Tuesday, October 29, 2024

 "In the United States, social-emotional well-being has become a priority because of concerning mental health and well-being outcomes for adolescent youth. High schools and school districts have responded by expanding mental health and social-emotional supports. However, there is little research to understand the ways in which educational leaders—including superintendents, school district coordinators, and principals—organize practices and policies to support social-emotional well-being for high school students.

In this report, the authors seek to close this research gap by presenting findings from a multi-method, multiyear national study on social-emotional well-being supports, focusing on high school students. The authors’ takeaways include insights about high school staffing, high school–specific practices that support social-emotional well-being, equity-oriented social-emotional well-being supports for minoritized students, district-level supports, and challenges to implementing or maintaining social-emotional well-being initiatives at the high school level. The authors also provide recommendations aimed at school district leaders, high school leaders, and educational policymakers."

Kennedy, K., & Wells, J. (2024). Social-emotional well-being for high school students: Guidance for school and system policy and practice. RAND. 

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3377-1.html??cutoff=true&utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=701QK00000I6K6ZYAV&utm_term=00vQK00000CvYNqYAN&org=1674&lvl=100&ite=292299&lea=3909544&ctr=0&par=1&trk=a0wQK000007t2A1YAI


Sunday, October 27, 2024

Trans Collection Development Study

A recent study examined collection development as it pertains to LGBTQIA+ books, with an emphasis on trans books. The researcher collected data via surveys, comparing a “control” list of books to a list of books that focused on trans topics.

This research found that many schools under-collected trans material, compared to other materials that featured non-LGBTQIA+ characters, while admitting that “some libraries in the state do have robust collections of trans material, but access to trans books varies widely across the state, and some students have poor access. This poor access amounts to inequitable service.” The researcher suggests that more research should be done on both how to improve collections of trans material in cities or states that are more hostile to the subject matter, and additional research that considers the perspectives of trans youth as well. To further investigate school librarian’s attitudes Bowman suggests interviews that could “confirm whether or not knowing a trans student impacts how librarians feel about trans books.”

Bowman, R. (2024). Good Intentions and Poor Collections: The Attitudes of School Librarians in One Southeastern State on Trans Material and Library Holdings. School Library Research, 27.  https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/bowman.pdf

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Teens and Conspiracy Theories Study

 About 80% of teenagers encounter conspiracy theories online, and many believe at least one, according to a recent report. Many teens also struggle to distinguish between advertisements and opinion, independently reported news and digital marketing campaigns, the survey found. And most think professional news organizations are just as biased as other content creators, according to the survey that formed the basis for the report. The findings underscore the need for stronger media literacy education to help students navigate misinformation. 

News Literacy Project. (2024). News literacy in America: A survey of teen information attitudes, habits and skills. NLP.  https://newslit.org/news-literacy-in-america/

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Parents' concerns about children's media use study

 Parents' concerns about children's digital media use were investigated using data from semi‐structured interviews with 17 parents of children ages five to 11 at three branches of a U.S. urban public library system. Data were analyzed using collaborative inductive thematic analysis and analyzed with the lens of culturally‐constructed anxieties about new media. The most common concerns included worries about exposure to inappropriate content, worries about digital media taking up time that children would otherwise spend engaging in more meaningful activities, concerns about safety and privacy, and worries about negative effects on children's behaviors, attitudes, and social skills. Further analysis showed parents' deeper concern for children's healthy development to underlie these narrower concerns. The authors conclude with the recommendation to shift the framing of discourse around parenting with digital media from risk protection to digital media education.

Agosta, D. et al. (2024). :We were beaten down": Parents' concerns about children's digital media use. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology.  

  • DOI: 
  • 10.1002/pra2.1003

  • Sunday, October 13, 2024

    Teacher Librarian Collaboration during COVID-19 Study

     This phenomenological study explored and analyze six school librarians’ experience of changes in their professional roles during the pandemic. Three major themes emerged: the local context of the school librarians’ roles during the pandemic, the pandemic as an antagonist to the school librarians’ former and present roles, and the experience of tensions within the evolution of the school librarians’ roles.

    The results suggested that the pandemic’s contributions to students’ learning loss present an ongoing, critical need for school librarians’ core value of positively impacting student achievement. Implications for school librarians are that they are strongly positioned to thrive during further evolutions of their roles as instructional settings continue to diversify.


