Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Elder Mentors: Giving Schools A Hand, Marc Freedman, Natalie Jaffe

Intergenerational

Mentoring is threatening to become a buzzword without meaning. We hear about mentoring for principals, for teachers, for students, for employees in a wide range of businesses and industry. There is mentoring by principals, by teachers, by students, by corporate executives, by members of the community. There is mentoring designed to help adult "mentees" (an ungraceful word) be better administrators, teachers, practitioners, or employees; to help youth adjust to society after incarceration or institutionalization; to do better in school, take good care of their children, not get pregnant in the first place, stay out of jail; stop taking drugs-and on …

Using Csl With Special Education And Reading Resource Students, Barbara Carter Ellis

School K-12

During 1992, as my students and myself created a community service learning opportunity, we were introduced to the fun of researching statistics, to developing our problem-solving skills and to the complexities of geography. But most of all we, as a team, learned ways to improve the ways in which we worked with each other in small groups, in our classrooms and in our community.

"Connections" Volunteer Centers And Schools: Partners For Service-Learning, Volunteer Centers Of Pennsylvania

Partnerships/Community

As interest in school improvement has become an increasingly salient national issue in the 1990's, interest in community service and service-learning as an integral part of education and educational improvement has shown a similar increase. In Pennsylvania, the proportion of school districts offering academic credit for community service has grown from 5% in 1989 to 20% in 1992; the number of school districts requiring community service for graduation has grown from one to seven. A series of national studies and reports including the Carnegie Commission's 'Turning Points," the W. T. Grant Commission's "Forgotten Half," and Dr. Ernest Boyer's influential books.High …

A Multiculturally-Responsive Tenth Grade English Curriculum Nurtures An Appreciation For Individual Differences By Immersing Students In The Lives Of Others, Jayne Alexander

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The goal of a practicum was that high school students in non-academic 10th grade English classes would develop an understanding of and appreciation for cultural differences. The English teacher challenged herself, her peers, her students, and the general school population (a regional high school in a growing community in the northeastern United States) to become more knowledgeable and appreciative of many cultures by expanding her own knowledge of ethnic groups; creating a faculty reading club; developing a curriculum that responsibly presented ethnic groups in a relevant format; designing activities that provided opportunities for interaction with other cultural groups and for …

Curriculum Workshop, Robert D. Shumer

Evaluation/Reflection

This is an introductory workshop on developing curriculum using a student-centered, community-based approach. It is founded largely on the philosophy of John Dewey and represents an approach produced at the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development. It has been implemented in many school districts across the country in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still a very viable approach to curriculum development in the 1990s. It is not specifically limited to service-learning programs; it is applicable to any program where students expect to earn academic credit for learning which occurs outside the classroom. It is intended for use …

The Effects Of Child-Directed Speech Vs Adult-Directed Speech On Attention And Categorization In Prelinguistic Infants, Jean M. Schumacher

Student Work

The facilitative role of linguistic input on nonlinguistic categorization is frequently explained in terms of children's attention to uniquely linguistic forms such as words. In the three experiments reported here, 15-month-old infants were familiarized to visual stimuli in the context of hearing either adult-directed speech (ADS) or child-directed speech (CDS) during visual fixations. Categorization was successful with CDS and ADS input when accumulated attention was not constrained (Experiment 1). Moreover, there were no differences in accumulated attention as a function of input type. When attention was constrained to 90 seconds (Experiments 2 and 3), ADS input disrupted categorization more for …

The Domestic Volunteer Service Act Of 1973 (As Of October 1, 1993), U.S. Government

Service Learning, General

(a) Because of the long-standing importance of volunteerism throughout American history, it is the policy of the Congress to foster the tradition of volunteerism through greater involvement on the part of individuals of all ages and backgrounds.

(b) The purpose of this chapter is to foster and expand voluntary citizen service in communities throughout the Nation in activities designed to help the poor, the disadvantaged, the vulnerable, and the elderly. In carrying out this purpose, the Corporation for National and Community Service shall utilize to the fullest extent the programs authorized under this chapter, coordinate with other Federal, State, and …

Service- Learning And Forestry, Lei Lane Burrus-Bammel, Gene Bammel, Jack Newhouse

Service Learning, General

Although the topic of "service" appears to have received more attention recently in higher education than in previous years, it is not a new concern. As early as 1869, Charles Elliot, in his Harvard inaugural address, asked, "And what will the University do for the community?" His response was, "It will foster the sense of public duty - that great virtue which makes republics possible." Elliot's premise was that institutions of higher education ought to support those activities which develop generosity, civic mindedness and the capacity for conscientious action. Since the post-Civil War period a number of famous individuals have …

Describing Service-Learning: A Delphi Study, Robert D. Shumer

Service Learning, General

Service-learning is spreading. Congress passed the National and Community Service Act (1990) and states have been implementing service-learning programs in record numbers. With the rapid expansion, people have been asking "Am I doing it right?" or "What is service-learning, anyway?" These are good questions ... ones many have asked for some time.

