Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Investigation Of Retention Factors In Public High School Orchestral Programs., Peggy Garcia Boettger

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to compare recruiting and retention factors between genders and grade levels for high school orchestra students. The investigation utilized a twenty-three statement survey to elicit information from students with regards to motivation factors, psychological factors, and sociological factors affecting recruiting and retention. T-tests and an analysis of variance procedures revealed female students out­ numbered male students four to one, and ninth- and tenth-grade students out numbered eleventh- and twelfth-grader students by more than two to one. Responses from all students (N = 183) revealed males indicated stronger gender biases toward orchestra than females, had …

Religious Broadcasting Influence On Presbyterians: An Omaha Case Study Of Diffusion, Vern J. Wirka

Student Work

This thesis is a study of the diffusion of the ideological messages of conservative, evangelical and fundamentalist religious broadcasters upon the decisionmakers and the influences upon the social system of the congregations within the Missouri River Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church USA. The study revealed that most of the decision-makers within the Missouri River Valley Presbytery do not listen to or watch religious broadcast programs on a regular basis, however, about one-third of the decision-makers do watch and listen. The study showed the ideological messages of the religious broadcasters do not play a large part in the opinion formation …

Computerized Brainstorming And Decision Making, Virginia Louise Collins

Student Work

Abstract Computers are widely used in business and industry toda y and are frequently considered essential to efficient job performance. A great deal of research has been generated over the past decade regarding computer use in the work place. However, research has lagged regarding computer technology and group performance. The purpose of this study is to determine empirically if there are enhancements in the performance of groups and individuals when they use a computer to facilitate the problem solving process. It is hypothesized that the quality of solutions generated to a complex problem will be a function of the interaction …

School-Sponsored Service Programs And The Educational Development Of High School Students, Andrew Furco

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Currently, a growing number of our nation's school districts are encouraging students to perform community service. Vermont, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, for example, all include community service activities as part of their K-12 education plans. Maryland requires all high school students to complete 60 hours of community service prior to graduation. And as part of California's Challenge Initiative, it is expected that by the Year 2004, every student in California will engage in at least one community service or service-learning experience prior to graduation (1996, California Department of Education).

Experiential Education - Ex 196, Eileen M. Lewandowski

Syllabi

A planned and evaluated work experience for which the student receives academic credit (and may receive financial remuneration). The work experience may be related to the student's major or be exploratory in nature. One credit may be awarded for each 40 hours of work experience. The course may be repeated for a maximum of six (6) credits and is available on a Pass/Fail basis only.

International Service Learning, Harry C. Silcox, Torun E. Leek

International Service Learning & Community Engagement

It is clear that a network of international service learning is in its formative stage, the authors point out. We must not allow the politics of service programs in the U.S. to blind us to the opportunities in other parts of the world that will enable us to advance the theory and ideology of service learning.

Student Participation In Community Service Activity, National Center For Education

School K-12

Increasing community service participation has long been a goal in the United States. Some examples of how this goal has played out in national policy are President Kennedy’s creation of the Peace Corps, President Bush’s creation of the Points of Light Foundation, President Clinton’s creation of AmeriCorps, and Congress’ adoption of the National Education Goals, which include the objective that all students will be involved in activities that promote and demonstrate good citizenship and community service. In part, the push for volunteer service reflects the idea that the act of volunteering would be beneficial to those who participate and might …

The Use Of Grand Assessments In K-12 Service-Learning Research, Andrew Furco

Evaluation/Reflection

Findings from most studies on the impacts of service-learning on K-12 students tend to be based on one assessment too/focusing on one construct (e.g., self-esteem, civic participation, etc.). While conventional research wisdom tells us that this approach is more statistically stable, it does not seem to be adequate for studying service-learning programs. Both service-learning and experiential education researchers face several dilemmas in determining the effects of service-learning activities on students' educational development. The idiosyncratic nature of the program activities, the lack of well-tested assessment instruments, the confounding influences on students learning, etc., make service-learning research a challenging and difficult endeavor. …

Images Of God In The Movies, Andrew M. Greeley

Journal of Religion & Film

In the following essay I identify some of the images of God I have found in contemporary, popular movies. Some of these are visual images of God, while others are conceptions of what God expects from us or for us. I conclude that the God of the movies is both gentle and tough, merciful and stern, caring and just. Movies may emphasize the merciful, but the images of God include both mercy and justice and the emphasis mirrors the emphasis on mercy in our own culture. We are, on the whole, optimists, and the images of God in the movies …

Service Learning And Teacher Education: Mapping The Territory, Carole Cook Freeman

Service Learning, General

Since the mid-1980's there has been a renewed interest in progressive approaches to the education of intending teachers¹. In the context of this progressive teacher education activity, several distinct, but related, ideas converge and become the theoretical base for teacher education practices involving (community) service learning.² Among these ideas are renewed interest in authentic field experiences, multicultural education, child advocacy, democratic education, social justice, school reform efforts, autobiography and teacher thinking, and an emphasis on community service in K-12 education. In addition, teacher educators increasingly recognize the gap between the backgrounds of those who intend to teach …

