational knowledge, attitudes, and teaching practices, little research has investigated how instructional development programs help faculty develop their teaching-focused social capital. To address this knowledge gap, this study examined the impact of an instructional development program, Teacher's College, on faculty participants' teaching-focused social capital development. The findings from the mixed-methods study indicated that Teacher's College positively affected faculty participants' teaching-focused social capital by promoting connections with individuals across the college and providing a supportive learning community. This study also found that online and socially distant meetings due to the pandemic and geographic distances diminished faculty participants' opportunities to develop their social network and social capital. Based on the findings, we propose recommendations for Teacher's College and future research in the evaluation of faculty instructional development programs.

Research on interdisciplinary fields has mainly focused on knowledge production -- the creation of new ideas -- rather than on knowledge socialization, the process by which a scholarly community identifies and teaches a field's core body of knowledge to novices. In this article, we use social network analysis to identify the core knowledge that experts in an interdisciplinary field choose as foundational for students. More specifically, we examine the syllabi of social context of education courses from the top 25 education schools in the United States to determine the shared references, authors, and themes. Our analysis indicates that, perhaps because it is an interdisciplinary field, the social context of education structures core knowledge by shared themes rather than by particular references or authors. We argue that our approach can provide a valuable tool for the study of interdisciplinarity, offering a novel way of understanding the structure and socialization of a field.

Background and aims  Rectal lesions traditionally represent the first lesions approached during endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) training in the West. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of rectal ESD in North America. Methods  This is a multicenter retrospective analysis of rectal ESD between January 2010 and September 2018 in 15 centers. End points included: rates of en bloc resection, R0 resection, adverse events, comparison of pre- and post-ESD histology, and factors associated with failed resection. Results  In total, 171 patients (median age 63 years; 56 % men) underwent rectal ESD (median size 43 mm). En bloc resection was achieved in 141 cases (82.5 %; 95 %CI 76.8-88.2), including 24 of 27 (88.9 %) with prior failed endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). R0 resection rate was 74.9 % (95 %CI 68.4-81.4). Post-ESD bleeding and perforation occurred in 4 (2.3 %) and 7 (4.1 %), respectively. Covert submucosal invasive cancer (SMIC) was identified in 8.6 % of post-ESD specimens. There was one case (1/120; 0.8 %) of recurrence at a median follow-up of 31 weeks; IQR: 19-76 weeks). Older age and higher body mass index (BMI) were predictors of failed R0 resection, whereas submucosal fibrosis was associated with a higher likelihood of both failed en bloc and R0 resection. Conclusion  Rectal ESD in North America is safe and is associated with high en bloc and R0 resection rates. The presence of submucosal fibrosis was the main predictor of failed en bloc and R0 resection. ESD can be considered for select rectal lesions, and serves not only to establish a definitive tissue diagnosis but also to provide curative resection for lesions with covert advanced disease.

Research on public opinion finds that most Americans support the racial integration of schools in theory. At the same time, however, they tend to oppose specific policies for achieving it. How is it that the American public comes to conceive of school integration as both an abstract idea and a set of concrete policies? Research has shown that one major source of the public's understanding of complex social issues like school integration are news media organizations and the choices they make in how they cover them—that is, how they frame social issues. This article examines how school integration was framed in the news between 1990 and 2020. It does so with a dataset of over 13,000 articles from 25 newspapers. The article also examines determinants of those frames, asking what contextual factors shape the production of the news. The results reveal three overarching trends in how school integration was covered in the media over time: depoliticization, historicization , and neoliberalization. These trends varied by the political slant of the newspaper, by location (whether it is in a former Jim Crow state), and by whether the newspaper has a national readership. The author discusses implications for research and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers are interested in the potential of Career and Technical Education (CTE) to improve student outcomes by increasing students' affective engagement - their feelings of belonging at school and valuing what they are learning. Little research has studied the relationship between the breadth of participation in CTE and affective engagement; however, to help fill in this gap, this paper draws on data from a large, multi-ethnic high school, to examine the linear and non-linear relationships of participation in CTE with affective engagement at school. Results of multiple regressions revealed curvilinear relationships between students' affective engagement and the number of CTE courses they took and the number of afterschool and weekend hours spent working on CTE related businesses. These findings suggest a middle-range mix of CTE and academic courses are associated with higher levels of affective engagement with school.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked Extension professionals about sources used to inform their work, means used to inform clientele, and management of their own health and well-being. Survey data revealed that Extension professionals sought information from trusted sources and that large majorities were involved in disseminating online information to clientele. Extension professionals felt well supported, were prepared to address the pandemic's challenges, and were practicing recommended health behaviors. However, respondents reported high levels of stress and difficulty balancing professional and personal needs. Recommendations focus on collaborative opportunities for Extension as well as professional development and other resources for Extension personnel.

