ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
From Orientation Needs to Developmental Realities: The Honors First-Year Seminar in a National Context
Author: Vander Zee, Anton
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Freshmen,First Year Seminars,Honors Curriculum,School Orientation,Outcomes of Education,Student Surveys,National Surveys,Institutional Characteristics,Class Size,College Credits,Program Design,College Faculty,Skill Development,Program Descriptions,Grading,Incidence,Program Effectiveness,Sustainability,Blended Learning,Study Skills,Shared Resources and Services,Curriculum Development,Student Development,Social Development

The transition into college remains one of the most formative and complex phases in an individual's life. Institutions of higher learning have responded to the challenges facing first-year students in myriad ways, most often by offering summer orientation programs, dynamic living-learning environments, tailored academic and psychological support services, and dedicated first-year seminars (FYSs) that seek to engage students in a range of curricular and co-curricular experiences. However, the honors community lacks a comprehensive analytical framework that might provide an informed approach to the honors FYS. Important topics related to honors FYSs include how prevalent they are on campuses across the U.S.; what distinguishes them from other FYS offerings on campus; what kinds of resources they share with broader-campus programs; what curricular structures and learning outcomes characterize them; and what types of considerations motivate the creation of distinct seminars for first-year honors students. This overview of the honors FYS is based on a national survey of honors programs and colleges conducted in 2014, and addresses these topics.
Writing Instruction and Assignments in an Honors Curriculum: Perceptions of Effectiveness
Author: Caropreso, Edward J.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Writing Instruction,Writing Assignments,Honors Curriculum,Program Effectiveness,College Students,Critical Thinking,Writing (Composition),Teaching Methods,Student Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Quality,Educational Strategies,Writing Skills,Writing Improvement,Comparative Analysis,Difficulty Level,Sequential Learning

Learning to write well is a significant outcome of higher education, as confirmed and illustrated in the Written Communication VALUE Rubric of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&amp;U). Scholars agree that writing and thinking are linked. Thinking about this relationship between writing and thinking in the context of instructional strategies and assignments designed to improve students' critical thinking, researchers undertook research that began by surveying perceptions of writing competencies before and after taking a writing-intensive, four-course honors curriculum sequence. The following four research questions were addressed in this study: (1) Do students perceive a change in their critical-thinking writing abilities as a result of their instructional experiences, and if so, what are those changes?; (2) Do instructors perceive a change in their students' critical-thinking writing over the course of the instruction, and if so, what are those changes?; (3) Are student and instructor perceptions about critical-thinking writing consistent?; and (4) What classroom strategies and assignments are perceived by faculty and students to influence critical-thinking writing? Given the context of this research, researchers used a non-experimental, two-group design involving convenience sampling of students and faculty. Students were surveyed about their perceptions of their critical-thinking writing before and after completing the four-course sequence, as well as the effectiveness of instructional strategies and assignments that they encountered over the four semesters. Similarly, faculty were asked to participate in a survey parallel to the student version. Faculty surveys included items about the extent to which they perceived themselves to be effective in bringing about positive changes in students' critical-thinking writing by virtue of their instructional strategies and course assignments. The results of this study indicate that both students and faculty perceived the four-course sequence to have a positive and significant impact on student critical-thinking writing, even with the relatively unsystematic teaching strategies that result from different instructors and assignments in the sequence.
How Gender Differences Shape Student Success in Honors
Author: Dinan, Susan E.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Honors Curriculum,Gender Differences,Reputation,Institutional Characteristics,Periodicals,Competition,Selective Admission,College Admission,Ethics,High Achievement,Role