Research Paper Youth Service, Douglas H. Stubbe

Special Topics, General

An assumption that most people would probably agree on is that service to community, on a voluntary basis, builds character, self esteem, pride toward one's self and his/her community, develops personal growth and respect or compassion for others. I don't think many people look beyond that. Does the service need to be voluntary? Is service a responsibility that goes with being a part of a community? Why is service a positive aspect of community life? What are the characteristics of service that make it a fulfilling experience? Should youth be required to serve their community? If so, are there other …

Learning Science Beyond The Classroom, Linda Ramey-Gassert

Special Topics, General

Science education reform documents call for science to be taught in the manner that students learn best, by conducting hands-on, engaging investigations using simple everyday materials. Often overlooked in the redesign of science education, informal science learning environments such as science centers, museums, and zoos provide students with captivating science experiences that can be related closely to curricular objectives. In this article I examine a cross-section of craft knowledge and research-based literature on science learning beyond the classroom, describe informal science education programs, and discuss implications for enhanced science teaching. The article focuses on the importance of informal science learning …

What We Know About Engendering Civic Identity, James Youniss, Jeffrey A. Mclellan, Miranda Yates

Civic Engagement

Taking the position that there is a developmental process in the formation of citizenship, the authors reviewed studies that reported a link between youth's participation in organized activities and civic behaviors 15 or more years later in adulthood. Data uniformly showed that students who participated in high school government or community service projects, meant in the broad sense, are more likely to vote and to join community organizations than are adults who were nonparticipants during high school. Results support the authors' view that participation during the youth era can be seminal in the construction of civic identity that includes a …

An Empirical Assessment Of Self-Esteem Enhancement In A Challenge Service-Learning Program, Jianjun Wang, Betty Greathouse, Veronica M. Falcinella

Evaluation/Reflection

Empirical data collected from a total of 187 elementary and secondary school students were analyzed in this article to assess enhancement of student self-esteem in a service-learning program. The elementary school students were split into treatment and control groups based on their involvement in a greenhouse construction project. At the high school level, two experimental groups were each characterized by Zoophonics tutoring and student service to the Delano Historical Society. Control groups were identified equivalent to these treatment groups. Coopersmith self-esteem inventory and its school-academic subscales were adopted to assess the effect of each service-learning project. While no significant gender …

Characteristics Of Low-Income, Black, Midwestern Teenage Mothers, Lu Ellen Schorle

Student Work

Characteristics of Low-Income, Black, Midwestern Teenage Mothers is an exploratory project based on interviews with 26 Midwestern, black, and low-income adolescent mothers. Of these 26 mothers, 20 mothers had one child and six mothers had more than one child. Each interview obtained qualitative data pertaining to the participant's family background; romantic/sexual relationships; reproductive history and plans; use of and attitude toward birth control; the experience of parenting; and future ambitions for mother and child. The interview schedule also obtained quantitative data regarding the participant's cognitive perception of the environment as measured by a modified version of Martin E. P. Seligman's …

National Service: Expectation Versus Reality, Robert D. Shumer, Jane Maland Cady

Service Learning, General

National service has a long history in America. From the early colonies with their citizen soldiers, to religious organizations and social service, to modern day members of conservation corps and AmeriCorps, individuals have contributed important work for the benefit of their community and country. A more recent focus in the 20th century, initiated by William James' "Moral Equivalent of War" and carried out in the 1993 National Service Trust Act, has accelerated an interest in the concepts and practice of national service.

Teaching General Biology For Nonmajors Through Community Service Projects, Mary Wells Phillips

Higher Education

For many students, especially for the biology nonmajors, science is often one of the last courses they take before completing their degree. Often, these students enter my course with a previous "bad" experience from courses in high school or have developed anxieties regarding what science is all about. They are reluctant learners who frequently shy from questions and classroom discussions. Their own insecurities and presumed lack of knowledge frequently !eaves them floundering and confused. The message is, "I am here because I need 'x' number of science units before completing my degree."

Learning From Others: Service-Learning In Costa Rica And Indonesia, David D. Williams, William D. Eiserman

International Service Learning & Community Engagement

Calls are increasingly sounded for universities to better address their communities' and students' needs through service, as well as research and teaching. This article invites policy makers to re-examine university service, research, and teaching responsibilities by reflecting on roles service-learning plays in universities in Indonesia and Costa Rica. We conclude that service-learning plays a critical role and a key to expanding service-learning for students and understanding the utility of such a policy change is increased faculty involvement. Until more faculty explore the "why" and "how" of service-learning, research and teaching will dominate the university agenda.

