HD DataPresentation2003

Global Portraits of Social & Moral Health : 

Global Portraits of Social & Moral Health Data Presentation Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Matthew L. Davidson, Ph.D Davidson Consulting & Evaluation Research Director Center for the 4th & 5th Rs (Respect & Responsibility) DavidsonM@Cortland.edu 607-753-5798

“Character Education: It is Rocket Science”  –M. Berkowitz: 

“Character Education: It is Rocket Science” –M. Berkowitz Character education is a slow, difficult, life-course project—even when it is done consistently and with the greatest rigor. It requires theoretical clarity, implementation consistency, and unwavering confidence. It requires persistence over time. It is NOT a quick-fix a poster on a wall a passing educational fad

Reflective Practitioning in the Character Education Cycle: 

Reflective Practitioning in the Character Education Cycle Character education is a process, not a product. It is a dynamic, cyclical, ongoing, never ending process. We gather data “to reduce uncertainties, improve effectiveness, and make decisions with regard to what those programs are doing and affecting” (Patton, 1986).

“The Stories We Tell Ourselves”: 

“The Stories We Tell Ourselves” In Professional Learning Communities at Work, DuFour and Eaker (1998) argue, “cultures are defined by the stories we tell ourselves.” These stories: Help clarify our values Reveal our view of the world Reinforce our interpretation of events Instruct us on appropriate conduct Identify heroes and villains Data offer us an opportunity to tell a story. The story of “our data” and how we interpret it is essential to our growth & development.

Story Lines That Won’t Lead to Growth & Development…: 

Story Lines That Won’t Lead to Growth & Development… “We don’t care what the data say, everybody here knows this is a good place.” “See I told you, Character education doesn’t work.” “The sample was kind of small and we generally don’t trust students to paint an accurate picture of things. The data are flawed.” “These data just reinforce what we’ve already known: Our students really are disrespectful, little monsters. By the time they reach us it’s just too late. ”

Good to Great Stories: 

Good to Great Stories “Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. And at the same time, retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.” “The good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience. Not that specific knowledge or skills are unimportant, but they viewed these traits as more teachable (or at least learnable), whereas they believed dimensions like character, work ethic, basic intelligence, dedication to fulfilling commitments, and values are more ingrained.” —Jim Collins, (2001), Good to Great

Goals for Today: 

Goals for Today Review the research process & the Global Portraits instruments. Review the data presentation materials provided to each community. Share some preliminary county-wide findings & set the stage for future extrapolations. Share some processes for making further sense of the data and for understanding your data and translating that data into action.

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Obstacles to Overcome Multidimensional Character Educational Practices Required Resources Experience of Caring Community Home School Community Character Education Outcomes Youth Adult Community Healthy DuPage Character Coalition “Global Process”

Goals for Year-2 of Our Study: 

Goals for Year-2 of Our Study Make final revisions to create the most rigorous, most efficient survey instrument for measuring character education effectiveness. Reliability of all scales are above .73, most are above .80, with some above .90 This includes individual analyses by grade level. Gather, analyze, and share data with 15 communities. Navigate NCLB consent issues.

Cautions, Caveats, & Clarifications: 

Cautions, Caveats, & Clarifications The sample size for certain sub-populations are particularly small and should be interpreted with caution. However, as my Mom would say, “If the shoe fits, wear it.” Comparisons at the county-level were made between this year’s data and the pilot year data. Community-level reports compare individual community to the rest of the county sample. At this time the comparisons are more for qualitative purposes than for statistical significance.

Sampling Issues: 

Sampling Issues Global Portraits Return Totals Youth: 4, 198 surveys returned (73%) Adults: 3,452 surveys returned (31%) Total surveys returned: 7,650 (45.6%) Year-3 Sampling Revisions: (1) increase number of sections of classroom (2) increase high school participation—students & faculty/staff

Scales from the Global Portraits: 

Scales from the Global Portraits Values, motivation, & pro-social competencies rating. Experience of caring community (in school and home town), broken into 4 sub-scales: Health & Safety Social Capital Acceptance & Attachment Personal & Collective responsibility Youth perceived character education experiences (as compared with) adult perceptions of their character development practices.

Rating Scale Clarification: 

Rating Scale Clarification In general, consider 5 as the presence of positive character (frequency, experiences, practices, etc.). Consider 1 as the absence of positive character (frequency, experiences, practices, etc.). Reverse items (negatively worded) have been accommodated and should be considered the same as all other items (where 5 is positive and 1 is negative).

