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College students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children make up more than one in five U.S. undergraduates. Colleges need basic information about the experiences and outcomes of the student parents they serve, since these students face distinct challenges, including high rates of economic insecurity and significant time and caregiving demands that can affect their educational outcomes (Institute for Women's Policy Research and Ascend at the Aspen Institute 2019). This briefing paper discusses why data on student parents are critical to increasing equity in college outcomes, and reviews existing and potential new data sources on undergraduate college students with children. It also provides recommendations for improving data collection efforts around parent status, including examples of how these data can be collected by institutions of higher education.

This paper documents the perceptions and experiences of faculty members in the midst of statewide reform efforts in Virginia and North Carolina to integrate developmental reading and writing courses. Using interview and focus group data from 161 faculty and administrators in both states (combined) as well as three detailed case studies of faculty teaching newly integrated courses, we describe how departments and faculty approached the task of course integration. Findings suggest that while instructors had a generally positive impression of integrating the two disciplines, implementing these new courses was not without challenges. A common approach to course design, which we term "additive," involved combining assignments and activities from the old standalone courses. We identify a range of factors associated with using the additive approach, including conceptions of literacy learning focused on the mastery of discrete skills, professional development aimed at exchanging activities and materials between reading and writing instructors, and lack of a clear framework for an integrated course design. Instructors using the additive approach reported that they could not cover all of the content/activities from the previous courses under the accelerated course structure, and worried they that they were not able to provide students the literacy skills they needed to be successful in college. Yet some faculty used or began to adopt what we call an "integrative" approach to course design in which few standalone components of the previously offered courses remained. Integrative course design tended to emphasize metacognition, extensive text-based writing, and embedded skills and strategy instruction, often offered in a "just-in-time" fashion. Faculty perceived that these more "integrative" course elements were associated with improved literacy learning. The findings presented have implications for creating support resources and professional development for departments and faculty who are new to teaching integrated reading and writing courses. The paper includes several curricular examples which can be adapted and used by faculty teaching integrated developmental courses.

In lower- and middle-income countries, including Ghana, students in rural areas dramatically underperform their urban peers. Rural schools struggle to attract and retain professionally trained teachers (GES 2012; World Bank 2012). We explore one potential solution to the problem of teacher recruitment: distance instruction. Through a cluster randomized controlled trial, we estimate the impact of a program that broadcasts live instruction via satellite to rural primary school students. The program equipped classrooms in 70 randomly selected Ghanaian schools with the technology required to connect to a studio in Accra. An additional 77 schools served as the control. Instructors in Accra provided math and English lessons to classrooms in the treatment group. The model is interactive, and students in satellite classes could communicate in real time with their remote teachers. We estimate significant gains (p<0.05) in rural students' numeracy and foundational literacy skills. We find no impact on attendance and classroom time-on-task (as measured through unannounced classroom observations), suggesting that these gains may result from improved instructional quality rather than from increased instruction time.

The Kauffman School is a public charter school that serves students from low-income neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri. This paper used a matched comparison group design to estimate the impacts of the Kauffman School on student achievement, attendance, and suspensions. We found that the Kauffman School had positive and statistically significant impacts on student achievement in mathematics, reading, and science. This paper also used surveys, interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations to describe the hallmarks and operations of the Kauffman School and explore possible mechanisms for its effects, informing the literature on school effectiveness. We found evidence that the Kauffman School's hallmarks are largely being implemented faithfully, and that key stakeholders believe the Kauffman School's methods are having a positive influence on students' behavior, attitudes, and performance. The following are appended: (1) Data Preparation Details for Impact Analysis; (2) Data for Analysis of School Hallmarks; (3) Sample Selection for Impact Analysis; (4) Multiple Imputation Methodology; (5) Propensity-Score Matching Methodology; (6) Additional Attendance and Suspension Impact Estimates; and About the Series.

This paper examines technology-mediated advising reform in order to contribute to the understanding of how colleges engage in transformative change to improve student outcomes. Conceptualizing such change as occurring along three interrelated dimensions of organizational functioning (structural, process, and attitudinal), we seek to understand the contexts that encourage or discourage transformation of advising and student support. We use in-depth pre/post data from six colleges deploying integrated planning and advising for student success (iPASS) to investigate the reform process. Three of the six colleges made steps toward transforming their student support delivery, shifting along all three dimensions. We identify four contextual features that appear to underpin colleges' likelihood of transformative reform. Technology and vendor relationships form an important foundation. Reform vision and rationale, leadership, and the college's orientation toward student success are important institutional influences. Our findings support the hypothesis put forth by Karp and Fletcher (2014) in their Readiness for Technology Adoption framework that technology is necessary but not sufficient for transformation, and that project-level and organizational factors are perhaps more important. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that technology can spur substantial institutional change, but only under certain circumstances.

