Principals can tap the tacit knowledge, or "deep smarts," of their teachers in a variety of ways, many of which are based on the notion that tacit knowledge is best sought indirectly. Coming right out and asking people to share what they have learned over the years can be intimidating and disconcerting, especially if trust has not yet been…

Perceptions of good parent-adolescent relationships were explored among 19 Mexican American high school students aged 14-17 who participated in focus group interviews on what it means for Mexican American teenagers to have good relationships with parents. Using a grounded theory approach, five general themes emerged in the responses, corresponding…

The growing use of both computers and the Internet in adult English language classrooms has widespread implications for English language programs. As computer access increases, so do new learning technologies in adult literacy education. Specifically, this paper is interested in the case of adult English language instruction, also commonly…

This paper discusses qualitative research into young people's views of independent children's advocacy services in Wales. We conducted focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews with over 80 children who had used advocacy or whose circumstances suggested them as potential users of advocacy. Our topics of enquiry were structured by…

This study describes a series of focus groups conducted with employers. A series of 10 focus groups was conducted in 10 different communities in a midwestern state, with small, medium, and large communities represented. A total of 67 participants, representing human resources offices and direct supervisors, responded to questions regarding…

The term scientific literacy is defined differently in different contexts. The term literacy simply refers to the ability for one to read and write, but recent studies in language literacy have extended this definition. New literacy research seeks a redefinition in terms of how skills are used rather than how they are learned. Contemporary…

Early career special educators must be engaged in conversations with developers of preservice teacher preparation programs to co-construct initial teacher education programs which meet their needs. The process of listening to the teachers themselves could serve to ensure that teachers are an explicit element of program design. This article…

With regard to sexual content, an argument is often made that sexual jokes, innuendoes, and behavior on television "go over kids' heads." To address this issue, focus groups were conducted with children between the ages of 8 and 13. Children viewed a tape of a selection of clips containing sexual content from programs aired in 1996…

The Teaching Facilitator portion of the Mathematics for Tomorrow project seeks to help a small number of teacher-leaders acquire the skills, beliefs, and knowledge they will need to lead their peers in ongoing inquiry and investigation into mathematics teaching practice. This descriptive study examines the experiences, beliefs, and concerns of…

This document reports on a pilot study of public attitudes toward professional development for teachers. The study was based on four focus groups conducted by Public Agenda in Fort Lee (New Jersey), Birmingham (Alabama), Denver (Colorado), and Albuquerque (New Mexico). Each group was comprised of approximately 10 participants recruited by local…

This study examined parent education needs of fathers incarcerated at a state correctional facility. Focus groups and follow-up individual interviews were used with 30 fathers ranging in age from 17 to 28. All of the men had at least one child 6 years of age or younger. The sample represented a range of cultural and family backgrounds. The…

Policy catalysts such as welfare reform or research findings on the impact of day care provide new opportunities to frame the discussion surrounding early childhood education. This group of working papers examines effective language for discussing communication strategies for advocacy. The first paper, "Early Childhood Education and the…

In 2002, representatives from the teacher educator associations representing the core content areas (science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies) and educational technology met at the National Technology Leadership Retreat (NTLR) to discuss potential implications of ubiquitous computing for K-12 schools. This paper re-examines some of…

Focus group interviews were used to gather information from adolescent participants that could be applied to the design of a smoking prevention program. Various students of low socioeconomic status took part in role plays, auctions, and guided discussions to learn about smoking attitudes. (Author/DF)

The intent of this study is to explore how WAP (wireless application protocol) technology mediates online discussions. The focus of this research is on the implications of WAP technology for online discussions, and the types of discussion topics that are most suitable for WAP-based discussions and the finding of the combination of WAP- and…