Digital Commons Network^™

The Evolution Of Character Education: From Hellfire And Brimstone To Constructivism, Arati Singh

Special Topics, General

Since colonial times, character education has played a kaleidoscopic role in American schools. Seventeenth and eighteenth century Puritan curriculum was synonymous with an exceedingly rigid and religious moral code. Nineteenth century policy makers adopted a Pan-Protestant, and then a generalized Christian philosophy of character education, as they pursued a common school system. As twentieth century American society grew increasingly pluralistic, the religious basis of character education succumbed to a more secular framework. Predictably, this century has seen character education be demoted to just one of many competing items on the national education agenda. Paradoxically, today's violence-filled headlines evince a more …

Lb 1085 Report To The Nebraska Unicameral For Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy, Saunders And Washington Counties: Multi-County Shared Services Project, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The 1996 session of the Nebraska Unicameral enacted several bills focusing on the organization and cost of local governments. One bill-LB 1085--provided new, more specific language and procedures governing county consolidation and service cooperation. Coupled with the new language and procedures was a requirement that each county complete by January, 1998 a study of whether property taxes might be reduced through the consolidation of offices, services and/or county governments.

The Impact Of Service-Learning On Participants In Community-Based Organizations, Kay S. Bailey

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Research questions examined variables addressing the impact of service-learning on participants in community-based organizations during the 1997 summer session. The researcher set out to determine whether young people engaged in service-learning programs were likely to be involved in other service organizations, whether they are likely to continue to enroll in service-learning programs, likely to be committed to participation in voluntary service as adults, whether they value their service-learning experience, see value to themselves and to the community, and if differences exist by ethnicity and gender.

A survey instrument was mailed to the six program coordinators in the study for administration …

Trends In Adult Attachment Styles And Personality Traits Disorders In Adult Male Sex Offenders, Kim Etherton

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to identify trends in attachment styles and personality traits/disorders in adult male sex offenders. Bartholomew’s (1990) four prototypical attachment style model was used in identifying adult attachment relationship styles. Forty-five men from an inpatient sex offender treatment program were given the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ) to measure their style of adult attachment based on Bartholomew ‘s (1990) four theoretical attachment styles. Personality disorders and traits diagnosed through psychological testing upon admission to the hospital were taken from each patients personal record. One hypothesis is used to predict trends in …

The Times They Were A-Changing' : A Study Of Popular Protest Songs, 1963-1970, Holly Kingsley Miller

Student Work

The 1960's were very turbulent times in American society. The Vietnam War created battle lines on the home-front between the young and the old, and patriots and the counter culture. During these years, protest songs were evidence of the discontent of American youth. This thesis explored the message content and message structure of popular Vietnam War related protest songs from 1963 - 1970. A sample of sixteen songs were studied through lyrical analysis, structure and style evaluation and an examination of their musical elements. Lyrical analysis revealed that all the sample songs introduced listeners to perceived problems in the status …

The Relationship Between Disengagement Strategies And Reconciliation Strategies, Sarah Holmes

Student Work

This thesis examined the relationship between relational disengagement and reconciliation strategies. The literature review focused on the reasons for disengagement, disengagement theories, disengagement trajectories, disengagement strategies, and reconciliation strategies. The first research question asked if a partner used a direct disengagement strategy, would (s)he use a direct reconciliation strategy? The second research question asked if a partner used an indirect disengagement strategy, would (s)he use an indirect reconciliation strategy? Two hundred undergraduate students were asked to complete a questionnaire containing a hypothetical disengagement scenario and a hypothetical reconciliation scenario. The results indicated a significant, yet, tenuous, relationship between direct/direct strategy …

The Spirit Of Volunteerism And Volunteerism In American Schools, Gerald H. Maring

Service Learning, General

In American culture historically and at present, there is a strong tension between "rugged individualism" and commitment to community-mindedness. University of California professor of sociology Robert Bellah et al. (1985) have analyzed this tension in its roots and ramifications from political, literary, philosophical, theological, psychological, and sociological perspectives in their seminal work Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Building upon the findings and perspectives they wrote about in Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, Bellah et al. (1991) proposed in their sequel entitled The Good Society what they felt were necessary changes …

Methodological Problems In Evaluating Service Learning Projects, David A. Payne

Evaluation/Reflection

The ever increasing use of "service learning" as an adjunct to the ongoing instructional programs in public schools and higher education has challenged the conduct of both formal and informal evaluations. This article considers threats to internal validity in evaluating "learn and serve" projects with particular attention to data collection design and instrumentation. Mixedmethods designs are likely to be most effective, particularly when the intent is to focus on valueadded assessment, and there is considerable variability in the nature and extent of implementation of learn and serve activities.

School-To-Work And Service-Learning, Madeleine S. Hengel, Robert D. Shumer

Bibliographies

This document has been prepared as a brief review of resources and readings on Service-Learning and School-to-Work. The series, "Links, Connecting Theory With Practice," is being developed to give practitioners and researchers who contact the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC) a point of reference in beginning to look at topics and current issues in service-learning.