Refining Personality Disorder Assessment Procedures: The Relationship Between Mcmi-Ii And Scid-Ii, Robert J. Pass

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to examine the compatibility of personality disorder diagnoses made by a self-report questionnaire (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, MCMI-II) and a standardized interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, Axis II, SCID-II). Diagnoses of 50 intake clients at NOVA Therapeutic Community's residential facility were compared using Chi-Square analysis. Agreement between the two instruments was promising at the cluster level (p

Bibliography And Annotated Bibliography Of Research: The Effects Of Service-Learning Participation On Students Who Serve, Marilyn W. Smith

Bibliographies

The bibliography portion of this document includes journal articles; ERIC documents; chapters in books; unpublished reports; research in progress; and perspectives and recommendations for the assessment and evaluation of service learning. The annotated bibliography of this document includes journal articles; ERIC documents; chapters in books; unpublished reports; and research in progress.

Kellom Heights Housing Market Report, Marcus Jackson, Robert F. Blair

Publications

Mr. Alvin M. Goodwin, Jr., President of the Omaha Economic Development Corporation asked the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to conduct a brief examination of the housing market surrounding the proposed Kellom Heights 42 unit multi-family housing project. This report examines the existing housing conditions and housing needs in the general project area. In conjunction with other relevant information, this report will help determine the feasibility of the expansion of the Kellom Heights housing project.

Gully Evolution In The Upper Delaware River Basin Northeastern Kansas, Iona L. Meyer

Student Work

A small gully network developed across a pasture in the Dissected Till Plain of northeastern Kansas was monitored for one year to assess gully evolution in non-loessial materials. The objectives of this investigation were to identify stable and unstable drainage elements within the gully network; identify zones of net erosion and deposition; estimate the volume of sediment removed or deposited during the monitoring period; determine rates of headcut advancement; determine processes that advance and widen gullies, and to determine the historic development of the gully network.

Portions of the gully network were measured after every rain event exceeding 1.5 cm …

Clarifying And Measuring Community, Service, And Citizenship, Rutgers University

Service Learning, General

The working group met for the first time at Rutgers University November 22 to 24, 1992 for critical discussions of issues concerning community, service, and learning in the context of education-based service learning programs. The working group's 31 members included representatives from universities, service organizations, foundations, and community activists. Participants worked closely over the two days, meeting in three discreet sessions dedicated specifically to the theory of community and citizenship, the practice of service-based learning, and--with particular reference to service learning-- the measurement of civic outcomes.

California's Serve America Plan And The Landscape Of Reform, Linda Forsyth, Wade Brynelson

Service Learning, General

The California Department of Education has received $1,600,000 under the Serve America subtitle of the National and Community Service Act to award to local partnerships for 1991-92. Considering that California serves some 6 million public and private K-12 students, this is a modest sum. What do we hope to achieve? How realistic are our hopes? This paper discusses Service Learning in the context of a broad landscape of reforms in education and society. These reforms have much to do with our capacity to fulfill our hopes and sustain the service movement.

Communo Magazine, Fall 1992, School Of Communication

CommUNO Magazine

CommUNO magazine is currently produced annually by the UNO School of Communication: 6001 Dodge Street, ASH 140, Omaha, NE 68182: Phone: 402.554.2600. Fax: 402.554.3836. For more information, follow us on Twitter@ CommUNO, join the “UNO School of Communication” page on Facebook or visit communication.unomaha.edu.

Teaching Courage: Service Learning At Pathway School, Michelle D. Ioele, Anne L. Dolan

School K-12

Troubled children are rarely afforded the opportunity to view themselves as valuable and worthy. Because they are often in the role of care-recipients, they are not challenged to be, nor do they see themselves as capable of being, caregivers. Although many child and youth programs seek to provide these opportunities, a systematic and effective program for doing so has been lacking.

Citizenship Education And The Public World, Harry C. Boyte

Civic Engagement

We need a conception of citizenship that is active, engaged and adequate to the challenges of our complicated world. Citizens develop, they do not emerge full blown; and their capacities are cultivated only through tough, challenging, serious practical and theoretical education in what Benjamin Barber has well termed the democratic arts. Barber and I agree on the importance of a strong conception of citizenship; on the centrality of civic education to any honest rendering of education in a purported democracy; and on the significant challenge such a view of civic education presents to customary ways of conceiving citizenship, education, and …

Going To The Community, Benjamin Barber

Service Learning, General

Let me offer three points. First, I want to take a few minutes to set the context for a democratic education. I want to cite six or seven key choices that I think anybody who's interested in community service as a vehicle of citizen education needs to face and which we face at Rutgers as do other universities around the the country. Thirdly, I want to address Harry Boyte's thoughtful criticisms of communitarianism.

Linking A City's Culture To Students' Learning, Richard Allen Chase, William G. Durden

Partnerships/Community

The aquarium, the theater, and the zoo are some of the possible "classrooms" in The Baltimore learning Network's model learning community.

Review Of Contemporary Federal Policy Toward American Indians By Emma R. Gross, Beth R. Ritter

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This book is a public policy study detailing the various factors which culminated in pro-Indian federal policy and legislation during the 1970s. The author's primary thesis is to suggest the 1970s represented a marked departure from previous federal Indian policy and legislation in that Native Americans themselves were well-represented in the democratic process impacting favorable federal decision-making.

