For college admissions and publications officers, a focus group of college-bound high school students can offer quick, anecdotal information about the general effectiveness of recruitment materials as well as about specific messages, themes, or design approaches. The insights gained by one publications specialist through the use of focus groups…

Developed a needs-assessment model and validated the model with five groups of stakeholders connected with an undergraduate university nursing program in Canada. Used focus groups, questionnaires, a hermeneutic approach, and the magnitude-estimation scaling model to validate the model. Results show that respondents must define need to clarify the…

Describes use of faculty focus groups to develop strategies to increase the representation of women in senior levels of the medical faculty at Monash University (Australia). The approach resulted in "faculty ownership" of affirmative action and an implementation plan that has high priority and incorporates various stakeholder groups.…

Uses focus group data (groups of 7, 12, 8, and 5) to examine how cross-subject matter groups of elementary and secondary New York state teachers respond to state-level testing as a way to change their classroom practices. The analyses highlight the nature of the tests, professional development for teachers, and the rationales for and consequences…

A study explored the perspectives of nine participants engaged in a specific person-centered future planning model for individuals with disabilities and their families. Focus group themes included: evolution of person-centered planning circles or teams, inhibitors to the person-centered planning process, supports to the person-centered planning…

Conducted focus groups with 37 high school students receiving mental health services, 24 students not receiving services, 28 parents, and 47 therapists, administrators, and health care staff to gauge the quality and effectiveness of an expanded school mental health program. Identifies effective aspects of the therapy and discusses implications for…

Reviews four essential factors to consider in a school marketing plan: the message, the audit, the committee, and the time frame. Argues that central to developing a marketing plan is the creation of focus groups composed of a diverse cross-section of the community to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the school. (JDI)

This article describes using collegial conversations to consider assistive technology (AT) and evaluate its impact. A self-study process is used to engage educators in a series of conversations about AT outcomes. Four topics structure the conversations: AT and human performance, AT considerations, AT service delivery systems, and accountability…

Describes a study of returning adult women students enrolled in distance education programs. Results of focus groups showed five general categories of needs: communication with the instructor; interactions with other students; technical assistance; campus support services; and personal needs, including the support of family and employers.…

Three focus groups were convened, consisting of 11 mothers of elementary-age students with various disabilities. Mothers viewed friendship as both an important and a worthy end in itself. Nine peer-specific friendship goals for friendship development were identified, along with 3 broader goals to which friendship was perceived to contribute.…

This study investigated changes in student attitudes toward computing in three different university introductory computing courses. Describes the attitude survey used and discusses the results of interviews and focus groups that were held to better understand why attitudes changed in one course but not the others. (Author/LRW)

Investigated the perceptions of African-American students at a predominantly white college about race in the mentoring relationship. Data from focus group discussions indicated that faculty mentoring helped students adjust to college and to the dominant culture. Faculty race was not as important in the mentoring relationship as was being in the…

Ideally, school would be a place where all students feel that they belong. However, the reality is that many students feel as though they do not belong to their school community. Alienated or disaffected students are an endemic problem in schools in Australia, as elsewhere, affecting the whole school community along with the life chances for the…

Focus groups with teachers of students with learning disabilities (n=30) and teachers of students with emotional/behavior disorders (n=19) were conducted to examine the the teachers' perspectives about educational research and the extent to which they found research findings to be useful. The study further addressed the ways in which new practices…

This paper presents findings from Stage 4 of the Griffith Graduate Project. Graduates from three Schools within Griffith University were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the contributions that the learning contexts of university, work placement and post-graduation employment made to the development of their generic skills. All graduates…