School nurses spend considerable time caring for the needs of children with asthma and thus can offer valuable insights into barriers to asthma care within the school setting. Investigators conducted focus groups with school nurses in Dayton Public Schools to evaluate barriers to asthma care for children in an urban school system. The school…

This research studies a doctoral program that includes a cohort component. Candidates engage in active learning and in the skill of mentoring. Research on peer mentoring has shown to support graduate students as they progress in their study (Luna & Cullen, 1998). Analysis of the data found themes relating to mentoring and community: candidates…

Poor oral health is an important public health issue. Adolescents represent a challenging group in terms of oral health because they have vulnerable permanent teeth erupting at a time when they are establishing their independence from parental influence. Preventing oral disease by attempting to influence the behaviours that impact adversely on…

Given the rising number of information resources available, it is increasingly important for digital libraries and archives to create usable services that meet their users' needs. Seeking input from users at all stages of development can help achieve this goal. This article briefly defines four methodologies for gathering user input: focus groups,…

This article shares the results of a needs assessment conducted to guide the development of an e-learning certificate program for implementation at Texas A&M University. Participants were asked to provide input regarding the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to work as an e-learning specialist. The qualitative data was collected using…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to growing efforts to "contextualise" young people's experiences of sexual and intimate relationships in research and sex and relationships education (SRE). The study reports on which explored factors young people identified as influencing their relationships--in the past, present and future.…

School administrators are often involved in change processes that include gathering input from various stakeholders in their organizations to help in decision making. They usually include other administrators, teachers, board members, and sometimes individuals from the business sector. One group that is often excluded, and is perhaps one of their…

This paper examines the epistemic barriers to sustainable agriculture, which are those aspects of food production that are not readily revealed by direct perception: such as decreases in rates of soil and nutrient loss, increases in levels of beneficial soil micro-organisms, and reductions in the amount of chemicals leaching into the water table.…

When a family finds out their child has a disability, they enter the world of special education which has its own terminology, rules, settings and personnel. In addition to grappling with the meaning of their child's special needs, families are also thrown into the role of principle advocate for their child. The research study reported here…

This article guides readers through the decisions and considerations involved in conducting focus-group research investigations into students' learning experiences. One previously published focus-group study is used as an illustrative example, along with other examples from the field of pedagogic research in geography higher education. An approach…

The development of digital information literacy (DIL) has been slow in comparison to changes in information communication technologies, and this remains an issue for the higher education sector. Competency in such skills is essential to full participation in society and work. In addition, these skills are regarded as underpinning the ability to…

"Developing and Assessing an Online Research Writing Course" discusses how the Writing Program at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) created a hybrid, online research writing course, Writing 50, and assessed that course. The assessment, which is at the center of this piece, was dovetailed with assessment literature in…

The racially-based academic achievement gap demonstrates that schools are not equally successful with all students. There are gaps in discipline; placement in remedial, gifted, and honors classes; assignment to special education programs; grade point averages; dropout and graduation rates as well as in funding and resources. The elimination of…

This study examined practices of teachers in Wake County Public Schools' (WCPSS) middle school Algebra I classes. Regression analyses of standardized state testing results allowed for identification of the most effective and least effective Algebra I teachers. The study used surveys, observations, and focus group interviews to compare and contrast…

In Wales, bilingual education in Welsh and English has an increasingly high profile and Wales shares international leadership of bilingual education policies and practices alongside other countries where bilingual education flourishes. Ever since the first designated Welsh-medium primary school was opened in 1939, Welsh-medium and bilingual…