STEM Gender Stereotypes Study

 A study by the American Institutes for Research reveals that gender stereotypes in STEM form as early as age 6, with children perceiving boys as better at computer science and engineering. This belief becomes more entrenched among girls over time, potentially deterring them from pursuing STEM careers.

Miller, D., & Tanenbaum, C. (2024). Analyzing the research on gender stereotypes in STEM. American Institutes for Research. https://www.air.org/project/analyzing-research-gender-stereotypes-stem

School librarian self-censorship study

A recent study examined self-censorship of controversial topics in collection development. Articles can be accessed for free at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

In the recently published “To Add or Not to Add: An Examination of Self‐Censoring Behaviors among School Librarians,” Jennifer Moore and Alissa Tudor present a study examining collection development and self-censorship amongst school librarians. The researchers collected data via surveys, and examined which controversial or frequently challenged topics school librarians chose not to collect. This research found that amongst controversial topics, there were high amounts of self-censorship around books that dealt with sexual content, abortion, and self-harm. Respondents who had never experienced book challenges in their school libraries expressed reluctance to include books that involved sexual content and LGBTQ themes or content

Moore, J., & Tudor, A. (2024). To Add or not to add: An examination of self‐censoring behaviors among school librarians. School Library Research. 

www.ala.org/aasl/slr

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

LGBTQIA+ literature for youth

A recent study identified and categorized published empirical research on LGBTQIA+ topics in school and youth librarianship and identify and categorize gaps in that research to propose focuses for future research studies. The key finding was that little research has examined LGBTQIA+ inclusive school library services for youth.

Spiering, J., Santos Green, L., & Bowman, J. (2023). "LGBTQIA+ Inclusive School Library Research: A Systematic Literature Review." School Library Research 26. https://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/pubs/slr/vol26/spiering-et%20al.pdf

Teen Life on Social Media Study

 

Majorities of teens credit social media with strengthening their friendships and providing support while also noting the emotionally charged side of these platforms. Those who are positive tend to mention connections, information and learning, and entertainment. Negative aspects include pressure to post, online drama, or feeling left out.; these feelings were mentioned more by girls than by boys. 

Anderson, M. et al. (2022). Connection, creativity and drama: Teen life on social media 2022. Pew Research Center. 

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/11/16/connection-creativity-and-drama-teen-life-on-social-media-in-2022/

Teen Social Media Use Study

 A cross-sectional study in the United Kingdom has revealed an association between social media use and lower life satisfaction among children and adolescents aged 10-21 years. "Cross-sectional relationship between self-reported estimates of social media use and life satisfaction ratings is most negative in younger adolescents. Furthermore, sex differences in this relationship are only present during this time. Longitudinal analyses of 17,409 participants (10–21 years old) suggest distinct developmental windows of sensitivity to social media in adolescence, when higher estimated social media use predicts a decrease in life satisfaction ratings one year later (and vice-versa: lower estimated social media use predicts an increase in life satisfaction ratings). These windows occur at different ages for males (14–15 and 19 years old) and females (11–13 and 19 years old). Decreases in life satisfaction ratings also predicted subsequent increases in estimated social media use, however, these were not associated with age or sex." (Abstract).

Orben, A., Przybylski, A.K., Blakemore, SJ. et al. Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nat Commun 13, 1649 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3

Race and gender in children's books research

 Using artificial intelligence, researchers combed through 1,130 children’s books written in the last century, comparing two sets of diverse children’s books—one a collection of popular books that garnered major literary awards, the other favored by identity-based awards. The software analyzed data on skin tone, race, age, and gender. Among the findings: While more characters with darker skin color begin to appear over time, the most popular books—those most frequently checked out of libraries and lining classroom bookshelves—continue to depict people of color in lighter skin tones. More insidiously, when adult characters are “moral or upstanding,” their skin color tends to appear lighter. (excerpted from Eutopia)

Adukia, A. et al. (2021). Wajt we teach about race and gender: What  representation in images and text in children's books. Brown University Annenberg Institute.

https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-462.pdf

Representation in children's books study

 1,133 books from 19 different award categories, published over the last 100 years, were studied to examine issues of race and gender. The analysis of images revealed the following about race in children’s books:

•  Books in the Mainstream collection are more likely to depict lighter-skinned characters than those in the Diversity collection.  Specifically, books in the Mainstream collection are much more likely to depict characters who are racially ambiguous in terms of skin color, disproportionately using skin colors that cannot be classified either as that of light-skinned characters nor as that of dark-skinned characters, a technique the authors call “butterscotching.”
• Over the last two decades, representation of lighter skin tones in Mainstream books has actually increased.
• Children are more likely than adults to be shown with lighter skin, in both Mainstream and Diversity collections.
• Females have always appeared in pictures over time, but they are predominantly white females and still average less than 50 percent of pictures and text.

