THREADS: Humanities in a union setting

THREADS is the Humanities project of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). THREADS also received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council for the Humanities and the Michigan Council on the Arts. The project has conducted programs for thousands of active and retired blue collar workers in 17 states. The programs are interdisciplinary and involve the active participation of the students. Three formats have been used: on-going discussion groups on the themes of work, family and community; programs conducted as part of regular union activities; and single programs or short series on topical issues. Programs utilized print and nonprint materials and were supplemented by appropriate field trips.THREADS was funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council for the Humanities and the Michigan Council for the Arts.     

A community development approach to the prevention of institutional and societal child maltreatment

The Community/Institutional Development (CID) system addresses the needs of children placed in out-of-home care facilities. The major purpose of the system is to prevent the occurrence of institutional and societal child maltreatment. It features community/institutional collaboration in the review of institutionalized children's care, and the development of programs to prevent child maltreatment. This would represent a genuine collaboration between institutions and their communities, assessing the contributions of both to the quality of child care. At this time the CID system is a pilot project in the state of Kansas. There are a total of eight public and private child care institutions involved. The project is endorsed by the Office of the Governor, the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services and the Kansas Chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Preliminary impressions indicate that the CID concept is practical, feasible and cost effective. It could also be adapted to the needs of other age groups. The concept is outlined.     

Choosing teaching as a career in urban public Catholic and Jewish schools by graduates of elite colleges

Recruitment, preparation, and retention of graduates of elite colleges is considered an innovative approach to improve teacher quality and promote change in the neediest schools. While the debate over the effectiveness of such programs is heavily focused on programs like Teach For America, this paper considers three teacher preparation programs located at elite colleges that combine alternative and traditional teacher preparation. This article argues that teachers who were trained at elite colleges and who chose teaching in urban public, urban Catholic, and Jewish schools tend to (a) conceptualize teaching around broad issues related to social justice, educational change, and community revitalization, arguing they joined teaching to improve society, and (b) seek leadership positions in their respective school sectors. These findings carry substantial policy implications in the areas of teacher recruitment, preparation, retention, and teacher quality.     

An Overview of Community College Programs for Elderly Texans

Abstract

This report presents a summary of the program presented by 16 Texas community and junior colleges for people over age 60 during the academic year 1974–1975. This program, funded by the Governor's Committee on Aging and administered by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, supported demonstration projects to improve the quality of life of elderly Texans through innovative educational activities. The development of these programs and the kind of activities made available are described. The majority of these colleges have subsequently continued programs with local funds, based on their demonstration experiences. This pilot project has helped a number of colleges in Texas enter the field of late-life education and, in turn, is helping the older residents in these communities to have an educational program of their own.     

Let’s start at the very beginning: the impact of program origins and negotiated community–university partnerships on Canadian radical humanities programs

This article examines the community–university partnerships and the planning process of three Canadian Radical Humanities programs: programs that offer university entry-level humanities to adult learners on the margins of society. Examining these three iterations has revealed the significance of program origins, particularly the introduction of frame factors shaping student options and the potential for institutional change, and the importance of clarifying roles and expectations in community–university partnerships.     

Triangulating Perspectives: A Needs Assessment to Develop an Outreach Program for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations

This article describes the tiered process used to conduct a needs assessment and the implications of the methods employed had on the design and development of interventions for a community audience. A needs assessment was conducted to identify health needs for an underserved, vulnerable population. This report emphasizes the findings addressing the need for preventative educational materials and programming. Ethnographic characteristics were used to gather information from multiple sample sources in order to triangulate data from three different perspectives: (1) the client, (2) providers and support staff, and (3) educators in the community. The outcomes of this project will serve as input for designing and implementing innovative educational outreach programs for the vulnerable and underserved populations and for community‐based physicians and medical students who serve the community.     

The odd couple: Effective public schools/mental health joint programming to provide educational/therapeutic services to emotionally disturbed students and their families

“The Odd Couple…” is a narrative presentation of the successful joint programming efforts of a public school system and community centers for mental health in providing comprehensive educational services to emotionally disturbed students. Problems and resolutions in regard to control, coordination, and philosophy issues are discussed. This article describes a simple yet effective model for cost effective and successful joint programs between non-administratively related agencies.     