    Colvin, K., Croft, M. (2024). Indicators of Successful School Librarian and Teacher Collaboration: A PhenomenologySchool Library Research27.

    https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/colvin-et-al.pdf


    Thursday, September 26, 2024

    Middle and High School Critical Thinking Report

     "This report focuses on several elements of students' deeper learning based on fall 2023 and spring 2024 surveys administered to American School District Panel member district leaders. It summarizes how district leaders believe middle and high schoolers' critical thinking skills are best developed in their schools, whether students' input about teaching and learning is collected in these schools, district leaders' examples of their schools' most effective forms of project-based learning, and districts' theories of action for teaching and learning.

    Key Findings

    • District leaders' examples of successful teaching of critical thinking skills fell into four main categories: teachers posing high-level questions, project-based learning, real-world problem-solving activities, and activities that students chose.
    • These examples align with research on effective methods for teaching critical thinking.
    • According to reports from district leaders, districts engaged in a wide variety of project-based learning, most commonly science, technology, engineering, math, and career and technical education classes.
    • Seven of ten school district leaders reported formally collecting students’ input about teaching and learning, which is another element of deeper learning."
    Schwartz, H., & Diliberti, M.  (2024). Encouraging deeper learning in middle and high school: Selected findings from America school district panel surveys. RAND.

    Sunday, September 22, 2024

    School Librarians' Roles During COVID study

    A recent study examied the ways that school librarians and librarianship shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during periods of virtual learning. The research team conducted interviews that illuminated the stories of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the concept of the pandemic as an antagonist to the role of librarians. The researchers noted that the “results of this study support the idea that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 can serve as a demarcation line in K–12 research,” and recommend that “future researchers in K–12 school librarianship will need to differentiate which side of the demarcation line is referenced regarding studies on professional roles, student achievement data, and/or experience. As school librarians must consider how to evolve their role to establish relevancy within emerging settings such as the K– 12 remote-synchronous learning environment, this capacity for an embedded role is present and offers a natural evolution.”

    Wright, K., Koz, O., & Moore, J. (2024). The evolving roles of school librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study. School Library Research, 27. https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/wright-et-al.pdf 


    Tuesday, September 3, 2024

    Struggling Readers Study

    A recent national survey reveals that nearly half of students in third through eighth grades struggle with reading, prompting teachers to seek more training in foundational literacy skills. 40% of teachers had misconceptions about how students develop word reading skills; almost half based their reading instruction on their classroom experience, and fewer than a quarter mentioned professional development as their main source of knowledge. The study also found that evidence-based practices focused on younger students; older students require tailored support to overcome reading challenges.

    Kaufman, J. (2024). What's missing from teachers' toolkits to support student reading in grades 3-8? RAND.

    Sunday, August 25, 2024

    Book Banning Report

     A series of studies assessed parental perceptions of libraries and librarians. The results showed that the vast majority of parents trust librarians and do not think book banning is appropriate. School librarians were deemed as “essential” staff in a school, and parents felt their students were not only safe in school libraries but that the professionals were well-suited to selecting age- and content- appropriate material. School librarians (as well as their peers in public libraries) were ranked among the top five most trustworthy professionals. New national research further supports the fact that most Americans disagree with banning and restricting access to books in school libraries.

    Knight Foundation. (2024). American's views on book restrictions in U.S. public schools 2024. Knight Foundation.

    https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Americans-Views-on-Book-Restrictions-in-U.S.-Public-Schools-2024.pdf

    Friday, July 19, 2024

    Screen time study

     A recent study found that reducing screen time among children and teens led to fewer behavioral difficulties, with noticeable decreases in peer-related and emotional issues and improvements in positive social interactions. Findings showed that the total difficulties score, which measures behavioral and emotional issues, decreased by an average of 1.67 points more in the intervention group than in the control group.