The authors also compared the female appearances in images to female mentions in text and found:

• Females are more consistently seen in images than written about in the text, except in the collection of books specifically selected to highlight females. The authors deduced that this suggests “symbolic inclusion of females in pictures without their substantive inclusion in the actual story.”
• Males, especially white males, are persistently more likely to be represented by every measure, with little change over time.
• Adukia, A. et al. (2021). What we teach about race and gender: Representation in images and text of children's books. Becker Friedman Institute. 
• https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=new-study-looks-race-gender-representation-in-award-winning-childrens-books&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=april22AcademicNewswire

 

High school students' emotions study

When researchers  asked more than 21,678 U.S. high school students to say how they typically felt at school, nearly 75 percent of their answers were negative. "Tired" topped the list, followed by "bored" and "stressed," with positive words like "happy" distantly following.Students reported feeling boredom and stressed, but in the moment they reported feeling calm, happy, and relaxed even more often. What didn't change was the one "feeling" the researchers hadn't expected at all: Students overwhelmingly reported feeling tired. It was the only feeling consistently named by more than half of the students. The study also found that boys and girls tended to experience school differently. Girls reported more negative feelings than boys overall, and in the moment, girls were much more likely to say they were stressed. As of 2016 the National Sleep Foundation found that 87 percent of high school students in the United States sleep significantly less than the recommended 8 to 10 hours per night. And on the heels of the Yale study, another in the journal Molecular Psychiatry also found that even preteen students who got insufficient sleep had higher rates of anxiety, depression, impulsive behavior, and poor cognitive performance. 
Moeller, J. et al.  (2020).  High school students' feelings. Learning & Instruction, 66 (April).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101301

educational research highlights 2019

from Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/2019-education-research-highlights?utm_source=Edutopia+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2791a6e97b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_121119_enews_2019education&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f72e8cc8c4-2791a6e97b-79390995

To Remember Something, Draw It (but Be Careful With Doodling)

A 2019 study found that students remember less of what they’re learning if they’re doodling at the same time. But the study also addresses a big misconception: Doodling is not the same as drawing. Earlier research concludes that drawing easily beats reading, writing, or listening when it comes to learning and retention.
So what’s the difference? Free-form doodling is often a distraction from what's being learned. At least six decades of studies show that divided attention impairs learning. But drawing that reinforces what’s being studied—for example, sketching out and labeling the solar system—taps into visual, kinesthetic, and linguistic areas of the brain at the same time, encoding the information more deeply.

Awards Don’t Boost Attendance—Teachers Do

It’s common to see awards being handed out to reward students for good attendance, but a 2019 study found that these awards can backfire spectacularly, giving students a “license to miss more school” and actually driving absentee rates up.
Students are more likely to attend school when their teachers notice absences and make efforts to reach out to them and their families, according to a 2017 report from Attendance Works. And a 2019 study found that highly engaging teachers can decrease absences by 49 percent, making it clear that a teacher’s impact extends well beyond test scores and grades.

Math Circuitry Looks the Same in Boys and Girls

Advanced imaging technology like fMRI continues to push at the frontiers of our understanding of the human brain. After analyzing the brain circuitry of 104 children ages 3 to 10 while they watched math problems being solved, neuroscientists discovered that neural activity in areas of the parietal lobe associated with numerical cognition was nearly identical across genders.
The findings tend to confirm that gender differences in math performance are socially constructed, an argument that’s bolstered by past research showing that the gender gap in math is not as pronounced in other cultures—and in some countries, like Finland and Korea, it often reverses to favor girls.