In 2014, Jonathan Zimmerman published an op-ed in the &quot;Christian Science Monitor&quot; in which he wrote, &quot;The last time I checked, [men] held most of the important positions of power and influence in American society. And yet, college admissions offices lower the standard for young men--effectively raising it for women--simply to make sure that the men keep coming.&quot; This comment was not surprising as, seven years earlier, the &quot;U.S. News &amp; World Report&quot; had published &quot;Many Colleges Reject Women at Higher Rates Than For Men,&quot; in which Alex Kingsbury memorably asserted: Using undergraduate admissions rate data collected from more than 1,400 four-year colleges and universities that participate in the magazine's rankings,&quot; U.S. News&quot; has found that over the past 10 years many schools are maintaining their gender balance by admitting men and women at sometimes drastically different rates. The schools that are most competitive--Harvard, Duke, and Rice for example--have so many applicants and so many high achievers that they naturally maintain balanced student bodies by skimming the cream of the crop. But in the tier of selective colleges just below them, maintaining gender equity on some campuses appears to require a thumb on the scale in favor of boys. It's at these schools, including Pomona, Boston College, Wesleyan University, Tufts, and the College of William and Mary, that the gap in admit rates is particularly acute. This reality is entrenched in admissions offices that seek a gender balance on campus, and the academic community should consider the ethical and practical consequences of admitting less-qualified men into U.S. colleges. Two important questions are: (1) whether the practice of admitting young men with lower grades either validates or undermines the predictive power of the admissions evaluation criteria; and (2) whether young men who are by many measures less qualified are as likely to succeed and graduate as their female peers. Those who direct honors colleges and programs need to consider the implications of the gender imbalance for their communities.
Impact of Adopt-a-Classroom Partnerships between K-12 and University Faculty
Author: Smith, Elizabeth
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers,College Faculty,Partnerships in Education,College School Cooperation,Cooperation,Qualitative Research,Online Surveys,Program Effectiveness,Statistical Analysis

There is often a disconnect between K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions. While this gap has grown consistently, the need for collaboration between systems is greater than ever. The Adopt-A-Classroom program was created to address the need for greater university faculty involvement in public schools by providing opportunities for collaboration between K-12 and higher education faculty. A qualitative research study was designed and conducted using an electronic survey. Both K-12 and university participant responses reflected an overall positive impact on students and teaching. Responses implied that K-12 teachers viewed this program as an opportunity to grow professionally, while university participants saw Adopt-A-Classroom as an opportunity to provide service to the community. In some cases, the K-12 teachers did gain a greater depth of content knowledge, which was one of the original goals of the program. Additionally, the program provided K-12 students with greater opportunities to learn about going to college and visit the college campus. University faculty also gained appreciation for the challenges of being a K-12 educator. Adopt-A-Classroom might be considered by other colleges and universities striving to develop deeper connections between their faculty from all academic backgrounds and nearby K-12 educators and their students.
Demography of Honors: The National Landscape of Honors Education
Author: Scott, Richard I.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Demography,Honors Curriculum,Institutional Characteristics,Diversity (Institutional),Undergraduate Students,Educational Development,Postsecondary Education,Classification,College Programs,Educational Practices,Statistical Analysis

As the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) celebrates its fiftieth year, the organization has an excellent opportunity to reflect on how honors education has spread during its history. Tracking growth in the number of institutions delivering honors education outside of its membership has not been a priority for NCHC or for researchers in honors education. Most information has been anecdotal, and when researchers have mounted surveys, the results are frequently non-comprehensive, based on convenience sampling. The authors of this article propose a demography of honors to fill the lacuna with systemic, reliable information. This study focuses on the population of institutions. Specifically, the authors analyze the population of institutions delivering traditional undergraduate education in the United States to determine the size, structure, and distribution of honors education across institutional types.
Blogging to Develop Honors Students' Writing
Author: Harlan-Haughey, Sarah
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Honors Curriculum,Electronic Publishing,Web Sites,Diaries,Computer Mediated Communication,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,College Students,Cooperation,Assignments

Blogging is an excellent way to implement students bringing their further insights to their classmates following an exciting class discussion, continuing an exchange of ideas and providing students with another tool to improve their writing skills. Student class blogging offers many benefits--for student and instructor alike--compared to assigning conventional papers directed only at the instructor. The collaborative writing and peer editing inherent in blogging offer challenges as well as benefits. This paper provides guidance in facilitating a meaningful exchange as well as navigating the nuts-and-bolts technicalities, which may be useful to honors faculty who are establishing a class blog. The authors share ideas for class exercises, assignments, and evaluative expectations co-designed by an instructor and a team of honors students, which may also help bring out maximum creativity and collegiality in the honors blog.
Parental Engagement in Children's Education: Motivating Factors in Japan and the U.S.
Author: Yamamoto, Yoko
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Parent Participation,Cross Cultural Studies,Cultural Differences,Parent Role,Mothers,Self Efficacy,Predictor Variables,Parent School Relationship,Homework,Foreign Countries,Longitudinal Studies,Parent Surveys,Early Childhood Education,Primary Education,Family Characteristics,Multiple Regression Analysis