Building from findings showing that undergraduate computer science continues to have the highest attrition rates proportionally for women within postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines--a phenomenon that defies basic social equity goals in a high status field--this paper seeks to better understand how student experiences in local higher educational settings can influence persistence decisions, particulary for women. Updating and extending work in computer science, our qualitative analysis interprets this wider problem, first, by applying a field theory of practice to more clearly theorize how varying social realms and positions influence student experiences and feelings of belonging. Second, we use an in-depth comparative case study of two introductory or "gateway" computer science courses in two universities to detail how classroom, departmental, institutional, and extra-institutional characteristics, including instructional practices and popular stereotypes, may shape action for students in specific higher educational contexts. While previous studies have highlighted the significance of broader computer science cultural values, self-efficacy beliefs, and experience with computers to women's attrition, our findings provide a new theoretical lens to conceptualize the complex ways these and other factors connect in students' daily lives--through preening male students or "brogrammers," authentic or collaborative learning experiences, and uncomfortable social interactions due in part to women's underrepresentation. Our findings also point to differences in local interactions and social positions that can begin to mediate these factors, including opportunities in class to ask questions, collaborate, and work on real-world example problems; fuller access to instructors; and departmental and campus infrastructural supports that contribute to a more meaningful sense of belonging in computer science.

This paper examines the key aspects of stakeholder engagement that can strengthen the design, implementation and sustainability of outcomes-based funding policies. We seek to help policymakers understand the prevailing starting-point attitudes of institutional stakeholders, primarily college and university administrators, faculty and staff, and the importance of engaging them throughout the policy process. In addition, we recommend specific strategies for effectively engaging these stakeholders based on our work in multiple states and leading research in the field.

Although results showing coaching effectiveness are accumulating, coaching is often included with other forms of Professional Development (PD) support including teacher in-service (Powell, Diamond, Burchinal, & Koehler, 2010; Kretlow et al., 2011), access to an annotated video library (Allen et al., 2011), and access to ongoing learning communities (Gallucci, Van Lare, Yoon, & Boatright, 2010; Matsumura, Garnier, & Spybrook, 2012). The presence of multiple intervention components obscures the unique effect of coaching and makes drawing conclusions about coaching effectiveness impossible. There is a critical need for identifying effective, sustainable approaches for teacher PD in delivering instruction to foster science practice skills. The purpose of this research study was to: (1) determine the effects of a professional development intervention comprised of a summer institute and follow-up technology-delivered instructional coaching on teacher and student science practice knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and engagement; and (2) isolate specific effects of coaching when combined with more traditional teacher workshops. The intervention model described here was designed to equip middle and high school science teachers with knowledge and skills to use a guided scientific inquiry approach to teach science practice skills integrated into content as specified by Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The project involved a randomized controlled trial aimed at addressing the following research question: What is the impact of a summer institute focused on guided scientific inquiry with follow-up coaching (treatment) versus no professional development (control) on (a) teacher science practices knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and beliefs and (b) student science practices knowledge, skills, engagement and self-efficacy? A secondary question involved the independent effects of the summer institute and coaching: What were the separate effects of the summer institute and coaching on teacher and student outcomes? The study was conducted with 124 science teachers (63 treatment and 61 control) from 110 rural schools (61 treatment and 49 control) in Nebraska and Iowa. Results from this study show the promise of coaching and its value added to traditional teacher in-service. While this study shows the promise of coaching in impacting teacher change, more research is needed to investigate what specific aspects of the coaching process (i.e., rapport and trust between teacher and coach, coach qualifications, teacher self-reflection) are most responsible for these effects.

Although researchers have explored the impact of instructional coaching and named possible elements believed essential to effective coaching, there has yet to emerge from the literature a coherent model of those essential elements ("active ingredients"). This qualitative study sought to identify those elements through a systematic process beginning with a synthesis of current coaching literature to compile a list of ingredients. Using a modified grounded theory approach, this list was then validated through semi-structured focus group data of teachers and triangulated with focus group data provided by instructional coaches to create a conceptual framework of coaching. Future coaching research can build upon this framework through empirically testing those key components that are necessary for effective coaching.

Research suggests which study strategies are effective but little descriptive research focuses on how undergraduate students study in real-world settings. Thus, the mechanisms of students' actual learning remain a black box for the field of higher education, with far more attention paid to inputs and outputs of the learning process. Using a situative theory of cognition and learning, we analyzed data from 22 focus groups (N = 60 students). Results indicate studying is a multi-faceted process that is initiated by instructor or self-generated cues, followed by marshaling resources and managing distractions (or not), and then study behaviors that include selecting time, setting, and specific strategies. Underlying these behaviors are contextual factors including course material and students' personal lives. The results highlight the importance of self-regulation skills, particularly managing digital distractions, and we suggest that the development of these skills should be more frequently incorporated into instructional design and student support services.

