Book categories

Train the Brain to Hear

Understanding and Treating Auditory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia, Short Term Memory, Executive Function, Comprehension, and ADD/ADHD (Second Edition)

by Jennifer L. Holland

2014

Train the Brain to Hear was written by a parent and teacher for parents and teachers. The book provides explanations of the learning disabilities dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder as well as the common areas that are affected by learning disabilities including short term memory, executive function and comprehension. The treatment program utilizes brain training and neuroplasticity techniques to encourage development of the connections in the brain that strengthen these skills. The techniques can also be used to work with those who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, traumatic brain injury or stroke. One of the most difficult things for a parent to hear is that there is something wrong with a child and that there is nothing that can be done to he...

Discovering the Real America

Toward a More Perfect Union

by Lewis W. Diuguid

2007

Discovering the Real America examines the often overlooked history of white privilege, racism and discrimination in the United States. The text explains how the media have played a big part in maintaining the status quo. The book offers solutions to overcoming the obstacles of bigotry so that people can finally discover that the richness in the real America is in the long-overlooked diversity of this nation's multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multinational, multitalented people.

Education in a Postfactual World

From Knowing to Understanding

by Patrick M. Whitehead, PhD

2018

In this book, Whitehead argues against the fact-minded orientation of education and the practice of science. It is not that facts are unhelpful, but they have become a substitute for learning (learning is now tantamount to fact memorization). This change handicaps students by eliminating the possibility of creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking; it handicaps science by limiting the kinds of questions that can be asked and where to look for answers; and ultimately puts people out of touch with their experience. The problem is fact-mindedness. Facts are the relics of enlightenment thinking. They represent unbiased and unquestionable truth about our universe. The more you collect, the more you know; the more you know, the more powerful you are; the more powerful you are…. You get the...

The Essential Dissertation Resource

From Proposal to Defense-Experts in Every Field

by James Lani, Pres. Statistics Solutions

2016

Download complete 61 page Essential Dissertation Resource guide (click Download Complete PDF button in left sidebar), or visit the Statistics Solutions website shown below for more details. In The Essential Dissertation Resource, Statistics Solutions has culled templates and examples from more than 20 years of experience working with doctoral students from around the country, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, from online and brick-and-mortar schools, and in diverse fields, such as business, psychology, nursing, education, and many others. The Essentials book will help graduate students get started on their dissertation by providing a framework to begin plugging in discipline and topic specific materials. The book also applies to those working on their theses or project...

The Real Insider's Guide to Military Basic Training

A Recruit's Guide of Advice and Hints to Make It Through Boot Camp (2nd Edition)

by Peter Thompson

2003

This book is the one many people in the military do not want recruits to read. The guide contains extremely helpful hints and advice to help new enlistees during the rigors of military training. Most important, the information is free from biased interests because it is "written by a recruit for a recruit." Although tailored toward the Army and Marines, any person enlisting in the Armed Forces will find the information exceedingly valuable. Even if a person is just thinking about the military, this book will help.

Band Aids

A Program Guide for the New Band Director

by Thomas J. Dust and Laura Jane Dust

2012

Band Aids is an organizational guide for early career band directors and for more experienced directors seeking new organizational and management strategies and approaches for their school and community bands. The authors present a practical approach to organizing, managing, and teaching an instrumental music program. Classroom management, instrumentation, starting beginners, parent organizations, band trips, and assessment are among the relevant topics presented and discussed. This text is an invaluable guide for directors searching for assistance, not with music skills, but with the day-to-day teaching and management of a band program. "Tips" and "Key Points" enable a quick review of material covered.

The Mind at Hand: What Drawing Reveals

Stories of Exploration, Discovery and Design

by Michael J. Strauss

2013

The Mind at Hand explores how artists, scientists, writers, and others - students and professionals alike - see their world, record it, revise it and come to know it. It is about the rough-drawn sketch, diagram, chart, or other graphic representation, and the focus these provide for creative work that follows from them. Such work could involve solving a problem, composing a musical score, proposing a hypothesis, creating a painting, and many other imaginative and inventive tasks. The book is for visual learners of all kinds, for scientists as well as artists, and for anyone who keeps a journal, notebook, or lab book in order to think and create visually. It is also a book for teachers and educational administrators interested in learning about new active learning strategies involving dr...

