The mission of the National Center on Fathers and Families (NCOFF) is to improve the life chances and well-being of children and the efficacy of families by facilitating the positive involvement of fathers. Seven core learnings, developed in 1994, are at the heart of NCOFF's agenda for research, practice, and policy, and a framework for the field.…

Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) conducted a telephone survey and two focus groups to determine why students who enrolled for the first time during fall 1999 did not return for the following spring 2000 semester. The main reasons that 557 telephone survey respondents gave were that approximately: (1) 17% had either transferred to another…

This paper describes the process used to develop a study conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture of the nutritional environment of middle school students. It was decided that information would be gathered from school food service managers, school administrators, and teachers of middle grades who deal with these students daily. A…

Urban Impact is a Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Act partnership grant supporting the development of new strategies and structures to strengthen the preparation and development of beginning teachers in urban settings in Tennessee. This study evaluated the success of Urban Impact in restructuring university coursework and university/school…

This study examined students perceptions of campus racial climate and the effects it has on their growth and development while attending a predominantly white research university (Research 1 classification) where black students are less than 3% of the student body. The study sought to illuminate the perceptions of campus climate and development as…

This paper discusses the value of action research in professional learning, presenting political and practical questions from the work of a primary school teacher who conducted action research on literacy with at-risk students and an intermediate school teacher, now a program officer at the Ontario College of Teachers who is helping create…

This paper reports on the use of focus groups at Oakton Community College (Illinois) to connect with classified staff and to get their feedback on key issues. A total of four single-session focus groups, three with classified staff (employees with varying levels of academic preparation and current responsibilities) and one with…

Noting that one of the objectives of the Learning between Systems project was to design family loan programs as a potential form of financing to help families pay for early care and education, two studies examined the feasibility of such loan programs. First, focus groups were conducted in five American cities, wherein parents were asked to…

In September 2001, 37 educational researchers, assessment specialists, and practitioners from around the world gathered in England for a 3-day conference on assessment focusing on assessments developed and used by teachers day-to-day in the classroom. The meeting was structured to permit the development of ideas and strategies for bringing…

Describes the process of developing a code of ethical behavior for personnel working in college programs for students with disabilities, under the aegis of the Association on Higher Education and Disability. Issues in implementation and the importance of training and professional development are also discussed. Several focus group scenarios for…

This article concentrates on identifying program goals as an initial, and essential, aspect of developing a program for the retention of minority students in higher education. Focus groups and in-depth interviews that were conducted to identify goals for such a program at a major research university are described. (SLD)

Seventy clients participated in eight focus groups intended to identify clients' perceptions of vocational rehabilitation program strengths and weaknesses. The advantages of using a social science model applied to focus groups and the ways client empowerment can be a central theme in such efforts are explored. (SLD)

Discussion of program evaluations in educational institutions reports on the use of focus groups in the evaluation of a program of school library education at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada). Topics include self-study, a literature review, and reflections on models of professional education. (Author/LRW)

Reviews focus groups as a way of determining community opinions and explains how to use them. Designing a focus group series, conducting the group, and reporting the results are described, and examples are given of focus groups in educational change. (SLD)

A study of two racially diverse urban schools revealed that boys are chief teasers and bulliers and that teachers seldom intervene. A proactive curricular approach that explores differences, examines the meaning of courage, involves students in rule making, and promotes friendships across ethnic and gender lines is suggested. (10 references) (MLH)