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Educational researchers need to pay more attention to understanding the perspectives of implementers as a means to preventing future implementation failures. In an attempt to elucidate the reasons for resistance to the implementation of the 2013 education reform in Mexico, qualitative methods were used to explore the lived experiences of dissenting teachers of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) over the cycle of policy in depth. This qualitative study analyzed the narratives of participants. The results revealed manifestations of power in four main categories: (1) agenda-setting imposition; (2) a policy formulation process led by social, economic, and political elites; (3) scientific legitimization; and (4) resistance to the implementation. Results showed that participants' resistance was primarily triggered by feeling that teachers' interests were excluded in the policymaking process. Therefore, in the future, democratization of the education policy-making process is a must within the Mexican context.

When conducting human subjects research, social and behavioral researchers seeking to study current issues involving immigrants, refugees, and undocumented students must submit their research to an institutional review board (IRB). Research applications proposing to enroll these populations lie outside the scope of vulnerable populations named in the U.S. Code for Federal Regulations (45 CFR 46). Through a consideration of privacy, confidentiality, flexibility in providing protections, and case study examples, this article examines how researchers and IRBs can negotiate protecting participants who may be undocumented while supporting the advancement of research in the midst of the current, and uncertain, political climate.

After interviewing homeless high school students, the research team in a Colorado school district discovered that many students had not revealed their true living conditions (homelessness) to anyone in the school district. This research team developed an anonymous survey written around the homeless categories identified in the McKinney-Vento federal legislation. Results revealed students who identified as homeless for a portion of their high school years in numbers and percentages alarmingly higher than the district had on file. In fact, over 25 times as many homeless students were identified by this process than by the previously-used district system for identifying homelessness. An equally alarming finding is that very few students identified their homeless status to a teacher, counselor, or school administrator. This article identifies statistical patterns to predict homelessness and provides recommendations for administrative practices.

Due to the large number of individuals retiring over the next ten years a critical shortage of people available to work within the manufacturing industry is looming (Dychtwald, Erickson, & Morison, 2006). This shortage is exacerbated by the lack of a properly educated workforce that meets the demands of the 21st century manufacturer (Judy & D'Amico, 1997). Combine these two issues and the result is a steady reduction in qualified candidates for the millions of jobs available in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this research was to identify if a knowledge gap exists between the manufacturing industry and the educational institutions charged with education of the production workforce. Although the majority of manufacturers and educators indicated there was a gap between the educational institutions and the manufacturer's needs, this research did not uncover a significant gap between the educational institutions and the manufacturers specific to their understanding of the attributes, skills and adult basic education level of a highly skilled production employee. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

The purpose of this study was to determine differences, in first-year college academic performance, between home school and traditional high school graduates, measured by grade point average, retention, ACT test scores, and credits. To accomplish the purpose, nine null hypotheses were tested to determine if there were differences between home school graduates and traditional high school graduates. The results were: No significant difference in first-year grade point averages; No significant difference in college retention during their first-year (fall to spring semester); No significant difference in first-year credit hours earned; No significant difference in the ACT Composite scores; No significant difference in the ACT English test scores; No significant difference in the ACT Mathematics test; No significant difference in the ACT Reading test scores; No significant difference in the ACT Science Reasoning test scores; and No correlation between the variables: first-year grade point average, first year earned credit hours, first-year retention, and the ACT Composite test score.

While the recent growth of homeschooling in America may not be an overall threat to public education in America today, some school districts are reporting that they are experiencing declines in their enrollments, which ultimately means a revenue loss in their school districts (Hetzner, 2000; Vater, 2001). The U.S. homeschool population (K-12) is estimated to be growing at a rate of 7-15 percent annually. The home-educated population is now expected to be the size of the public school population in Los Angeles and Chicago combined (Hill, 2000). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes and perceptions of college admission personnel toward the homeschooled graduate and, more specifically, to gain an understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of admission personnel, by examining their college admission policies for homeschool applicants and analyzing their attitudes and perceptions of admission personnel toward the homeschooled graduate population. The study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the college admission policies for homeschool applicants? (2) What are the attitudes and perceptions of admission personnel toward the homeschooled graduate population?

