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The family support movement in the United States has its roots in the early years of the 20th century when progressives like Jane Addams worked to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and their families. Family support today is provided by multiple public and private agencies. How families experience these services is not well known. Such information could help service providers give meaningful support to those in need.This is a case study of how one family experienced the receipt of multiple community services. The family lived in Virginia, and four family members participated in the study. The family consisted of Elizabeth, the matriarch, age 39; Allen, third husband of Elizabeth, age 30; Bradley, middle son of Elizabeth, age 16; and Benjamin, youngest son of Elizabeth, age 14. Elizabeth's eldest son C. C., age 18, did not participate in the study.The services received by the family were focused on Elizabeth, a childhood victim of parental abuse and a cancer survivor, and Bradley, who was identified with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Bradley was a resident in a wilderness program for at-risk boys. The wilderness program was partially funded by the Virginia Comprehensive Services Act.The study had four purposes: (1) to inform policy makers about how families are affected by policy decisions on issues pertaining to families, (2) to influence the decisions of policy makers, (3) to add to the definition of quality family support, and (4) to provide information useful to educators and service providers in developing programs for at-risk children and families.Data sources were observations of, and interviews with, family members. Data were analyzed with the constant comparative method as described by Maykut and Morehouse (1994). The analysis and findings are presented in a narrative report. / Ph. D.

While there are numerous models to practice instructional design, few instructional models to teach instructional design have been documented. This dissertation documents the development of a reflexive teaching model for the teaching of instructional design (ID) in a graduate education program. The model supports co-participatory learning of instructional design and mutual examination of one's learning and participation by both instructor and students. A design and development framework is used to describe the design decisions, model implementation, and evaluation of the model across six deliveries, or case studies, of a master's level instructional design course from 1994-1998. Design decisions included course sequence, learning tasks, instructional materials, and assessment rubric. Model implementation described student responses to instruction and instructor efforts to assist learners. The model was evaluated in terms of student performance on instructional design projects, student perceptions of their learning, and instructor responsivity to learner needs. The model's development was summarized in terms of changes in design decisions, model implementation, and model evaluation over the six cases. A discussion of the reflexive model is presented using Joyce and Weil's (1996) conceptual approach, describing the model's social system, syntax, participants' reaction, support system, plus the model's instructional and nurturant effects. Four categories of conclusions address improvements to the instructional approach, conditions that promote successful use of the model, impact of the model on student and teacher learning, and conditions conducive to efficient model development. Limitations of the study, future research options, and the implications of the model for ID instruction, the ID process, and teacher inquiry are discussed. / Ph. D.

The teachers' lounge was once the only oasis of camaraderie among teachers engaged in the rigors of public education. Today, fellowship among teachers looks quite different and is no longer relegated to the teachers' lounge. Indeed, in a successful school it is pervasive, and so are the teachers who become leaders of their fellow colleagues and play a significant role in school improvement and renewal. Operating in a variety of roles and possessed of personal and professional traits that have earned them the respect of their colleagues, principals, and district leaders, these teacher leaders have enriched the instructional landscape and the cultures of their schools. However, the research suggests that, in general, teacher leaders themselves have received little, if any, formal training for their jobs as leaders among their peers. As principals rely more on the expertise of these teachers, as the complexities of public education continue to multiply, and as the demographics of the teaching profession change, an obligation exists to investigate the professional development needs of teacher leaders. Teacher leaders must be skilled in building trusting, respectful relationships, a professional fellowship, among their peers if they wish for them to follow their lead down the path to self-improvement, student achievement, and school excellence. A mission of this importance deserves the best teacher leaders that training can produce. An examination of the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions and how teacher leaders develop them will help school districts provide specialized training for them. / Ed. D.