African American Educators’ Perspectives on the Advanced Placement Opportunity Gap

This study examines perspectives of educators on the advanced placement opportunity gap for African American students. Using interviews with 11 educators from 10 high schools, we explored their perceptions regarding the impact of a local academic achievement program on the enrollment of African American students in honors and advanced placement courses. Results of the analysis suggest that there is a perceived and real gap in the participation of African American students in AP courses. Findings also revealed that educators were concerned about the lack of access for African American students to AP courses. Further, issues of belonging and operational citizenship within the school environment were raised. Recommendations for pedagogical techniques are presented as well as suggestions for future research. Jocelyn D. Taliaferro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at North Carolina State University. Dr. Taliaferro earned her BA degree in Psychology with minors in African American Studies and English from University of Delaware and her MSW from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She returned to University of Delaware to earn her PhD in Urban Affairs and Public Policy. Dr. Taliaferro’s teaching and research interests include African American student achievement, social policy, community development, and family support. Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at North Carolina State University, CB#7801, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby earned her BS degree with a double major in Psychology and Spanish from Louisiana State University. She earned both her MA and PhD degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby’s research and theoretical interests include race and racial identity development in education, Critical Race Theory, mixed methods research, and emotions.     

The Role of a Caring-Based Intervention in a Physical Activity Setting

This preliminary study examined the effect of a caring-based versus a traditionally-focused physical activity intervention on underserved adolescents’ perceptions of the caring climate, the motivational climate, empathetic concern, enjoyment, and future anticipated participation. Multiethnic youth (N = 353) aged 9 to 17 involved in two National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) sites participated in the study. The Caring Group (n = 90) participated in a program infused with themes of caring while the Traditional Group (n = 263) followed prototypical NYSP training, practices, and procedures. Self report assessments were gathered after 5 weeks in either setting. After accounting for demographic differences findings revealed that the Caring Group perceived significantly higher levels of a caring climate, empathetic concern, future expected participation, and lower levels of perceptions of an ego-involving motivational climate. The relevance of these findings with respect to the optimal development of youth is discussed. Dr. Maria Newton is a faculty member in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Utah. She is interested in optimizing the impact of physical activity on the psychosocial and social-emotional development of underserved youth. She teaches courses in sport psychology, motivation, and character development. Dr. Doris Watson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sports Education Leadership at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Dr. Lori Gano-Overway is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Bridgewater College. Dr. May Fry is affiliated with Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, The University of Kansas, Lawrence. Dr. Mi-Sook Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at San Francisco State University and Dr. Michelle Magyar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at CSU-Long Beach. Bio and teaching/research interests available upon request.     

Cultural sensitivity: How important is it for effective home visits?

The implementation of home visits as a technique for involving parents has recently resurfaced. This educational trend has received additional emphasis as the nation attempts to meet the national education goals — particularly the first goal, which states, By the year 2000, all children will enter school ready to learn.Sally A. LaPoint is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina at Beaufort. She also administers the At Risk Early Childhood Family Initiative, located at the historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Gloria S. Boutte is an Assistant Professor, Kevin J. Swick is a Professor, and Mac H. Brown is an Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.     

Being there: Social service and teacher education at the University of Houston

As the school-age population grows in its ethnic and economic diversity, those who become teachers remain overwhelmingly white, female, and middle class. To assist teacher education students understand a world that is largely unfamiliar to them, the University of Houston teacher preparation program offers a volunteer experience in an urban social service agency for its students as part of a cultural awareness requirement. The results of this program suggest that it may help preservice teachers to understand better the lives of the children they will face and hence better prepare them to teach, perhaps diminishing the revolving door of teachers in urban classrooms.Kip Téllez received his Ph.D. from The Claremont Graduate School in 1991. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston. His present academic interests include the reexamination of pragmatism, teacher education, and Latino youth gangs. Peter S. Hlebowitsh received his Ed.D. from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston. His present scholarly interests are in curriculum theory, curriculum history, and teacher education.     