Graduate School as the Third Level of Higher Education: Field of Discourse

This article proposes a shift in the discussion of graduate educational programs (graduate military courses) used to train academic personnel. This proposed shift is toward a social field of discourse where the inconsistencies and uncertainties of the current regulatory framework (for modernizing the training and certification of highly qualified research personnel) are looked at from the perspective of the purpose of graduate school (preparation of a dissertation) and minimized. In addition, the article reviews the public’s decreased interest in graduate school as an institution and compares master’s degree programs, graduate degree programs, and existing global models for the preparation of highly qualified personnel in the graduate schools of institutions of higher education. It is concluded that the social issues of graduate schools are significantly more important than issues related to the development of educational programs.     

Community-based environmental monitoring goes to school: translations,detours and escapes

Community-school partnerships are an established practice within environmental science education, where a focus on how local phenomena articulate with broader environmental issues and concerns brings potential benefits for schools, community organisations and local communities. This paper contributes to our understanding of such educational practices by tracing the diverse socio-material flows that constitute a community environmental monitoring project, where Australian school students became investigators of and advocates for particular sites in their neighbourhood. The theoretical resources of actor-network theory are drawn upon to describe how the project – as conceptualised by its initiators – was enacted as both human and non-human actors sought to progress their own agendas thus translating the concept-project into multiple project realities. We conclude by identifying implications for sustaining educational innovations of this kind.     

Meeting health,mental health,and housing needs of older adults: A case review of the congregational social work education initiative

This article presents results from an innovative social work field education program, which prepares BSW and MSW students to work in interdisciplinary teams with congregational nurses as they serve persons age 55+ or older. The Congregational Social Work Education Initiative is a field education project based on an applied interdisciplinary model, whereby social work students at the graduate and undergraduate level partner with congregational nurses to serve at-risk members of congregations and religious affiliated organizations (RAOs). Students and nurses provide free health, mental health, and wellness services to address individual, family, group, and community health, mental health, and housing issues. Funded by community health foundations, it trains BSW and MSW students for professional practice in congregational and community religious affiliated settings through interdisciplinary and collaborative methods. Information on the development of the model and case illustrations are provided so other social work educational programs and congregational nurse programs might duplicate its success.     

ATTITUDINAL CONSEQUENCES OF OLDER ADULT VOLUNTEERS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING

Results of the Children's Attitudes Toward the Elderly Test (CATE) with an older adult volunteer project in the public school setting indicate that interaction alone between elders and children may not change attitudes. Inherent age biases in attitude tests and implications for planning a volunteer program in an effort to change attitudes are shown to be important predictors of the outcome of such programs.     

Family Education and Community Power: New structures for new visions in the educational village

Noting that differences and inequality of education exist in the United States of America, this paper presents two model educational programs that address the iniquities in American public education. The first model is a collaborative effort of a public school in an urban northeast community, the Robert L. Ford Elementary School of Lynn, Massachusetts, USA and a public supported college of higher education, Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, whose joint venture is known as The Partnership for the Educational Village Project. The second model utilizes technology to outreach families and child care providers through a televised distance learning project that was nationally presented by its producer, Mass Interactions, and a US Department of Education Star School Grant. The Ford School's principal (head teacher) forged the partnership with the college to create a 'full service school' that provides multiple avenues of support to the school's children, their families, and community. The distance learning programs, entitled 'Taking the First Steps: Parents as Teachers' and 'Building Bridges for Excellence in the Early Grades: Home/School Partnership', were conceived as two live and interactive television series that promoted literacy development in preschool and primary school-aged children in their homes. Both educational models recognize the paramount role families and communities play in the education of children. To compensate and overcome the plight of poverty and disenfranchisement, educational endeavors need to respect the parental role, offer new structures for engaging the family and community in the education of their youth, and provide options as a foundation for sound schooling practices. The two educational models in this paper face these challenges of contemporary society. The paper illustrates how the models define and exemplify initiatives that attempt to transform society to accept social responsibility for educating the whole 'village'.     

A New Vision for Public Art and Functional Landscape Design

This article explores how Johanson's ecological public art and landscape design addresses current social issues and community necessities. It also examines how her designs may serve as a communication tool for the surrounding society, and how her public art may provide new perspectives for community members, scientists, artists, engineers, architects and government officials in shaping the future of their communities. The purpose of this study was to inspire art and design students in thinking about their future projects. This phenomenological case study highlights Johanson's works as a model for these students. Furthermore, it discusses some educational implications as seen among university students who first studied Johanson's works and then designed their own public art projects.     

