In their book “Making Good How Young People Cope with Moral Dilemmas at Work,” Howard Gardner and a team of researchers at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education tested the ethics of young workers. The workers they tested included journalists, geneticists and actors.

Researchers found that ethical workers felt attached to their broader community, had good role models and viewed their professional ethical decisions as reflections on themselves.  See “How do your work ethics measure up?” http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0303/p16s01-wmgn.htm by Todd R. Nelson,  Christian Science Monitor Electronic Edition, Mar 03, 2004. (SEH)
 

~~~~>Blackboard for Students of George Meany Center for Labor Studies

This support site is for the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, the National Labor College (GMC-NLC) Blackboard.  The site contains frequently asked questions about the basic features of Blackboard.  Check the categories on the left to see if your problem is there.  For the most complete instructions on Blackboard refer to the manuals in the Support/Manuals section of this site. http://www.georgemeany.org/bbsupport/.
 

~~~~>Principal Indicators of Student Academic Histories in Postsecondary Education 1972-2000 

Principal Indicators is a descriptive account of the major features of the postsecondary academic experience and attainment of traditional-age students during the period 1972-2000, with an emphasis on the period 1992-2000. To provide this account, the report draws on three grade-cohort longitudinal studies that were designed and carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics, and within those studies, high school and (principally) college transcript records:http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/prinindicat/index.html.
 

~~~~>What Works Clearinghouse

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has been established by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide educators, policymakers, and the public with a central, independent, and trusted source of scientific evidence of what works in education. It is administered by the Department through a contract to a joint venture of the American Institutes for Research and the Campbell Collaboration.

Educators, policymakers, and the public need a central, trusted, and independent source of evidence about what really works in education. To meet this need, the WWC develops standards for reviewing and synthesizing educational research, selects topic areas for review, and conducts systematic reviews of existing research. The WWC will provide its findings in accessible, user-friendly, searchable on-line databases that will include the following:

• reviews of potentially replicable interventions (i.e., programs, products, and practices) that are intended to enhance student outcomes;
• information about the evaluation studies on which intervention reviews have been based;
• scientifically rigorous reviews of test instruments used to assess educational effectiveness; and
• a registry of evaluators (individuals and organizations) willing to conduct quality evaluations of education interventions.

The WWC develops standards for scientific evidence on educational effectiveness and conducts and publishes systematic reviews of existing research. To ensure independence and high quality, the work of the Clearinghouse is advised by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) which is composed of the nation's leading experts in research design, program evaluation, and research synthesis. The TAG advises on the standards for the research syntheses, monitors and informs the methodological aspects of the research, and reviews the evidence reports.

The WWC seeks broad participation from all those interested in improving the nature and the role of evidence in education, and is committed to ensuring that its products and services meet user needs. The WWC collaborates with a large network of producers and consumers of research evidence to ensure broad input into WWC plans and activities.

For more information on the What Works Clearinghouse: www.w-w-c.org

Articles of Interest

~~~~>The New York Teacher

March 28, 2001

(Although this article is dated, not much has changed. This is good information to know and pass along.)

The stereotypes about unions are all too familiar. Anyone who works in public schools has heard an oft-repeated litany that blame unions for public education's woes.

New research published in the Harvard Educational Review blows those stereotypes out of the water and backs up what teachers have known all along: there's a strong positive link between teacher unions and higher academic achievement among students.

A team of researchers from Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of South Carolina in Columbia examined rates of teacher unionization in each state and compared them with interstate variation in SAT and ACT scores. The researchers, led by sociologist Brian Powell of Indiana University, found that the presence of teacher unions appears to be linked to stronger state performance on these two standardized tests.

The study, "Do Teacher Unions Hinder Educational Performance? Lessons Learned from State SAT and ACT Scores," was published in the Harvard Educational Review Winter 2000 issue. It found that, on average, a state in which all teachers are covered by collective bargaining has an average SAT score that is 51.6 points higher than its unorganized counterpart. States with higher rates of unionization also appear to have higher ACT scores.

The researchers, Powell and Robert Carini of Indiana, and Lala Carr Steelman of South Carolina, were actually quite surprised by their findings. "When we began this project, we thought that our results would discount both anti- and pro-teacher union positions," said Powell. "That is, we anticipated that there would be at best a minimal link between teacher unionizations and state scores."

Carini added, "The robustness of the positive impact of teacher unions, across a variety of student outcomes, using different measures of unionization, was quite startling."

In the study, the researchers wrote, "That we found such a strongly consistent positive relationship across so many permutations of analysis should give pause to those who characterize teacher unions as adversaries to educational success and accountability."

Tom Hobart, president of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), isn't at all surprised by the study's findings.

The study "confirms what all of us who believe so strongly in the teacher union movement inherently know: the presence of teachers' unions in schools plays a positive role in improving student achievement," Hobart said.

