Education Commons^™

2024 Merc Annual Report, David Naff, Jesse Senechal, Paula L. Ogston-Nobile

MERC Publications

This is the annual report of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University for the 2023-2024 academic year. It includes vignettes depicting MERC activities in the past year that align with each of its five principles: research, relevance, rigor, multiple perspectives, and impact. It concludes with a discussion of MERC's commitment moving forward.

The Role And Contribution Of Rural North Carolina Community Colleges In Social Capital Development, Tanya J. Mcghee

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges are important settings for the development of social capital as well as institutions of higher learning. The democratic mission, geographic dispersion, and close relationship with multiple stakeholders throughout their service regions allow community colleges to be well-suited to act as liaisons and social architects facilitating social capital creation. This is particularly true in rural areas, where community colleges are often among the largest employers and are major cultural and civic engagement centers. In an era of persistent budget reductions and fiscal tension, there is a need to better understand the multitude of ways rural community colleges support communities …

The Impact On College Students Of Service-Learning In After-School Programs, Ashley Light, Amelia-Marie Altstadt, Olatz Sanchez-Txabarri, Stuart P. Bernstein, Patrice Mcmahon

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

In the United States, the dearth of quality expanded learning opportunities (ELO), such as afterschool and summer programs, has long been recognized as a national concern (DeKanter et al., 2000). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem, as expanded learning opportunities of all kinds became increasingly limited in spring 2020 (Carver & Doohen, 2021). This research evaluated a new service-learning project, Honors Afterschool Clubs, which allows college students to fill ELO needs by creating and leading afterschool clubs for high-needs, low-income youth. By analyzing college student pre- and postexperience surveys, semistructured interviews, and focus groups, the authors evaluated the perceived impacts …

Where Is The Community? A Qualitative Case Study Of A School Closure In An Urban School District, Anthony Mcwright

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Doctoral Research Projects

Family and community engagement are a proven strategy for strengthening schools. Across the United States, parents and community members have pressed school boards and district leadership for more transparency and broader participation in decisions about school turnaround. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the decision-making process for the school closure of Rocky Mountain High School, a neighborhood school in an Urban School District in the Rocky Mountain West and the impact it had on the community. To better understand this dilemma, a case study method was used to identify real-life perspectives of community members associated with …

Reframing Community (Dis)Engagement: The Discursive Connection Between Undemocratic Policy Enactment, Minoritized Communities And Resistance, James S. Wright, Taeyeon Kim

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

While studies have examined leadership efforts to improve community engagement, less is known about how deeply rooted structured discourses, systems, and practices influence leadership actions and responses from communities. Deficit approaches to educational policy reform are pervasive in the most historically marginalized communities and school districts in the United States (US). Drawing on critical policy analysis, this study examines a disengaged school district’s leadership of a Federal School Turnaround Policy from the perspectives of minoritized communities in an urban US school district. We analyzed deficit policy discourses, its enactment, and leadership practices using interview data and archived documents. This study …

Students Taking A Right Stand – Male Youth Violence Prevention Through Positive Development And Role Modeling, Katie Dight, Rolanda Patrick, Corey Graham

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Cabarrus STARS is a comprehensive program designed to promote positive youth development for minority male youth through a combination of system-, group-, and individual-level services. Program staff will discuss the successes and challenges they experience in working with a variety of schools, students, and families. Ideal for student support staff and community-based organizations focused on adolescent health.

Vermont's Sacred Cow: A Case Study Of Local Control Of Schools, Michael Steven Martin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

When it comes to school governance, the concept of "local control" endures as a powerful social construct in some regions of the United States. In New England states, where traditional town meetings and small school districts still exist as important local institutions, the idea of local control is still an important element of policy considerations, despite increasing state and federal regulation of education in recent years.

