This study investigated teacher attrition and retention in seven Virginia school divisions representing urban, suburban, and rural localities. Focus group interviews of teachers who stay in their school divisions and telephone interviews of teachers who migrated to another school division or who left the teaching profession revealed a hierarchy of…

Twenty-five recent graduates of a Master's Program in Early Childhood Special Education participated in focus group interviews designed to explore their perceptions and experiences regarding their first years of practice in urban schools. Findings revealed that participants faced many challenges including collaboration with colleagues, seeking…

The set of materials presented here are curriculum materials from a workplace literacy and basic skills program, funded largely through the U.S. Department of Education and operated by a food and beverage workers' local union. The program offered instruction from 1990-94 in basic skills, General Education Development (GED), workplace…

The set of materials was designed to provide nutrition instruction to Spanish-speaking farm workers using radio broadcasts. It includes audiocassette tapes of four novellas (mini-dramas) on nutrition-related topics (diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, pregnancy, smart shopping), talk shows on the same topics, a public service…

This study examined issues concerned with the participation of students with disabilities or with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in Minnesota's Profile of Learning, a taxonomy of learning expectations covering 13 different curricular areas across four different developmental levels (grades 3, 5, 8, and graduation level). Representatives…

The Tuscarora Intermediate Unit Adult Education and Job Training Center planned, coordinated, delivered, and evaluated a 2-day institute on organizational change and improvement. The 85 agency staff members who attended the institute received an orientation to organizational change and improvement based on the latest theory and methodologies but…

A study examined reasons that adult female students are motivated to enroll in distance learning programs, described their perceptions of the courses, and identified barriers these women face as they attempt to progress through their degree programs. Results of focus groups with 40 returning adult women were analyzed. Their needs were grouped into…

This booklet reports on focus groups organized by the California Youth Connection (CYC) in which foster youth across California discussed their experiences. Results of these focus groups were evaluated to see how the experiences matched current assumptions and knowledge. The intent of this booklet is to accurately depict the ideas, concerns, and…

The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumer-run self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning,…

This study examined the nature of relationships and rewards for student affairs administrators at liberal arts colleges (LACs). Forty-three student affairs administrators from LACs participated in five focus groups. Results indicate that administrators tend to spend most of their time with students, followed try other student affairs…

This paper describes the outcomes of a two-day Higher Education focus group meeting at Blencathra Field Centre, Cumbria, in November 2003. A review of the current status of fieldwork in undergraduate courses was undertaken. The data available indicates that although the number of students enrolling in Biological Science courses has increased, in…

School personnel at seven urban elementary schools in a high poverty area were surveyed to determine if a multi-faceted approach to school violence prevention (including a major emphasis on collaboration between community human service agencies and schools) was successful in reducing indicators of violence (bullying, fighting, gang involvement,…

This study explores the potential of networked handheld computers to support collaborative problem solving in small groups. Drawing on data from a middle school mathematics classroom equipped with a wireless handheld network, I argue that the sharing of mathematical objects through interactive devices broadens the "bandwidth" of classroom…

Objective: The overall aim of the research was to investigate the approaches taken to tobacco education by primary school teachers. Setting: Research was conducted in four diverse areas of Scotland. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with primary 6 and primary 7 teachers. Questions explored the classroom issues…

My project explored whether or not my approach to teaching an interracial communication course was effective in reducing racial prejudice and promoting racial sensitivity and awareness among undergraduate students. Analysis of student narratives and focus groups reveals that my approach was effective in impacting student perceptions of, and…