Drawing on theories of student retention and campus climate for diversity, this study examines differences in Black and White students' consideration of transferring or dropping-out of college. It expands the current state of retention research by: (1) testing whether there are different antecedents for considering different types of withdrawal; and (2) if such differences exist, do they vary by students' racial backgrounds. Our sample included 247 Black and White undergraduate students at a large flagship public research university. Findings suggest different influences on retention considerations by both race and withdrawal type. Most generally, the findings suggest two underlying factors give rise to the reported results. First, it appears as though considering dropping out is associated with general perceptions of campus climate while considering transferring is associated with more concrete experiences and interactions. Second, Black students' retention considerations are associated with issues of race while this is not true for White students.

Research on teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) has found that part of their benefit comes from increased collegiality. And yet, while the nature of such collegiality is theoretically multifaceted and includes a combination of instrumental, expressive and substantive relationships, this multidimensional nature of PLCs is almost never studied directly. In this paper, I fill that gap by examining the dynamics of relationship formation and evolution in a multiplex social network of 70 teachers during the first year of a small school reform. Using longitudinal social network models I analyse the within and between network dynamics of three types of discussion networks: course-related, personal, and, reform-related. Results show that the formation and evolution of ties within particular discussion networks were shaped by preference for similarity in demographic characteristics and attitudes. They also show that co-evolution between networks was shaped by reform-related discussions operating as a bridge connecting personal and course ties.

It is not well understood why, on diverse college campuses, some students are more likely than others to engage in interracial contact. While research has begun to examine the role of individual differences like personality traits, results have thus far been mixed. This article asks if this might be the result of confounding different forms of interracial contact. Using a sample of nearly 500 university students and drawing on distinctions made in research on diversity in higher education, models examining the relationships between the five-factor model (FFM) of personality traits and four types of interracial contact are presented: positive and negative cross-racial interactions (CRIs), and two ways of estimating interracial friendships (IRFs)--self-reported composition of close friends as well as the count of ego-network connections. Results show that having an Agreeable personality is associated with perceiving more positive and fewer negative CRIs, while no personality traits are associated with IRFs.

Background/Context: Research on the patterns of philanthropic funding of charter schools has largely focused on the behavior of major foundations. This work has documented how the once diffuse giving by these major foundations has become increasingly concentrated on a small number of jurisdictional challengers in the form of charter schools, charter management organizations, and intermediary organizations. Purpose: The current study examines whether this convergence in giving has spread to the entire network of foundations giving to charter-school-related organizations. We do so by extending current work and focus on the broader institutional field that includes the interactions between major foundations, smaller foundations, and grantees over time. Moreover, we look to see, if such a field-wide convergence is present, whether there is evidence consistent with the institutional process of isomorphism in which low-status foundations match the giving strategy of higher status ones. Research Design: We test for these dynamics using exponential random graph models (ERGMs), a hypothesis-testing framework for network analysis. More specifically, we analyze the funding ties among 809 foundations that gave grants to California charter schools and charter-school-related organizations between 2003 and 2014, as available through the Foundation Directory Online. We constructed multiyear windows to examine funding ties between foundations and recipients, using organizational characteristics, such as foundation type, foundation year, professionalization, foundation size, organizational type, and location, and endogenous features of the network as independent variables. Findings: Results indicate centralization of giving over time, as larger and newer foundations began practicing more targeted giving and the most connected recipients were involved in a disproportionate number of funding ties. We also found evidence consistent with institutionalization, as foundations with professional staffs played a larger role in giving, and smaller foundations increasingly engaged in behavior similar to their larger peers over time. Finally, we found evidence for the consistent effect of propinquity: We observe co-funding and co-receiving ties between foundations and grantees in geographical proximity to each other. Conclusions: This work examines the network dynamics of charter school philanthropic giving and provides evidence for the centralization and institutionalization of the field. In turn, this may create inequity in funding for charter schools because it may be more difficult for smaller or less ideologically popular organizations to penetrate the field. Policymakers should be aware of these forces and should take them into account when making budgetary and funding decisions.

Esophageal manometry is utilized for the evaluation and classification of esophageal motility disorders. EndoFlip has been introduced as an adjunctive test to evaluate esophagogastric junction (EGJ) distensibility. Treatment options for achalasia and EGJ outflow obstruction (EGJOO) include pneumatic dilation, myotomy, and botulinum toxin. Recently, a therapeutic 30 mm hydrostatic balloon dilator (EsoFLIP, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) has been introduced, which uses impedance planimetry technology like EndoFlip. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EsoFLIP in the management of esophageal motility disorders. A systematic literature search was performed with Medline, Embase, Web of science, and Cochrane library databases from inception to November 2022 to identify studies utilizing EsoFLIP for management of esophageal motility disorders. Our primary outcome was clinical success, and secondary outcomes were adverse events. Eight observational studies including 222 patients met inclusion criteria. Diagnoses included achalasia (158), EGJOO (48), post-reflux surgery dysphagia (8), and achalasia-like disorder (8). All studies used 30 mm maximum balloon dilation except one which used 25 mm. The clinical success rate was 68.7%. Follow-up duration ranged from 1 week to a mean of 5.7 months. Perforation or tear occurred in four patients. EsoFLIP is a new therapeutic option for the management of achalasia and EGJOO and appears to be effective and safe. Future comparative studies with other therapeutic modalities are needed to understand its role in the management of esophageal motility disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]