In 2000 several STEM faculty at Bethel College in Kansas designed and began offering a one-week intensive residential summer research experience for high school students--the Bethel College Summer Science Institute. The core idea underlying the design was to motivate students through the excitement of discovery. This event has been offered…

Social-emotional learning programs are increasingly being implemented in U.S. schools to address a wide range of problematic behaviors (e.g., bullying, delinquency) and to promote academic success. The current study examined the direct and indirect impact of the Second Step Middle School Program (Committee for Children, 2008) on bullying,…

Background: Fear appeals are commonly used in health communication to reduce risk. It is not clear, however, whether familiarity with a health topic can lessen the threat intended. The use of unregulated dietary supplements among young adults is one such area that needs study. Purpose: The study examined the effect of fear appeals on…

The experience and reflection of participants of the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) program are the focus of this article. Many Kansas superintendents face the challenge of working hundreds of miles from colleagues who wear similar hats and work in comparable roles. Often the closest professional mentors or peers live hours away,…

This study sought to provide insight regarding how novice teachers perceive the influence of receiving an award for excellence early in their careers. The questions guiding this study focus on the perceptions of the respondents regarding whether or not they perceived that the award was motivating; whether the award influenced them personally,…

A problem in American education is that rural schools have difficulty recruiting licensed teachers. Teacher shortages in mathematics, science, foreign language, and special education are more acute in rural areas. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive survey study was to examine specific recruiting strategies and newly hired licensed…

In this study, the authors determine special educators' judgments of the use, intensity, and effectiveness of communication and behavior management strategies. In an earlier study, F. H. Wood (1991) examined general educators' cost-benefit considerations in managing behavior of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. As an extension of…

In an effort to draw together a program response to needs of those preparing to teach in rural/small schools, a review of literature is provided, which concludes with an indepth look at a 1982 research project conducted on the topic. It investigates how important some 45 areas of college studies are to success in current teaching assignments of…

The progress report covers the first year activities of the East Central Kansas Cooperative in Education's interrelated service delivery system for providing services for handicapped students in rural areas. Following a presentation of the rationale for using the interrelated service delivery approach, the following project objectives and the…

This guide, designed to help school staff members evaluate their testing programs, may apply to district-wide or state-wide programs. The four sections contain: forms to be completed of current testing inventory; a form covering the organizational and administrative details of the local testing program; an evaluation form dealing with the…

A project was conducted (1) to determine the effectiveness of using career education practitioners from the field in providing prospective teachers with an understanding of career education concepts relative to teaching responsibilities and (2) to demonstrate and compare the effectiveness of delivering career education activities through the use…

Results are reported from 12 on-site visits and from mailed questionnaire returns regarding the continuing effects of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-C, Innovative Exemplary Program, on education in Kansas. At each district visited, information was obtained, and verified when possible, regarding the changes resulting from…

In 1986-87, Schools for Quality Education, an organization of some 80 small schools in Kansas, and the Center for Rural Education and Small Schools (College of Education, Kansas State University) jointly investigated the effectiveness of representative smaller schools serving rural areas in Kansas. The study, which was conducted in two phases,…

Schools for Quality Education, an organization of some 80 small Kansas schools, and the Center for Rural Education and Small Schools (College of Education, Kansas State University) in 1986-87 jointly investigated the effectiveness of representative smaller schools serving Kansas's rural areas. Phase 1 identified the most important indicators of…