    Schmidt-Perrson, J. (2024). Short-term screen time reduction improves mental health in children and adolescents. JAMA Network Open

    https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/short-term-screen-time-reduction-improves-mental-health-2024a1000d19?form=fpf



    Tuesday, May 28, 2024

    College readiness research

    Findings from a study (First-Years' Information Literacy Backpacks: What's Already Packed or Not Packed?) examined college research readiness among first-year college students in New Jersey. The authors analyzed qualitative responses from a survey of 325 students using inductive coding. They identify a taxonomy of information literacy skills in three levels: information management, critical thinking, and metaliteracy. Based on their findings and the identified needs of students in the transition from high school to college, the authors propose several implications for instructional designers, including further using learning management systems, incorporating inquiry-based learning, teaching advanced search techniques, and assessing or measuring information literacy skills. The authors suggest further attention to critical thinking, inquiry, and metacognitive approaches in information literacy instruction for K-12 and academic librarians. The authors also propose several areas for future research, such as developing collaborations between high school and academic librarians, examples of successful or innovative instruction, and measurements of information literacy

     Boyer, B., & Dziedzic-Elliott, E. (2023). What I had, what I needed: First-year students reflect on how their high school experience prepared them for college research. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), 102742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.10274

    Wednesday, May 22, 2024

    Print vs Digital Reading Study

    A new study found that when students read digital texts for leisure it had almost no impact on their reading comprehension. This study was an analysis of 25 studies, published between 2000 and 2022, involving about 470,000 participants from at least three dozen countries. Given the minimal connection observed between digital leisure reading and reading comprehension, Altamura and her co-authors estimate that if a student spends 10 hours reading in print in their free time, their ability to comprehend will likely be six to eight times higher than if they read on digital devices for the same amount of time. 

    Altamura, L., Vargas, C., & Salmerón, L. (2023). Do New Forms of Reading Pay Off? A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Leisure Digital Reading Habits and Text Comprehension. Review of Educational Research0(0). https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231216463

    Tuesday, May 7, 2024

    Literacy Development Review

    The IMLS commissioned a review of research literature that examines the effects of motivation to read and within reading programs in communities and, particularly, public libraries.” The report “identif[ies] research studies that focused on the effectiveness of reading strategies that emphasized motivations when promoting reading. This study summarizes several evidence-based practices tied to increasing motivation used during programs, instructional practices, and family engagement activities which are focused on child literacy and community participation.”


    Guven, O., & Haddah, Y. (2024). Research on motivation, literacy, and reading development: A review of best practice. ILMS. 

    https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/research-motivation-literacy-reading-development-report.pdf

    Tuesday, April 30, 2024

    Reading Instruction Report

     Drawing on the spring 2023 American Instructional Resources Survey, the authors examine teachers' use of foundational reading activities in their instruction. These activities correspond to the four foundational reading skill domains for kindergarten-through-grade-5 students that are set forth in the Common Score of State Standards: print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency.

    The authors compare teacher responses by grades taught, characteristics of their schools and classrooms (e.g., students' race or ethnicity, English language proficiency, disability status), and by state policy context.

    Key Findings

    • Roughly two-thirds of elementary and one-third of middle and high school English language arts teachers frequently engaged their students in foundational reading activities.
    • Secondary teachers who served schools with a majority of students of color and who taught classes with more than 10 percent English learners were more likely to engage their students in these activities.
    • Elementary teachers with many students with Individualized Education Programs were less likely to frequently engage their students in these activities.
    • Secondary teachers in states with reading legislation were significantly more likely to frequently engage their students in these activities than those in other states.
    Shapiro, A., Lee, S., Woo, L. (2024).  Exploring foundational reading skill instruction in K12 schools. RAND.

    Saturday, April 20, 2024

    Academic integrity, copyright in K-12 schools

     569 school library practitioners in 85 countries participated in a study to investigate the current landscape of academic integrity and copyright literacy policies and instruction in K–12 schools. The researchers identified challenges and opportunities in this crucial domain, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to teaching academic integrity and copyright literacy regardless of the specific curriculum followed by each school. The study found that many K-12 schools lack policies on academic integrity and copyright, with variability in teaching practices, highlighting the need for improved education and collaboration between school library professionals and teachers. 

    Hossain, Z., Celik, O., & Hertel, C. (2024).  Academic integrity and copyright literacy policy and instruction in k-12 schools: a global study from the perspective of school library professionals. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 4, article no. 4.

    https://edintegrity.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s40979-024-00150-x

    Tuesday, April 9, 2024

    Global Digital Reading Report

    Sora, the student reading platform from OverDrive, published “its first annual reading report of worldwide student digital reading data for the 2022-2023 school year.” “The State of K-12 Digital Reading,” which is available to download for free after registering, “reveals compelling regional differences, double digit growth in Comics and Graphic Novels and a surprising insight on which months tracked the most time spent reading.”

