<p> Healthcare, hospital environments, and the nursing workforce have been a focus of late in both the professional literature and public media especially in the wake of the Institute of Medicine's reports <i>Keeping Patients Safe-Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses</i> (IOM, 2004) and <i>The Future of Nursing-Leading Change Advancing Health</i> (IOM, 2011). These reports address patient safety and workforce issues such as staffing, organizational culture, and workforce characteristics. Very little research has been undertaken on the culture of night nursing or the roles, experiences and characteristics of night nurses. Therefore, a study of night nursing, using a qualitative ethnographic methodology, was chosen to address this gap. Because subcultures can influence the larger culture, knowledge regarding their unique characteristics and attributes becomes critically important especially in the culture of a large hospital.</p><p> The purpose of this study was to develop a description of night nursing as a subculture within the larger culture of nursing care and nursing practice that exists in a hospital setting. Data were collected during the researcher's 100 hours of participant observations on five differing nursing units in two hospitals, using semi-structured transcribed interviews with eight nurse informants on these same units, and through an analysis of relevant hospital documents. A synthesis of the collected data identified a subculture of night nursing with shared domains or attributes such as unique roles, rituals, hierarchies, and insider/outsider perspectives.</p><p> The final description included four themes that were extrapolated from the synthesized data: (1) night nursing is characterized by camaraderie and teamwork; (2) the environment of a night nurse is conducive to the development of critical thinking; (3) night nurses engage in a constant reflection about sleep; and (4) night nurses share a feeling of being undervalued.</p><p> The findings from this study have implications for administrators who must be aware of and understand the needs of night nurses especially related to being valued and included. For nurse educators, important implications center on preparing students for the uniqueness of the role of the night nurse, and planning formal educational offerings during the night shift for nurses. Further research is warranted using quantitative methods to validate and explore the themes and domain descriptions identified in this study.</p>

<p> This investigation examines the effect of a peer mentoring service-learning program established by the University of Maine on empathy and moral reasoning. The methodology is qualitative in nature, using a semi-structured interview protocol and a conceptual framework based on the review of the literature. Mentoring, empathy and moral reasoning were the focus of the literature review, which revealed these two key components of social and emotional learning are associated with academic performance and pro-social behaviors in adolescence, and mentoring is a service learning modality associated with similar benefits. </p><p> Two rural high schools were recruited to participate in an innovative collaborative effort with the University of Maine. Volunteer mentors, screened by local guidance staff, were trained in peer mentoring theory, skills, and techniques in three all day workshops. Ongoing onsite guidance was provided by a University of Maine graduate school intern and on site counseling staff. Each mentor was assigned a mentee, whom they met with regularly throughout the school year. In the spring, twelve mentors, representing approximately half of the mentor population, was interviewed about their experiences and perceptions.</p><p> A conceptual framework was developed based on a detailed review of relevant literature. A semi-structured interview was based on this framework, which was then utilized to guide data collection in the interviews. The interview transcripts were coded and analyzed to detect the emergence of themes with high frequency and prevalence. Mentor profiles were also developed for each of the twelve mentors who participated.</p><p> The mentor profiles and findings from the interview thematic analysis were then compared and contrasted with the review of the literature, and the conceptual framework was refined into the final concept map. The findings support a strong conceptual connection between moral reasoning and empathy, mediated through the empathic connections of the mentors including family, friends, and mentees, as well as the various moral dilemmas that they encountered in their high school experience. The implications for conceptual development through research with adolescents is reviewed, as well as opportunities for future research to increase the effectiveness of service learning programs that develop social and emotional capacities in youth.</p>