In this study we aimed to understand who was struggling in freshman calculus courses, and why. Concentrating on the Fall sections of the class, the best predictors for success (R[superscript 2] = 0.4) were placement test results, the student's own appraisal of the quality of mathematics teaching they received in high school, and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire constructs that measure test anxiety, self-efficacy, and organization. However, the ability to accurately predict whether a student would fail was very low. Three groups of students of interest were identified: those yet to declare their major, non-traditional students, and, curiously, students who choose to enroll in the 10 a.m. section.

Are part-time faculty members satisfied with their roles in higher education? Data from part-time faculty responses regarding their experiences in higher education vary. Valadez and Antony (2001) analyzed data from 6,811 part-time faculty collected from the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) 1992-1993 National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF). They concluded two-year part-time faculty members are satisfied with their roles, but they are concerned with issues regarding salary, benefits, and long-term job security. Similar findings were published by Leslie and Gappa (2002). Other researchers, however, have found dissimilar results (Townsend & Hauss, 2002; Jacoby, 2005). The paradoxical findings from these surveys suggest there are unanswered questions regarding part-time faculty job satisfaction in community colleges. Using survey responses from part-time faculty teaching at the 13 community colleges comprising the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), this study identified statistically significant factors associated with job satisfaction and proposed policy recommendations for improving part-time faculty job satisfaction. A total of 405 respondents ("N" = 405) answered the part-time faculty satisfaction survey to varying degrees of completion. This was a survey response rate of approximately 12% of the total population of part-time faculty who taught in the CCCS during the 2008 calendar year. Recommendations for improving part-time faculty job satisfaction in the CCCS include increasing part-time faculty salaries, offering health insurance benefits, offering additional inexpensive benefits, establishing a seniority system, offering increased opportunities for online teaching, and offering annual teaching contracts.

This article reviews selected research on successes of homeschooled students over the past decade. The article raises several methods issues, especially related to sampling issues and recent changes in some state laws. In addition the article reviews research collected from college admission's officers' on their perceptions and attitudes relate to homeschooled students. The comparative results of the studies reported in this review, combined with the data collected from college admission officers provides evidence that homeschooling is an effective alternative path to college for the children of many families.

This study with data collected from a large sample of freshmen in 2001 and a random stratified sample of seniors in 2005 examined students perceived FITness (fluency with Information Technology). In the fall of 2001 freshmen at a medium sized research-one institution completed a survey and in spring 2005 a random sample of graduating seniors completed a similar survey. The surveys measured the student's self-reported proficiency in basic information technology knowledge and skills such as word processing and presentation software as well as more complex applications such as digital audio. We found a significant increase in perception of skills in presentation software and browsers and although both groups reported low skill levels, a significant decrease in perception of skills in database, web animation, programming, desktop publishing, digital video, and video audio. Although one might assume an undergraduate would indicate an increase in information and communication technology skills, this study found that often student's perceptions of ability decline. However this decrease may be due to their increased awareness of the skills needed in the workforce. (Contains 2 tables.)

Anatomy faculty with cadaver-based laboratory courses were presented with a significant challenge in March 2020 to create equivalent learning experiences without cadaveric access. The undergraduate domestic animal anatomy course at the Colorado State University was halfway into a 16-week semester when COVID-19 lockdown orders and the transition to remote instruction began. The new course curriculum was critically evaluated using student surveys and course outcome data. Most students (92.5%) agreed that the transition to online learning was a success; however, students who valued face-to-face lectures prior to March were less likely to perceive the transition as a success. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of survey results suggest that the resources perceived as most helpful for the transition to online learning were not the same as those that helped facilitate animal anatomy learning. Most students (92.5%) agreed that the Virtual Animal Anatomy (VAA) helped them learn anatomy, and 82.2% indicated that the VAA was a valuable resource following the transition to online learning. Additional resources associated with transition success included course instructors, weekly quizzes, written descriptions of anatomical structures and open laboratory sessions. In contrast, those resources associated with facilitating learning included guided quizzes and asynchronous lecture recordings. These findings suggest that the VAA can support online anatomy learning when used in conjunction with other best practices for online teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]