This paper investigates the personal and career development needs of TAFE (Technical And Further Education) Queensland's lead vocational teachers through the conceptual framework of Spirituality at Work (SAW), which is a framework for looking at workplace relations. This research was conducted through four focus group meetings held in November 2009, each lasting approximately 90 minutes. A Queensland TAFE-wide notice attracted the lead vocational teachers who volunteered to participate in the focus group discussions. The focus groups reviewed the way in which the lead vocational teacher role is currently being deployed within various TAFE Queensland institutes. The research is limited by the small number of participants. In all, while 80 people responded to the invitation to participate, only 24 were able to take part. This was due mainly to time constraints, work pressures and other commitments. The sample may not be representative of the true demographic of lead vocational teachers in TAFE Queensland. The research is also limited in that the sole method of data-gathering was through the use of focus groups. The paper argues that the Spirituality at Work framework already exists in the teaching profession as a set of humanist values, which, while acknowledged as fluid, changeable and multiple, informs the basis of much teaching work. In particular, the role of teacher leadership in TAFE Queensland resembles a form of servant leadership (Greenleaf 1977), with a strongly affective component. This model of ethics-based behaviour is challenged by the business-based model of education and the proliferation of performance measures. It is argued that this conflict of interest creates an incongruence that is a discouraging factor in staff retention and a source of dissatisfaction among lead vocational teachers. It is revealed that lead vocational teachers view their profession as a "calling" and see serving their students as a priority. With greater emphasis being placed on financial decisions within VET workplaces and the introduction of increased reporting requirements, these teachers feel that they are operating in environments with low levels of trust. Overall, lead vocational teachers consider that their teaching practices were undervalued. Focus group questions are appended.

Learning communities are a popular strategy that community colleges nationwide have embraced in support of developmental students. In a learning community, a cohort of students takes two or more courses linked by integrated themes and assignments that are developed through ongoing faculty collaboration. While the number of learning community programs continues to grow, rigorous studies measuring their effectiveness are limited. To address this need for evidence, the Learning Communities demonstration, launched in 2007, uses random assignment to test models of learning communities at six community colleges: Kingsborough Community College, Queensborough Community College, Hillsborough Community College, Merced College, Houston Community College System, and Community College of Baltimore County. The study is designed to determine: (1) how learning communities can be designed to address the needs of academically underprepared students; (2) the effects of learning communities on student achievement, as measured by test scores, credits earned, and grades; (3) the effects of learning communities on students' persistence in higher education; and (4) what learning communities cost and how these costs compare with the costs of standard college programs for students with low basic skills. Preliminary findings will be available in 2009. This working paper describes the study's design, including a summary of the theoretical and empirical research relevant to learning communities, descriptions of the sites and their learning community models, the random assignment procedures, and plans for data analysis. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure, and 67 notes.) [This paper was produced by the National Center for Postsecondary Research. It was written with the assistance of Oscar Cerna, Christine Sansone, and Michelle Ware.]

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and describe some of the dimensions of scientific collaborations using high throughput computing (HTC) through the lens of a virtual team performance framework. A secondary purpose was to assess the viability of using a virtual team performance framework to study scientific collaborations using HTC. The authors chose to study two scientific collaborations, IceCube and the "Laboratory for Molecular and Computational Genomics" (LMCG), that differed across a number of characteristics such as membership size, research purpose, and range of scientific disciplines. The authors adapted an IPO ("input-process-output") framework developed from a synthesis of virtual team performance studies (Powell et al., 2004), using it as the basis for their analysis of virtual teams using HTC. The IPO model offers unconstrained conceptual categories, facilitating an exploratory approach to specifying the dimensions of virtual team performance. The virtual team performance framework appears to be a viable tool for studying collaboration in distributed cyberinfrastructure teams. The responses of focus group participants fit within IPO framework categories, with the exception of "communication" and "cohesion". The group discussions related to communication and cohesion focused on communication technologies, coordination, and culture rather on the specifics of communication and cohesion in the team. It is possible that the retrospective character of focus group discussion is not conducive to capturing these elements; observation of group processes over time and in different settings might be more promising. Two new subcategories emerged within the design category: leadership and membership size. However, more research is needed to expand and eventually validate key performance dimensions across various types of teams. This work demonstrates some potential application to education reform. HTC is an extremely fault-tolerant system--that is, it performs well without significant human intervention or interaction--and school district systems such as data warehousing, accountability reporting, video encoding or re-encoding, and analytics (e.g., business intelligence in dashboards) need to be fault-tolerant and update regularly. One of the challenges facing districts is that their current infrastructure designs are outmoded, while at the same time they have a growing need to implement longitudinal data systems to collect, manage, and use student, school, and teacher data (Thorn, Meyer, & Gameron, 2007). HTC has the capacity to handle the demands for parallel processing and robust systems--core aspects of sound education infrastructure. Focus Group Protocol is appended. (Contains 1 figure, 5 tables and 4 footnotes.) [Additional funding for this paper was provided by the Children First Fund: The Chicago Public Schools Foundation and the New York City Teacher Data Initiative.]