The “Summer Slide” Study Fails to Replicate

While the idea of a “summer slide” is widely accepted and influential, much of what we know about it is based on a 1980s study that concluded that kids who spent their summers playing fell further and further behind those who studied. But a recent attempt to replicate the study failed, and an in-depth analysis revealed that the original testing methods distorted the gap between student scores.
When applying modern scoring methods to the old data, researchers discovered that the hypothetical, ever-expanding gap actually shrank as students got older. Students can still benefit from enriching summer activities, of course, just as they would at any time of the year, but the idea that the gap widens over the summer is almost certainly overblown—and there’s an abundance of evidence that play has significant emotional and cognitive benefits.

Cut the Arts at Your Own Risk, Researchers Warn

As arts programs continue to face the budget ax, a handful of new studies suggest that’s a grave mistake. The arts provide cognitive, academic, behavioral, and social benefits that go far beyond simply learning how to play music or perform scenes in a play.
In a major new study from Rice University involving 10,000 students in third through eighth grades, researchers determined that expanding a school’s arts programs improved writing scores, increased the students’ compassion for others, and reduced disciplinary infractions. The benefits of such programs may be especially pronounced for students who come from low-income families, according to a 10-year study of 30,000 students released in 2019.
Unexpectedly, another recent study found that artistic commitment—think of a budding violinist or passionate young thespian—can boost executive function skills like focus and working memory, linking the arts to a set of overlooked skills that are highly correlated to success in both academics and life.

Studies on Disability Emphasize Early Intervention—and Teacher Training

Failing to identify and support students with learning disabilities early can have dire, long-term consequences. In a comprehensive 2019 analysis, researchers highlighted the need to provide interventions that align with critical phases of early brain development. In one startling example, reading interventions for children with learning disabilities were found to be twice as effective if delivered by the second grade instead of third grade.
But only 17 percent of teachers say they feel adequately trained by their certification programs, according to a new report from leading experts—and in the absence of good information, misconceptions take root. For example, the researchers found that one-third of teachers believe that learning disabilities reflect a lack of motivation, not a difference in brain development. To support students with learning disabilities, then, we also need to tackle the pervasive myths that can stymie their potential.

More Z’s May Yield More A’s

When the Seattle School District delayed high school start times by an hour, students caught an extra 34 minutes of sleep per day, and their grades improved by about 5 percent while absences decreased by 7 percent. The new research highlights the ways in which traditional high school start times—which aren’t aligned to teenagers’ natural circadian rhythms—can cause physical, mental, and cognitive health problems.
While previous studies relied on anecdotal or self-reported evidence to establish a link between sleep, academic performance, and school start times, the new research is the first high-quality, scientific study to quantify the real-world benefits of delaying start times for high school students.

Fewer Warnings for Black Students

Compared with their white peers, black middle school students were given fewer chances to correct their misbehavior before being sent to the principal’s office or being suspended, according to a 2019 study from the University of Illinois.
The finding is the latest in a long line of similarly disturbing conclusions about race and discipline in schools, with most research agreeing that black students are disproportionately suspended or expelled compared with their peers. Last year, for example, a study found that while an astonishing 40 percent of black boys were suspended or expelled by third grade, only 8 percent of boys who were non-Hispanic white or other races were.

Paper Beats Screens, Says a New Study—but Read the Fine Print

Virginia Clinton, an education professor at the University of North Dakota, analyzed 33 studies published since 2008 and found that children and adults tend to remember more of what they’ve read on paper compared with digital devices such as e-readers, tablets, and computers.
But there’s a catch: Many of the inherent advantages of digital devices—such as hyperlinking, commenting, and multimedia—were eliminated to allow for “direct comparisons of the media.” In addition, the actual advantages of paper were “rather small,” the study conceded. The newest digital reading tools can enhance note taking, encourage students to read collaboratively, and incorporate pop quizzes—all of which can clearly tilt the benefits in digital’s favor.

Growth Mindset Falters, Then Recovers

One of the most popular theories in education was put to the test last year when a large meta-analysis found that growth mindset interventions had “weak” benefits—although at-risk students did see bigger gains. But a new national study, this one encompassing more than 12,000 ninth-grade students, gives new life to the theory.
Unlike previous studies, the new one employed a multipronged approach. Students were taught a powerful metaphor: “The brain is like a muscle that grows stronger and smarter when it undergoes rigorous learning experiences.” They also reflected on their own learning and gave advice to future students who were struggling. The result? Students saw modest gains of 0.1 of a grade point and were also 9 percent more likely to take advanced math courses the following year. Students who were academically at-risk saw major gains, however: 11 percent were prevented from being off-track to graduate.

