No Child Left Behind - Essay Example

According to the research findings Wang and Fahey do not propose any particular questions but write that their research project had to examine the “growth patterns of parent volunteerism by national region, metropolitan status, gender, ethnicity, and immigrant status”. Later in their article, Wang and Fahey specify that their main hypothesis is that parents living in regions with strong civic traditions are more likely to volunteer than those living in large metropolitan areas. Wang and Fahey hypothesized that, in metropolitan communities, the lack of the sense of closeness failed to encourage parents to participate in their children’s learning, whereas parents in nonmetropolitan communities would be guided by the sense of cohesion and display stronger intentions to participate.

There is no explicit conceptual framework for parental volunteerism and its implications for education. However, Wang and Fahey build on previous studies and use the results of their literature review to create a complex conceptual image of parental volunteerism and the factors affecting it. As such, Wang and Fahey link the concept of parental volunteerism to region and metropolitan status, gender, ethnicity, and immigrant status. Since parental volunteerism is not a theoretical but practical construct, no connections between the authors’ empirical observations and real-world settings have been provided.

The analysis of previous findings makes it easier for the reader to develop theoretical-empirical links based on the study results. That Wang and Fahey (2010) provide a detailed discussion of the dependent and independent variables is one of the strongest sides of their research. In this study, the dependent variable was Volunteer, whereas independent variables included the time trend (Year 2002, Year 2004, and Year 2006), the regional status trend, gender, race/ethnicity and citizenship (Wang & Fahey, 2010).

The notion of trends is extremely vague, and it is rather difficult for the reader to develop and understand strong connections between the dependent and independent variables. Unfortunately, the researchers do not explain the meaning of these dependent variables, nor do they provide any detailed explanation of the components that make up these trends. Consequentially, tracing the process and progress of the statistical analysis is rather problematic, although the research design and procedure fit in the purpose and conditions of the discussed study.

Wang and Fahey (2010) used the benefits of cross-sectional study design and relied on quantitative methods of data analysis. Statistical analyses were performed with the help of SAS 9.2. The benefits of statistical analyses cannot be overstated, as they ensure greater precision and accuracy of study results. The choice of logistic regressions was justified by the need to find and explain correlations among independent and dependent variables. In this sense, the statistical procedure is consistent with the goal and expected outcomes of the discussed research.

Nevertheless, the choice of statistical methods raises the question of the applicability and practicality of the study findings and their implications for understanding the major education processes under the influence of NCLB. Wang and Fahey (2010) claim, that they collected their data from the Current