Schools that have not made adequate yearly progress in increasing student academic achievement are required, under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), to offer children in low-income families the opportunity to receive supplemental educational services (SES). In research conducted in Milwaukee Public Schools, the authors explore whether parents and students are aware of their eligibility and options for extra tutoring under NCLB, and who among eligible students registers for SES. Using the best information available to school districts, the authors estimate the effects of SES in increasing students' reading and math achievement. They find no average impacts of SES attendance on student achievement gains and use qualitative research to explore possible explanations for the lack of observed effects. Appendices include: (1) Supplemental Education Services Evaluation Focus Group Protocol; and (2) Milwaukee Public Schools 2006-2007 Supplemental Education Services Student Survey. (Contains 8 tables and 19 notes.) [This paper was presented at the "NCLB: Emerging Findings Research Conference" at the Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. on August 12, 2009.]

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts, launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--that provide an opportunity to study the influence of schoolwide democratic deliberation on students' civic knowledge and participation. The intervention involved, in part, organizing the school into clusters of 100 to 150 students that meet for one hour each week to discuss governance and other school-related issues, perform community service, and pursue other cluster-related activities. In 2003 we began collecting data to assess the progress of the clustering and schoolwide governance intervention. The findings to date suggest that the programs have been generally implemented as planned but that changes have been made to address specific issues that have arisen. Because the programs are still evolving, they cannot yet be considered mature. Nevertheless, successive classes of twelfth graders have shown improvements on measures of community service and political knowledge, and the improvements have been widespread in the student population. In addition, these positive changes were relatively larger for disenfranchised youth and other groups of students who initially scored lower than their counterpart groups on these civic measures, indicating that the programs are reaching the students they were designed to reach. Finally, examples from the current study support the idea that adult support, via scaffolding, plays an important role in building youth civic engagement. These findings demonstrate that all students--not just a select few--can and will engage in civic activity in their schools when given appropriate opportunity. A questionnaire used in this report's 21 measures of youth civic development is appended. (Contains 3 footnotes, 4 tables and 4 figures.)

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--and moved into a new building designed to facilitate them. Clustering is designed to achieve a sense of community within a large school by creating small communities of 100 to 150 students. To create common bonds that tie each group together, clusters at the grade 10-12 level are organized around four areas of student interest: communications, media, and the arts; science, health, recreation, and the environment; business, engineering, and technology; and public policy, education, and service. Clusters also form the basic unit of Hudson High's schoolwide governance model, which was derived from the idea of "just communities" within high schools. The belief underpinning schoolwide governance is that students will become more civic minded and engaged if they experience democratic deliberation as part of their school experience. In 2003 the authors began a five-year data collection to assess the progress of the clustering and schoolwide governance intervention. This report describes the implementation of the intervention and presents preliminary findings on the civic development of twelfth graders since the programs were launched. The findings are based on information from four annual twelfth-grade surveys in 2003-2006 and twelfth-grade focus groups conducted in 2006. The questionnaire is appended. (Contains 9 tables and 6 figures.) [This working paper was produced by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).]

The Student Public Interest Research Groups (Student PIRGs)--who have been at the forefront of raising awareness about textbook affordability for much of the past decade--launched a two-year campaign (MakeTextbooksAffordable.org/statement) in 2007 to drive mainstream faculty's acceptance of open textbooks and other affordable alternatives in place of traditional textbooks. University of California (UC) Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher Education was awarded a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, via the Student PIRGs, to conduct an independent, objective, and exploratory analysis of the campaign using an online survey and focus groups. The researchers also more generally addressed faculty perceptions about affordability and open textbooks. Their results show that faculty want a diversity of choices. They are independent thinkers, exceptionally busy, suffer from extreme information overload, are generally dedicated to ensuring their students' success, and do not take well to "one size fits all" solutions. Regarding the demand for open textbooks, there simply are not enough currently available in enough disciplines to satisfy the multitude of faculty and student needs in lower and upper division courses; a much wider array of high-quality, easy-to-use, and reliable open textbooks will have to be produced for more widespread faculty adoption to be realized. Even then, open textbooks will likely be only one of many players in the curricular materials market. A single, predetermined solution (e.g.,"open textbooks" or "open educational resources") and such jargon may very well work against the Open Educational Resource (OER) movement and faculty's willingness to explore new options. Finally, the researchers strongly recommend that a wide range of faculty (and student) input be considered essential to any conversation about the future of textbook affordability. Survey Instrument is appended. (Contains 11 footnotes and 8 tables.)

