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This study examined the influences of teacher support and school environment on 10th graders’ mathematics achievements, controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, and mathematics self-efficacy, and the differential influences of these factors for White and Black students in the USA. A sample of 8,682 White and 2,020 Black students who participated in the Educational Longitudinal Study were selected for the study. The results showed that Black students lagged behind their White peers on mathematics achievement, had lower socioeconomic status, and perceived the school environment as more negative. Hierarchical Linear Modeling analysis showed that the achievement gap between Black and White students was lower when students perceived a higher level of negative behavior in school.

Research has shown that academic momentum is a key factor in degree completion for students attending 4-year institutions. The characteristics of 2-year students (also called community college students) often lead them to engage in behaviors contrary to the theory of academic momentum, and these behaviors theoretically reduce their likelihood of attaining a degree. Community college students often delay entry into college, attend part time, earn fewer credits within their first year, and have lower freshman grade point averages. This study investigated the effects of academic momentum on degree attainment for students who attended only a 2-year college and for students who transferred to a 4-year college. Data were obtained from a large, nationally representative longitudinal data set. The academic momentum predictor variables (credits earned and grade point average within the first year of college, and the number of months between exiting high school and entering college) were significant predictors for both 2-year and transfer students.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sport participation on locus of control and academic performance among eighth-grade students. In the analysis, particular attention was place...

This study investigated the predictive effects of science self-efficacy, value in learning science, science attitudes, gender, and race on science achievement, among United States middle school stu...

Although the relationship between parental and teachers’ roles and exclusionary discipline practices (EDP) seems intuitive, the link has rarely been supported in school disciplinary literature. This current study tested whether delinquency prevention programs can be directly effective in reducing adolescent delinquency, considering the medium of student’s trust in teachers and parental contact with school. In detail, this study attempted to answer two questions: ‘Do current delinquency prevention programs decrease EDP?’ and ‘Do student–teacher trust and parental contact with school mediate the effectiveness of prevention programs on suspensions?’ Using the techniques of propensity score matching and structural equation modeling, we found that student trust in teachers is a relevant and valid construct and statistically significant mediator on suspensions. The authors suggested some considerations to use student trust in teachers and parental contact with school more effectively as policy tools in ...

This paper explores whether high-school sports are functional and accessible activities to keep students from school disciplinary behaviors. For this purpose, we included students racial and linguistic status, socioeconomic status, sex, and prior academic performance with the school’s proportion of free-lunch recipients and minorities, to understand how sport participation affects students of diverse groups. Additionally, the study implemented a multilevel mediation modeling to the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) data and assessed student dropouts with sequential mediators of sport participation, school misbehavior, and suspension. The findings of the study largely revealed that White students participated in sports more than Black, Hispanic, and Asian. Likewise, students who speak English as the primary language and male students participated in sports more than their counterparts. White sport participants displayed fewer incidents of suspension than White non-sport participants. Black, Hispanic, and White sport participants had lower dropout incidents than their non-sport-participating counterparts.

The main goal of this paper was to examine middle school students’ game engagement and its effect on math performance. For the game, we developed [Math App], an educational video game intended to support students’ understanding of fractions. Using [Math App] in a quasi-experimental research setting, we collected data on game engagement, game features, the perception of game learning ability, gender, and the amount of gameplay, and math performance. Our structural equation modeling analysis revealed that game engagement was categorized into two subdomains of behavioral and emotional/cognitive engagement. We also found that students’ game engagements were associated with student’s perception of gaming ability and in turn, it displayed a significant path with game features.

Survival analysis is an advanced statistical method to investigate the occurrence and the timing of an important event such as school access, dropout, and graduation in a longitudinal framework. Th...

The purpose of the study was to examine whether the effects of interscholastic sport participation on academic performance and school engagement vary by race and linguistic status of high school students. High school participants ( n = 16,200) were selected from the Education Longitudinal Study: 2002, a nationally representative database. Results of a structural equation model showed that Asian, black, and Hispanic students’ interscholastic sport participation had a positive effect on grade point average, while the effect was not significant for white students. However, white students’ interscholastic sport participation was likely to have a positive, indirect effect on grade point average through their engagement in school. The results showed no linguistic status variation in the effects of interscholastic sport participation on school engagement and grade point average. The findings suggest that supporting high school students in school-sponsored extracurricular sport programs should be continued, highlighting the important role of schools in shaping the proper educational environment for sport participation.