Brain and math study

Brain activity in male and female students ages 3 to 10 years old is largely similar when they are engaged in math tasks, according to a report released today in the journal Science of Learning. Researchers said they have, however, identified gender differences in high-level mathematical thinking. However, brain differences are not the reason. Researchers suspect the answer involves the societal messages girls and young women get, and the difficulty of entering a field that includes very few women. Males, especially if less strong in reading, lean to STEM; girls have more options so do not feel they have to enter STEM careers if they come from wealthier families.
Cantlon, J. (2019). Gender similarities in the brain during mathematics development. Science of Learning, 4, 19.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-019-0057-x

Kersey, A. J., Wakim, K. M., Li, R., & Cantlon, J. F. (2019). Developing, mature, and unique functions of the child’s brain in reading and mathematics. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 39, 100684.

Computer literacy report

     The average score among students in 12 countries on a computer and information literacy exam was 496, on a scale from 100 to 700, according to a recent study. The US students' average score was 519, but data shows that while students grow up as digital natives they may lack sophisticated digital literacy.  US students are less skilled at creating algorithms or debugging them when problems arise. Seventy percent of students across countries attended schools where digital resources connected to textbooks was available, but 32% of teachers reported using such content. 
     Gender differences were apparent for both computer and information literacy and for computational thinking, but they varied. In the computer and information literacy section, females outscored males on average and in most of the countries. But in computational thinking, males consistently scored higher than females.
     “Confidence, and crucially, competence, in the use of digital devices is of vital importance globally,” Dirk Hastedt, IEA executive director, said in a statement. “It is essential that young people are taught these skills at schools, and that their teachers are well supported in delivering this bedrock of modern education.” The findings confirm other recent studies in the U.S. showing students can be easily misled by digital media messages.
Fraillon, J. (2019). International Computer and Information Literacy Study. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.
https://www.iea.nl/studies/iea/icils

Inquiry-Based Learning Study

A massive experiment involving 17,000 students in four countries finds gains for inquiry-, or problem-based teaching over traditional approaches. Introducing math and science through inquiry and problem-based instruction can pay off throughout elementary school. However, while both boys and girls improved in inquiry-based classes, the researchers found that boys improved faster, widening the gender achievement gap.

Bando, R., Näslund-Hadley, E., & Gertler, P. (2019). Effect of Inquiry and Problem Based Pedagogy on Learning: Evidence from 10 Field Experiments in Four Countries (No. w26280). National Bureau of Economic Research.

https://www.nber.org/papers/w26280

Gender Differences in Writing and Reading

As early as the 4th grade, girls perform better than boys on standardized tests in reading and writing, and as they get older that achievement gap widens even more, according to one study. While the tests showed that girls, in general, scored significantly higher than boys in both reading and writing in the fourth grade, that gap widened further in eighth and 12th grades, and the difference was far more substantial for writing than it was for reading. The authors offered several theories to explain the findings. For instance, boys are statistically more likely to have a learning disability and they may also face peer pressure to conform to masculine norms, which could cause them not to make reading a priority.

Reilly, D., Neumann, D. L., & Andrews, G. (2018). Gender differences in reading and writing achievement: Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). American Psychologist. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000356

Examining Bullying Today

YouthTruth analyzed anonymous feedback from over 180,000 students across 37 states in grades five through twelve to understand how much, in what ways, and why students are being bullied. This analysis also explored how students of different gender identities are experiencing bullying, and uncovered valuable insights. The implication from this study is that understanding students’ experiences with bullying is crucial for schools and communities to build safe and supportive environments for learning.

Key findings include:

1.     It’s still true that 1 in 4 students are bullied.

2.     Most bullying happens in person.

3.     The top three reasons students believe they are bullied include their appearance, their race or skin color, and because other students thought they were gay.

Youthtruth Student Survey (2018). Learning from student voice: What do students tell us about bullying? San Francisco, CA: Youthtruth Student Survey. http://youthtruthsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/YouthTruth-Learning-from-Student-Voice-Bullying-2017.pdf