Service-Learning (SL) and School-to-Work (STW) both extend learning beyond the classroom into real world contexts where broader problem-solving and decision-making skills are addressed. While service-learning provides opportunities for students to participate in learning activities within their community that utilize their academic and vocational competencies, School-to-Work helps …

Service-Learning And School-To-Work Linkages, Bob Bhaerman

School K-12

In this brief based on a section of a forthcoming NSEE monograph on The Role of Service Learning in Educational Reform by B. Bhaerman, B. Gomez, and K. Cordell, ti·om the American Association for Career Education (AACE), the concepts of service-learning and school-to-work transition are reviewed: linkages, similarities, and differences between service-learning and school-to-work are noted; and several key issues are discussed.

Fact Book 1997, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Fact Book

This sixteenth edition of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Fact Book has been designed to present a variety of information and data, about the University, in a concise, easily-used format. I hope this provides a profile that will expand your understanding of our institution.

Service Learning In Maryland: Making Academics More Relevant, Marian Rouse Finney

Special Topics, General

Maryland is the first state in the nation to require every student to perform service as a condition of receiving a high school diploma. During the last 15 years, a strong support system for service learning has emerged in Maryland. The diversity of opportunities for service are broad, challenging, and inviting.

Why The Environment Needs National Service, Brian R. Trelstad

Special Topics, General

On July 20, 1969, when “man” landed on the Moon, the United States achieved a remarkable scientific and technological breakthrough. “One small step for . . . man; one giant leap for mankind”; Neil Armstrong’s voice crackled through Mission Control to the millions around the globe who were watching that moment, transfixed by their television sets. Everyone was watching. Everyone that is, but my mother-and the handful of other mothers around the globe who were giving birth at the same moment-to people like me, a generation of moon children.

Florida Learn & Serve 1995-96: What Were The Outcomes?, Joe Follman, Kate Muldoon

Special Topics, General

This article is taken from a report on the second year of research on quantitative outcomes of K-12 students who participated in service learning projects in Florida in 1995-96. The study involved 29,000 students in 107 subgrants. It illustrates what one state has been able to accomplish .

Citizenship And Young People's Role In Public Life, Melissa Bass

Civic Engagement

Young people play many roles in public life. They are activists and entrepreneurs, officeholders and voters, taxpayers and consumers, advocates and beneficiaries. They are also, first and foremost, citizens.

In its narrowest, most technical sense, citizenship is something that we are born with. In its richest sense, it is something we can work our entire lives toward making real.

Many of our public roles happen to us. We become taxpayers when we get our first jobs. We are customers when we stand in line at the DMV. But some of our public roles require a little more effort. In order …

Service Learning: Connecting Citizenship With The Classroom, Mary Ellen Brandell, Shelly Hinck

Civic Engagement

Has the effective teaching of writing changed for the better, remained much the same, or become worse in the last 20 years? Have the major obstacles to the effective teaching of writing been removed? This 20- year follow-up examines the question.

The Impact Of School Based Community Service On Nine Grade Students' Self-Esteem And Sense Of Civic Inclusion, Judy Reese

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

PROBLEM: Community Service (CS) has been enshrined as a panacea for the problems of declining civic involvement among American Youth. Developing a framework to understand the impact of these programs is an essential component to evaluating their effectiveness.

HYPOTHESES: Four hypotheses were tested:
1. CS participation has a positive impact on the self-esteem of students.
2. Participation in CS has a positive impact on the students' sense of civic inclusion.
3. Participation in CS with the elderly has a greater positive impact on perception of the elderly than other types of CS.
4. Students that participate in CS show greater …

Bringing The Gap Between Service And Learning, Julie Hatcher, Robert G. Bringle

Evaluation/Reflection

Learning theorists recognize that not all experiences result in learning, particularly discipline-based learning. John Dewey called for education to be deeply rooted in experience (1916), yet he acknowledged that experience in and of itself is not always educative (1933). Experiences often create controversy, and if the controversy is not reflected upon, it can be a misleading, even harmful experience, which produces a lack of sensitivity and responsiveness in the learner (Dewey 1933). Although an encounter has the potential to develop key perceptions that foster personal growth, it is only when the experience is thoughtfully considered and analyzed that generalizations are …

Attributions For Spousal Violence, Linda L. Ratcliff

Student Work

The literature on spousal violence suggests that abusive men, their female victims, and others in society often fail to blame abusers for their violent behavior. This failure perpetuates spousal violence because it allows abusers to continue being abusive without being held responsible for their actions. This study analyzed the attributions of male and female university students concerning written scenarios portraying moderate levels of spousal violence to determine whether observers tend to explain the violence using internal or external attributions. Male participants in the study reported a very low tendency, if any, to engage in spousal violence, while the female participants …

How Effective A Tool Is Student Community Service, Martha Naomi Alt

Service Learning, General

Despite the popular appeal among the public, educators, parents, and even students for community service, there is surprisingly little firm evidence that students who engage in service learn more, develop in different ways, or learn different skills than those who do not. What are the implications for policy, further research, and school practice?