Policy and Provision under the 1981 Act

This paper is an account of a research project on 'The 1981 Education Act: Policy and Provision for Special Educational Needs'. It was carried out at the Institute of Education, London University, and funded by the Department of Education and Science. The research was directed by Dr J. Welton and Professor K. Wedell. Brian Goacher was the senior research officer and Jennifer Evans, the research officer.     

Teaching college humanities courses in prison

This article discusses pedagogical strategies for college humanities courses in prison. It outlines a pattern of failure and a pattern of success in the typical college prison class. Inmate-students, conditioned into a role of extreme dependence on the prison, will often be put off by college-level work that fails to account for or alter this dependent role. A pattern of failure ignores the difference between on-campus and incarcerated audiences, while the successful pattern proposed blends hard learning with exposure to university-related cultural activities, designed to both teach and re-enculturate the student.Dr. Cioffi is currently Assistant Professor of English at Eastern New Mexico University, Department of Languages and Literature, Portales, NM 88130. He was previously the Coordinator of the Prison Education Development Project at Indiana University. An earlier version of this paper appeared in his handbookFreeing Shackled Minds: A Handbook for the Prison College Classroom, which was part of a final report to the National Endowment for the Humanities, the agency that funded the project for its last year and a half.     

Promising props for outdoor play

Mary came in from the playground to tell her teacher she hated recess. I perked up my ears to see why a kindergartener might feel this way. There's nothing to play with, she complained.Peggie A. Jelks is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe. Lenell V. Dukes is Assistant Professor of Education at Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg, MD.     

Building intergenerational Bridges in early childhood

A recent report of the Committee for Economic Development observed that 30% of our children are educationally disadvantaged and face major risks of educational failure and lifelong dependency (CED, 1987). One reason advanced for this observation is that schools have neglected to prepare these children to become active citizens who can contribute to the social and economic uplifting of their neighborhoods.L. C. Taharally is an Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, and A. L. Smith is an Assistant Professor, Training and Supervision, in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hunter College of the City University of New York.     

Initiating minorities into the professoriate: One school's model

The shortage of minority faculty presence on college and university campuses has been a matter of some concern in recent years. The purpose of this article to describe one college's initiative to address this issue. The West Virginia Graduate College's Minority Faculty Fellowship Program was designed to recruit minority doctoral students who are at the dissertation stage of their program. Appointed as non-tenure track faculty members, fellows are provided with experiences that will help them acclimate to the professoriate. This article describes the program, highlights the institutional benefits, outlines the program's strengths and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for those interested in developing similar programs.John S. Gooden, Ed.D. (University of Massachusetts at Amherst), is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at Eastern Michigan University. He is a former West Virginia Graduate College Faculty Fellow. His areas of professional expertise include administrative certification, school violence, and educational technology. Paul A. Leary, Ed.D. (University of Massachusetts at Amherst), is a Professor in the Educational Leadership Department at West Virginia Graduate College. His areas of professional interest focus on educational governance, educational policy, and program evaluation. Ronald B. Childress, Ed.D. (The University of Tennessee at Knoxville), is a Professor in the Departments of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Educational Leadership at West Virginia Graduate College. His areas of professional expertise include curriculum planning, program evaluation, and program management.     

Join With Other Centers To Produce... A creative arts festival

Young children learn about the world around them when they explore, create, or just mess about with materials. The knowledge gained from these early hands-on experiences is the foundation for the development of more abstract concepts.Jean Linder is an Associate Professor and Ron Linder is a Professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Miriam Piercy is an Assistant Professor at Murray State University in Kentucky. All three authors have been involved with the Children's Festival of the University of South Florida, College of Education. The recent 6th Annual Festival attracted more than 4,000 children to the campus to experience more than 70 various hands-on activities for children.     

