Attracting and retaining teachers can be an important ingredient in improving low-performing schools. In this study, we estimate the expressed preferences for teachers who have worked in low-performing schools in Tennessee. Using adaptive conjoint analysis survey design, we examine three types of school attributes that may influence teachers'…

This paper uses data from the Norwegian elementary school to test whether students from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit from smaller classes. The data cover one cohort of fourth graders who have been treated in small versus large classes for a period of three years. The Norwegian class size rule of maximum 28 students is used to generate…

Significant life experience research suggests that the presence of role models, time outdoors, and nature-related media foster pro-environmental behavior, but most research is qualitative. Based on a random sample of middle school students in North Carolina, USA, we found limited positive associations between presence of a role model and time…

Set in the context of a choice-saturated public school system, this study examines the school choice process of low-income parents who participated in Louisiana's 2008 voucher program. Based on semistructured interviews with 16 parents at 1 Catholic school, we report that spirituality, small class and school size, character/values, familiarity,…

A number of studies have highlighted that anxiety, confidence and enjoyment are influential factors on students' participation in mathematics, and in particular girls' participation. This paper, based upon data collected as part of a PhD thesis, examines the effect of these influences on pupil choices within different types of secondary schools in…

Although the number of urban Catholic schools has declined in recent years, Nativity model middle schools, first developed by the Jesuits over 35 years ago, have appeared throughout the nation to address the need for effective alternative education for urban children placed at risk. The present study compares the effectiveness of two types of…

Large high schools offer more specialized curricula, but are problematic. Experts think smaller schools raise minority/low-income student achievement, reduce violent and disruptive incidents, combat anonymity, increase attendance and graduation rates, and operate most cost-effectively. Recent studies corroborate these findings and small classes'…

The Roeper School is a pre-kindergarten through grade 12, co-educational day school for gifted children that was founded in 1941. Admission criteria include parent and student interviews, student observation, and individual testing by a psychologist. The current emphasis on accountability and outcome measurements may be more about what governments…

The headline was dramatic enough to cause a ripple in the reading public. "Students who use computers a lot at school have worse maths and reading performance," noted the BBC news article, citing a 2004 study by Ludger Woessmann and Thomas Fuchs (Fuchs and Woessman, 2004). It was not long before the blogosphere took notice. Taking the…