This conceptual study examines the importance of relationships between teachers and students in court-mandated adult education settings. Although research has been done on the importance of relationships between teachers and incarcerated students, there have been no outstanding studies on the relationships developed between teachers and students…

This research investigates the ways in which three African American high school girls interpret and challenge racialized and sexualized media representations of their race, class, and gender within music videos. The authors assert that these students' ability to counter stereotypes is a reflection of their cultural orientations, as well as their…

The environmental education through filmmaking project, a case study at an alternative US public high school, investigates environmental literacies of "at-risk" students who produced two short documentary films, one on recycling and one on water conservation. The filmmaking project sought to promote students' awareness of environmental issues and…

Prejudice and systematic discrimination have often been mentioned as major causes for the chronic underachievement of Roma students. In this paper we present a case study of a Romanian teacher involved in Second Chance, an educational program implemented in Romania in 2004 for the benefit of disadvantaged groups such as the Roma population. Since…

This study examined the relationship of the achievement of African American male students enrolled in an early college high school to those enrolled in a performing arts high school. The Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) scores of the 11th-grade African American male students from an early college high school were compared to the GHSGT…

This study investigated the impact of a leader's sex on the climate of alternative schools. Specifically, the problem was "Does a principal's sex have an impact on the climate of alternative schools?" The research attempted to answer the following questions: (1) Do differences with regard to a principal's sex exist within the following…

There is a great deal of research detailing the WHAT of effective school leadership--what school leaders in traditional schools need to know and do to lead in those schools. There is little research, however, on what leaders of alternative education programs need to know and do. Also, in contrast to the many higher education preparation programs…

In a society that reaches for silver-bullet solutions, higher education is not immune from widespread attempts to raise graduation rates through scaling one-size-fits-all models at lower costs. Yet people at Big Picture Learning believe any true, long-term solution that will produce more graduates with high-quality degrees must be…

Research demonstrates that authentic instruction is an effective form of teaching and raising student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine high school math or science teachers who had a high interest in using authentic instruction in three different school settings--an alternative school, a charter school, and a traditional…

The article addresses the effective use of full-time and part-time faculty in transforming an institutionalized marginalized professional studies unit into an academic unit with greater academic credibility, as perceived by traditional colleagues and accreditors. Recommendations are supported by a case study narrative from the experiences of the…

This study investigated how school leaders recognize and validate cultural and social capital of hyperghettoized at-risk students. Two primary research questions drove this research: (1) Did traditional school leaders recognize the social and cultural capital of at-risk, African American students? (2) How did an effective school leader validate…

This article discusses how alternative schools, depending on local and state policies, do and do not operate as schools of choice. A case scenario describes a difficult situation for an at-risk young adult. Additionally, the referral process under which many alternative schools function is described. (Contains 8 notes.)

Most discussions of charter schools assume that they are monolithic. While the media, researchers, and policymakers are obsessed with comparing charters to traditional public schools, there's been little interest in comparing different types of charter schools to one another--until now. This study--the first of its kind--categorizes the nation's…

Outdoor education (OE) takes place within a range of program settings and contexts (e.g., recreational, educational, developmental, or therapeutic). Experiential learning is central to OE and focuses these programs around elements of inquiry, active learning and reflection in the outdoor classroom. The personal, social and environmental benefits…

On a mid-week day in mid-December 2008, Boston Day and Evening Academy's room 209, usually used for board meetings, student assessments, awards dinners, and other occasions requiring an intimate atmosphere, smelled like Chinese food. These second-trimester students at Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) were having a reunion after just a few…