In spite of evidence indicating the benefits of parental engagement for children's achievement, little is known about the factors that contribute to parental engagement in countries outside the United States. In this study, we addressed this gap in the literature by examining teachers' outreach in addition to maternal psychological elements (maternal role construction and parenting self-efficacy) in predicting Japanese and American mothers' home- and school-based engagement at the second grade level. We found that these factors uniquely and significantly contributed to home-based engagement (homework supervision and engagement in cognitive activities) and school-based engagement in both countries. Furthermore, these factors accounted for between-country differences in the extent of home-based engagement. Between-country differences in school-based engagement remained significant even after the three factors were entered, suggesting a need for additional theorizing in contexts outside the U.S. Findings of this study also highlight the importance of teacher invitations in stimulating parents' engagement.
(Re)Imagining School as Community: Lessons Learned from Teachers
Author: Watson, Terri N.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mixed Methods Research,Teacher Attitudes,Best Practices,Sense of Community,High Schools,Secondary School Teachers,Educational Change,Statistical Analysis,Qualitative Research,Urban Schools,Likert Scales,Questionnaires,Expectation,School Safety,Collegiality,Organizational Communication,Trust (Psychology),School Administration,Educational Practices,Semi Structured Interviews

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to utilize teacher perceptions to identify best practices for school leaders who seek to transform their school into a &quot;school as community&quot;. First, a large urban high school was purposefully selected based on data obtained from the Department of Education. After examining the quantitative data, teacher interviews were conducted to explore their perceptions of the principal's efforts to transform the school into a &quot;school as community&quot;. Based on the quantitative and qualitative findings, four practices emerged as lessons learned from teachers in (re)imagining &quot;school as community&quot;: learning to lead, trusting in time, making the connections, and managing change.
What Is Homework For? Hong Kong Primary School Teachers' Homework Conceptions
Author: Tam, Vicky C.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Homework,Elementary School Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Mixed Methods Research,Questionnaires,Focus Groups,Teaching Methods,Drills (Practice),Self Efficacy,Teacher Effectiveness,Student Participation,Semi Structured Interviews

It is generally agreed that student homework has the potential to extend learning beyond the classroom. Teachers play a crucial role in the design and implementation of these assignments. Their beliefs and perceptions are important factors in determining the type and load of homework. This mixed methods study focuses on teachers' homework conceptions, that is, how teachers think about or perceive the nature and purpose of homework. It examines Hong Kong Chinese primary school teachers' homework conceptions with respect to preference for assignment type and perception of homework functions. Findings draw from questionnaire survey data collected from 317 teachers together with focus group interviews involving 38 teachers. On the whole, respondents support the use of homework assignments to serve various academic and nonacademic functions. Tension between tradition and change is reflected in their preference for drilling versus nondrilling assignment type. Furthermore, questionnaire survey results indicate that teacher efficacy relates to preference for nondrilling assignments and endorsement of the homework functions of enhancing long-term learning and supporting home-school communication. Implications for homework design, teacher preparation, and future research on teacher conceptions are discussed.
Child and Parent Voices on a Community-Based Prevention Program (FAST)
Author: Fearnow-Kenney, Melodie
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Programs,Prevention,Violence,Substance Abuse,Delinquency,Academic Failure,Child Abuse,Mental Disorders,Parent Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Focus Groups,Surveys,Concept Mapping,Family Programs,At Risk Persons,Play,Siblings,Feedback (Response),Children

Families and Schools Together (FAST) is a collaborative program involving schools, families, and community-based partners in efforts to prevent substance use, juvenile delinquency, school failure, child abuse and neglect, mental health problems, and violence. Although evaluated extensively, there remains a dearth of qualitative data on child and parent perceptions of the FAST program. The present study helps to fill that gap with the implementation and evaluation of the FAST program using two school communities in Central Virginia. Qualitative data were collected via child focus groups and parent open-ended survey responses. Data were analyzed using a process called Concept Mapping. The results of this research are used to identify key strengths of the program components as well as potential adjustments to implementation arising from the views of child and parent participants. Particular attention is paid to the one-on-one &quot;special play&quot; as viewed from the target and non-target child. Relevance of these findings to the implementation and evaluation of other school-community programs are discussed.
A Squandered Resource: The Divestment of Mexican Parental Involvement in a New Gateway State
Author: Petrone, Eleanor
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Parent Participation,Parent School Relationship,English (Second Language),Language Proficiency,Immigrants,Mexican Americans,Hispanic American Students,Cultural Influences,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Cultural Differences,Elementary Secondary Education,Spanish Speaking,Barriers