To explore whether teachers' attitudes toward pay for performance are the result of experience or socialization, or whether teachers are already predisposed to prefer pay systems not based on performance, and whether some forms of performance pay might be preferred to others, a study was conducted of the pay system preferences of students preparing to be teachers at a large Midwestern public university. The study was guided by three research questions: (1) Do students preparing to be K-12 teachers view pay for performance as a desirable or undesirable attribute of a teaching job? (2) Do students preparing to be K-12 teachers prefer some forms of pay for performance (i.e., knowledge- and skill-based pay, group-based performance pay, or individual performance pay based on objective indicators such as student achievement) over others? and (3) Do students' work values and personality characteristics influence their preferences for performance pay or for different performance pay systems? These questions were addressed first by holding a series of focus group discussions about pay for performance with university students with education majors or pre-majors, and with students with other majors or pre-majors. Then, a survey of a sample of this population was conducted to assess preferences for different performance pay systems. The results suggest that prospective teachers do not find performance pay unattractive, at least as operationalized in the scenarios presented. Pay System Scenarios are appended. (Contains 4 tables and 2 footnotes.) [A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Finance Association (Louisville, Kentucky, 2005).]

Many urban districts have adopted interim assessments in recent years as a supplement to annual testing. Possible purposes for such tests include monitoring and assisting student progress, aligning the curriculum, and practicing for state exams, but little is known about how effectively real systems advance these purposes. The Providence Public School District (PPSD) implemented a system of quarterly assessments at every grade starting in 2004 and discontinued them in 2007. During the implementation period, authors interviewed district officials about what they were trying to accomplish, and teachers and other school personnel about their experiences with the assessments and their use of the results. Evidence of effectiveness as well as limitations were found. Uncertainty about the magnitude of positive impacts raised questions about the net value of the assessments given their considerable costs to districts, teachers, and students. The authors conclude that interim assessments are costly, and costs increase if the desired effects on student achievement require significant investments in professional development of teachers. Sound policy, therefore, should be carefully designed and evaluated. Two appendixes are included: (1) Interview Protocol; and (2) Findings from Interviews and Survey. (Contains 3 tables.)

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 supervisors/managers, were conducted. Three main topics were discussed: staff development, morale, and compensation/classification. Concerning staff development, a key staff concern was the need for staff-oriented professional development workshops; supervisors, however, expressed a desire for more opportunities to interact and share common concerns with each other. Concerning morale, staff felt morale was strongly connected to having opportunities to be listened to and valued as employees; supervisors focused on improving orientation programs for staff. Concerning compensation and classification issues, staff wanted more information about the system in use at the college and worried about opportunities for upward mobility. The focus group effort has influenced professional development efforts, and has led to plans to develop a supervisor/manager discussion group and to implement annual workshops on compensation and classification. Letters used to solicit focus group participants and the focus group question protocol are appended. (Contains 11 references.) (DB)

The following report represents the findings from the qualitative portion of the News for a New Generation project. This data provides information about what kinds of news is available for young people, why producers create youth-oriented news the way they do, and what young people say they really want in news. The combination of textual analysis, interviews with youth news producers, and focus groups with young people enable the examination of whether the products that are being created are responsive to young people?s interests and what possibilities exist for increasing levels of news consumption among young citizens. The following are appended: (1) Instructions; (2) Elite Interview Protocol; and (3) Focus Group Moderator's Guide.

As part of the "Assessing the New Federalism" project monitoring and assessing the devolution of social programs from the federal to the state and local levels, this report examines the child care providers upon whom the child care subsidy system depends. The report relies on data collected from subsidy agency administrators, key child care experts, child care caseworkers, parents, and providers in 17 sites across 12 states. The report focuses on subsidy policies and practices that can shape the experiences of providers serving subsidized children, including how much providers are paid and how providers experience the subsidy system. The report's findings suggest that a number of policies and practices can affect how much child care providers receive and the ease of their interactions with the subsidy system. In some cases, policies and practices appeared to undercut the amount providers received or made it more difficult for providers to interact with the subsidy system. Respondents suggested that these issues may also ultimately affect the willingness and ability of providers to participate in the subsidy system, thereby affecting whether children receiving subsidies have equal access to the range of providers available to nonsubsidized children. These policies and practices may have implications for the financial stability of providers and the quality of care they provide. Although a range of more supportive practices was also identified, the report notes that implementing these strategies is challenging within the current context of inadequate funding for children. The report's three appendices describe the study methodology, list the provider focus group participants, and compare the subsidies received by a hypothetical provider under various scenarios. (Contains 68 notes and 24 references.) (KB)