Teaching Children to Clean

The Ready-Set-Go Solution That Works!

by Schar Ward

2017

By the time a child is sixteen, they should be able to clean every room in the house. Schar Ward This book contains step-by-step instructions for teaching children and teenagers to clean an entire house. Plus many other life skills such as doing laundry, loading a dishwasher properly, and making a bed. Cleaning is not an option, it's a necessity! If your child doesn't learn, it'll plague them the rest of their lives. According to the latest research, teaching your child to clean may be the most important thing you ever do for them! You want your child to learn basic life skills, but finding the time for accomplishing this seems to get more difficult each day. What's the answer? A new approach, that practically does it for you! You'll find it in these pages and even more: * The resea...

Acquiring a Scientific Vocabulary

A Short Course for Building Lexical Literacy for Advancing AP and College Students

by Anthony M. Belmont

2019

A short course specifically designed for high school AP science students and college freshmen or sophomores in any science courses to provide an understanding of how scientific terminology is composed and to give students a "ballpark" knowledge of terms they see for the first time.It is extremely important that students be able recognize and use words in their specialized fields correctly. A basic knowledge of Latin and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes will enhance the student's ability to read and understand technically focused writing in books, scholarly journals, magazines, and other media. They can benefit from mastering the building blocks of scientific and technical terminology to strengthen their vocabulary and enhance their reading comprehension. High School students taking AP c...

Transitioning from School to Adulthood

Practical Activities for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Other Disabilities

by Jeanne Hager Burth, illustrated by Anthony Marghella

2020

Just as schools educate young people to become responsible citizens who can navigate the world of post-secondary education, careers, and social life, dedicated parents also want their child to mature and be independent and happy. Youth who transition to adulthood encounter many obstacles, including finances, skills for independent living, job security, and social connections. Transitioning from School to Adulthood: Practical Activities for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Other Disabilities is a collection of descriptions, instructions, and practice activities for young people who face more barriers than most emerging adults. These activities are helpful for teachers, service providers, and parents assisting individuals with ASD, along with other disorders, such as Cognitive D...

Theoretical and Practical Approaches to Non-Formal Education

Interdisciplinary Examinations into Various Instructional Models

by Daniel Mara and Margareta M. Thomson (editors)

2021

In this collection of work, the contributing authors tackle the topic of non-formal education from a variety of disciplines, such as computer science, psychology, education, science education, literacy, music, art, and social studies by sharing original perspectives, and proposing novel educational approaches. The book chapters present insights into designing and carrying out non-formal education activities, operational management strategies related to non-formal education, activating and creating the well-being of participants in non-formal education activities, and implementing active learning. The current volume appeals to a wide audience, including teachers, parents, students, and education specialists, as well as researchers and community members working with youth and children. More...

Weaving Dreams into the Classroom

Practical Ideas for Teaching about Dreams and Dreaming at Every Grade Level, including Adult Education

by Curtiss Hoffman & Jacquie Lewis (editors)

2014

Weaving Dreams into the Classroom is an extraordinary anthology which combines the seasoned experience of ten educators at all educational levels to provide the reader with practical, hands-on models for bringing the subject of dreams and dreaming to students. It also includes the perspective of a teenage student who has been embedded in a dream-centered education program since early childhood. The authors come from diverse backgrounds, including academic and clinical psychology, anthropology, and religious studies. Their home institutions range from small private colleges and institutes to large research universities, both in the United States and Great Britain. PRAISE FOR WEAVING DREAMS INTO THE CLASSROOM In recent years, there has been an unprecedented interest in dreams and how t...

Research, Teaching and Learning

Pedagogy and Practice in the Open and Distance Learning Paradigm

by Polly Kobeleva and Luke Strongman

2011

Research, Teaching and Learning presents ten essays which explore key factors in effective research teaching and learning practices, provide guidance for their implementation, and describe their benefits to academics and students in the Open and Distance Learning environment. The authors have written this book for the student, the academic and the organisation in the Open and Distance Learning paradigm, from a New Zealand and international perspective. This book provides a framework for the development and application of research, teaching, and learning for the academic within faculty and for managers of open and distance learning tertiary organisations.

