The sexual abuse of children and adolescents by Roman Catholic priests entails a violation of meaning as well as persons. Precisely because the priest is regarded by Catholics as an "alter Christus," another Christ, his violation of a child's or adolescent's body is also a violation of a sacred trust and worldview. The implications of this…

This article provides a first-person account of a training program in group dynamics. It is deliberately written in the first-person to capture the highly personal nature of group dynamic analysis. Proceeding through an intensive account of six days of T-groups, module facilitation, and facilitator feedback sessions, the author examines painful…

Since the initiation of China's "Open Door Policy" in the late 1970s, the People's Republic of China has been considered a lucrative location for higher education partnerships, and many UK institutions have established collaborative relationships with universities in China. This paper considers the transfer of management knowledge that…

The current literature on instructional coaching shows that for the coaching relationship to be successful, the instructional coach must exhibit certain attitudes and behaviors to ensure the development of this relationship. These attitudes and behaviors include trustworthiness, respectfulness, credibility, enthusiasm, valuing of continuous…

African American women are at the center of the discussion on health disparities, specifically disparities regarding HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Though there has been substantial research examining sexual risk behavior among low income African American women, little has been done to understand sexual behavior…

"Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Teaching English Language Learners: Mainstream Teachers Make a Stellar Journey as a Team to Transform Classroom Practices (Elsa M.…

The authors explore the perceptions related to cohort education models (CEMs) of special education professors and doctoral students at a Carnegie-designated research extensive university in a multicultural, urban area in the southeastern United States. Three themes emerged: (a) Organizational efficiency of CEMs and benefits to student learning…

Historically any U.S. voting technology is burdened from its very inception with the expectation of technologically ensuring voting integrity. Voting is an officially sanctioned social activity/ritual in a technologically-focused nation, so U.S. voters arrive at the polls expecting that voting technology will ensure that their vote "counts. But no…

This study examines the effect of a 10-week campaign internship course on political efficacy and trust. We compared changes in these key political attitudes between a group of 33 undergraduate students in a campaign internship course and a control group of 65 students taking government courses. A multiple regression analysis indicates that…

There is no denying that combining two schools, or even opening a new school, is loaded with challenges and frustrations as well as high expectations. Principal Tracy Shafer saw a rural school consolidation as an opportunity to use professional development to create a community focused on student learning, meeting the need for high-quality…

Relationships are known to be vitally important for development, particularly in adolescence. Transcripts of semistructured interviews of 24 adolescent mothers who had experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) were analyzed to explore the effects of IPV on their important relationships. Mothers described feelings of loneliness and isolation; fears…

Using a grounded theory approach, this investigation addresses how an interdisciplinary research (IDR) team negotiates meaning and struggles to establish and sustain a sense of collective communication competence (CCC). Certain communication processes were foundational to building CCC, such as spending time together, practicing trust, discussing…

Early life experiences are critical to a child's development. Research has shown that, for a variety of reasons, children born into low-income families are at a disadvantage when compared to their higher-income peers. Fortunately, research has also shown a positive association between high quality child care and the academic and social-emotional…

The purpose of this mixed methods follow-up single case study was two-fold: to determine if a school district was able to sustain a professional learning community (PLC) and to identify factors that enhanced, inhibited, or promoted the sustainability of a PLC from a district-wide perspective, with particular focus on how a change in leadership,…

Much has been researched and written concerning the structure, attributes, and benefits of the professional learning community (PLC), yet many have found that this highly collaborative model is difficult to implement. One reason for this was that conflict among team members often limited communication and therefore halted collaboration. In an…