This study examined the experiences of participants in a basic writing course in a Midwestern community college. Two-thirds of the 18 students were highly educated students from Russia, Turkey, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan who were retirees, spouses of Americans, spouses of international students at the local university, or spouses of foreign…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceptions and satisfaction levels of individuals employed as full-time teaching faculty at Polk Community College (PCC) (Florida), with regard to the environmental elements of formal influence, communication, collaboration, organizational structure, work design, and student focus. These elements…

The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in northwest Houston has grown extremely fast. During the 2001-2002 school year, an additional 4,000 students were added. Because of this growth, it was difficult for the district to adopt the state model for guidance and counseling programs. Many counselors followed what was recommended but it was…

This book offers beginning teachers daily step-by-step plans for the first 4 weeks of school. It is based on a survey of first year teachers that examined their problems, concerns, needs, and feelings. It is also based on a task force of preservice and inservice teachers who set an agenda and tasks to find out more about beginning teacher needs.…

Governor Mike Easley signed into law House Bill 1151 in July 2006, requiring schools to develop a plan to provide at least five hours of duty-free instructional planning time per week and a daily duty-free lunch period for every teacher. Acknowledging the difficulties in creating school schedules that incorporate sufficient non-instructional…

This research brief highlights findings from a qualitative study of the contextual factors that shape engagement in adult literacy education. Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition to learning progress. Some researchers focus on engagement as a cognitive, or mental, process closely related to such things as…

This report describes the procedures and results of the full-scale implementation of the B&B:93/03 study. Students who earned a bachelor's degree in 1992-93 were first interviewed in 1993 and then subsequently in 1994 and 1997. This is the final follow-up interview of the B&B:93 cohort, 10 years following completion of the bachelor's…

This report uses the 2003-04 NPSAS data to describe the characteristics of graduate and first professional students and how they finance their education, with a section focusing on students who attend exclusively part time. The report also includes a compendium of tables providing detailed data on student and enrollment characteristics, types of…

The differences in off-task behavior rates exhibited by kindergarten students during narrative and non-narrative-based social studies instruction was investigated. Off-task behavior was operationally defined and students were observed during eight different lessons. Four lessons employed story narrative picture books and four lessons used…

In 1996, membership or subscription contributions provided 23% of public broadcasting's $1.9 billion income. Detailed information about the contributing audience can help managers maintain and grow member support. As part of the annual Yankelovich Monitor survey, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gathered extensive demographic, attitudinal,…

Based on responses to a questionnaire and interviews with 327 faculty from research universities, liberal arts colleges, a comprehensive university, British universities, and a longitudinal study concerning the transition to retirement, this study examines academic retirement experiences. An introductory chapter gives background information on the…

This paper reviews the literature on the effects of preschool attendance on academic success in elementary school and reports on a study designed to investigate the effect of preschool education on the academic achievement of at-risk, minority-group kindergarten children. The Test of Basic Experiences (TOBE) was administered at the beginning of…

Reflecting the national trend toward less costly undergraduate education, ranked college faculty at the University of South Florida (USF) have generated steadily decreasing portions of total university instructional full-time equivalence (FTE), going from 72% in 1983 to 57% in 1994, while less costly graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and…

This study examined whether reading and mathematics performance of New York City Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) elementary and middle schools with extended time differed from performance of SURR schools without extended time in 1999-00. It also examined whether extended-time schools attracted more certified teachers and relationships…

During the colonial period, the ideology of work--the American work ethic--took root. Americans valued work and considered it an obligation to society, to oneself, and to one's family. The key to the agrarian culture was an ethic that recognized the importance of hard, physical labor within a framework of yearly cycles of tasks. The world of the…