One-Sheet-A-Day Math Drills

Grade 1 Addition - 200 Worksheets (Book 1 of 24)

by Neki C. Modi & Alpa A. Shah

2017

One-Sheet-A-Day Math Drills: Grade 1 Addition - 200 Worksheets is the first volume of the One-Sheet-A-Day Math Drill Workbook Series, a 24 volume set of math worksheets geared to follow most math curriculums for students in grades one through seven. This One-Sheet-A-Day math drill workbook is for 1st grade students who want extra practice with two numbers, single digit addition. It contains 200 math practice sheets, one for each school day of the year. Upon completion, the student will be more competent in 1st grade mathematics and ready to proceed with more difficult exercises. Unlike other math drill books, this is one of 24 workbooks created to establish a daily routine for each student to practice on their own from grades 1 through 7. It is specifically designed to gradually increa...

The Leverage of National Board Candidacy

by Jana Lynn Hunzicker

2007

The Leverage of National Board Candidacy is written for teachers considering the pursuit of National Board certification as well as for those currently engaged in the certification process. Capturing the experiences of Anne, Barbara, and Jamie, three teachers who sought NBPTS certification during the 2004-2005 school year, the book vividly describes their teaching practices, guiding philosophies, and thought processes before exploring each teacher’s learning as it occurred during the certification year. Comparing the three teachers' certification experiences to the findings of recently conducted research, the book explores characteristics of readiness for National Board candidacy, common learning outcomes of the NBPTS certification process, and possible explanations for the varying na...

The Science of Learning

A Systems Theory Approach

by Robert T. Hays, Ph.D.

2007

The Science of Learning: A Systems Theory Approach provides authoritative, comprehensive, learner-centric reviews and discussions of theories and research on learning processes, instructional approaches, and the uses of instructional media. It includes over 600 references to the most influential theoretical and empirical literature in the field. It also provides discussions on the scientific method and how to apply science and scientific thinking to the study of learning, the development of instruction, and the evaluation of instructional programs. The systems-theory orientation provided in the book helps the reader understand the diverse data on learning and helps to integrate these data into a rich knowledge base. The book also summarizes guidance on the application of learning research ...

Intensive Kids - Intensive Interventions

Designing School Programs for Behaviorally Disordered Children and Youth

by Kevin I. Coats

2006

The book focuses on what schools can do to educate and support children with serious emotional and behavioral problems. Written for the busy school administrator, school psychologist, special educator and other school leaders, it serves as a research-based, yet practical guide that pulls together key principles, information and resources helpful in the process of developing and implementing school-based programs. The reader will gain an understanding of the essential elements that contribute to quality intensive programming as well as information related to positive behavior management supports and program evaluation.

The Badventures of Creepy Cat

by Gordon Wright

2006

Parents Left Behind

A Top Down Policy Study of Section 1118 of No Child Left Behind

by Kyshun Andre Webster Sr.

2010

Parents Left Behind is an in-depth analysis of the policy implementation process for Section 1118 of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation. Section 1118 was designed to increase parental involvement in local schools. Four years after being signed into law, the question of how Section 1118 is understood and is being implemented by selected stakeholders, from the local, state, and federal levels were not answered in the available literature. This multi-level case study began the examination effort by describing how parental involvement programs were being implemented according to federal mandates in NCLB and how policy decisions to implement this law were made and interpreted by public actors at each governmental level to the street level context of the New Orleans Public Schoo...

The Alternative Educator's Handbook

Tools for Managing Students with Emotional and Behavioral Issues

by Paul J. Pattavina, Ph.D.

2019

The Alternative Educator’s Handbook, by Dr. Paul J. Pattavina, is a comprehensive, practical collection of strategies and researched practices to be implemented with students who present social, emotional and behavioral challenges in school. It is a handbook intended to serve as a practical resource for teachers and staff who work with students whose progress in school is interrupted by social and emotional issues – kids who tend to, either intentionally or unintentionally, ‘pluck your last nerve’. It reviews student characteristics and intervention procedures, as well as specific forms and procedures created or adapted over time and experience. The ideas in this book will serve as a guide for educators and mental health professionals who are responsible for these kinds of difficult studen...

