Looks at how young people use historical knowledge, gained from media sources, to deal with current situations. A group of young African Americans draw on behavioral examples from the film, "Panther," instead of school-based learning, to give them ways to deal with the Ku Klux Klan in their neighborhood. (DAJ)

Lewiston-Porter is a suburban western New York district with 2,700 students and a history of budget and bond referenda defeats. This article describes the district's development and implementation of a school-community communication system. The multiple strategies and proactive involvement efforts changed community perspective and facilitated a…

Outlines methodology employed during six-month period to integrate quantitative and qualitative research results. The project, involving mainstreamed learning-disabled students' problems with homework assignments, was designed to study educational issues through use of directed focus groups in which groups discuss specific topic in detail.…

Presents suggestions for the implementation of focus groups among Latino farmworkers in the United States. Recommendations are based on a study of risk factors for HIV and AIDS among Latino farmworkers. They center on group membership, facilitation, and the focus group process. (SLD)

Electronic focus groups with professors that explored their attitudes toward instructional technology provided data for a theoretical framework. Findings indicated that they have concerns about the ability of such technology to enhance student learning, and many view it simply as a tool for information dissemination and not as a networking medium.…

Describes action research conducted at two universities in the United Kingdom to discover how students learn in different disciplines. Results of questionnaires and focus group interviews are presented that discuss how learning takes place; different learning outcome demands of different disciplines; and differences in knowledge structures,…

Describes the results of the American Chemical Society Public Outreach Office's research program to measure the impact of the Kids & Chemistry program on both the children and the volunteer scientists. Highlights include objectives of the program, pretest research, focus group results, field tests, and pre- and posttest survey results.…

Vermont's town meeting tradition is flourishing and will help determine the future of curriculum development for the state's half-million residents. The Vermont Common Core, a compact with rigorous expectations for educational planners, faces two challenges: remaining open to new ideas and reigniting grass-roots involvement. (MLH)

Focus groups with diverse low-income women generated ideas about cardiovascular disease interventions. Women preferred programs that: addressed multiple risk factors; emphasized staying healthy for themselves; taught skills for adopting heart-healthy behaviors; and offered choices in effecting behavior change. Women stressed the need for health…

Explores the perceptions and views of primary school children in exploring, discussing, and rationalizing their use of computers in the classroom based on focus group interviews with students in Wales. Considers work processes; effects on learners' abilities; the finished product; and concerns over originality and authenticity. (Contains 59…

This article provides guidelines that educators can use to evaluate their own inclusion programs. The advantages of questionnaires, interviews and focus group interviews are reviewed, and tips are included for conducting interviews and focus groups. Sample interview questions, and possible concerns of teachers and recommended solutions are also…

Describes the use of focus groups to determine young adult needs in public libraries, based on experiences at the Johnson County Library system in Kansas City. Highlights include the benefits of focus groups over surveys, time involvement, how to design questions to ask, and compiling data. (LRW)

Developed and evaluated a mail survey measuring population attitudes toward substance use and potential receptivity of communities to different prevention efforts. Developed through a literature review, consultation with practitioners and experts, and focus groups, the survey was administered to about 3,000 adults from 30 participating…

Presents results from two research studies, one using focus groups and the other using surveys, that explored the process and results of educating inservice art teachers in the Artistically Talented Program at Indiana University to become empowered and take on leadership roles. Describes the experience of empowering the teachers to develop their…

This article examines the practices of home-school communication in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) phase in South Africa. The aims of this qualitative investigation were to determine the nature and effectiveness of home-school communication practices and to make recommendations on how communication can be improved to facilitate better…