Although scholarship documenting the effects of racism on educational outcomes is extensive, less empirical research has been done on interventions designed to mitigate racism and racial bias in schools. Based on case studies of two elementary schools, we have found that educators participating in a yearlong racial justice program demonstrated a deeper understanding of their own racial biases, developed a shared language to identify and name different forms of racism, and reported greater confidence to disrupt racist incidents in their schools. In one site, however, inconsistent leadership and resistance from a vocal White minority limited the program’s potential to change schoolwide practice. In the other site, educators reported changes in curricular materials and changes to disciplinary decisions, but widespread organizational change will likely take longer than a single school year. Drawing on these findings, we discuss implications for anti-racist interventions in other educational contexts as well as recommendations for studying their efficacy.
Widespread efforts to curb exclusionary and discriminatory discipline in schools have led to a growing focus on restorative approaches, a set of practices aimed at building strong in-school relationships and attachments, rather than pushing students out. This brief reviews research illustrating the benefits of these practices for student behavior, achievement, and attainment, and it elevates key lessons about what is needed to successfully implement restorative practices in schools.
The Maker Partnership Program (MPP) is an NSF-supported project that addresses the critical need for models of professional development (PD) and support that help elementary-level science teachers integrate computer science and computational thinking (CS and CT 1) into their classroom practices. The MPP aims to foster integration of these disciplines through maker pedagogy and curriculum. The MPP was designed as a research-practice partnership that allows researchers and practitioners to collaborate and iteratively design, implement and test the PD and curriculum. This paper describes the key elements of the MPP and early findings from surveys of teachers and students participating in the program. Our research focuses on learning how to develop teachers' capacity to integrate CS and CT into elementary-level science instruction; understanding whether and how this integrated instruction promotes deeper student learning of science, CS and CT, as well as interest and engagement in these subjects; and exploring how the model may need to be adapted to fit local contexts. Participating teachers reported gaining knowledge and confidence for implementing the maker curriculum through the PDs. They anticipated that the greatest implementation challenges would be lack of preparation time, inaccessible computer hardware, lack of administrative support, and a lack of CS knowledge. Student survey results show that most participants were interested in CS and science at the beginning of the program. Student responses to questions about their disposition toward collaboration and persistence suggest some room for growth. Student responses to questions about who does CS are consistent with prevalent gender
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