The Mechanical Pencil

Concepts in Distance Education

by Luke Strongman

2013

The purpose of this book is to define and explain concepts in distance learning academia. The intended audience are students, faculty, staff and managers at tertiary education organizations. The ten chapters elucidate factors, concepts and trends which increasingly effect the academic environment of distance learning, such as:

-creativity
-communication practices
-culture, identity and equity
-academic freedom
-goodstudy habits
-ethics
-OpenEducational Resources (OER)
-networking
-Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

The Dubai International Conference in Higher Education 2013

Succeeding in the Pursuit of Quality

by Tessa Dunseath (Conference Organizing Chair, Michigan State University, Dubai UAE)

2013

The Dubai International Conference in Higher Education is a conference where educators, academic managers, students, and researchers from around the world come together to discuss the challenges facing education now and in the future.

As global youth unemployment steadily rises, there are even more demands on higher education institutions across the world to demonstrate their relevance both to the needs of the 21st century learner and to those of the 21st century employer.

The conference theme for 2013, 'Succeeding in the Pursuit of Quality,' offered an exciting opportunity for international educators to share knowledge, ideas, and expertise as we strive constantly for ever greater quality in teaching learning and research, leadership, and academic management.

Enrichment is not a Packet!

Out of the Box Strategies to Enrich Your High Level Students in a Truly Differentiated Classroom

by Michelle J. Marks

2019

Enrichment is not a Packet! provides educators with meaningful and practical strategies for engaging and challenging their highly capable learners. In it educators will discover approaches to offer choices within the classroom in ways that will allow the daily routine to run more smoothly. Educators will discover how to integrate proven techniques to motivate gifted students to reach beyond the bar of the standards. The target audience for this book would be classroom teachers, gifted and talented teachers, homeschool teachers, administrators, and curriculum directors who work with children in grades K-5. This book is different than others in the field because it is geared toward multiple grade levels and subject areas; therefore the ideas and strategies presented can be used from kinderga...

Differential Effects of a Multiple Intelligences Curriculum on Student Performance

by Thanh T. Nguyen

2002

The Fuller School is one of the six elementary schools in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a small urban community known for shipbuilding and fishing. Fuller students come from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds (from public housing facilities to affluent families) and a variety of ethnic groups (including Italian, Hispanic and Vietnamese). With its diverse population, the Fuller School represented an excellent environment to test the use of Multiple Intelligences (MI) as a foundation for its curriculum. This study aimed to examine one of the ten objectives of the FIRST Schools and Teacher Program Grant: "To improve student achievement on standardized tests" by using "multiple intelligences instruction." The results of the California Achievement Test/5 (CAT/5) given at grade 5 tended...

Dialogic Oriented Shared Book Reading Practices for Immigrant Children in German Kindergartens

by Maria Teodora Ping

2012

This study aimed at getting an insight to the practices of dialogic oriented shared book reading, as one potential language promotion activity for children with migration backgrounds in German kindergartens. Shared book reading in Germany itself has been one common daily activity in kindergartens, yet it has unfortunately not been so much of a specific research focus to be explored. One of the notable studies to refer to when discussing shared book reading in the German context is the study conducted by Wieler (1997). On the other hand, there are a number of internationally recognized studies in the field of early childhood education which already indicated that book reading influenced the outcome measures in preschool children’s language growth, emergent literacy and reading achievemen...

An Evaluation of Findings from Cleveland's State-Funded Voucher Program

by Willie J. Newton, Jr.

2011

This study examines the results of multiple evaluations of the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Grant Program (CTSP), a state-funded voucher program, by exploring extant evaluations and literature. Attention will be given to the following research question: Does participation in the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Grant Program have the hypothesized positive effect on traditional public school students' academic achievement? Cleveland's voucher program provides an ideal contextualized setting for ascertaining the extent to which school choice programs afford poor families the same educational options available to affluent families. This study concludes that overall there are no statistically significant gains in voucher students' academic achievement. In fact, it appears that some vo...