UNIVERSITY‐BASED ADULT DAY CARE CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING: DESIGN,FUNDING, AND PROGRAMMATIC ISSUES

In the early 1980s, the College of Human Resources at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University began a visioning process to plan its educational agenda for the 21st century. One of the more pressing issues targeted for educational intervention was community‐based long‐term care. Ten years later, a licensed, Medicaid‐certified adult day health center is fully operational on the university campus, providing a myriad of research, teaching, and public service opportunities for faculty and students. Center design, funding, and programmatic issues are discussed.     

Beyond ‘talking out of school’: educational researchers as public intellectuals

This conceptual article explores the notion of educational researchers operating as public intellectuals. To do this, I situate my analysis within a broader tradition of public intellectual work in the American academy. I also offer a framework for three specific forms of public intellectual work, supported by relevant examples, which can be taken up by educational researchers. I then raise critical issues, concerns, and tensions that complicate such work, and conclude by offering suggestions for better linking educational research to the broader public. Although this article focuses largely on researchers working within the university context, particularly tenure-line faculty, many of its insights are applicable to independent researchers, policy analysts, or others working within the broadly defined field of educational research.     

From positivism to critical theory: school-community relations toward community equity literacy

In recent years, research on urban school–community relations has emerged with renewed vigor and a myriad of suggestions for how to best approach the topic. While most of these suggestions are anchored in positivist and interpretive epistemologies, a growing number of scholars are applying more critical approaches to school–community relations that center issues of equity and unequal power relations. However, these approaches are often perceived as being too impractical for educational leaders to implement. This article thus situates approaches to school–community relations across three epistemologies: positivism, interpretivism, and critical theory to make these ideas more accessible for educational leaders. With a focus on developing educational leaders to work equitably across school and community contexts, this article provides an operating framework for each approach that delineates assumptions, goals, views of families, strategies, and types of leadership. Finally, this article provides an epistemological grounding to propose that educational leaders develop what I call community equity literacy, and concludes with implications for future research.     

Non-Religion-Based State Constitutional Challenges to Educational Voucher and Tax Credit Programs

This article provides an overview of non-religion-based state constitutional challenges to educational voucher and tax credit/scholarship programs. The first section discusses litigation examining whether education voucher programs violate constitutional provisions requiring the legislature to provide an efficient system of public schools. The second section looks at litigation examining whether educational voucher programs violate constitutional provisions requiring states to provide a uniform system of public schools. The third section summarizes case law in which plaintiffs have claimed that educational voucher programs violate constitutional requirements that state spending serve a public purpose. The fourth section discusses litigation in which courts have addressed whether educational voucher programs violate local control mandates. The fifth section evaluates challenges to education voucher and scholarship tax credits on the grounds that such policies contravene constitutional mandates that prohibit public spending to private schools. The final section identifies key themes that these non-religion-based state constitutional challenges raise for educational vouchers and tax credit programs as well as emerging issues of litigation.     

Implementation and Diffusion of the Rainbows Program in Rural Communities: Implications for School-Based Prevention Programming

Although progress has recently been made in the development of effective prevention programs for children and families, the effective diffusion of programs has received much less attention. Rural communities in particularmay face unique barriers in taking advantage of prevention programs. Through a qualitative case study of the implementation of the Rainbows program, a prevention program for children experiencing parental separation, divorce, or death, this article explores school, family, and community resources that may affect the adoption and implementation of this program in rural schools. Perspectives on these issues were shared by 21 school personnel from a single educational region in individual or focus group interviews. Based on these perspectives, a number of recommendations are advanced for enhancing program diffusion, for furthering research on diffusion issues, and for helping educational and psychological consultants bring prevention into the educational mainstream.     

Exploring How a Study Abroad and International Service-Learning Project Shaped Preservice Teachers’ Understanding of Humanizing Pedagogy

In an attempt to better prepare future teachers to fight against social injustice, support their culturally and linguistically diverse students and wrestle with social and educational complexities around the globe, many education programs have increased the number of study abroad programs and international service learning projects. In this qualitative study, we explored seven preservice teachers’ experiences related to humanizing pedagogy after participating in a study abroad program combined with an international service-learning project in a South African rural community. Analyzing multiple data sources such as interviews and reflective journals, we discovered that the preservice teachers grappled with the political, social, economic, and educational differences they encountered during the international project and wrestled with conflicting ideas and beliefs about poverty and language. They identified their relationships with students as catalysts to address these educational issues and their need to reverse systemic inequities. They built caring relationships with students in the community and developed additive perspectives the focused on the students’ community cultural capital. The preservice teachers expressed deep critical reflection and a desire to promote a more fully human educational world where students have the opportunities to enact their agency, their creativity, and their language and culture.