<p> Servant leadership as envisioned by Robert Greenleaf (1970) is a philosophy whereby leaders put the interests and growth of the follower ahead of themselves. Though the concept has been around since antiquity, scholars and practitioners in organizations began to embrace and expand the idea since the early 1990s. There are currently 20 models of servant leadership with 16 associated survey instruments. Colleges and universities may want to instill servant leadership in their students. This study used Wong and Page&rsquo;s (2003) model and their Revised Servant Leadership Profile instrument along with interviews to conduct a mixed-method, concurrent triangulation phenomenology consisting of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It proposed eight research questions to see if there are any relationships between eight independent variables and the seven dimensions of servant leadership in Wong and Page&rsquo;s model: (a) developing and empowering others; (b) vulnerability and humility; (c) authentic leadership; (d) open, participatory leadership; (e) inspiring leadership; (f) visionary leadership; and (g) courageous leadership. Specifically, the study examined whether exposure to servant leadership concepts at Southeastern University (SEU) make a difference in students&rsquo; self-perception of servant leadership. The eight independent variables are (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and nationality, (c) age, (d) academic college, (e) leadership-related courses taken at SEU, (f) SEU Leadership Forum attendance, (g) leadership positions held at SEU, and (h) number of years at SEU. The findings showed that gender, ethnicity, attending the SEU Leadership Forum, and taking leadership-related courses at SEU were not statistically significantly related to any of the seven servant leadership dimensions. A student&rsquo;s college was related to vulnerability and humility. Years at SEU was related to developing and empowering others. Age was related to developing and empowering others, inspiring leadership, visionary leadership, and courageous leadership. Holding a student leadership position at SEU was related to developing and empowering others, inspiring leadership, and visionary leadership. The study concluded with the implication of the findings, areas for future research, and advice on encouraging servant leadership development.</p>

<p> This study confirmed the prediction of Coleman and Hoffer (1987) that a school actively supported by one employer and nested within the parents' workplace could replicate the functional communities surrounding Catholic Schools that raised the academic outcomes of disadvantaged urban youth. Rather than a single `something new' suggested by Smrekar (1990), this small sample suggested that a whole spectrum of school communities had emerged around workplace neighborhood schools sponsored by commercial real estate developers in cooperation with providers from franchisor-operated and national chains of workplace neighborhood schools. It was found that rather than being created in school communities, social capital had become a commodity in the "education marketplace" that was donated, purchased, and bartered. Working parents indicated that schools with high levels of parental involvement made their personal involvement more manageable. Gatekeepers and school cultures that marginalized parents impaired the flow of high quality social capital into school communities. Longitudinal data surfaced that suggested charitable social capital that marginalized the families of disadvantaged urban children had a negative impact on the professional career trajectories of "scholarship kids" in their adult lives. Finally, it was also noted that interracial marriages appeared to promote interracial informal familial bonding among co-workers and within school communities. </p>

<p>The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore salient nonacademic factors related to social, economic, and cultural aspects together with traditional academic factors that influenced college retention. The study design employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory method design, collecting quantitative data for correlation and regression analyses with qualitative data for content analysis. The sample included students with various SES backgrounds who graduated from North Philadelphia secondary schools since 2009. A predictor equation explained 60% of the variance college retention using 13 predictors: household income, college preparatory curriculum, competency based instruction, academic self-confidence and commitment, academic skills, academic integration, social integration, parents&rsquo; educational attainment, parents&rsquo; occupation, high school GPA, undergraduate GPA, and SAT scores. The predictors were found to be independently associated with college retention and interrelated with low SES variables, which may reduce the chances of earning a college degree. The qualitative findings indicated lack of skills, levels of academic engagement, and time allocation as major themes. Future research should explore underlying psychological processes driving the college retention relationship, using a cohort research method. A recommendation for practice was to identify students with skill deficiencies at the ninth and tenth grade levels to provide remediation of requisite skills to ensure college readiness and retention. Despite limitations, this study offered reasons low SES variables may influence college retention. </p>

<p> No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, was the signature education legislation of the George W. Bush administration. NCLB was but the latest evolution of at least two previous reauthorizations of the ESEA. In 1988 continued receipt of Title I funds to schools was first linked to increased student achievement scores (LeTendre, 1991). The1994 ESEA reauthorization under Bill Clinton saw the federal government go further by tying Title I funds to standards-based curriculum reform (DeBray, 2005). What has made NCLB so different was the punitive approach it took toward Title I schools. The law guaranteed that parents would have the option of opting out of schools that were deemed failing under the law. Failing was defined as a school that had not reached its annual yearly progress goals or, AYP, for two consecutive years. </p><p> This study compared two sets of Title I middle school students: students who remained in their home school, and a matching group of students who chose to opt out of their Title I school and into another school that was not under federal sanctions. Results indicated that students who chose to opt out of their home school did show academic growth. However that growth was similar to their peers who remained in their home school with regard to reading. However, growth was significantly less than their peers with regard to mathematics; thus casting doubt as whether the federal mandate of using school choice as means of improving student achievement was having its intended effect. Implications for future research and practice will also be provided.</p>

