As students are asked to share more of the costs of a post-secondary education, the quality of their overall educational experience and perceived return on investment (ROI) are increasingly important. For prospective students and their parents, what they are told they can expect from the student experience at an institution often makes the most…

This study was an investigation of the affect a leader's oral communication skill has on follower performance. The purpose of this study was to explore what affect a leader's oral communication skill with followers has on the quality of the leader-follower relationship and the follower's achievement of the organizations external objectives. A…

Mandated by Congress, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) surveys the educational accomplishments of U.S. students and monitors changes in those accomplishments. NAEP tracks the educational achievement of fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students over time in selected content areas. Since 1969, NAEP has been collecting data…

This qualitative, narrative, phenomenological interview study explored the reasons general education teachers resist teaching in inclusion classrooms. The problem researched was that general education teachers are unwilling to teach in inclusion classrooms in eastern Virginia elementary schools. Twenty participants were interviewed, textual data…

This toolkit is designed to help community schools evaluate their efforts so that they learn from their successes, identify current challenges, and plan future efforts. It provides a step-by-step process for planning and conducting an evaluation at your community school site(s). The toolkit is a practical, hands-on guide that makes it possible for…

Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to reduce the number of uninsured children in low-income families that do not qualify for Medicaid. States have flexibility in structuring their SCHIP programs, and their income eligibility limits vary. Concerns have been raised that individuals might substitute SCHIP for…

Institutions of higher education, the major source of the nation's scientists and engineers, perform about one-half of the nation's basic research. Therefore, the level, distribution, and characteristics of federal academic support are of much interest to officials at federal, state, and local levels and in nongovernmental sectors. The National…

In the domain of school-based tobacco control, there is a large gap between the research being performed and the type of research needed to inform school-based prevention activities. The tobacco module of the school health action planning and evaluation system is a data collection and feedback system designed to support school-based tobacco…

The purposes of this study were to determine preservice physics teachers' instructional beliefs and to investigate the relationship between their beliefs and practices. The theoretical framework was based on the combination Haney & McArthur's ("Science Education," 86(6):783-802, 2002) research and Ford's (1992) motivation systems theory. A…

The belief systems with which teacher candidates enter their preservice programs powerfully shape their perceptions about teaching and learning. Data were gathered from 412 teacher candidates over the course of 5 academic years. Each of the participants posed 2 questions at the beginning of their course that they would like to be answered during…

This article explores the development of observation in scientific and everyday contexts. Fundamental to all scientific activity, expert observation is a complex practice that requires the coordination of disciplinary knowledge, theory, and habits of attention. On the surface, observation appears to be a simple skill. Consequently, children may be…

Mental health problems among children in schools are on the increase. To exercise due diligence in their responsibility to monitor and promote mental health among our nation's children, school counselors may learn from triage systems employed in hospitals, clinics, and mental health centers. The School Counselor's Triage Model provides school…

Purpose: To describe a standardized observation protocol to determine if nursing home (NH) staff offer choice to residents during 3 morning activities of daily living (ADL) and compare the observational data with deficiency statements cited by state survey staff. Design and Methods: Morning ADL care was observed in 20 NHs in 5 states by research…

This article illustrates how an emerging graduate researcher's conceptions of postpositivist, feminist, and poststructural theories of educational research affected data gathering and initial analysis. These macro theories are exemplified as the voices of an educational researcher, a feminist researcher, and a poststructural researcher,…

This article describes how Readers Theatre was implemented as an engaging means for reading fluency instruction in a second-grade classroom. A weekly Readers Theatre format was utilized over the course of a school year. The format was added to the existing literacy program. Data collected during the school year revealed significant gains in…