In Spring 2007, the State Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges awarded the Transfer Leadership Center (TLC) study to investigate two-to-four year transfer practices and strategies. As part of the study's qualitative component, research teams from the Center for Student Success of the Research & Planning Group of the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and the efficacy of regional special education programs. Focus groups were conducted in an independent school district and two special education cooperatives. Focus groups were conducted with general education teachers, special education teachers, principals, paraprofessionals,…

The role played by the institutional research office in the successful re-engineering of the University of Miami (Florida) college of engineering is described. The private research university's engineering school was at risk of closure due to declining enrollment and a changing job market. A committee of engineering faculty and other university…

A survey of 136 science faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, and focus group interviews, provided perceptions and input to be used to rethink the science library's organizational structure and services. Users felt the following to be important library services: consulting the Melvyl databases; borrowing books; interlibrary loan services;…

A study recruited students, parents, guidance counselors, and school administrators to participate in eight focus group discussions regarding implementation of new approaches to career guidance and counseling designed to support Wisconsin's School-to-Work Transition Initiative. Participants voiced strong support for fundamentally changing the…

Sustainable e-Learning holds the promise of enabling higher education to meet the needs of a large and diverse market. Central to this is the response of academic staff teams in meeting the needs of individual learners, in order to enfranchise them within an evolving, enabling learning context. Enfranchisement is underpinned by the management of…

When designing a language program, it is often difficult to create a workable balance between a desired ideal and the realities imposed by limited resources. Ultimately, the task is to make the best use of the available materials within the allotted time frame by drawing on the creativity and expertise of the staff. The following is a brief…

This paper describes a project in which faculty collaborated with two agencies to facilitate student learning about communication with elders. Data on student learning was collected via survey, focus groups, and reflective writing. Survey results showed that the five most important benefits students rated themselves as gaining from the…

This paper offers some historical perspective on alternative research traditions and discusses some of the basic principles of community-based research as a tool for partnership development. The authors then describe an example of how Calvin College, a Christian comprehensive liberal arts college has used a multi-disciplinary approach in…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" reports research that revealed mental health consultation has positive impact on teacher and center quality. Research has shown that parents of children,…

Noting that helping war-affected children cope with the impact of conflict is a vital part of the post-war recovery of an entire society, this report details a qualitative study that used a series of focus group discussions with 7- to 18-year-olds and their families and participatory activities with children in Kabul, Afghanistan to gather…

In response to the growing Latino population, a project examined barriers and supports for community development for Latinos in seven rural Minnesota communities. In each community, bilingual facilitators conducted two Latino and one non-Latino focus groups. Findings revealed much strength in these communities. Residents appreciated the economic…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate, from a national perspective, the impact and outcomes of market reform in vocational education and training (VET), particularly the introduction of competitive tendering and "user choice". It does so by examining the structure, composition and dynamics of contestable or "quasi-markets"…

African-American parents whose children attended 12 different Baltimore City Public Schools (Maryland) made it clear while participating in a focus group that white teachers have a lot to learn about teaching their children. Forty-three parents whose children were involved in an enrichment program at an urban community college emphasized that they…

Two research projects focused on use of casual markers (graders) for correcting and grading distance education (DE) students' work. A Charles Sturt University project convened focus groups of DE students, casual DE markers, and lecturers who "managed" markers to uncover concerns. University of South Australia research focused on pedagogical issues…