Online Distance Education

Historical Perspective and Practical Application

by Margaret Gorts Morabito

1999

Many educators and the public are interested in online distance education, in particular Internet-based schooling. The underlying assumption is that this is a new and untested fad in education. This is due in part to a lack of documentation within academia of the early development of online distance education, and, in part, to a shortage of experienced, practicing online schools. On the Internet, one may become confused by the flurry of activity and by the various claims from organizations that they are providing a revolutionary method of instruction--online teaching. Furthermore, many people are unaware of the long and distinguished history of distance education itself that is the root of current day Internet-based schooling. Despite the uncertainty, the public is clearly demanding o...

Attitudes Toward Interactivity in a Graduate Distance Education Program

by Brent Muirhead

1999

As distance education schools grow in popularity, contemporary educators are raising important instructional questions about quality of these programs. A vital question involves concerns about the level of interactivity or interaction between students and between teachers and students. Interactivity is a challenging subject because there are few research studies that address the issue. It is a dynamic entity that involves a number of important elements, but the researcher stressed three vital elements: communication, participation, and feedback. The study highlights research results from a survey of students who were pursuing on-line graduate degrees (masters and doctoral). Important distance education issues are discussed such as feedback from professors and the quality of academic dialo...

Redefining Babes, Booze and Brawls

Men Against Violence -- Towards A New Masculinity

by Luoluo Hong

1999

Despite evidence that 90% of violent crimes are committed by men, higher education professionals and researchers still understand relatively little about the process by which male students acquire the attitudes, knowledge, values and skills which serve as deterrents to perpetrating violence against women and against other men. Men Against Violence is a peer advocacy organization at a large, public Research I institution in the South which focuses on the special and unique responsibility men have to end violence. Through participation in a wide array of service learning, community action and leadership opportunities, MAV members challenge cultural norms which link masculinity with violence. Types of violence targeted by MAV include: fighting, domestic violence, rape, vandalism, hazing, h...

A Study of Undergraduate Fire Service Degree Programs in the United States

by Thomas B. Sturtevant

2001

Recent national efforts to coordinate and promote higher education in the fire service led to this national survey of fire service degree programs. The main purpose of the study was to gather descriptive information concerning fire service degree programs offered at two-year and four-year accredited institutions. A second purpose of the study was to identify the perceptions fire service degree program coordinators/directors hold concerning current and future issues affecting their programs. The information collected as part of the study can be used in a variety of ways from benchmarking among fire service degree programs to assistance and support with policy formation at the local, state, and federal level. Of the 248 institutions identified for this study, 222 (89.52 percent) were...

The Impact of Adventure-Based Training on Team Cohesion and Psychological Skills Development in Elite Sporting Teams

by Ian T. Boyle

2003

Adventure-based training has become an effective medium for delivering experiential training programs within a variety of disciplines such as; school outdoor education, corporate teamwork development, youth at risk and psychological counseling. In addition, Meyer & Wenger (1998) and Meyer (2000) were instrumental in pioneering research in to the efficacy of adventure-based training with sporting teams. This investigation adds to the growing body of knowledge in this area by demonstrating the positive effects an adventure training intervention has on athletes ability to learn new team and psychological skills. In addition, results indicated that individual and team performance might have been enhanced because of skills learnt during the intervention. This stud...

An Evaluation of Computer Based Training for Police Radar Operators

by Paul E. Konschak

2003

The purpose of this study was to examine two instructional methods for delivering a radar operators training class for members of a municipal police department. The first method examined was the traditional classroom-based training with a certified radar instructor. The second method was a computer-based training (CBT) course based on the instructional material from the classroom-based course. The CBT course was administered on CD-ROM using the police department s Windows© based computers. This study compared the two methods of delivery to determine if the CBT course was as effective as the traditional classroom-based course.Effectiveness was measured by the completion times of the two courses, examination scores, and overall participant satisfaction levels. These measures were conducted u...