Proactive Citizenship And Service Learning At Anoka High School, William Mittlefehldt

School K-12

Change is the central process in all schools. Students change because of biological and social forces. Schools change because of the social and economic changes in their students. staff. and communities. The communities that support our schools change in demographics, economics, and politics. Those forces make teaching the value and the skills of citizenship extremely challenging. Change threatens to erode our common ground; it undermines our shared assumptions.

Youths And Communities: Toward Comprehensive Strategies For Youth Development, William H. Barton, Marie Watkins, Roger Jarjoura

School K-12

Society's conventional response to problems of young people such as teenage pregnancy, school dropout, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and violence -- is to target a specific problem and develop intervention or prevention programs for individuals who manifest the problem or are at high risk of it. Research shows that overlapping risk and protective factors affect the occurrence of all of these problems and that prevention strategies aimed at enhancing youths' development, reducing communities specific risks, and strengthening protective factors are likely to be more successful than programs addressing the problem behaviors themselves. Among such strategies deserving wider consideration are "comprehensive …

Environmental Action Learn And Serve Program (Ealsp) Evaluation Report, Pioneer Resa

Evaluation/Reflection

The Pioneer RESA's Environmental Action Learn and Serve Program (EALSP) was designed to enhance middle school math and science programs. This enhancement was accomplished through the application of classroom instruction to real-life situations and the involvement of students in active community service. Begun in the 1994-1995 school year, EALSP has had three highly successful years of providing meaningful service learning projects, extensive curriculum development, and essential professional development activities for 25 schools in 14 systems, 50 teachers, and over 2,000 students.

Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 1997-2002, Corporation For National Service

Service Learning, General

Created in 1993, the Corporation for National Service is a public-private partnership that oversees three national service initiatives - AmeriCorps, which includes AmeriCorps*VISTA, AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps and hundreds of local and national nonprofits; Learn and Serve America, which provides models and assistance to help teachers integrate service and learning from kindergarten through college; the National Senior Service Corps, which includes the Foster Grandparent Program, the Senior Companions Program, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

University Of Nebraska At Omaha, August Commencement 1997, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Curriculum Addressing Issues Of Hunger And Food Security For Minnesota Youth, Fighting Hunger In Minnesota

Curriculum

Children have an incredible capacity for understanding the problems of other children, but often lack the opportunities to participate in the solutions. In order to provide children with that opportunity, Hunger Partners of Minnesota has produced "Kids for Kids: Fighting Hunger in Minnesota." "Kids for Kids" is designed to help children develop an awareness about hunger, understand the extent of the problem in their community and state, and motivate them to respond to their community's needs.

Health Professions Schools In Service To The Nation, Sherril B. Gelmon, Barbara A. Holland

Conference Proceedings

The Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation (HPSISN) program challenges health professions educational institutions to integrate community service into curricula and to promote student understanding of the social responsibility and public purposes of their chosen profession. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Corporation for National Service, the HPSISN program began in 1995 in 20 demonstration sites, which were funded to integrate service learning into professional programs of study for entry into the health professions.

Intergenerational Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue Benson, Robert D. Shumer, Madeleine S. Hengel, Craig Hollander

Bibliographies

America is changing. More of our citizens are moving into the "senior" portions of their lives. Within twenty years, a significant segment of our population will be retired or nearing retirement. With this retirement comes a tendency to live in retirement communities, separated from mainstream society. At the same time, our youth are experiencing greater isolation from adult life and from interaction with older individuals. Because of our mobile population, many children grow up today without regular contact with a grandparent or an older adult.

This scenario suggests that there is perhaps no greater need in our society than to …

Intergenerational Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue-Benson, Robert Shumer

Bibliographies

America is changing. More of our citizens are moving into the "senior" portions of their lives. Within twenty years, a significant segment of our population will be retired or nearing retirement. With this retirement comes a tendency to live in retirement communities, separated from mainstream society. At the same time, our youth are experiencing greater isolation from adult life and from interaction with older individuals. Because of our mobile population, many children grow up today without regular contact with a grandparent or an older adult. This scenario suggests that there is perhaps no greater need in our society than to …

Teaching The Presidential Elections: A Social Studies/Service Learning Teaching Unit For The Middle Grades, Lisa M. Greco

Curriculum

Teaching the Presidential Elections by Lisa M. Greco is the first in a series of exemplary curriculum units on social studies and service learning developed by public school teachers and compiled by the Eastern Regional Information Center, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The idea for a series of curriculum units came from the National Service Learning Cooperative and the K-12 Learn and Serve America Clearinghouse who are affiliated with the ERIC Clearinghouse on Social Studies and Social Science Education. Both organizations wanted to showcase models of integrating service learning into history and social studies classes in elementary and …