With its small school districts and myriad governance structures, Vermont represents an extreme case example of the intersection between participatory democracy and the local control of schools. With nearly 285 school boards composed …

Uno Community Engagement Landscape Analysis (11.2.16), Deborah Smith-Howell, Anthony Starke, Keristiena Shenouda

Post Portfolio Previsit

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is a nationally recognized engaged institution that wishes to expand the quantity and quality of its partnerships and outreach through its community engagement activities. Additionally, the University wants to assess, measure and evaluate the outcomes, impacts, and quality of its community engagement. This report presents findings from a landscape analysis which was conducted by the Office of Academic Affairs with the purpose of gaining more knowledge about current activities and practices in order to inform future data collection, analysis and measurement techniques. Additionally, the landscape analysis aims to comprehend how community engagement is …

Decentering The Writing Program Archive: How Composition Instructors Save And Share Their Teaching Materials, Stacy Olivia Nall

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation decenters the writing program archive through research on instructors’ digital archives. Artifacts of composition instruction are no longer saved to print archives alone; rather, digital technologies expand the locations where artifacts of writing pedagogy can be archived and accessed. The following archival ethnography, focused on a community engagement writing course in the Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) program, finds that many digital archives of composition are hidden to outside researchers or not sustained (which are theorized as either “abandoned” or “pop-up” archives). At the same time, some pedagogical materials are publicly visible by virtue of personal web spaces …

Building Currency: Crafting New Channels For Undergraduate Communication Programs, Vickie Shamp Ellis, Kaylene Barbe, Kalyn G. Fullbright

Administrative Issues Journal

University professional development funds, generally present for faculty, and often available for graduate students through grants or stipends, are seldom available to undergraduates. In this study, we assessed Giddens and Pierson’s (1998) structuration theory in terms of how a professional development fund for undergraduates can impact the lives of students, create new structures within the culture to foster scholarship, and celebrate role models. Specifically, we used action research to trace seven steps involved in one program’s effort to establish a direct funding channel for those wanting to contribute to the lives of undergrads. We demonstrated how the new funding channel …

Non-Tenure-Track Faculty And Community Engagement: How The 2020 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Application Can Encourage Campuses To Support Non-Tenure-Track Faculty And Their Community Engagement, Allison Lafave, Damani Lewis, Sarah Smith

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching developed an elective classification for community engagement for institutions of higher education. To receive the classification, campuses must complete an application and respond to questions by providing evidence that demonstrates a commitment to sustaining and increasing their community engagement efforts (Welch & Saltmarsh, 2013). Many of the application questions relate to policies and practices that affect faculty careers. For example, the 2015 Community Engagement Classification application asked institutions to describe relevant professional development opportunities and ways in which faculty community engagement is incentivized, recognized, and rewarded. These questions are important, …

Uno Student Engagement Spotlights, Uno Office Of Academic And Student Affairs

Community Engagement

Community engagement and service are fundamental components of UNO’s identity. The following students exemplify commitment to community engagement. Their work represents the breadth of UNO’s involvement in various causes.

Strategic Community Engagement As Perceived By Five Superintendents, Judith Dymond

Judith A Dymond Dr.

In these challenging times with school districts facing mandates for accountability, they can only accomplish these ambitious long-term mandates by engaging the greater community. Thus, any superintendent who is planning on improving student academic achievement and being employed in the district long-term will find it imperative to engage the community and develop community partnerships. This study utilized interviewing, a qualitative methodology, to gain insight into how five superintendents effectively engaged their communities. Findings revealed five effective strategies and actions for success: embracing community values, partnering with community organizations, building trust internally and externally, developing a systems approach to communication, and …

Calderwood Writing Initiative At Umass Boston, Denise Patmon, Carolyn Wong, Cedric Woods, Elena Stone

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Founded in 2003, the Calderwood Writing Initiative is dedicated to improving the teaching and practice of expository writing. In the past, the Initiative has sponsored a wide variety of experimental programs & approaches.

