This First Look report introduces new data for national and state-level public elementary and secondary revenues and expenditures for fiscal year (FY) 2016. Specifically, this report includes the following school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals; (2) revenues by source; (3) expenditures by function and object; (4) current…

This study examined the characteristics of teacher incentive pay programs in the United States. Using the 2007-08 SASS data set, it found an inverse relationship between union influence and districts' incentive pay offerings. Large and ethnically diverse districts in urban areas that did not meet the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress as…

Online purposive samples have unknown biases and may not strictly be used to make inferences about wider populations, yet such inferences continue to occur. We compared the demographic and drug use characteristics of Australian ecstasy users from a probability (National Drug Strategy Household Survey, n = 726) and purposive sample (online survey…

The purpose of the study is to investigate the cognitive developmental levels of five- to six-year-old preschool children with regard to their peer relationships. The relational survey method was used in the study. One hundred and fifty one children aged five- to six-years-old participated in the study. The Child Behaviour Scale, Peer…

This study explored the connections between teacher leadership and a professional development model focused on problem-solving, Math Teachers' Circles (MTC). Surveys were completed by 213 MTC participants resulting in three years of data across multiple sites. A mathematics education leadership framework provided a data analysis tool. Findings…

This article provides family scientists with an understanding of contemporary measurement perspectives and the ways in which item response theory (IRT) can be used to develop measures with desired evidence of precision and validity for research uses. The article offers a nontechnical introduction to some key features of IRT, including its…

With the increasing number of teaching and classroom assistants across the UK there is now much debate about what their role should be. In particular concerns have arisen about the extent to which they overstep the boundary from supporting teaching and learning into teaching pupils. This study assesses this issue within Scotland. It draws on a…

There is a continuing national debate over the efficacy of state-level exams and whether assessments in civics enhances democratic education. This paper uses a large 2012 national survey of 18-24-year-olds to examine the potential effect of civics assessments on civic outcomes. In doing so, it attempts to answer three questions: (1) Do civics…

This report examines the relationship between students' participation in high-impact practices (HIP) and their perceived learning gains, with special attention paid to the nature of these relationships among Black and Hispanic students and among students 25 years or older. In 2018, with support from Lumina Foundation, the National Association of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the mobility (movement to a new school) and attrition (quitting teaching) patterns of teachers in high poverty, racially segregated (HPRS) schools in the US. Using 2007-9 survey data from the National Center for Education Statistics, a multi-level multinomial logistic regression was performed to examine the…

Positive experiences of teamwork in design contexts significantly improve students' satisfaction with teaching and their attitudes towards future teamwork. Thus, an understanding of the factors leading to negative and positive team experiences can inform strategies to support effective teamwork. This paper examines design students' perceptions and…

Past research shows a statistically significant relationship between college completion and sociopolitical attitudes. However, recent scholarship suggests the effects of college on social outcomes may be confounded with unobserved family background. In this study, we leverage the shared family and social background of siblings to better identify…

This study examines changes in religious service attendance over time for a contemporary cohort of adolescents moving from middle to late adolescence. We use two waves of a nationally representative panel survey of youth from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) to examine the dynamics of religious involvement during adolescence. We…

This article draws extensively on data from the National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families, conducted by Boston College researchers in 2014. The report will be released in 2016 under the title "Catholic Schools in an Increasingly Hispanic Church" (Ospino & Weitzel-O'Neill, 2016). The report seeks to encourage…

The present study examines the relationship between neighborhood quality and parental monitoring of youth aged 10 to 18 (N = 1,630) from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Multiple measures of the neighborhood, including parents' perceptions of quality, structure (i.e., poverty and affluence), and social…