Charter Schools and Urban Education Improvement: A Comparison of Newark’s District and Charter Schools

This article compares student achievement of fourth graders in charter schools and district public schools in Newark, New Jersey. We find that Newark and New Jersey’s charter schools mirror the educational inequalities of the state as a whole, as well as its Abbott Districts. The data indicate that charter schools are similar to district urban public schools, with pockets of excellence and mediocrity. We measure school performance based on two criteria: actual test score performance, and the difference between actual and predicted performance. We find that some charter schools are able to achieve performance above predicted, given their school and student characteristics, while other schools do worse than predicted. Thus charter schools are not simply a magic bullet, but rather they warrant further investigation to see which practices work and which don’t, especially in a challenging urban setting such as Newark.Jason M. Barr is an Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, USA. Louisa Visconti is a Research Associate, Department of Urban Education, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey, USA. Address correspondence to Alan R. Sadovnik who is a Professor of Education, Sociology and Public Affairs and Associate Director, Institute on Education Law and Policy, Department of Urban Education, Rutgers University-Newark, 165 Bradley Hall, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; e-mail: sadovnik@andromeda.rutgers.edu     

A Model for Creating Engaged Land-Grant Universities: Penn State’s Engagement Ladder Model

The original mission of the state and land-grant university was to engage with communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for the citizenry. Today most state and land-grant universities have moved far away from their original mission and are struggling to become engaged with the communities they serve. In this case study, we highlight some of the steady progress toward engagement that has recently occurred at The Pennsylvania State University. We catalogue how strong vision and leadership; infrastructure reorganization; and the active involvement of faculty, students, and community partners have revitalized the land-grant mission at Penn State. Keith R. Aronson is the Assistant Director of the Social Science Research Institute and the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium, The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Aronson received his B.A. from Rutgers University, M.A. from Ball State University, and Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a clinical psychologist with a specialization in biobehavioral health and is interested in understanding how research conducted at universities and colleges can better impact communities. Nicole Webster is Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education, The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Webster received her B.A. from the University of Florida and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Her special interest is in service-learning research, particularly among minority youth.     

The urban university and urban culture

Conclusion We have briefly described an urban university in contrast to the traditional university, and we have recommended several strategies for changing the traditional university. The urban university plays a much more important role in the intellectual life of the urban community. It reaches throughout the community and, in becoming a center of intellectual activity in its urban settings, gives the intellectual life of a community greater focus. We believe that many urban communities would be anxious to develop an urban university and that such communities would be attractive to a great many people.William L. Blizek and Robert B. Simpson are, respectively, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.This paper is a revised version of one presented originally at the First National Conference on Urban Education, Kansas City, Missouri, November 25, 1975.     

The use of student learning styles in teaching world politics

This article describes how experiential learning theory can be utilized to teach introductory world politics. Student learning styles and their modes of learning are considered in course design. The objective is to create a learning environment that facilitates active participation and reflection.He is coeditor ofConflict in American Foreign Policy: The Issues Debated (1985) and teaches primarily in the fields of American Foreign Policy and Soviet Politics. Patricia H. Murrell is Director of the Center for Study of Higher Education and a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services at Memphis State University. She is co-author ofLearning Styles: Implications for Improving Educational Practices (1987) and has studied the learning preferences of graduate and undergraduate students, including law students.     

Using structured study questions as a teaching method in social work education: Initial validation studies

The use of study questions to guide student learning and in-class discussion is presented as an alternative to the traditional methods of instruction in social work which rely upon formal lectures, and mid-term and final examinations and term papers to motivate studying. The positive results of two separate investigations on the value of study questions is described, and the instructional technique is suggested as worthy of consideration by social work educators.Bruce A. Thyer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Social Work with the University of Georgia, and an Associate Clinical Professor with the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Thyer's research interests involve applied behavior analysis within social work practice.Richard Sutphen, M.S.W., received his masters degree from the University of Georgia in 1989. Mr. Sutphen is currently the Research Project Coordinator for a study on the treatment of black offenders in the Georgia Juvenile Justice System, conducted through the University of Georgia School of Social Work.Karen M. Sowers-Hoag, Ph.D., received her doctorate in social work from Florida State University in 1987. She is currently an Assistant Professor with the Department of Social Work at Florida International University, where her research interests are divided between the fields of child welfare, and social work education.     