Values, Motivation & Pro-Social Competencies: 

Values, Motivation & Pro-Social Competencies This is the area that character educators want to influence, believing that values are the content of character. Thus, this is an area of extraordinarily high social desirability. Self-report data on values tends to be overstated. Youth and adults rate themselves very high, indicating a perception that people who possess positive values, motivation, and pro-social competencies are “mostly to exactly like me.” The mean levels are high, but the variation is compressed making this a good scale for inferential statistics exploring the relationship between community and values as outcomes. Individual item variation around the mean point to areas warranting further attention.

Role of Supplemental Data Tables: 

Role of Supplemental Data Tables Each picture of the data is meant to get more and more narrow, more and more specific. The data tables allow for individual item investigation and comparison. Once you identify a hot spot, the tables can be used to hone in on very specific details. We want to ask ourselves 3 key questions: “What do these data seem to tell us?” “ What do they not tell us?” “What else do we need to know?” (Getting Excited About Data, 1999)

Experience of Connected & Caring Community: 

Experience of Connected & Caring Community The experience of connected and caring community has been demonstrated as a mediating variable in many intellectual, social, and moral outcomes character educators hope to influence (c.f., Resnick et al., 1997; Schaps et al., 1996). Experience of caring community (in school and home town), broken into 4 sub-scales: Health & Safety Acceptance & Attachment Social Capital Personal & Collective responsibility

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someone gets drunk or high. someone verbally abuses or harasses another person. someone makes racist comments. someone steals from another person.

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Kids resolve conflicts without fighting, insults, or threats. Kids try to get their friends to follow the rules. Kids do not care if their friends cheat. When kids see someone being picked on, they try to stop it.

Character Education Experiences For Youth: 

Character Education Experiences For Youth In essence, the experiences are the program. Youth must experience the program for us expect change in program outcomes. Youth questions seek to determine the frequency of a wide range of character education practices proven to be effective. The Scale: Practically never A few times a year A few times a month A few times a week Practically every day

Character Education Practices of Adults: 

Character Education Practices of Adults Adults generally report higher prevalence or frequency of character education practices for themselves than for colleagues. For example, “I do this in my classroom or home, but others are not as likely to do it in their classrooms or homes.” Adults may simply need to “Preach what they practice” so that youth experience an inductive educative process. Adults need more training so their sense of competency matches their sense of responsibility.

The Intangibles of Best Practice : 

The Intangibles of Best Practice Frequently, inadequate implementation of character education is NOT from lack of interest or commitment, but instead a need for: Time Training Curricular resources Organizational assistance Changes in scheduling Etc.

“A lot Easier Said than Done”: 

“A lot Easier Said than Done” A report focusing on the difficulty of raising children of integrity and character in America today. In general, the report finds a majority of parents reporting they believe character development outcomes are essential, but also that they believe they are doing an inadequate job in their own character development efforts.

5 Key Questions for Brainstorming Your Data: 

5 Key Questions for Brainstorming Your Data What do these data seem to tell us? What do they not tell us? What else would we need to know? What good news is here for us to celebrate? What improvement needs emerge from these data? (Getting Excited About Data, 1999)

The Steps of Reflective Practice: 

The Steps of Reflective Practice Brainstorm Organize Prioritize Plan Implement Reflect Begin again

I laughed, I cried, I decided to try…: 

I laughed, I cried, I decided to try… Following today’s discussion, write down 2 or 3 specific things you plan to utilize within your sphere of influence to respond to something that emerged from today’s data…

Passing The BuckAuthor Unknown: 

Passing The Buck Author Unknown Said the college professor, “Such rawness in a student is a shame Lack of preparation in high school Is to blame.” Said the high school teacher, “Good heavens, that boy’s a fool. The fault, of course, is with the middle school.” The middle school teacher said, “From such stupidity may I be spared. They Sent him to me so unprepared.”

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The primary teacher huffed, “Kindergarten blockheads all. They call That preparation – Why, it’s worse than none At all.” The Kindergarten teacher said, “Such lack of training never did I see. What Kind of a woman must that mother be?” The mother said, “Poor helpless child. He’s not to blame. His Father’s folks were all the same.” Said the father at the end of the line, “I doubt the rascal’s even mine.”