A study focused on researchers' use of the English-Language Background Questionnaire (EBQ) portion of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), the results of which were released in 1993. Data were gathered by surveying NALS data users about how they have used the EBQ data, their perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the EBQ, and their recommendations for changes to the EBQ. A content analysis was also conducted of published research papers that have involved analyses of the EBQ data to determine how the data were used in these research analyses. The study also drew upon recommendations garnered by a series of focus groups conducted by the American Institutes for Research in 1998. These sources were integrated with the study's own analysis of the NALS data. The following changes to the EBQ for future adult literacy assessments were recommended: expand the questions pertaining to educational experiences; expand the section on social and political participation or move the current items to other areas and delete this section; add an item on voter registration; acquire more detailed information regarding work history, wages, and parents' occupations; expand the section pertaining to literacy practices; and gather information on technological literacy practices. (Appendixes include 34 references; instruments; and studies examined for content review.) (YLB)

Policy catalysts such as welfare reform or research findings on the impact of day care provide new opportunities to frame the discussion surrounding early childhood education. This group of working papers examines effective language for discussing communication strategies for advocacy. The first paper, "Early Childhood Education and the Framing Wars" (Susan Bales), introduces the remaining papers, and maintains that children's advocates must be prepared to "do battle with" the dominant frames of news coverage and to reframe the coverage of child education and care to advance its identification as a public issue. The second paper, "Why Early Ed Benefits All of Us" (George Lakoff and Joseph Grady), identifies, explores, and explains various forms of childhood education. This paper also explains the dominant metaphorical streams associated with the issue, notes the pros and cons of these options, and suggests the best ways to reframe the issue to support progressive reform. The third paper, "Public Attitudes about Early Childhood Care and Education" (Richard Brandon), summarizes public support for early childhood education as reported in several survey and focus group studies, focusing on financial assistance, the importance of quality care, and the personal salience of early childhood education issues. The fourth paper, "Communication Strategies for Advocates of Early Childhood Education" (Full Circle Associates), reports the results of a focus group study to test African- and European-Americans' reactions to a series of metaphors, frameworks, and labels for early education for children from birth to age 6, focusing on parental roles and responsibility, quality and importance of early childhood education, quality assurance and terminology. (KB)

Students in two Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes were surveyed (862 usable responses from 1,700 metropolitan students, 297 from 1,008 regional students). Focus group discussions were held with three metro and five regional students. A higher proportion of regional than metro students were volunteers or wanted to volunteer. Females in both areas were more likely to be volunteers or would-be volunteers. Students whose first language was not English constituted a large proportion of would-be volunteers. Substantial differences in volunteers and would-be volunteers were found by field of study. Full-time students were more likely to be volunteers or would-be volunteers; 79% of part-time metro and 58% of part-time regional students were not interested in volunteering. The predominant motivation for TAFE study was preparation for paid employment; however, 10% of regional and 3% of metro students thought volunteer work would enhance their employability. In three fields (business studies, natural resource management, social/community services and health), studies and volunteer work were somewhat related. Responses indicate there is a significant pool of potential volunteers among these students, especially at the metropolitan institute. (Appendices contain the questionnaire, tables of responses from each institute, and descriptions of the relationship between volunteer work and six fields of study.) (SK)

The campus experiences of 24 students of color at a large, predominantly white midwestern university were investigated using four focus groups and grounded theory methods of analysis. Participants were asked about their experiences in four area environments: classrooms, residence halls, student services and programs, and the city where the university was located. Interview data were analyzed using theory on aversive racism and cultural context. Findings suggest that white faculty, staff, and students avoid interacting with students of color in classrooms, residence halls, and in advising and helping situations, supporting the theory of aversive racism and suggesting that negative racial attitudes, combined with equalitarian values produce discomfort and/or fear, rather than the overt racial hatred of the past; in turn, the aversive behavior functions as an isolating mechanism for students of color. In response to the hostile campus environment, students of color reported four survival strategies maintaining cultural coherence, dream internalization and maintenance, developing circumscribed knowledge, and program migration. Findings also suggest that the cultural context of research institutions supports a dual mechanism of isolation in which high levels of compartmentalization and specialization support avoidance of interaction by faculty and staff. Appendices include the conceptual frame model, the interview protocol, and a table of participant demographics. (Contains 17 references.) (DB)

