Service learning for K-12 students is an educational strategy that involves a deliberate and explicit connection between community service and academic instruction. The aim is to link instruction to practical issues by including service activities and time for reflection. A recent Campbell Systematic review looked at the effect of service learning interventions on student outcomes in K-12. The review included experimental studies, and outcomes of interest were academic success and personal/social skills. Results showed that the average effect size for service learning was +0.09 on student grade point average, with a higher effect in math (+0.21) than in English (+0.04). Other outcomes showed small positive results: reducing absenteeism in terms of days (+0.03), improving self-esteem (+0.13) and locus of control (+0.07). The results do not suggest a definitive positive impact of service learning on student outcomes. The authors conclude that there is the need for further experimental studies on the...

Instructors of an undergraduate course teaching instructional methods to future secondary science teachers conducted a qualitative study analyzing the experience of suddenly switching teaching rehearsals to an online format. Half of the fifteen preservice teachers in the course were able to practice being teachers in in-person rehearsals with peers before the course switched to a virtual format in March 2020. The other half were only able to practice in rehearsals online. Little consensus exists on how best to teach pedagogical methods for rigorous and equitable teaching. Macroteaching is a format that entails 11-12 hours of practice teaching to peers as if teaching a full unit to a class of secondary students. These extended opportunities for rehearsal, feedback, and collaborative reflection are intended to build preservice teachers’ pedagogical skills and instructional vision, making it more likely that new teachers will attempt techniques for rigorous and responsive teaching in the first few...

In a recent study published in School Psychology International, Lei and colleagues conducted a three-level meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between teacher-student relationships (TSR) and student academic achievement (SAA) in China. The authors believed the positive link between TSR and student academic achievement is higher in hierarchical, collective China than egalitarian, individualistic western society as teachers have greater authority in China than in Western societies, and teachers are often the centre of TSR. With the greater respect of authority among Chinese students, the link between TSR-SAA could be higher compared to Western countries. The study included 74 studies (90 effect sizes) that examined the TSR-SAA correlation in the Chinese context published between 2002 and 2020 which involved both primary school and secondary school students. The results found Overall, significant positive correlation between teacher-student relation and student academic achievement (r = 0.26) was found among Chinese studies, which is larger than...

“Evidence-based,” a currently popular concept, assumes that identifying the high-quality interventions with valid positive results will enhance educational outcomes on a widespread scale. Clearinghouses (CHs) push this process forward by setting their chosen scientific criteria, evaluating studies of the required quality, synthesizing the study results, and proposing recommendations. To probe into the consistency of the meanings of “evidence-based” in different CHs, Cook and colleagues recently examined 12 educational clearinghouses to (1) compare their effectiveness criteria, (2) estimate how consistently they evaluate the same program, and (3) analyze why their evaluations differ. How variable are CHs in their effectiveness criteria? All the CHs value randomized control trials (RCT) as the preferred experimental design, but they vary in how they test whether an RCT is well-implemented enough to deserve the highest study-quality ranking. Quasi-experimental designs were treated more variably than RCTs based on separate standards for different categories. Additionally, different CHs place...

Differences in achievement levels among subgroups of students are referred to as “excellence gaps,” which primarily concern the highest-performing students. While certain students may struggle to attain the minimum expected levels of academic achievement, there are others who are already performing at levels beyond their current grade before the beginning of the school year. Excellence gaps are connected to equitable school systems. Often students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds have less access to advanced learning opportunities than their peers. A recent systematic review included qualitative and quantitative studies to determine what kind of research has been conducted on strategies to reduce excellence gaps in K-12. The review included 80 studies categorized by strategy, such as school accountability system support, teacher professional learning, and universal screening with local norms. The review highlighted the role of each strategy in reducing excellence gaps. Overall, results suggested considering four key points: Prepare, Place, Evaluate, and...

In China, over millions left-behind children who remain in their hometown while their parents have migrated from rural to cities for work. Due to household registration system (hukou), children of rural area are not entitled the basic welfare and public services in urban cities, including enrolment in public funded preschools. Research has found that simulating home learning environment and access to high quality preschool are more likely to enhance developmental advantages. A recent study by Gong and Rao investigated impact of internal migration on early learning opportunities of preschool children and they classified children into five categories: Rural children from non-migrant family with both parents (non left-behind rural children) Rural children left-behind with one parent Rural children left-behind without parent and looked after by relatives Rural children who had migrated along with parents to urban areas (migrant children) Urban native children (urban children) The authors performed selective pairwise comparison among...

Researchers from Scotland have added to the body of existing research on the negative effects of student absenteeism by exploring whether the reasons for absences have differing impacts on achievement. The study used linear regression to analyze longitudinal data from a representative sample of 4,419 students. Schools in Scotland are required to note the reason for student absences. Researchers compared this data with results from two high-stakes tests that students take in secondary school. Their study found: Overall absences, as well as absences due to vacations, were associated with a 0.03 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .01). Truancy- or sickness-related absences were associated with a 0.04 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .001). Family emergency-related absences were associated with a 0.02 standard deviation decrease in achievement (SE= 0.00, p< .01). Although this may not sound like a big effect, this actually represents more than a...

Literacy is foundational to academic success and social participation of students. However, many studies have indicated that teenage boys have poorer literacy grades than teenage girls. A recent study by Borgonovi compared two low-stakes international large-scale assessments to identify if similar gender gaps existed between them and what factors were related to these gaps. The study compared a widely-used low-stakes school-based assessment, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), with another low-stakes household-based assessment, Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). In the two assessments, individual-level data from 15- to 17-year-old teens in the countries that administered both assessments were examined to investigate and compare the literacy gender gap. The study found that the two assessments showed different estimates of literacy gender gaps. In PISA, boys significantly underperformed compared with girls, but in PIAAC, no gender gap was identified. The differences in the gaps were associated with differences in...

The implementation of large-scale literacy initiatives by states and school districts to improve the effectiveness of teaching literacy is a complex process involving actors like administrators, teachers, and literacy coaches. So, how can teachers be certain that they are providing effective support? The Self-Study Guide for Evidence-Based Coaching for Literacy: PreK–Grade 12, published by the Institute of Education Sciences, and developed by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast in partnership with the Improving Literacy Research Alliance, intends to (a) increase the knowledge, skills, and ability of teachers to implement evidence-based practices, (b) help literacy coaches to document and refine their instructional practices, and (c)  help schools, districts, or states to monitor and assess the effectiveness of literacy coaching. To do so, the self-study guide includes four main components: The Planning and Implementation Scoring Guide, which contains four areas–evidence-based practices of literacy coaches, principal-coach partnership agreements, hiring and training practices, and...