This study examined the dropout trajectories of racial and linguistic minority students and explored the effects of students' contextual factors on their high school dropout risks. Our motivation was to identify the dropout patterns of Black, Hispanic, and Hispanic English language learner (ELL) students, who have comparatively high dropout rates, and to suggest ways to promote high school completion. We employed a survival analysis using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results showed that the 3 minority groups displayed significantly higher dropout risks than the White group. The overall pattern of dropout risks increased over time, with the dropout rates of the Black students high in the 1st and 2nd years of high school and the highest dropout rates for Hispanic ELL students in their senior year. A gender difference was found among the students, with male students having higher dropout risks than female students. It was also found tha...

The goal of the study was to provide empirical findings on the effects of different types of parents’ school involvement (PSI) on their children's mathematics performance. For PSI, we explored parent participation in parent–teacher conferences, voluntary parental involvement in school activities, parent informal contact with school or teachers, and parental phone contact with school or teachers. In addition, we paid focused attention to families of linguistic and racial minority groups who may have different dynamics of PSI for children's schooling and academic achievement. We conducted comprehensive descriptive statistics and multilevel longitudinal modelling using a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), to establish study conclusions with high validity and generalizability. The results showed that four different types of PSI had differential effects for different linguistic and racial groups. The study findings have practical suggestions and implications fo...

In an effort to maximizing success in mathematics, our research team implemented an educational video game in fifth grade mathematics classrooms in five schools in the Eastern US. The educational game was developed by our multi-disciplinary research team to achieve a hypothetical learning trajectory of mathematical thinking of 5th grade students. In this study, we examined overall engagement and three sub-domains of engagement as outcome variables after ten sessions of treatment with fifth grade students. The results showed that both male and female the video game group had slight increases in all engagement levels while students, particularly male, in the paper-and-pencil drill group displayed large decreases in all engagement levels. Implications of the study are 1) more fine-grained evidence of engagement in three sub-domains after implementing an educational video game, and 2) a consideration of gender differences in engagement levels in mathematics in the adoption of a video games.

To promote the academic success of middle school students, the authors examined the effects of computer uses on mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance of students, paying focused attention to immigrant students. They analysed the effects of computer use for schoolwork and gaming of middle school students applying a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) USA. The results showed that when students frequently used computer for schoolwork, they revealed high mathematics self-efficacy, which in turn led to high mathematics performance. On the other hand, the students that used computer for gaming frequently indicated low mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance. The authors' study results highlight the importance of guiding students to use computers properly, which is directly and indirectly associated with students' self-efficacy and performance in mathematics.

This case study uses the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to describe how teachers from two contiguous school districts in southwest Virginia implemented The CandyFactory, an iPad-specific learning game that focuses on pre-algebraic concepts, particularly fraction knowledge. As a result of this implementation, significant changes in practice and instruction took place for these teachers and their students. The goal of this paper is to exemplify the most salient changes that took place, using the TPACK framework and seven knowledge areas. Through a series of focus group interviews with nine teachers and an interview with a program administrator from three middle schools in two districts, findings of this study illustrate how the main and interconnected types of knowledge of the TPACK framework could be used to evaluate the affordances and constraints of a learning game implementation and how it affected the content and pedagogical styles of teachers in the classroom. Using an interpretative research methodology, complemented by quantitative pre-/post-assessments of fraction achievement, data from these interviews were collected and analyzed, using a coding system to identify patterns and themes regarding best practices for instructional alignment as well as shifts in instruction, assessment, and pedagogical styles. As part of the special issue, the case study includes a series of recommendations and implications that could be relevant to similar school districts, including those in the Asia Pacific region, that are considering the adoption of game-based learning and implementing these types of mathematical learning games in classrooms to enhance engagement and performance.

This study examined the effects of a learning game, [The Math App] on the mathematics proficiency of middle school students. For the study, researchers recruited 306 students, Grades 6–8, from two schools in rural southwest Virginia. Over a nine-week period, [The Math App] was deployed as an intervention for investigation. Students were assigned to game intervention treatment, and paper-and-pencil control conditions. For the game intervention condition, students learned fractions concepts by playing [The Math App]. In the analysis, students’ mathematical proficiency levels prior to the intervention were taken into account. Results indicate that students in the game intervention group showed higher mathematics proficiency than those in the paper-and-pencil group. Particularly, the significantly higher performances of intervention groups were noted among 7th graders and inclusion groups. The empirically derived results of the reported study could contribute to the field of educational video game research, w...