Construction Of An Instrument To Assess The Service Learning Model: Establishing Concurrent Validity And Internal Reliability, Christopher Anthony Payne

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

A paper and pencil test was constructed to investigate the existence of phases as identified by the Service Learning Model (Delve, Mintz, & Stewart, 1990). Subjects with no structured exposure to service-learning activities residing in the residence halls at the University of Northern Colorado (URC) (n =70) and subjects involved in service-learning programs coordinated by the Office of Community Service at Colorado State University (CSU) (n=65) participated in the study during the spring of 1992.

Research objectives provided guidelines for developing the test format and Writing clear and understandable items that reflected the affective, behavioral and cognitive ways in which …

Impact Of Agribusiness On The Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The impact of agribusiness on a region requires the use of multipliers to estimate the full economic effect. Multipliers account for the interactions from industries to industries and from industries to households and back, and are produced easily from input-output studies.

Pushing The Boundaries Of Education: The Implications Of A Youth Development Approach To Education Policies, Structures And Collabnrations, Karen J. Pittman, Michele Cahill

School K-12

In recent years there have been an extraordinary number of proposals for comprehensive and intensive changes in school structure, finance, and administration, one indication that this is a time of unprecedent change for schools. One of the forces driving this intense focus on school change is the growing national concern about youth issues and problems. This paper notes the myriad of add-on programs that compete for space in the school day and takes the position that, rather than being seen as merely additive,education and services should be viewed as interactive, and essential to the formation of new effective strategies for …

A Comparison Study Of The Wisc-Iii And Wisc-R With A Special Education Population, Henry P. Green

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of comparability between the WISC-R and the WISC-III over a three year period. The subjects were 207 children, 124 Learning Disabled, 51 Mental Disabled, and 32 Behavior Disabled, enrolled in special education, in a large urban district (Omaha, Nebraska) and several rural districts in southwest Iowa. Results from the comparison study between WISC-III and WISC-R supports the hypothesis that students in the special education population tend to have significantly lower IQs on the WISC-III than the WISC-R. A significant decrease in Full Scale IQ scores was found in the mental …

Expectancy Effects As Moderated By Expecter Need For Achievement And Target Self-Consciousness, Paula Ethington Felchner

Student Work

The phenomenon labeled "self-fulfilling prophecy” is one of the most widely researched areas of psychology (Miller & Turnbull, 1986). However, even after more than three decades of research related to the effects of expectancies, opinion about the importance and even the existence of selffulfilling prophecy is mixed (Jussim, 1991). Effect sizes are often small (Rosenthal & Rubin, 1978; Jussim, 1991), but even small effects cannot always be considered inconsequential. In certain settings small effects of invalid expectancies may rob individuals of opportunities to which they are entitled. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to evaluate the moderating effects of personality on …

The Role Of Cognitive Distractibility In Special Education Diagnosis, Mavis A. Nigro

Student Work

The three factor scores that Kaufman (1975) measured on the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (Freedom from Distractibility, Perceptual Organization, and Verbal Comprehension) were compared among students referred and/or placed in special education. Three diagnostic groups were compared: behavioral disordered (BD) , learning disabled (LD) and students who were referred but not placed in special education. Results indicated a significant factor structure difference on the WISC-R for the BD and LD diagnostic groups, but not for the referred but not placed students. However, only the LD group manifested a significantly lower distractibility factor score when compared to the referred but …

Teacher Education And Service-Learning, Robert D. Shumer

Service Learning, General

Suggestions for needed educational reform have been made for some time. Reports from the 1970s condemned the isolation of schools from their communities and the lack of student participation in the educational process (Brown, 1973; Coleman, 1974; Martin, 1974; Gibbons, 1976). Similar claims were made in the 1980s, where lack of active learning led to student passivity and inability to relate classroom learning to life beyond the school (Goodlad, 1984; Boyer, 1983; Carnegie Council, 1989; W.T. Grant Foundation, 1988). In the 1990s there is a continued call for an end to this isolation, primarily through inclusion of experiential and service-learning …

S.T.A.R.T Health Services: An Overview, Uno Center For Public Affairs Research

Publications

S.T.A.R.T. stands for Strategic Training And Resource Targeting-a self-help approach to local planning. Today's rapidly changing health care climate requires new strategies and processes for managing local health services delivery systems. In fact, the successful communities of the future will be those that are able to rely on local initiative and resources to tailor their own health care delivery strategies. S.TA.R.T. Health Services provides you with the necessary tools to determine your community's strengths and weaknesses, and helps you develop an action plan to improve your local health care delivery system.

S.T.A.R.T Health Services: An Overview, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

S.T.A.R.T. stands for Strategic Training And Resource Targeting-a self-help approach to local planning. Today's rapidly changing health care climate requires new strategies and processes for managing local health services delivery systems. In fact, the successful communities of the future will be those that are able to rely on local initiative and resources to tailor their own health care delivery strategies. S.TA.R.T. Health Services provides you with the necessary tools to determine your community's strengths and weaknesses, and helps you develop an action plan to improve your local health care delivery system.