Background: As the obesity epidemic expands to include younger Americans, there is greater need to understand youth experiences and to identify innovative strategies to promote physical activity in children and adolescents. Connecting children and families with nature-based activities is an example of a strategy that may promote physical activity…

Increases in immigrant children to U.S. preschools have introduced unique challenges to teachers. An awareness of disconnections between a homogeneous teaching population and the increasingly diverse student population calls for additional exploration of enhancing connections to facilitate the young immigrants' learning process in the classroom.…

Research in home-school communication has incorporated little, to date, about participation by English as a second language (ESL) parents. This article examines the communication processes between recent Chinese immigrant parents and Canadian teachers at secondary school Parents' Nights. Drawing from observations of three annual Parents' Nights,…

We present some key findings of a four-year, two-phase writing assessment project at Central Michigan University: Phase One (2002), a survey of faculty members (n=115) and subsequent focus groups (n=14) and Phase Two (2005), an evaluation of two samples of student writing (n=635 and 632). Major findings of Phase One reported here include the…

Since 1994, policies have been instituted throughout the United States that require sex offenders to register their personal information with law enforcement officials (Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program, 1994). With the passage of additional laws, this information is now available to the…

Background: Obesity is a significant health problem among today's youth; however, most school-based prevention programs in this area have had limited success. Focus groups were conducted with seventh- to eighth-grade students, parents, and teachers to provide insight into the development of a comprehensive program for the prevention of adolescent…

One hundred and thirty-three preclinical medical students participated in 24 focus groups over the period 2007-2009 at Durham University. Focus groups were conducted to ascertain whether or not medical students found body painting anatomical structures to be an educationally beneficial learning activity. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory…

Service-learning is a form of experiential learning that combines academic coursework with voluntary service in the community. There is a dearth of critical analysis of the effects of service-learning. To address this issue, this practitioner research aimed to explore and understand its effects. An inductive approach, using qualitative and…

This study obtained qualitative data to assess how parental role modeling and parental social support influence physical activity in underserved (minority, low-income) adolescents. Fifty-two adolescents (22 males, 30 females; ages 10-14 years, 85% African-American) participated in a focus group (6-10 per group, same gender). Focus groups were…

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the risk and protective factors for delinquent behaviors among American Indian youth in three distinct tribal communities. Focus group discussions were used to gather data from elders, parents, youth workers, and youth in each tribal community. Findings showed that the key source for increasing risk…

Focus groups are becoming a popular research approach that counselors can use as an efficient, practical, and applied method of gathering information to better serve clients. In this article, the authors describe focus groups and their potential usefulness to professional counselors and researchers. Practical implications related to the use of…

IDEA mandates that students be responsible for their educational programming once they reach the age of majority, and are considered competent. Guardianship is often raised when student competence is questioned. Six focus groups were conducted to gather information regarding the extent to which participants understood guardianship and its…

The primary purpose of this study was to improve existing design theories for characteristics of an information-age school and roles that educational technology should serve for key stakeholders in such schools. In addition to this primary purpose, this study explored how learner-centered instruction and assessment were implemented in an…

This study examined the schooling experiences and perceptions of resettled sub-Saharan African middle school refugee students in a metropolitan area of the United States Southwest. The research questions underpinning this study included: What are the schooling experiences and perceptions of resettled sub-Saharan African middle school refugee…

Given the predicted shortages of minority dental healthcare providers in the United States and the expanding diversity of the general population, it is important to recruit and retain an ethnically and culturally diverse allied dental workforce. The objectives of this study were to explore why the profession of dental hygiene exhibits minimal…