Background Baby boomers’ position in the caregiving context is shifting from caregiver to care recipient as the population ages. While the unique characteristics of baby boomer caregivers are well established in caregiving literature, there is limited information about the next caregiving group after the baby boomers. In this study, the sociodemographic and caregiving-related characteristics of the two generations are compared and specific factors contributing to caregiver burden between baby boomer and post baby boomer caregivers are identified. Methods This cross-sectional and correlational study used secondary analysis of data from the National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons. A structured online survey was conducted in 2014 with randomly selected samples (n = 1069) in the United States focusing on sociodemographics, caregiving-related characteristics, and burden of care. Descriptive statistics, multivariate linear regression analyses, and Steiger’s Z-test were used to identify group differences in multivariate factors related to caregiver burden in two generational groups. Results Baby boomers and post baby boomers experienced caregiver burden to a similar degree. Caregiving-related factors are more likely to increase burden of care than sociodemographics in both groups. Caregiving without choice and spending longer hours on caregiving tasks were common factors that increased the burden in both generational groups (all p values

"Serious digital games" for education are presumed to be engaging, but little is known about whether engagement is ubiquitous, whether it persists over time, whether it is found for all students across the full range of prior gaming experience, and whether it is actually associated with game-based learning outcomes. To address these gaps, student behavioral engagement (i.e., sustained attention, persistence was examined during mathematics instruction using a mathematics serious digital game for the iPad?, in a study of 97 11-14 year olds (i.e., 6-8th grade students in the United States system). Consistent with the study hypotheses, observations revealed that most students were highly engaged, but engagement was lower for students who were observed later in the semester and who had the most prior gaming experience. In addition, observed engagement was associated with better performance on an assessment of the skills being taught in the game. In contrast, none of these effects was evident for self-reported student engagement. Time course, prior gaming experience, and method of assessing engagement are important modulators of student differential response to game-based instruction and should be considered when evaluating the influence of serious digital games on learning outcomes.

Middle school mathematics education is subject to ongoing reform based on advances in digital instructional technologies, especially learning games, leading to recent calls for investment in personalized learning. Through an extensive literature review, this investigation identified three priority areas that should be taken into account when adopting learning games for the classroom: providing students with personalized feedback, assessing student learning, and promoting deeper learning. Demonstrating how The CandyFactory App can be harnessed to support personalized learning by collecting data from these three priority areas, we intend to make a case for how school decision-makers (supervisors, principals, and teachers) can decide which learning tools to use to best help students have personalized learning experiences. Through a series of three participatory design workshops, partnering teachers ( n = 6) confirmed that these data areas, which help to define personalized learning, are key to implementing successfully learning games in the classroom.

Explore a new app that allows students to develop a more sophisticated understanding of fractions.

Children's and adolescents' cognitive, affective, and behavioral states of engagement enhance or impede enjoyment of, and performance with, educational games. We propose a comprehensive model of engagement states and apply it to research on educational game development and research on the role of various aspects of engagement on game play and learning. Emphasis is placed on individual differences in attention, memory, motor speed and control, persistence, and positive and negative affect (approach/avoidance), and how these pertain to social cognitions regarding mathematics achievement. Our challenge is to develop educational games that are effective for a wide variety of student engagement states. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recent research suggests that video games and social media may influence youths’ lives in ways that deserve attention from psychologists, mathematics educators, and learning scientists. For example, positive effects on engagement, which can increase probability of mathematics proficiency, have been reported in the literature. We examine this issue with emphasis on the effects of video game play on youth learning and engagement; what features, attributes, and mechanisms of video games have been identified as most salient for these factors; and how scholarship in the domain might design more rigorous studies to determine the effects of video game play on learning, achievement, and engagement. We include a description of our work developing educational games for middle school youth struggling to become algebra-ready.

This longitudinal study examined the effect of all-day kindergarten programs on the academic achievement of students from racial language minority and low socioeconomic class. The study employed a series of 3-level longitudinal multilevel analyses using a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS). The study showed that Hispanic dual-language-speaking students who attended all-day kindergarten narrowed the achievement gap from Hispanic English-only students during kindergarten. The results also showed that Black and Asian dual-language-speaking students, when they attended all-day kindergarten, displayed a significant gain in the growth of performances. The positive effects of all-day kindergarten were pronounced for Black and Asian language-minority students who were from low social classes. These results have implications for policy decisions and support the need for all-day programs for language-minority students.