"From now on," he added, "it's going to be harder for our opponents to demonize teachers’ unions and accuse us of being an obstacle to real education reform."

Hobart said the study reinforces earlier research, such as a 1988 Rand study that found a strong contract is the best route to greater teacher professionalism. The Rand study found that, contrary to the myth that unions are a roadblock to change, strong unions can more easily win support for new policy directions and education reform.

The newest research did not explore the reasons why unions correlate so positively with student achievement, but Powell offered a theory: "Teachers’ unions are going to push for things like preparation time, a reasonable teaching load, and smaller classes - which benefit students, not just teachers."

Teacher leaders agreed. NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin noted that the statewide union's strength in numbers makes it a successful advocate for kids. "NYSUT lobbies on behalf of our students every day at the state Capitol," said Lubin, ticking off a list of achievements over the years, including extra funding for remedial help, smaller class-size initiatives, and funds for computers and technology. NYSUT's membership now tops 450,000 statewide.

NYSUT and its national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, are outspoken advocates for high academic standards. NYSUT First Vice President Antonia Cortese, who oversees the union's Division of Research and Educational Services, admits that it's tiresome to see unions portrayed in the media as "naysayers" when "in fact we have led the way in encouraging our students to reach for the stars."

NYSUT's support for high standards in the teaching profession has been evidenced by an exponential growth in its educational offerings, which include graduate courses through its Effective Teaching Program; inservice conferences; and regional workshops and seminars. The union regularly publishes information helpful for parents and teachers on helping students succeed.

Helping Our Students

Just as NYSUT advocates for students at the state level, so too do local affiliates make a difference for their students in a myriad of ways.

"Teachers unions are the ones who have fought for better education for years," said Steve Frey, president of the Yonkers Federation of Teachers(YFT).

"We're the ones who push the issues that benefit students either directly or indirectly."

The YFT, one of the first unions involved in NYSUT's Local Action Project (a community outreach initiative), has worked hard over the years to raise the union's profile in the community. In return,the union received strong community support during its successful three-day strike in October 1999, which was primarily about educational, not pocketbook issues.

One of Yonkers' most successful outreach programs has been its annual Story Book Bonanza, said Arline Frey, who heads the local's public relations committee. The union gives away as many as 1,000 free storybooks at a shopping mall. Teachers also dress up as popular storybook characters and pose for free photographs with the children.

The local also publishes two community newsletters with tips for parents, and gives away $9,000 in scholarships every year. All of these activities are "a continual reminder that teachers are here for students," said Arline Frey.

The Utica Teachers Association has also worked hard to promote both the issues of unionism and better education.

Utica Teachers Association President Al Martorella said his local fought early on for the establishment of a districtwide discipline code and the creation of an alternative academic program for troubled students. Both initiatives helped reduce a high dropout rate, improve attendance and get the high school taken off the list of low-performing schools.

"We're organized to bring the best quality of service to the students," Martorella said. "The demands we make are to provide what's necessary for schools and students to perform at high levels. We're the voice for the students."

A Dangerous Idea

The researchers who conducted the study on teachers unions and educational performance said they were motivated in part by the vitriolic nature of public attacks made against teachers unions.

"If you do any work at all in the field of education, it is difficult to miss the anti-union rhetoric over the past decade in the school reform discussion," Carini said.