Parental involvement plays an important role in the academic success of children. Schools in new gateway states where there has not been a longstanding tradition of immigration often lack the cultural knowledge and linguistic resources necessary to serve immigrant youth and their families effectively. By examining the experiences of Mexican parents with Mexican schools and contrasting them to their experiences with U.S. schools in a new gateway state, the author provides insights into some of the challenges of eliciting the involvement of Mexican parents in a way schools deem appropriate. The constraint of English proficiency as a prerequisite for engaged parental involvement in U.S. schools is highlighted throughout the author's findings. Suggestions for school practices and teacher training that would promote Mexican parents' involvement are provided.
Working Together to Strengthen the School Community: The Restructuring of a University-School Partnership
Author: Sanderson, Donna R.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Partnerships in Education,College School Cooperation,Kindergarten,Preservice Teacher Education,Field Experience Programs,College Faculty,Preservice Teachers,Faculty Development,Preschool Teachers,Early Childhood Education,Student Needs,Elementary School Students,Reading Tests,Emergent Literacy,Reading Fluency,Feedback (Response),Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Qualitative Research,Program Effectiveness

This article highlights how an existing university-school partnership between a university and a kindergarten center was restructured in an attempt to bring academic and practitioner knowledge together in a more synergistic way in support of preservice teacher learning. In an effort to more closely connect a campus-based course that had a small field component with a newer, richer, more time-intensive field experience in a preservice teacher education program, a different epistemological model was envisioned with three major changes to enhance and strengthen the overall partnership: (1) the number of preservice teacher candidates doubled, as did their amount of classroom observation/ teaching time; (2) school-based teacher experts were utilized to share their specific areas of knowledge with preservice teacher candidates; and (3) the university professor/partnership liaison provided intensive staff development workshops on topics selected by the classroom teachers themselves to make certain they were viewed as meaningful, interesting, and highly relevant to their daily classroom work. This article explains how this restructured partnership was envisioned and brought to fruition by detailing the goals behind the community partnership, the strengths of the program from both sides of the partnership, the obstacles that were overcome, and testimonials directly from the classroom teachers and the university's teacher candidates.
A Tradition Unlike Any Other: Research on the Value of an Honors Senior Thesis
Author: Banks, H. Kay
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Honors Curriculum,Theses,Research Needs,Educational Research,Case Studies,Scholarship,Research Methodology,Relevance (Education)

An honors senior thesis introduces students into a world of scholarship and professional activity in a way that no single course, either semester- or year-long, can do (Anderson, Lyons, and Weiner). Many honors educators consider honors thesis work to be the defining honors experience. For graduate schools, employers, and the students themselves, nothing demonstrates the value of an honors education quite like the senior thesis. The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) understands the value and tradition of the honors senior thesis, listing it in the Basic Characteristics of a Fully Developed Honors College and recently publishing a thesis handbook in the latest addition to the monograph series (Anderson, Lyons, and Weiner). A mixed-methods approach in a survey of honors colleges and programs across the country could illustrate the value of an honors senior thesis numerically and perhaps also answer why the thesis is valuable. Educators depend on intuition and experiences to handle the challenges of an honors senior thesis, which can include lack of enthusiasm among thesis writers, unavailability of faculty to serve as advisors, and inadequate course preparation for the thesis. Strong research to supplement intuition and experience is needed to assure the tradition of the honors senior thesis as an essential component of honors education. Research on this topic would be a beneficial contribution to the body of literature on the value of honors education.
Schools &quot;as&quot; Communities and &quot;for&quot; Communities: Learning from the 2010-2011 New Zealand Earthquakes
Author: Mutch, Carol
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Seismology,Natural Disasters,Elementary Schools,Phenomenology,Coping,Qualitative Research,School Community Relationship,Educational Facilities,School Role,Emergency Shelters,Emergency Programs,Community Study,Community Services,Semi Structured Interviews

The author followed five primary (elementary) schools over three years as they responded to and began to recover from the 2010-2011 earthquakes in and around the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. The purpose was to capture the stories for the schools themselves, their communities, and for New Zealand's historical records. From the wider study, data from the qualitative interviews highlighted themes such as children's responses or the changing roles of principals and teachers. The theme discussed in this article, however, is the role that schools played in the provision of facilities and services to meet (a) physical needs (food, water, shelter, and safety); and (b) emotional, social, and psychological needs (communication, emotional support, psychological counseling, and social cohesion)--both for themselves and their wider communities. The role schools played is examined across the immediate, short-, medium-, and long-term response periods before being discussed through a social bonding theoretical lens. The article concludes by recommending stronger engagement with schools when considering disaster policy, planning, and preparation.