Is day care safe? A review of research on accidental injuries

A major concern about the effects of day care has been the safety of the children who participate. Although studies are limited, a body of research literature is beginning to emerge that provides some important information about the magnitude of accidental injuries in day care centers.Charles W. Snow is Professor and Jane King Teleki is Associate Professor, Department of Child Development and Family Relations; David M. Cline is Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; and Kathleen Dunn is Clinical Instructor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.     

Reshaping Institutional Boundaries to Accommodate an Engagement Agenda

Key voices influencing higher education are increasingly aware of engagement in effecting change. Public research universities have missions compatible with engagement, but efforts to institutionalize it may conflict with their underlying values. Using boundary expansion as the analytical framework, this study compared the institutionalization of engagement at two types of public research universities. Land-grant universities implement engagement primarily through outreach and extension in specialized units. At urban or metropolitan universities, engagement is more often a university-wide agenda, impacting teaching, research, and partnerships. The difference between the two approaches can be explained by examining institutional capacity for boundary reshaping and expansion. Lorilee R. Sandmann  is Associate Professor in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on major institutional change processes to promote higher education community engagement and on criteria to define and evaluate faculty engaged scholarship. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. David J. Weerts  is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. His teaching, research and scholarly interests include state financing of higher education, university-community engagement, and alumni philanthropy and volunteerism. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.     

Intergenerational programs for young children: Organizational procedures

Bringing together groups of preschoolers with older people is a concept that is gaining in popularity. Commonly referred to asintergenerational, these experiences — when carefully planned — have been shown to provide children with positive experiences. More specifically, the National Council on Aging defines intergenerational programs as planned activities that increase cooperation and exchange between any two generations for their mutual benefit.I never seen my great grandpa — I seen some old people in Minnesota.Brandon, age fourAlfred James is Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education, Department of Education, Washburn University, Topeka, KS. Kathy Leon is Director of Menninger Child Care Center, Menninger, Topeka, KS.     

Multiculturalism Incorporated: Student Perceptions

Multicultural education has transformed higher education both in terms of research and in terms of student experiences. Given the complexity of our institutions, the overall effects of these transformations are mixed. Building on the successes and strengths of multicultural education as it is currently incorporated in institutions and programs will involve better understanding how it is perceived, positively and negatively, by those who are experiencing it first hand. In this article we seek to contribute to this reflection through a discussion of a survey of students’ perceptions of multiculturalism in a large first-year program in a research university. Patrick Bruch is Associate Professor of Writing Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He received a B.A. in English from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in English from Wayne State University. His teaching and research focus on struggles for equality within and through higher education. Jeanne L. Higbee received her B.S. in Sociology from Iowa State University and earned both her M.S. in Counseling and Guidance and Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently serves as Professor and Senior Advisor to the Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Her research interests are related to student development and the access and retention of student populations that traditionally have been underserved in postsecondary educational institutions. Kwabena Siaka is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota.     

Guidelines for portfolio preparation: Implications from an analysis of teaching portfolios at the University of Florida

An analysis of 73 portfolios, prepared by University of Florida faculty as part of the Teaching Improvement Program competition, revealed tremendous variability in the quantity, quality, and coherence of the evidence presented to support claims of excellence in teaching. By analyzing portfolios prepared by faculty members representing different colleges and different types of teaching assignments, the researchers developed seven common guidelines for portfolio construction.Dorene Doerre Ross is Professor of Education and Coordinator of Elementary Teacher Education Programs at the University of Florida. She earned her doctorate from the University of Virginia. Dr. Ross conducts research in the areas of diversity and elementary teacher education. Elizabeth Bondy is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Florida. She earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Florida. Dr. Bondy teaches and conducts research in the area of elementary teacher education. Lynn Hartle is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Florida. She earned her doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Hartle conducts research in early childhood education with a particular interest in playgrounds. Linda Leonard Lamme is Professor of Education at the University of Florida. Her Ph.D. is from Syracuse University. Her areas of interest include children's literature and language arts, as well as teacher education in those fields. Rodman Webb is Professor of Education and teaches courses in educational foundations and qualitative research methods at the University of Florida. He earned a doctorate in the Sociology of Education from Rutgers University. His research interests include democratic management, institutional change, and the micro-politics of schools.