Discusses results of 3-year study of the leadership of the principals of 4 Ontario secondary school involved in the Change Frames project, requiring each school to initiate change using each of 7 frames--purpose, emotions, politics, structure, culture, learning, and leadership. (Contains 18 references.) (PKP)

Recommendations for educators were offered by Chaldean (Catholics of Babylonian descent, majority immigrated from Iraq) adolescents. Themes from focus group interviews related to communication with family, peers, and in the academic setting. Recommended educational strategies included sustaining students' first languages, showing understanding of…

Although parents and teachers want to improve parental involvement, they share no vision of how to accomplish this goal. This article reviews common parent/teacher misunderstandings and recommends that schools address teachers' time commitment, logistical and organizational barriers, inservice training deficiencies, and short-sighted…

Used multiple sources of data, including archival material, focus groups and questionnaires, to evaluate a renewal effort that involved a university school of education and human services and three diverse school systems: urban, suburban, and rural. Findings indicate the consistency of efforts to bring about positive change. Makes seven…

Instead of employing "inside-outside" marketing via inhouse brochures, newsletters, and websites, public schools should begin practicing "outside-inside" marketing in which strategic planning and then action comes from the marketplace (the community) to the school. Public perceptions are gathered through surveys, focus groups, and indepth…

Experienced librarians understand the importance of involving their patrons in the development and evaluation of the programs and services they offer. Finding out about the needs and expectations of patrons, especially children and young adults, however, is often viewed as too time-consuming, expensive and staff intensive to perform on a regular…

We present the findings from a qualitative study examining the marital perceptions of 9 wives of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were from a semistructured in-depth focus group interview. Findings reveal how the lives of these women largely revolved around their husbands' illness. The wives faced constant tension between…

In 2001-02, a project team at Griffith University undertook Stage 4 of the Griffith Graduate Project. Stage 4 used a survey and focus group discussions to gather graduates' and employers' perceptions of the role of the university, work placements and postgraduation employment in the development of generic skills and abilities. This article will…

National attention to a possible superintendent shortage has created concern about the changing nature of the superintendency, particularly new challenges, and how superintendents are prepared. Through 23 focus group interviews, superintendents across the country described the challenges they faced when new, how these have changed in recent years,…

This paper reports on efforts to access four-year-old children's perspectives on their learning experiences. Interviews with children in various contexts were carried out using photographs of recent activities to stimulate discussion and recall. Small group interviews with a researcher or teacher; one-to-one interviews between researcher and…

This study explores principals' roles in a large, urban, standards-based induction program. Principals from eight high schools, four middle schools, and 42 elementary schools were surveyed. Five case study schools were investigated using interviews of principals, novice teachers, and focus groups for mentors and site induction coordinators.…

Rural Appalachia has significantly higher overall cancer mortality compared with national rates, and lack of cancer screening is believed to be one of the contributing factors. Reducing the cancer disparity in this region must include strategies to address suboptimal cancer screening practices by rural Appalachian primary care providers (PCPs). To…

Since 1993, Boston's Jewish community has supported "Sh'arim," a regional initiative in Jewish family education (JFE). This paper examines parents' perceptions of the impact of that initiative on their children, themselves and their families as a whole over the past 10 years. After briefly describing the initiative's original goals,…

Context: Research has demonstrated substantial differences between end-of-life care in rural and urban settings. As the end of life approaches, rural elders are less likely to be hospitalized, to be placed in an intensive care unit, or to have a feeding tube, compared to their urban counterparts. These differences cannot be fully explained by…

This article reports on a focus group which was one of four principal focus groups held across the United States in Florida, Virginia, New Mexico, and Missouri as part of Voices 3, a national research project on the status of the principal and superintendent roles, sponsored by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). In other…