    Key findings include the following:

    Digital reading in K-12 schools has increased significantly over the past few years. Since 2019, total usage (based on digital book checkouts) has grown 286 percent as the number of schools using the Sora platform more than doubled. In 2022-23, usage continued the trend with 12% growth.

    Reading sessions on the Sora reading app were up more than 8 percent compared to the previous school year (2021-2022), with total books read per student increasing by 3 percent.

    The ebook format accounted for 84 percent of titles opened during the ’22-’23 school year, while audiobooks remain popular with 14 percent. Comics and graphic novels have contributed to the strong ebook usage, more than quadrupling in checkouts and jumping from 31 to 42% of total ebook checkouts since 2019.

    For more information, read the press release at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/student-ebook-usage-breaks-records-302105186.html.

    Sunday, April 7, 2024

    2024 School Library Budget and Spending Survey

     The School Library Journal's annual budget and spending survey's 2024 findings show stable budgets (although depending more on state and federal money than on local funding) and more spending on print books less spending on ebooks, now that most schools are back to in-person instruction. School librarians also spent money on upgrading their furniture. With book bans and challenges becoming more prevalent, school librarians are sometimes needing to get more approvals for spending choices. More details can be found in the full article.

    Cockcroft, M. (2024, April 4). Spend it if you can. School Library Journal. 

    https://www.slj.com/story/spend-it-if-you-can-SLJ-2024-school-library-budget-survey

    Sunday, January 21, 2024

    Parents' Perceptions of LIbraries

    Three national surveys asked parents and guardians about their perception of librarians' trustworthiness as professionals and curators of a library collection and their attitudes toward books and book bans. ​

    "Top-level findings from the Parents Perception Report are:

    • 85% of respondents say they trust librarians.
    • 58% of parents think public librarians should be primarily responsible for what books are selected for the public library as opposed to elected officials, library boards, or parent groups.
    • 92% of respondents say libraries are safe spaces for their children.
    • 75% of respondents do not believe their libraries are experiencing book bans.
    • 67% of respondents feel that book bans infringe on their rights to make decisions for their children.
    • 75% of respondents report that neither they nor their child have checked out a book from the library that they felt was inappropriate.
    • 63% of respondents agree or somewhat agree that “banning books is a waste of time” at the public library. 
    • 57% of respondents say banning books from the school library is an appropriate way to prevent children from learning about certain topics. 
    • 80% of respondents agree that "school libraries should have content rating systems.
    • 95% of respondents want to see a school library in their child’s school. 

    The increase in book bans is a concerning trend threatening the democratic values of freedom of expression and access to information. The survey report should inform librarians about curating content and creating policies that align with community values and expectations, as well as inform policymakers and educators about making decisions that reflect the actual views of parents rather than those of special interest groups." (from Every Library Institute).  

    McGehee, M., & Chrastka, J.(2023). Parents' perception survey series final report. Every Library Institute. 

    https://assets.nationbuilder.com/votelibraries/pages/6280/attachments/original/1705534711/Parent_Perceptions_Final_Report_-_ELI_and_BR_-_17_January_2024.pdf?1705534711

    Tuesday, January 16, 2024

    Early digital reading and reading stamina research

    Early frequent reading online can negatively impact reading stamina. Recognizing letters and matching them to their associated sounds is a vital part of learning to read. Being read to and reading practice results in automacity between 5 and 7 years old. when this combination skills is delayed, it makes it harder to read, which impacts reading stamina. Early exposure to digital text can be overstimulating and can lead to more passivity and distraction, which impedes focus. Even when presented as a host of “learning activities,” electronic devices do not benefit toddlers cognitively, she said. “The screens move too fast for them. At that age, children need an adult to sit beside them to mediate the information, to communicate the information.”

    Horowitz-Kraus T, Rosch K, Fotang J, Mostofsky SH, Schlaggar BL, Pekar J, Taran N, Farah R. Fluent contextual reading is associated with greater synchronization of the visual and auditory networks, fluent reading and better speed of processing in children with dyslexia. Cortex. 2023 Nov;168:62-75. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.07.007. Epub 2023 Aug 17. PMID: 37660660.