Teacher Candidates Learn To Create Teacher Websites To Support Student Success Through Student, Parent And Community Engagement, Jennifer Laffier, Meaghan Clarke, Alanna Houston

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

‘Theory to practice’ based learning activities are important for teachers in training. Therefore, as part of a course in a Bachelor of Education program in Ontario, Canada teacher candidates learned how to create effective teacher websites to promote the healthy development of students as well as engage students, parents, and the community in the learning environment. Student, parent, and community engagement are considered key elements of student success. This learning activity and how teacher candidates developed effective websites based on theories of healthy development and student success were explored in this paper. First, the research related to teacher websites is …

2015 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, Uno Office Of Academic Affairs

Community Engagement Award Applications

Program Purpose: The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. The Honor Roll is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s strategic commitment to engage millions of college students in service and celebrate the critical role of higher education in strengthening communities. The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge is a parallel national initiative that was launched in 2011, based on recommendations from President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Administered by The White House …

2015 Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, Uno Office Of Academic Affairs

Community Engagement Award Applications

In 2006, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO), was one of the first groups of colleges and universities to receive the Carnegie elective classification for community engagement. UNO's classification was for both curricular engagement and outreach and partnerships.

Oral History Interview With Arnoud De Meyer: Conceptualising Smu, Arnoud De Meyer

Arnoud DE MEYER

The interview covered: first involvement with Singapore, tertiary education in Singapore, business schools, role of university, city campus.

Biography:

President, SMU, 2010–present

Professor De Meyer became the fourth president of SMU in September 2010. A leader and well-known scholar in management studies, his research interests include manufacturing and technology strategy, management of R&D and innovation, management under conditions of high uncertainty and for novel projects, management and innovation in Asia, the globalisation of Asian firms, and e-readiness in Europe. He publishes widely in academic journals and books.

For twenty three years, Professor De Meyer was associated with INSEAD where he …

Strategic Community Engagement As Perceived By Five Superintendents, Judith A. Dymond

Dissertations

In these challenging times with school districts facing mandates for accountability, they can only accomplish these ambitious long-term mandates by engaging the greater community. Thus, any superintendent who is planning on improving student academic achievement and being employed in the district long-term will find it imperative to engage the community and develop community partnerships. This study utilized interviewing, a qualitative methodology, to gain insight into how five superintendents effectively engaged their communities. Findings revealed five effective strategies and actions for success: embracing community values, partnering with community organizations, building trust internally and externally, developing a systems approach to communication, and …

Beacon Voyages For Service, The South: A Comparative Look At Hunger, Homelessness And Poverty In North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, And Louisiana, Beacon Voyages For Service, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Beacon Voyages for Service (BVS) is a student run program within the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement that coordinates Alternative Break Programs. In January , 2014, 11 students embarked on a two week road trip to take a comparative look at hunger and homelessness in the southern United States. Along the route they partnered with 8 different organizations to learn about the effects of hunger and homelessness in this region.

2014 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, Uno Office Of Academic Affairs

Community Engagement Award Applications

Program Purpose: The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. The Honor Roll is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s strategic commitment to engage millions of college students in service and celebrate the critical role of higher education in strengthening communities. The President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge is a parallel national initiative that was launched in 2011, based on recommendations from President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Administered by The White House …

Coe News, January 1, 2014 Establishing Best Practices For Early Childhood Education And Welfare, Uno College Of Education

Student Learning

Watch NET explore how the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the College of Education hove chosen to focus on Early Childhood Education and Child Welfare as a campus priority- identifying new research methods, best practices and skills for preparing UNO students to help children learn from birth through eight years.

A powerful vehicle for children's learning is the skill of play. It's through play that children learn how to problem solve, self-regulate and develop relationships. Through o collaboration with all four University of Nebraska campuses and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute {BECI), UNO students ore placed at the heart …

The Impact Of Service-Learning On Community Involvement Attitude In Career And Technical Education Students, Christopher Daniel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Service-Learning is a teaching methodology, which incorporates community service and classroom learning. Students take the skills and techniques gained in the classroom into the community to address real world problems. The basis for this methodology comes from the theories of John Dewey and more recently the Experiential Education Theory of D.A. Kolb. The three phases of preparation, action, and reflection move service-learning beyond other models of experiential education to build a reciprocally beneficial model for all stakeholders. This quantitative study examines the effect service-learning has on attitudes toward community involvement among community college, career and technical education students of eastern …

Oral History Interview With David Montgomery: Conceptualising Smu, David Montgomery

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, business school dean, school re-organisation, faculty recruitment, Wharton School, balanced excellence, Centre for Teaching Excellence, first SMU graduates, conferences, future of tertiary education.

