Everything Old is New Again: The Criminology/Criminal Justice Freshman Research Seminar

This is a report of an action-research project undertaken in tandem with the development of a new freshman seminar in criminology and criminal justice. In the freshman seminar the goal is to teach the research, critical thinking and writing skills that are the underpinnings of scholarship and good citizenship. Utilizing a unique approach, this class focuses on resources available through the University library and is taught by a professor, two librarians and a graduate teaching assistant. We hypothesize that freshmen who experience this seminar will show improvement in critical thinking skills, and that this will contribute to greater levels of academic success. This report describes the educational innovation (seminar) in sufficient detail to make replication possible, and presents preliminary findings that indicate the seminar enhances research and writing skills, fosters ability to think critically, and has a positive influence on students’ academic careers.     

Environmental education program evaluation in the new millennium: what do we measure and what have we learned?

We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research studies published between 1999 and 2010 that empirically evaluated the outcomes of environmental education (EE) programs for youth (ages 18 and younger) in an attempt to address the following objectives: (1) to seek reported empirical evidence for what works (or does not) in EE programming and (2) to uncover lessons regarding promising approaches for future EE initiatives and their evaluation. While the review generally supports consensus-based best practices, such as those published in the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Guidelines for Excellence, we also identified additional themes that may drive positive outcomes, including the provision of holistic experiences and the characteristics and delivery styles of environmental educators. Overall, the evidence in support of these themes contained in the 66 articles reviewed is mostly circumstantial. Few studies attempted to empirically isolate the characteristics of programs responsible for measured outcomes. We discuss general trends in research design and the associated implications for future research and EE programming.     

Participation patterns of Korean adolescents in school-based career exploration activities

Variations in the school-based career exploration activities of Korean high school students were examined. Data represented 5,227 Korean adolescents in Grade 11 contained in the Korean Education Longitudinal Study of 2005, a nationally representative longitudinal database administered by the Korean Educational Development Institute. Latent class analysis identified four classes or approaches reflecting some combination of school availability and student use of career-related activities, including minimal-, limited-, moderate-, and high-activity groups. Multiple-group analysis revealed that curriculum track (i.e., vocational or academic emphasis) was an important determinant in classification.     

Kiowa forty-nine singing: A communication perspective

Kiowa Forty-Nine singing is a social activity in which important aspects of Kiowa culture are performed and revealed through traditional communicative activities. The purpose of this study was to examine forty-nining as it serves to reveal cultural patterns of interaction. Rooted in ethnomethodology, this field research combined personal interviews and content analysis. The data first provided a general characterization of forty-nining; subsequent analysis produced distinguishable, but interrelated, sets of rules which regulate the nature and structure of forty-nines. Patterns identified in the fortynines can be extended to other intratribal interaction, as well as to intercultural communication. Better conception of these interactive patterns may foster better understanding of Kiowa intercultural relations.