The College Park Scholars Program at the University of Maryland is a learning community, based on the model of a residential college, that was designed to attract and retain academically talented undergraduates. Three experiential learning components developed by faculty for the curriculum are colloquia, service learning units, and discovery…

Describes the founding, organization and structure, and relationship between social issues and funders of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. The institute's history and research have been marked by a commitment to societal concerns such as poverty, crime, race and inequality, social welfare policy, and community…

The Minnesota Zoo's School of Environmental Studies is an optional, interdisciplinary program open to juniors and seniors from four comprehensive high schools. The problems posed, like those in the world, require students to think across disciplines. Students measure, analyze, map, photograph, display, and present findings to the local community…

Federally funded, Haskell Indian Nations University serves American Indian and Alaska Native students from federally recognized tribes and villages. Haskell's American Indian Studies baccalaureate program is an interdisciplinary, culturally relevant program that provides students with practical skills needed by tribes. The need for American Indian…

Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, offers to a select group of community college students from around the U.S., an intensive summer program called Exploring Transfer. Exploring Transfer, which recently completed its 21st summer season, is hailed as an affirmative-action program that provides a much-needed educational boost to its diverse,…

A former chancellor outlines how he successfully transformed the culture of his campus to enhance retention and student success.

Fostering undergraduate research has increasingly become a focus of four-year institutions. Thus, given the maturity and capabilities of a substantial number of community college students, Virginia Community College System (VCCS) faculty can help students prepare for the baccalaureate by providing them with opportunities for actual research. With…

Teacher attrition has become a very serious problem in the United States in recent years. Studies have shown that many talented, new teachers are leaving the profession early in their careers due to feelings of isolation. In response to the alarming turnover rate, school districts have adopted mentoring programs which have been successful at…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a framework for the development and implementation of educational administration programs that encourage practitioners and educational administration faculty to push application and preparation beyond reproducing tendencies of the status quo as well as to open education to the potential of embracing silenced or…

Community-based parenting education programs have a unique role to play in the promotion of infant mental health. In contrast to classes that seek to accelerate child development, the author describes enrichment programs that promote parent-child bonding and healthy social and emotional development. The ParentSource program was developed on the…

Service learning aims to promote academic learning and meet community needs. When students interview elderly residents in a nursing home about their experiences during World War II, they gain eyewitness historical information and provide company to persons who otherwise may have few visitors. Such situations are designed to be "win-win." Students…

Providing a teaching practicum where university students preparing to be teachers can interact with children from different cultures has been widely praised as an effective means to improve teachers' cross-cultural sensitivity and teaching effectiveness. However, some research suggests that direct experience with minority children may in fact…

The product of a study of urban Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs involving youths aged 16-22 that would result in real or potential job creation and community economic development, this report consists of 24 case studies and a series of recommendations pertaining to the development of similar programs in Illinois.…

Examples of placement and follow-up conceptual models developed for a program of vocational education (kindergarten through university) are presented. Section 1 contains a historical overview of placement and follow-up activities in Florida and describes a comprehensive model. Section 2, describing a model for utilizing community resources for the…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to ensure schools and child care facilities are safe environments for the nation's children. In response to rising public concern over the health risks posed to young children by lead in the drinking water, EPA is launching a "3Ts--Training, Testing, and Telling" program. This…