Biography:

Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU, 2003–2005

Professor David Montgomery served as the second dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business from 2003 to 2005. It was a period of rapid growth for the school—hiring faculty, building a research atmosphere, developing professional degrees, and continuing to make SMU better known in the academic community. Professor Montgomery is known for his use of the phrase 'balanced …

Oral History Interview With Michael Furmston: Conceptualising Smu, Michael P. Furmston

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with Singapore and SMU, challenges and opportunities for the law school, faculty recruitment, law research, job opportunities, relationship with legal communities, internships, law building, future developments, dispute resolution.

Biography:

Founding Dean, School of Law, SMU, 2007–present

Professor Michael Furmston became the founding dean of the School of Law in August 2007. The second law school in Singapore, SMU’s undergraduate law programme has been noted for the significant proportion of business and finance courses. Its first students graduated in July 2011. In 2009, a postgraduate law programme was introduced, the juris doctor. During Professor Furmston’s tenure …

Oral History Interview With Arnoud De Meyer: Conceptualising Smu, Arnoud De Meyer

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with Singapore, tertiary education in Singapore, business schools, role of university, city campus.

Biography:

President, SMU, 2010–present

Professor De Meyer became the fourth president of SMU in September 2010. A leader and well-known scholar in management studies, his research interests include manufacturing and technology strategy, management of R&D and innovation, management under conditions of high uncertainty and for novel projects, management and innovation in Asia, the globalisation of Asian firms, and e-readiness in Europe. He publishes widely in academic journals and books.

For twenty three years, Professor De Meyer was associated with INSEAD where he …

Convocation Address, Uno Office Of The Chancellor

Chancellor’s Speeches

Good morning and welcome to the 2011 convocation. Thank you for attending as always, and special thanks to our guests who have made time to join us today. This is a great time in history to be a Maverick!

Two years ago, I shared my enormous pride in the strides we'd made in realizing our mission as "stewards of place" and attaining our strategic goals of being student-centered, building and sustaining academic excellence, and engaging the community through our teaching, research, and service. That progress continues today, has gained considerable momentum, and remains the foundation for achieving our vision.

Oral History Interview With Tsui Kai Chong: Conceptualising Smu, Kai Chong Tsui

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, roles and responsibilities, overseas visits, information technology, dean of School of Business, planning, undergraduate programme, Wharton curriculum, first admissions exercise, opening day, teaching pedagogy, students, case competition, postgraduate programmes, Masters of Applied Finance, achievements.

Biography:

Founding Dean, School of Business, SMU, 1999–2003

Member of SMU start-up team

Professor Tsui Kai Chong was an SMU ‘pioneer’, a member of the start-up team for Singapore’s third university, and he oversaw planning for communications and information technology. He was appointed as the first dean of the School of Business in 1999, became vice provost of undergraduate …

Convocation Address: "A Time To Be Bold: Opportunities And Challenges In 2011", Uno Office Of The Chancellor

Chancellor’s Speeches

Good morning and welcome to the 2010 convocation. Thank you for attending and as always, it is a privilege to work with the students, faculty, and staff of this incredible institution. I trust you share my pride in being a Maverick.

Today, I want to spend our time together considering three general areas: Metropolitan Fit, Budget and Accomplishments. I hope at the end, that no matter what challenges we may face as a campus, you believe, as I do, that the future remains bright for UNO and for the students we serve.

Comments Community Engagement Center, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Strategic Planning Forums

This document discusses: Themes; Existing Components; Areas of Exploration; Structure/Facility Ideas; and Other.