This study examined the individual, class, and school level variability of the students’ science achievement. It was hypothesized that there are school or teacher effects which contribute toward explaining achievement differences, besides the student level differences. Owing to the nested structure of the data in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, we used the Hierarchical Linear Modeling methodology. Besides the significant effect of engagement, the teachers’ teaching certification in science and the topic coverage were both significant factors as were the effect of school SES and availability of remedial and enrichment programs in science. The study makes a contribution to a better understanding of the opportunity to learn variables at classroom and school level in students’ science achievement.

kim h., chang m., rose k. & kim s. (2011) Predictors of caregiver burden in caregivers of individuals with dementia. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(4), 846–855. Abstract Aims. This article is a report on a study of the multidimensional predictors of caregiver burden in caregivers of individuals with dementia using nationally representative data. Background. Caregiver burden affects the health of both caregivers and their care-recipients. Although previous studies identified various predictors of caregiver burden, these predictors have not been confirmed in nationally representative population. Methods. Data for this secondary analysis was provided by the National Alliance for Caregiving, American Association of Retired Persons. The data were collected through a telephone survey of randomly selected adults in seven states in 2003 (weight adjusted n = 302). Descriptive statistics, inter-correlation analysis and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis were performed. Results/findings. Disease-related factors were the most significant predictors, explaining 16% of caregiver burden; these were followed by caregiver socio-demographical factors and caregiving-related factors (F = 21·28, P

Transformative graduate education programs (TGP) are programs that are national in scope and are intended to impact the reformation of graduate education in the United States. We employ data from national sources and shift the unit of analysis from the individual doctoral student to the doctoral institution as whole in order to begin to assess the impact of TGPs on the number of doctoral degrees awarded, a critical outcome for such programs, and an educational priority in many countries. In addition, we examine the critical issue of whether TGPs enhance Ph.D. degree conferral for women and minorities, and if they do so at STEM-oriented institutions, typically the least hospitable of all environments for these groups.

To address the early performance gap between native-born and immigrant children and to seek ways to reduce the disparity, the study explored the effect of teacher qualification on early math skills of preschoolers, with focused attention to immigrant children. Particularly, the study examined the effects of teacher educational levels, certification, and professional training, by employing Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis to a US nationally representative database from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences (FACES). The study found a significantly positive effect of teacher qualification for immigrant preschoolers in Head Start, who displayed lower early math skills than their native-born counterparts. Among immigrant preschoolers, those who were with teachers of lower educational levels showed significantly lower early math skills compared with their immigrant peers with teachers of higher educational levels. The study also supported teacher certification and professional training as potential mediators in promoting early math competency of immigrant students, especially with teachers of lower educational levels.

This study examined the effect of administrative support on teachers’ job satisfaction and intent to stay in teaching. The study employed a path analysis to the data of regular, full-time, public school teachers from the Schools and Staffing Survey teacher questionnaire. Administrative support was the most significant predictor of teachers’ job satisfaction, while teachers’ job satisfaction was the most significant predictor of teachers’ intent to stay in teaching. It was also confirmed that administrative support mediates the effect of teaching experience, student behavior, and teachers’ satisfaction with their salary on teachers’ job satisfaction and intent to stay in teaching.

This study examined the relationship of self-concept, school belonging, school engagement to school performance of Caucasian- and African-American students. The main purpose is to assess the ethnicity-based differences in these psycho-social constructs and to explore their differential relationship to school achievement in high-school students from different ethnic background. The data were collected through a survey questionnaire in three school divisions in the Southwest region of Virginia of the United States. The results showed significant ethnicity-based difference in self-concept and in school engagement, but no significant difference in school belonging. The achievement differences were also significant, Caucasian students being higher on self-reported grades. In the regression model, self-concept was not a significant predictor of school outcomes, while school belonging had a significant relationship to school achievement for African-American students. Both self-concept and school engagement were significant for Caucasian students. The findings of the study provide better understanding of the relationship of these variables to school achievement and point to some policy-relevant implications.