Animal Tracks Urban Communities Action Pack, Sara Bradley, Cathy Mcfarlane Nolan, Cheryl Dixon, Elenor Hodges, Charles Wilkinson

Curriculum

This guide includes Discovery, Awareness, Action and Appendices.

Journal Of The Community Development Society Vol. 28 No. 01, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

Community Development Journal covers political, economic and social programmes that link the activities of people with institutions and government. Issues covered include, for example, community action, village, town and regional planning, community studies, and rural development.

An Assessment Of Elementary School Service-Learning Teaching Methods: Using Service-Learning Goals, Clifford Akujobi, Robert Simmons

Special Topics, General

The purpose of this study is to examine the progress and the difficulties teachers encounter in implementing service-learning programs in an urban elementary school. The study characterizes each service-learning project using the Kahne and Westheimer (1996) service-learning goals matrix. Based on our investigation, most of the service-learning projects at the upper elementary level emphasize emotional intelligence such as character building, social reconstruction, and additive experience. In contrast, service-learning projects at the lower elementary level focused more on social reconstruction and academic knowledge. While most service-learning projects at the upper levels create learning opportunities for students, teachers rarely challenged students' thinking …

Summer Of Service Leadership Academy & University Service Advocacy Fellowship Program: A Model Of Student Leadership In Service Learning At California State University, Monterey Bay, Service Learning Institute

Project Summaries

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) opened its doors to students in August 1995 with a commitment to service learning. In keeping with its vision statement which pledges to "enable students ... to cross institutional boundaries for innovative instruction ... and coordinated community service" (see Attachment !), this new public university requires all students to take service learning courses before graduating (see Attachment 2).

Teacher-Leader Cadre Institute Training Program, Teacher-Leader Cadre Institute

Curriculum

Phase I: Basic Training; Phase II: Educational Training Program Service Learning; Phase III: Integration & Follow-up; and Phase IV: Peer Coaching.

The Benefits Of Service: Evidence From Undergraduates, Linda Sax

Higher Education

Currently, higher education is confronting urgent calls to return to its original mission of developing a well-informed, critically thinking, and civically engaged citizenry. Indeed, recent findings from the annual survey of entering college freshmen by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) several record low levels of student interest in keeping up to date with political affairs, discussing politics, or working on political campaigns.

Demonstrating Social Accountability In Medical Education, Brian Hennen

Higher Education

The author considers the University of Toronto's Health, Illness and the Community course for undergraduate medical students, described in this issue by Wasylenki and associates (see pages 379 to 383). Social accountability in medical education demands a community orientation and hence an emphasis on outreach. Medical schools should expand their clinical service to the community, provide community-based residency placements and offer continuing medical education in rural and regional centres. Accountability also requires community involvement in planning and implementing research projects. Placing students in a community setting as part of the curriculum is praiseworthy, but it is not sufficient to ensure …

Enhancing The Learning Environment: Learning The Language Of Experiential Education, M. Clark

Higher Education

A list of terms, charts, and models are included.

Imagining A Functional Partnership Between Leadership Development And Service-Learning Programs, Lisa Mcgettigan Chambers

Higher Education

"If educators are to play a critical role in the development of ethical, responsible citizens, we cannot discuss the concept of leadership unless we discuss the concept of service" (Delve & Rice, 1990).

Student activities professionals are wearing more hats each day. One of the most recent chapeaux they have donned is that of the community service coordinator. Community service-learning has become one of the newest areas that falls within the student activities realm on campuses across the country. If student activities offices are not directly responsible for coordinating service programs and advising student service organizations, they are being asked …

Shared Consequences: Recent Experiences With Outreach And Community-Based Learning, Judith A. Ramaley

Higher Education

Recently, William M. Sullivan asked "whether [higher education] has the ability and the will to respond through leadership, institutional design, teaching, and research, in creating a new form of intellectual life for the public good" (Sullivan 1996). A call has been issued for our nation's research universities to embrace public engagement (Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities 1996), and to acknowledge that "higher education should be about values - the values of informed citizenship, the values expressed in a sense of responsibility ... "(Atwell 1996).

Educating A Committe Citizenry, Faith Gabelnick

Higher Education

If we want our students to acquire the democratic virtues of honesty, tolerance. empathy. generosity. teamwork, and social responsibility, we have to demonstrate those qualities not only in our individual professional conduct but also in our institutional policies," writes Alexander Astin in "What Higher Education Can Do in the Cause of Citizenship"' (Chronicle of Higher Education, October 6, 1995).

From Aahe's Series On Service-Learning In The Disciplines, Teacher Education Volume, Joseph A. Erickson, Jeffrey B. Anderson

Higher Education

Progressive teacher educators face a pair of daunting yet crucial tasks. New teachers must be prepared to function successfully in schools as they exist today and also be educated to take a leadership role in the improvement and reculturing of K-12 education to more fully meet the needs of individual students and resolve societal problems. One approach that can address both these tasks is the integration of service-learning experiences into teacher preparation programs.