<p> The College Union is a campus facility that is part of the campus ecology. It provides a place where all can feel a sense of inclusion, safety, involvement, and community. Through a comparative research approach I will present how both students and professional staff perceive the College Union, the programs that are part of the facility, and how it impacts the retention of students. This investigation draws upon psychology, behavioral sciences and the liberal arts disciplines as they relate to learning spaces, campus ecology, and the building of community through involvement. </p><p> This study is a two phased mixed method research design with the primary data collection conducted electronically using web-based survey tools for both professional staff (N=562) with a response of 113 individuals, and 50 student respondents (N=1,971). Follow-up interviews were conducted with two participants at schools that were randomly selected from the survey participants who completed a construction or renovation project in their College Union in the past five years (N=21). </p><p> There is a synergy that became evident between Boyer's 6 Principles of Community (1990), the ACUI Core Competencies (2005), and common themes that came out of my literature review, survey results, and the interviews conducted as a follow-up to the surveys. Through the application of a grounded theory approach, this study presents the Six Principles of College Union Efficacy that support retention on college campuses. Tierno's 6 Principles of College Union Efficacy The College Union: 1. Supports the academic mission of the institution 2. Enhances communication of community values 3. Is a diverse space on campus 4. Is a Community Center 5. Is a Welcoming Place 6. Celebrates Traditions (Tierno, 2013)</p>

<p>This study focuses on the relationship between students' social backgrounds and their occupational aspirations (in terms of becoming an authority, financial success and recognition in the workplace). By applying the status attainment theory and segmented assimilation theory, this study examines the significance of parental socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and social capital in predicting college freshmen's occupational aspirations using multivariate analysis. Interaction effects between the main predictors as well as control variables such as immigrant status, gender, school performance, motivations and skills are tested in the analysis. Results suggest that socioeconomic status is not statistical significance in predicting individuals' occupational aspirations in all models. African Americans and Asians have the highest level of occupational aspirations, while Native Americans have the lowest level of occupational aspirations without introducing interactions into the model. All three social capital variables are positively related to students' occupational aspirations, especially the effects for mentors/role models. Strong interaction effects between parental socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity variables have been found in the study as well. Results of interaction effects indicate that although Native Americans have the lowest levels of occupational aspirations at lower levels of parental SES, their levels of occupational aspiration increase radically with the increase of their parental SES levels. However, groups such as African Americans and Asians experience a decrease in their occupational aspirations with an increase of parental SES. The interactions between parental SES and social capital variables are weak. The interaction effects between race/ethnicity and social capital variables suggest that Asian students' occupational aspirations are benefited from their parents' expectations, while other races and other Latino students' occupational aspirations are promoted by studying with peers. </p>

<p> Most schools are not safe environments for lesbian, gay, and bisexual students or for individuals who are questioning their sexual orientation. Harassment and victimization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students is pervasive. The harassment and victimization result in these students having higher rates of absenteeism and lower academic achievements than their peers. To date, most research has focused on primarily high school lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. Very few studies have included students questioning their sexual orientation. This quantitative descriptive study utilized an anonymous survey to gather information about middle school LGBQ students' experiences with harassment. The study included 208 middle school students. The results were compiled into three groups (lesbian/gay/bisexual, questioning, and straight) and compared. Findings indicated that LGBQ students experience significantly more harassment than straight students and questioning students are more likely to experience victimization than lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight students. The findings support the need for middle school administrators and staff members to take steps to create more inclusive school climates for LGBQ students.</p>

<p> This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.</p><p> This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis. </p><p> The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae's young adult life.</p>