The study explored the effects of computer use on the mathematical performance of students with special attention to ELL students. To achieve a high generalizability of findings, the study used a U.S. nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and adopted proper weights. The study conducted both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses to examine the direct and longitudinal effects of three types of computer use: home computer access, computer use for various purposes, and computer use for math. The study found positive effects of home computer access and computer use for various purposes for English-speaking groups. It is important to note that computer use for math was associated with a reduced gap in math achievement between native English-speaking and ELL students. In particular, when Hispanic and Asian students frequently used computers for math, they showed high math performances when compared with their English-speaking counterparts.

This study examined the effects of computer access and computer use on the science achievement of elementary school students, with focused attention on the effects for racial and linguistic minority students. The study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) database and conducted statistical analyses with proper weights and design-effect adjustments. After controlling for age, gender, prior science performance, and family socioeconomic level, the effects of computer access and computer use on English Language Learners (ELL) and on English-speaking students were examined and compared by subdividing the participants into four racial groups: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian. The results revealed that access to home computers and purposeful computer use had positive effects on the science performance of English-speaking students. In contrast, mere frequent computer use by English-speaking students yielded negative effects. Home computer access for ELL students indicated negative effects, especially for Hispanic ELL students. Frequent computer use also indicated negative effects for African-American and Hispanic English-speaking students, and for Asian ELL students. These results enhance our understanding of computer use in regard to science learning, and provide implications for future practice.

The study examined the longitudinal association of parental involvement in Head Start parent-focused programs, parenting behaviors, and the cognitive development of children by specifying two longitudinal growth models. Model 1 examined the longitudinal effects of the parental involvement in three Head Start parenting programs (parenting classes, group socialization, and support groups) on parenting behaviors (home observation of parental linguistic and cognitive stimulation, video recordings of parental cognitive stimulation, parental sup-portiveness, detachment, and intrusiveness). Model 2 analyzed the longitudinal effects of those parental behaviors on children's Bayley MDI scores. Using Early Head Start Research and Evaluation (EHSRE) study data and longitudinal multilevel analysis, the study also took various ethnic and language differences among families into account. The results revealed that mothers who participated in parenting classes or socialization meetings provided more linguistic a...

The study examines the effects of classroom achievement grouping (AG) practices on the early mathematics performance of language-minority students and compares their mathematics achievement to that of English-speaking majority students. Using a nationally representative database of the USA, both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were done. In the cross-sectional analyses we explored the direct effect of grouping practice on students performance, while in the longitudinal analysis we looked at the growth trajectory in mathematics learning. The results of cross-sectional analyses indicated that the effect of AG was negative on the math achievement in 1st and 5th graders. The longitudinal analysis showed a significant negative effect of AG for English Language Learners (ELL). The paper provides the basis for practical guidelines for the grouping practices in mathematics.

The increased public awareness of the significance and necessity of biotechnology has encouraged educators to implement biotechnology instruction in various educational settings. One example is the great effort made by educational researchers and practitioners internationally to integrate biotechnology in technology education. Despite the gains in the popularity of biotechnology in education, the actual implementation of biotechnology instruction is not prevalent. Previous studies suggest that technology teachers’ beliefs are a significant predictor of the implementation of biotechnology instruction for technology education. Thus, there is a need for further studies on this topic, however, this study investigates Korean technology teachers’ beliefs related to the implementation of biotechnology instruction. It also includes several issues that are implied by the findings. A piloted self-reported online survey developed by the authors was administered to 114 Korean middle school technology teachers. This survey collected demographic information and measured these teachers’ intent to implement biotechnology instruction into their classes (intent). The teachers’ beliefs were measured in three domains: value (technology teachers’ perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as valuable); expectancy (technology teachers’ perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as expectancy); and innovation (technology teachers’ perceived beliefs about biotechnology teaching as a need regarding innovation). Results indicate that Korean technology teachers’ beliefs measured by value, expectancy, and innovation were significantly associated with teacher intent to teach biotechnology content in their classes. This study recommends that biotechnology content should be delivered systematically to technology teachers through professional development (i.e., in-service and pre-service training).