A study examined barriers to employment for rural Michigan residents, especially during an economic boom. Four focus groups conducted in four nonmetropolitan growth counties in Michigan indicated that educated, skilled workers were seeking to enter the labor force or to work more hours, even though community leaders, newspapers, and job developers felt there was a shortage of local workers. The foremost factor contributing to this situation was an inadequate and seasonal demand for most goods and services produced in the counties studied. As a result, both employers and employees faced risks and uncertainties about the future. Due to lack of formal channels of finding jobs, job seekers had to rely on word-of-mouth, which is not an efficient means of finding employment. There was no public transportation system in nonmetro areas. Because workers could not find full-time jobs, they took multiple part-time jobs, and the transportation costs of driving large distances to work and day care made minimum wage jobs even less attractive than in urban areas. The high cost of licensed child and elder care centers created disincentives for taking low-paying jobs. The high collateral requirement to get loans minimized the opportunity for entrepreneurs to start home-based businesses. Discrimination based on sex, age, and disability, and the failure of schools to require computer literacy were also factors. Participants felt that local government officials could exercise more foresight in attracting certain kinds of businesses and support systems for workers. (TD)

In February 2000, the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) cosponsored a national literacy summit of more than 100 representatives from the field of adult literacy and basic education in Washington, DC. During the summit, 29 adult literacy teachers from 5 states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, and Delaware) participated in 5 focus groups. Each focus group worked to develop its own version of what the vision and goal of the summit agenda should be. The focus groups also ranked eight action strategies for achieving their chosen vision and goal. The following were mentioned by at least one focus group as being among its three most-desired strategies: include learners' perspectives; commitment to access; instructional and program quality improvements; professional development opportunities; and create partnerships. (Appendixes constituting approximately two-thirds of the document contain the following items: focus group notes on selected action steps; the NCSALL focus group guide that was developed to obtain teacher feedback for a national literacy summit draft action agenda; the form used to collect information about the focus groups; a flyer for advertising focus groups; and information about the NCSALL practitioner dissemination and research network.) (MN)

To initiate a primary prevention program in a Midwestern urban community consisting primarily of Chicanos, needs were assessed by conducting focus group meetings with school administrators, teachers, parents, and children in a public school setting. In each student focus group, 8-10 children were selected from a seventh-grade classroom, an eighth-grade classroom, and a mixed seventh/eighth-grade bilingual classroom. Fifteen parents participated in the parent group, and 6 teachers comprised the teacher group. Aspirations included academic achievement; the desire to attend a "good" high school, which students defined as a public magnet high school with advanced curriculum and no gang violence; occupations that would provide financial stability; good health; and personal safety. Barriers to aspirations included peer pressure to engage in risky behaviors such as drugs, sex, or gang membership; interpersonal and random violence; a lack of interpersonal relationships with significant adults such as parents, older siblings, or teachers; inaccessible teachers; and low self-confidence. Community strengths identified included the school as a safe haven, healthy personal relationships, community programs, and after-school activities. Implications for prevention programming include forging more personal relationships between teachers and families; initiating policy changes and interventions to counteract violence problems; integrating self-confidence, assertiveness, and communication training into school programs; and providing more after-school activities. (Contains 20 references.) (TD)

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), which is being developed for administration in 2002, will determine the status of adult literacy in the United States and serve as a follow-up to the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey. Three discussion groups consisting of a total of 23 literacy researchers, users of the 1992 survey, potential users of the 2002 survey, and other stakeholders were convened to obtain input on the NAAL's content and issues related to its development. A professional facilitator used a set of structured questions and probes to lead the discussions with each group. Several problems in using the data from the 1992 survey at the federal and state levels were noted. Suggestions for making the NAAL more meaningful than the 1992 survey were quite similar among the three groups. A major focus was on ensuring that the data could be useful at the state level even if states cannot conduct an individual survey. Suggestions for interpretation of the NAAL fell into four topical areas: use of subscales, broadness of levels, utilization of composite scores, and linkages between the 2002 assessment and other surveys. (Appended are a list of focus group participants and overview of the NAAL.) (MN)

In this study 10 first-year African American students (five men and five women) took photographs that illustrated their perceptions of the predominantly white research university they attended and discussed their pictures in subsequent individual and focus group interviews. Two theoretical frameworks provided the structure for the analysis: personal-environment interaction theory and symbolic interactionism. Data analysis and interpretation identified six themes: (1) natural, physical aspects; (2) institutional size; (3) racial consciousness; (4) Greek-letter organizations; (5) racial and cultural interactions; and (6) preparation for the future. Some of the positive facets of the campus environment pictured and discussed included interactions with faculty; involvement in student organizations; specific courses in which the students were enrolled, especially the Afro-American studies classes; and the residence hall climate. Negative factors identified included the underrepresentation of African American students, faculty, and staff; the prevalence of voluntary racial and cultural separation; and a perceived lack of receptivity by others in the university community. Implications of the study for research, practice, and policy are drawn. (Contains 78 references.) (DB)