Due Diligence

A New Theoretical Model for the School Board's Role in Creating Strategic Educational and Financial Planning Coherence

by Frances S. De Nuit

1999

The role of the school board in public K-12 schools is considered from the agency and the stakeholder perspectives. A new theoretical model for the school board members practice of due diligence encompassing content and process issues is developed from empirical literature on agency and stakeholder relationships, vision content and process, and strategy-making process capability. A four pronged methodology is used to test the model and resolve research issues on the practice of due diligence: 1) Development of an accountability measure of student performance using the Accountability Report from the New Mexico State Department of Education; 2) Testing of 10 propositions and 7 hypotheses using case studies of seven districts, survey results of 89 district board presidents and superinte...

Elemental Movement

A Somatic Approach to Movement Education

by Rae Johnson

2001

This thesis describes the theory and methods of an original somatic approach to movement education. Based on the five Elements of ancient philosophical tradition, Elemental Movement integrates somatic and alchemical principles, processes, and practice. It employs movement as the primary vehicle for a wide range of personal explorations, using the Elements both as a framework and as a set of symbolic tools. The first two sections offer a review of the literature on Elemental, alchemical, and psychological theory related to the development of Elemental Movement. The third section outlines a basic conceptual framework, and the fourth describes the methodology of the approach. In addition to describing the historical, theoretical, and methodological bases of Elemental Movement, this book is...

A Case Study of Seven Taiwanese English as a Foreign Language Freshman Non-English Majors’ Perceptions about Learning Five Communication Strategies

by Grace Hui Chin Lin

2007

The purpose of this study was to identify what were Taiwanese University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ perceptions about learning communication strategies. This study collected qualitative data about students’ beliefs and attitudes as they learned communication strategies. The research question guiding the study was: What are Taiwanese University EFL learners’ perceptions about learning communication strategies? Twenty-four university students were trained for 10 weeks to use strategies in Faerch and Kasper’s (1983a) taxonomy, and seven volunteers were interviewed. None of the students majored in English but were enrolled in a required Basic English course in a Freshman English Non-Majors’ (FENM) program in Agriculture College at Tunghai University. In the middle and at th...

Examining Academic and Social Needs of High School Incarcerated Youth from Teachers' Perspective

by J. Brent Hanchey

2010

The goal of this dissertation is to provide research on the educational and societal needs of incarcerated youth by examining teachers' perceptions, both academically and socially, which will result in successful student transition into the traditional environment. Many of the educational approaches within incarceration school settings are instituted using the traditional school model, which is not conducive to the needs of incarcerated youth. Within incarceration educational pedagogy, youths also need socio-emotional skills when faced with the transition into the traditional environment in order to avoid recidivism. Community-based support and prevention-oriented collaboration are also required in their quest for a successful transition to mainstream society. Students' progress should be ...

Private Higher Education and the Labor Market in China

Institutional Management Efforts & Initial Employment Outcomes

by Yingxia Cao

2008

Private Higher Education and the Labor Market in China focuses on Chinese private higher education institutions and investigates their institutional management efforts in linking private higher education to the labor market. The dissertation firstly describes and analyzes how these mostly demand-absorbing institutions include elements aimed at meeting labor market demands in their mission statements, and how they improve student employability and bridge graduates and employers through job-oriented fields of study provision, educational delivery, career services, as well as networking and partnerships. It then examines graduate surveys on initial employment outcomes about employment status, starting salary, job and education match, and job satisfaction, while exploring the associations of t...

Individualized Education

Understanding in Light of the Introduction of the Progressive/Regressive Forming and Establishing Developmental Model, as a Human Right That Ultimately Promotes Higher Quality of Life Globally Through Local Practices

by Gary L. Hoover

2003

Individualized Education: Understanding in Light of the Introduction of the Progressive/Regressive Forming and Establishing Developmental Model, as a Human Right That Ultimately Promotes Higher Quality of Life Globally Through Local Practices is an interdisciplinary Ph. D. thesis that analyzes and discusses the importance, influences, and practicality of IEPs (Individualized Educational Programs) in global terms. Furthermore, this thesis statement introduces the Progressive/Regressive Forming and Establishing Developmental Model. This model is a theoretical tool for analyzing individuals in light of social expected norms and how synergy of collective individuals, families, and social organizations local through global positive and negative potential synergy. Using this model, IEPs can b...