Introduction ALTHOUGH KINDERGARTENS in the United States have a history of more than 150 years, defining the most beneficial kindergarten program is an issue still to be settled. In early traditional kindergarten, the most beneficial program was identified as one that allowed a child to make a smooth transition from home to school. All that children needed to do in traditional kindergarten was to play and adjust themselves to a social setting (Nelson, 2000). These days, kindergartens in the United States emphasise academic achievement and school readiness, which had been the goal of the first grade curriculum in the past. American kindergarten children are expected to pay attention to highly structured and segmented academic instruction such as reading, writing, mathematics and science lessons (Clark, 2001). While there are debates among policy-makers and scholars over the benefits of full-day versus half-day kindergarten programs and the developmental goals of these programs, the large numbers of American kindergartens try to comply with the learning standards set by the state governments. Those guidelines delineate the general expectations for what young children should know and be able to do before they enter first grade (Cryan, Sheehan, Wiechel & Bandy Hedden, 1992; Elicker & Mathur, 1997). Moreover, the issue of high accountability of schools and the growing demands of a push for an 'early start' add to the importance of kindergarten children's academic performance (Vecchiotti, 2003). Along with the curricula of kindergarten programs, the length of kindergarten has also been an important policy issue in the United States. The number of all-day kindergartens in the US has substantially increased: a typical all-day kindergarten program runs five-six hours per day and five days per week, while a half-day runs two-three hours per day and three-five days per week. In 1999, 56 per cent of all kindergartens programs were all-day programs. Many kindergartens have switched from half-day to all-day programs in recent years, and many more are likely to do so (Elkind, 2001; Fusaro, 1997; Weast, 2001). The changing educational demands on young students explains the rapid growth of all-day kindergartens. Social reasons, such as a growing need for child care, have also provided an impetus for the growth of all-day kindergartens. Many more mothers are in the labour force, and all-day kindergarten is a safe and preferred alternative to other forms of child care (Boardman & Kelly, 2004). Educational policy-makers have also argued in favour of all-day kindergarten for low-income minority children (Magnusona, Ruhmb & Waldfogelc, 2007; Zvoch, Reynolds & Parker, 2008). There are many important policy issues embedded in the debate over the pros and cons of the all-day program. The shift from a half-day to a full-day kindergarten program can be extremery expensive. The change to an all-day program requires a substantial increase in the kindergarten budget for teachers' salaries and additional classrooms and other resources. Not only are the all-day programs more expensive, they also require more human resources, and make increased educational demands on young children. So it is important to critically examine the benefits of all-day versus half-day programs, and to gather data-based evidence on the effects, both short-term and long-term, of all-day programs on children's academic achievement. Although there is growing literature on the effects of all-day kindergarten and children's cognitive development, much of that work consists of policy briefs and concept papers. Proponents of all-day kindergarten claim, however, that those programs are beneficial and worth funding (Vecchiotti, 2003; Weast, 2001). Some studies have supported the benefits of all-day kindergarten for special groups of children and their families. For example, research shows that single-parent and dual-employment families prefer the convenience of all-day kindergartens (Clark & Kirk, 2000; Elkind, 2001), and the academic achievement of children who are at risk is higher for those in all-day kindergarten than for those in half-day kindergarten (Elicker & Mathur, 1997; Fusaro, 1997). …

The author examined the long-term effects of teacher instructional grouping practices on the early mathematical achievement of language minority students from various ethnic groups. The study used 3 longitudinal models. In the 1st model, English language learners (ELLs) displayed lower math performance than did English-only students in the Hispanic and Asian groups. The 2nd model confirmed the significance of social class across all groups. The 3rd model focused on 4 grouping practices: (a) teacher-directed wholeclass activity, (b) teacher-directed small-group activity, (c) teacher-directed individual activity, and (d) student-selected activity. Significant findings include that (a) Hispanic ELL students displayed low math performance in teacher-directed whole-class activities, (b) Asian ELL students showed low math performance in teacher-directed small-group activities, and (c) Hispanic dual-language students benefited from teacher-directed individual activities.

This paper examines the long-term effect of enrollment in center- or school-based care programs on the academic performance of language minority students in the USA. The study applies a longitudinal multilevel analysis to a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). Of particular interest are the differential effects of the programs on the reading performance of language minority students compared with that of native English-speaking students. Language minority students are further divided into 2 groups according to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) status at kindergarten. Results indicate that kindergarten LEP students who regularly attended center-based programs from preschool through the 5th grade demonstrated a significantly higher reading score than those who did not. The study suggests an important potential benefit of arrangement of afterschool care programs for language minority students in the USA and other countries.