Powell said that attacking teachers’ unions "serves as political capital" for some individuals and organizations, but it does not further the cause of education reform. "I think it's time for people to stop thinking in such adversarial ways," he said. "This idea that teachers’ unions are opposed to education reform is a really dangerous idea."  http://www.nysut.org/newyorkteacher/2000-2001/010328unions.html

~~~~>Federal Law Is Questioned By Governors

By Alan Richard and Erik W. Robelen
For Education Week
March 3, 2003

Many of the nation's governors gathered here for their winter conference called for changes to the No Child Left Behind Act or its regulations, even as the Bush administration continued to defend its level of cooperation with states under the law.

Fifty state and territorial governors attended the National Governors Association conference, held Feb. 21-24. While the economy, homeland security, and health care dominated much of the meeting, the governors had plenty to say about the federal education law.

The governors met against a backdrop of rising discontent over the law among state legislators of both parties, and complaints from top congressional Democrats over how the administration is implementing it.

The NGA will shape its positions on the federal law based in part on discussions from the conference. "We're going to have to be willing to admit that there may be additional changes needed in the future, and to this point, the [U.S. Education] Department has been willing to make some of those changes," said Dane Linn, the NGA's education director. "If we're not willing to admit that more changes may be needed down the road, we run the risk of not ensuring this legislation will meet its intended goals."

Some governors had hoped to ask President Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige directly for more flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act, and to discuss possible amendments to the law, during a private meeting at the White House. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, had even been tapped to raise the issue.

They never got that far.

A highly publicized comment made by Mr. Paige during the Feb. 23 meeting with the governors, in which he called the National Education Association a "terrorist organization," cut debate short.

"Secretary Paige talked about it, but the discussion suddenly ended after he made his comment," said Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat. "It wasn't really discussed in full."

Mr. Paige later apologized for the remark.

Aides said the governors intended to raise concerns with the president and Mr. Paige about Washington's increased oversight of public education, the level of federal aid, teacher-quality rules, and test-score goals that label many schools as failing.

Awaiting Consensus

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, a Republican, defended the Bush administration's handling of the law. "Are there details that need to be worked out? Yes," he said. "Are we heading in the right direction? Yes."  

Montana Gov. Judy Martz, also a Republican, said her state's small schools will struggle with the law's teacher-quality requirements. "I don't think there's any consensus among the governors to support an amendment" to the law, she added, however. "We can't do an amendment until we know what we agree on."

Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat, said the law would fail if large numbers of schools in his state and others did not meet federal standards simply because some states require greater gains under the law than others do.

The federal law allows states to follow their own standards in determining whether schools are making "adequate yearly progress," the chief accountability measure under the law. But some federal rules exceed what most states have required under their own accountability systems.

"In a sense, it undermines the confidence people have in No Child Left Behind, because the people know these schools are good schools," Gov. Warner said.

Concerns on Capitol Hill

Governors weren't the only ones in Washington talking about the education law last week.

Congressional Democrats who helped craft the No Child Left Behind law— a revised version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first passed in 1965—met with Secretary Paige on Feb. 24 to voice concerns about how the Bush administration has handled key implementation issues.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, suggested recently that he might introduce "corrective legislation" to amend the law if the Bush administration did not go far enough in addressing the Democrats' complaints. Those concerns were outlined in a six- page letter delivered to the secretary Jan. 8, the two-year anniversary of the law.  After the meeting last week, Mr. Kennedy's spokesman, Jim Manley, said the senator was still contemplating a corrective bill, but had not made a final decision.

Pressure appears to be mounting from many quarters for easing some of the law's demands.

"I know members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are hearing an uproar from educators and others when they go back home about No Child Left Behind," said Joel Packer, who is coordinating activities around the federal law for the NEA, which is seeking changes in the legislation.

State lawmakers have expressed their concerns with the federal law in resolutions or bills seeking relief from its mandates.

In a letter he gave to Democrats on the same day they met, Secretary Paige defended the Department of Education's efforts to implement the law, and described as "unfair" some of the assertions made in the Democrats' letter.

"In the three years of this administration, the Department of Education has transformed its relationship with both the states and local school districts," he said. "The level of outreach and cooperation extended to the states on a range of issues has been unprecedented. And, unlike previous years, this administration is actively enforcing the laws that have been passed by Congress and signed by the president."

Mr. Paige pointed to recent policy changes the department has made to give states more flexibility. Late last month, for example, the department relaxed its policies on testing students with limited English proficiency.

The secretary's letter did not discuss many of the detailed concerns outlined by Democrats. While some of those objections touch on issues related to the law's accountability demands, the Democrats appeared to stand by its core accountability requirements.

Nonetheless, Rep. George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, said the meeting with Secretary Paige and the department's response letter "have reinforced my view that the Bush administration continues to drift further and further away from its promise to improve America's schools."

'Common Sense'

In an interview during the governors' conference, meanwhile, former North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr. said that momentum may be building for changing the law. He was at the meeting to plug his governors' leadership institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Things that aren't working, that don't make sense, are going to have to change," said Mr. Hunt, an early champion of state accountability systems, which helped lay the groundwork for the federal law. "I think there's a lot of sentiment in that direction."

Gov. Linda Lingle of Hawaii, a Republican, acknowledged that some states were looking to opt out of portions of the law. She backs it as written, however. "For people in my state, they just think it's common sense," she said.

Gov. Gary Locke of Washington, a Democrat, called the No Child Left Behind Act a "very needed, well-intended law," but added that he wants changes. "We need much more flexibility," he said, "and we need to fully fund it."

"It is so frightfully weak on resources," added Gov. Richardson of New Mexico. Without more funds to help low-rated schools, he said, "you're going to see a revolt in the states."

Federal officials countered last week that the Bush administration is providing enough flexibility and funding for states to follow the law.

Ron Tomalis, a counselor to Secretary Paige, said many states have more flexibility than they realize. "Sometimes when we sit down and show the governors how much of the decision making" lies with them, he said, "it's more than a little bit of an eye-opener."

"This president has given more to K-12 public education in the last three years than in the preceding eight years combined," he said. "It's important that states ... look to see how it can and will complement what they're doing." http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=25NGA.h23

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