An Answer to Disenfranchised Students

High School Credit-Recovery and Acceleration Programs Increasing Graduation Rates for Disenfranchised, Disengaged, and At-risk Students at Nontraditional Alternative High Schools

by Sharon D. Jones Deloach, Ed.D

2016

Many school districts across this great nation are facing serious patterns of underachievement of students who do not fit well in a mainstream educational environment. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of graduates from a credit-recovery nontraditional alternative high school that influenced his or her graduation. Nationally, many high school students are not earning sufficient credits to remain on grade level with their freshman level cohort. These at-risk students need options with stronger incentives to obtain high school credits and meet graduation requirements. Credit-recovery nontraditional alternative high schools involve an at-risk student population who are at a greater risk of academic, social, and emoti...

Alcohol and the Chosen Few

Organizational Reproduction in an Addictive System

by James C. Arnold

1998

This dissertation is an interpretive case study that examines alcohol use by a specific subculture of undergraduates, a college fraternity. Based on nearly three years of investigation using interviews, observation, and document analysis, this study takes a detailed look at the organization's indoctrination process and the ways that their practices are explained by its most astute observers, specifically high-status insiders. Various elements of the author's biography are integrated into the text and used to enhance understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. The multiple purposes of this research were to offer a thick description of college student drinking practices, to describe and understand the organization's socialization processes, and, ultimately, to present an analysis of...

Making It

Resilient Women Overcoming Adversity in Defiance of Negative Predictors of Success

by Linda L. Meccouri

1998

Social indicators such as low socioeconomic status, minority status, battering, chronic illness, trauma, drug and alcohol addiction, and poor social environment are negative predictors of educational and social success. Why is it that some people, however, overcome adversity and succeed despite the odds? This study identifies and describes the context and factors involved for an ethnically diverse group of twenty adult women from low socioeconomic status being able to "succeed" despite the odds. Using qualitative in-depth oral history interviews, this study includes women whose voices are seldom heard in the literature - those who have many of the social indicators associated with failure, but who have defied the negative predictors for success and persisted beyond high school to pos...

Success Factors Among Community College Students in an Online Learning Environment

by Paula B. Doherty

2000

Little is known about student success in online learning environments, especially how the predisposing characteristics that the learner brings to the learning environment may differentially affect student outcomes. This study explored the question of whether a student's "readiness" to be a self-directed learner is a predictor of student success in an online community college curriculum. The specific goal of this investigation was to determine whether there was a significant relationship between self-directed learning readiness-as measured by Guglielmino's (1977) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS)- and student success-as measured by course completion, grade point average (GPA) and student satisfaction, the latter assessed by student responses to an opinion poll. The subject...

Primary Education in Ecuador's Chota Valley

Reflections on Education and Social Reproduction in the Development Era

by Kevin Lucas

2000

In November 1998, the author arrived in Mascarilla, a small village in Ecuador's predominantly-black Chota Valley, to begin a six-month teaching assignment at the Escuela "Hernando Tquez" (the local primary school). Based both on his own observations and on the assessments offered by various former students, parents, community leaders, and Ecuadorean scholars, the author judges the educational performance of the Escuela "Hernando Tquez" to be grossly inadequate. Indeed, the various shortcomings attributed to the school (and documented as a case study in chapters three and four of this book) are so glaring that the author was led to question how such a dysfunctional school could be allowed to exist in a country where the government states that "to improve education is to improve the q...

An Ethnographic Study of a Special Education School

The Harris-Hillman Story

by Frederick L. Patrick

1997

The purpose of this study was to describe, using the tools of ethnography and qualitative research, selected events in the history of a public special education school and its school culture. The year of the study, 1994-1995, the school served 125 students with cerebral palsy and other disabilities affecting some or all of their physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities. Study participants included faculty and staff, former students, parents, school administrators, and others identified with the school and in the Nashville community during the 1994-1995 school year. In-depth interviews with study participants, on-site observations, semi-structured interviews with informants, document, and archival research were used to create five collective tales based on stories of those who k...