This study used the case study method and focus group interviews to examine: (1) which of the economic impacts of a small liberal arts college on its community are important; (2) whether economic impact can be estimated economic impact studies; and (3) whether such studies influence public opinion about the college's economic impact. Two focus groups, each with nine participants, were conducted. The participants were community leaders in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, the home of Iowa Wesleyan College. After the first focus group, an economic impact study was conducted and its results disseminated via the local newspaper and a local radio station. Following dissemination, the second focus group was held. Both groups identified consumption benefits and college-related local business volume as the most important positive economic impacts of the college, and foregone real estate taxes as the major negative impact. The economic impact study had little or no effect on focus group attitudes and no participants in the second group mentioned hearing or reading about the study results. Results suggest economic impact studies may be ineffective for public relations since they do not promote consumption benefits, they estimate unimportant impacts, and they do not change attitudes about the economic importance of colleges. (Contains 14 references.) (DB)

White, Black, and Hispanic students were studied during their transition from school or work to a community college. Students (N=71) at the College of Lake County (CLC) in Illinois attended focus groups formed according to race or ethnic group (White, Black, or Hispanic) in the spring and fall semesters to discuss their goals, experience, and feelings about the college environment. Findings from the fall focus groups indicated that all groups of students saw a direct connection between higher education and desirable employment. Most students in all three groups planned to get a degree or certificate at CLC. White students were most likely to plan on transferring to another school and least likely to plan on a CLC degree whereas Black students were most likely to plan on a CLC degree or certificate and least likely to plan on transferring. Findings from the spring focus group meetings indicated that many students found college harder than expected and all confirmed the importance of support from parents, family, friends, and faculty. Difficulties reported by many students included attending college part-time, not socializing with other students, and, for younger students, relating to older students in class. All expressed a comfortable feeling with campus diversity although their personal experiences in relationship to their race/ethnicity differed by group. Orientation and extracurricular activities were seen as helpful for students adjusting to college. (Contains 19 references.) (CK)

The role played by the institutional research office in the successful re-engineering of the University of Miami (Florida) college of engineering is described. The private research university's engineering school was at risk of closure due to declining enrollment and a changing job market. A committee of engineering faculty and other university administrators wrote a strategic plan using ideas from internal and external sources and site visits to other institutions. The plan outlined objectives for enrollment, external funding, overall college quality, faculty commitment and development, quality of overall student experience, fiscal solvency, and institutional image. The university's institutional research office provided five types of analyses: student and faculty demographic data; projection models; results of student surveys; focus group data; and credit hour and financial data breakdowns. In addition, the institutional research administrator assisted in interpretation of data and in preparation for a planning retreat. The services provided by the office were found useful. Recommendations included: provision of a listing of institutional research reports and customized analysis services to university deans; more use of focus groups; and identification of development of reports on key issues. (MSE)

Data are not available to inform education policy discussion regarding how resources are allocated both within and among schools. This study was conducted to develop and pilot test a questionnaire that would collect school-level expenditure data. This report describes the three site visits and focus group conducted for this project, findings from pilot tests of two versions of questionnaires (one in seven districts and one in eight school districts), and the revised instrument, the "Public School Expenditure Survey." Both pilot instruments were developed as mailed questionnaires linked to the Schools and Staffing Survey. Collecting data by the functional categories defined by the National Center for Education Statistics was the challenge that was most clearly met by the developed instrument. The instrument also shows that it is possible to collect school-level data, but the drawback is that the instrument must be fairly complex and thus creates a burden for the respondent. One appendix contains the instrument, and the other explains common errors that cause data inconsistency. (SLD)

In response to the need for data on higher education faculty and instructional staff, the National Center for Education Statistics conducted the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) in 1987-88 and 1992-93. Both cycles of the NSOPF consisted of an institutional component and a faculty component. The earlier study surveyed only faculty with instructional responsibilities, but the later study included all individuals with faculty status. The Institution Questionnaire showed a five percentage point increase in the estimate of part-time instructional faculty between the fall of 1987 and the fall of 1992, but the Faculty Questionnaire did not show this change. Some other discrepancies between the institutional and faculty surveys were noted, and this study was conducted to understand how data about faculty members is kept at institutions and how to improve the NSOPF instruments to gain more accurate and consistent information. Site visits were conducted at five institutions and a telephone interview was held with another. Four focus groups, involving 26 people, were held at educational association meetings with representatives of colleges and universities. Specific suggestions were gathered for improvement in the following areas: (1) the Faculty List collection process; (2) definitions and categories; (3) data requested on the Faculty List Collection Form; (4) improvement of the Faculty List Documentation Form; (5) instructions for preparing machine-readable lists of faculty; and (6) institutional data systems. Six appendixes provide examples of materials used in the study, summaries of site visits and focus groups, and suggested revised NSOPF instructions and forms. (Contains four references.) (SLD)