The geographical scale of West Texas provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate active engagement between Texas Tech University and the residents of this vast region. The institution responded to community requests and collaborated to develop four new, rural off-campus teaching and research sites and expand the presence of an existing site.…

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the essence of the service-learning experience for K-12 teachers in central and northwest Ohio, specifically exploring teacher motivations for initiating service-learning in the classroom. Service-learning is defined as an educational methodology that incorporates student preparation, service to the…

This text helps prospective and experienced principals, administrators, and supervisors increase their knowledge and skills through concepts, case-studies, and simulations. This book contains the following two parts and fifteen chapters. Part I presents important theoretical concepts and research findings that can improve educators'…

The CERCA (Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America) school report card (SRC) model was developed with schools in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in 2004 and 2005. This document summarizes the major findings, successful procedures, and implications of the experience for the region. The SRC…

School personnel at seven urban elementary schools in a high poverty area were surveyed to determine if a multi-faceted approach to school violence prevention (including a major emphasis on collaboration between community human service agencies and schools) was successful in reducing indicators of violence (bullying, fighting, gang involvement,…

This paper reports on an early childhood technology project that has been conducted in Australia since 2000. The background to the project is that IBM extended their international KidSmart Early Learning program to the Asia-Pacific region. A partnership with the Australian National Schools Network was formed to implement the program in Australia.…

As part of a study of racial relations between Mexican Americans and Anglo Americans in rural Idaho, over 60 teachers, school administrators, and students were interviewed in educational institutions in five southwestern Idaho communities. One high school was the focus of field research, which also included attending school activities and school…

A model program was implemented to provide services to 17 children with special needs in a community-based preschool. Meetings with representatives of the public schools and the community preschool center established a framework for providing inclusive education and resulted in development of an interagency agreement, which clarified staff and…

This guide is designed to help community members have productive conversations about how schools and communities can work together to meet the challenge of educating youth in today's society. The foreword presents a rationale for community discussions regarding improving education, and the introduction highlights new challenges facing schools. The…

This paper describes the development of a research project in 1993 to address concerns and issues related to education of Aboriginal students in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales, Australia. Specifically, the purpose of the project was to examine the relationships between Aboriginal communities, students, and their schools, and important…

Parent involvement in their children's schooling results in improved student performance, attitudes, and self-concepts, along with decreased dropout, suspension, and absenteeism rates. Increased involvement also provides necessary community feedback to the school, encourages positive parent-teacher-student relations, and creates a more informed…

This proceedings contains approximately 100 conference papers and workshop summaries on rural health, education, and community development. The majority of the papers are concerned with conditions in rural Australia; about 20 examine rural issues in the United States; while a smaller number cover Canada, New Zealand, and European countries. A…

This compiltation of articles provides ideas and solutions for creating and improving family, community, and school partnerships. A broad variety of topics are covered in the 20 articles of this issue, including: (1) ideas to help parents improve the thinking skill of their children; (2) four models of parent involvement developed by the Superior…

This set of quality standards for Colorado's early child care and education programs, developed over a 4-year period, is intended to help these programs move toward quality services for all young children. Programs using the standards and checklists will provide feedback to the Colorado Department of Education, and the standards will be updated…

Reducing class size was considered an important element in a revised health course at Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania). However, reducing class size to approximately 15 students per class would require 38 sections, more than the health faculty could handle. To recruit additional instructors, the course was marketed to faculty and administrators…