Educational Qualifications of Middle-Grade School Teachers

What Principals of Schools Along the Texas-Mexico Border Seek in New Hires

by Mike F. Desiderio

1998

Principals of middle-grade schools in port of entry communities along the Texas-Mexico border were surveyed to learn about the education and preparational experiences these principals believed novice teachers should have before coming to teach in their schools. Demographic data about themselves, teachers, students and middle-grade schools, along with suggestions for improving Texas teacher education programs were also obtained. Mexican Americans were the dominant ethnic group and culture in these schools for principals, teachers and students. Principals were mostly male, well educated, and certified for the position they held. Student populations ranged from 437--1,603 in rural, urban and suburban settings. Eighty-two percent of the student population participated in the Federal Free ...

Funding Strategies for Institutional Advancement of Private Universities in the United States

Applications for African/Congolese Universities

by Jean-Pierre K. Bongila

2003

This study examined the institutional advancement programs of successful American private/Catholic universities, two private universities in the United Sates, and two institutions in the Congo. Funding strategies constitute the backbone of advancement programs for successful American private universities/colleges. This study also investigated the funding mechanisms that successful private universities in the United States utilized to obtain philanthropic dollars. Further, the research assessed the roles of the successful private university presidents and trustees, and determined how public relations impacted the institutional advancement results of those institutions. Finally, the results of this investigation suggested practical applications for the Congolese/African universities. Grun...

The Moral of the Story

Content, Process, and Reflection in Moral Education through Narratives

by John H. Lockwood

1999

The problem this project attempts to solve is to develop a workable moral education in light of the clash between religious forms of moral education and U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning them. The concept of story and storytelling has been suggested as a unifying focus for disparate prescriptions for moral education. Several recent approaches to moral storytelling have been proposed. The approaches of William Bennett, Nel Noddings, and Herbert Kohl are among those which have attempted to combine moral education and storytelling within the last decade. Bennett is identified with other theorists whose primary concern is the moral content of a story. Noddings is identified as a process theorist, whose primary concern is the process of moral storytelling, not the content. Kohl is i...

Effects of Computer-Based Cooperative Learning on the Problem Solving Skills of Grade Six Students

by Steven Poris

2000

This study was designed to determine if sixth-grade students' problem solving skills were improved by means of their experience with a computer-based logical puzzle game designed to increase reasoning skills, and, in turn, problem solving ability. Students worked on this game either in cooperative learning pairs or alone. Baseline and post-experimental problem-solving ability was measured through the administration of a Problem Solving Test; Form A was utilized as a pretest for this purpose, Form B was used as a post-test. Comparisons of problem-solving ability based upon post-test scores (Form B) were made among four groups of students (N = 106): Group 1: Students (n = 26) who worked on the computer-based puzzle game in cooperative learning pairs Group 2: Students (n = 27) ...

An Alternative Framework for Community Learning Centers in the 21st Century

A Systemic Design Approach Toward the Creation of a Transformational Learning System

by Michael F. Reber

2003

Public Community Learning Centers (CLCs), at least in the context of the United States, are social structures that have been established to address particular community needs. In the beginning, they were instituted as extensions of state departments' human services in order to assist communities with programs such as adult literacy and high school graduation certification. Today, they have taken on a broader role as a result of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title X, Part I) that gives rural and inner-city public schools nearly $2 billion over five years (1999-2004) to develop CLCs for programs such as mentoring in basic skills or helping high school students prepare for college. Despite these noble efforts, public CLCs are still not integral parts of community sustainab...

The Sacrament of Confession as a "Sequela Christi" in the Writings of A. von Speyr

by William Schmitt

2001

Adrienne von Speyr in her book "Confession" and throughout her writings speaks of the "confession" of Jesus Christ. This is a startling use of the term because Christ never sinned. The author examines all the writings of von Speyr in the light of Roman Catholic soteriology and sacramental theology and in view of the influences that existed between her and Hans Urs von Balthasar. The author then shows how the theme of confession is central to von Speyr's writing, aids in illuminating her theology of Holy Saturday and the Paschal Mystery, and serves as the basis for the renewal of the sacrament of confession.