Academic press and sense of community: Conflict, congruence, and implications for student achievement

Abstract

Abstract. This paper examines tensions between two visions of schooling. One stresses social cohesion (i.e., common beliefs, shared activities, and caring relations between members). The other emphasizes strong academic mission (i.e., values and practices that reinforce high standards for student performance). Though not incongruous, numerous organizational studies reveal the potential for social cohesion and communality to be achieved at the expense of academic demand or "press." To examine their separate and joint effects, measures of academic press and communality are developed from NELS:88 First Follow-up data. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicate (1) significant links between academic press and student achievement; (2) that academic press has its greatest achievement effect among low-SES schools; (3) that strong sense of community may have a negative impact on achievement in low-SES schools with weak academic press; and (4) that for low-and middle-SES schools, the greatest achievement effects follow from strong combinations of communality and academic press. These findings highlight an important additional component of the "school as community" model, indicating that for most schools, academic press serves as a key prerequisite for the positive achievement effects of communality.

Gender, Self-Perception, and Academic Problems in High School

“…To create an individuallevel measure for aggregation, we averaged three items, all converted to z-scores: academic achievement (a standard four point grade point average based on self-reported grades in math, science, social studies, and English), educational aspirations (students' ratings, on a scale of 1 to 5, of how much they want to go to college), and enrollment in math and science classes (1 = enrolled in either or both, 0 = enrolled in neither). We refer to the final peer measure-the mean of this individual-level measure for all nominated friends-as friends' academic press because it is akin to measures in the educational literature gauging the emphasis on and pressure for achievement, or academic press, in schools (see Shouse 1996). 1 Adolescent characteristics-To measure potential externalizing responses to academic markers, we calculated Wave I and Wave II versions of four variables and then took the change score (Wave II minus Wave I) for each.…”

Going against the Grain: Challenges to Peaceful Leadership Styles in A K-12/University Partnership

“…In brief, research (Resnick et al, 1997;Verdugo & Schneider, 1999;Gottfredson, 2001;Shouse, 1996) shows that by providing the core elements for safe and supportive learning environments, academic motivation and achievement are likely outcomes. Research on safe and supportive learning environments (Newmann & Wehlage, 1995;Stigler & Heibert, 1999;Ragland et al, 1999) also shows that increased student learning is obtained when the entire school community embraces collective responsibility for developing and meeting educational goals.…”

Investigating Sense of Community and Academic Success in First Year College Students in the Department of Natural Resources Management

“…Previous research in the sense of community literature has determined that sense of community does have an influence on academic success (Shouse, 1996;Sherblom, et aI., 2005;Israel, et aI., 2001), Sanchez, et aI., 2006). However, this study did not find that sense of community influences GPA.…”

“…Shouse (1996) showed that schools that have a high sense of community have an increased academic achievement. In this study, the researcher looked at schools that have high shared values, a common agenda of activities, and an ethic of caring and collegiality.…”

“…In this study, the researcher looked at schools that have high shared values, a common agenda of activities, and an ethic of caring and collegiality. The researcher found that an academically oriented sense of community may hold great potential for raising student achievement (Shouse, 1996).…”