This historical and research review tracks how centralized policy has impacted school boards and the position of the superintendency, as related to local workforce, over time. The potential costs and benefits of such a shift are examined including the key themes of equity, special interest influence, and public democratic participation. Additional work should be done to examine such impact. Institutional theory is proposed as a potential lens for future analyses.

Review of: Yough, M., & Anderman, L. H. (2023). Teaching to prepare advocates. Information Age Publishing, Inc. (ISBN: 9798887300696) Excerpt: "Teaching to Prepare Advocates is the fourth volume in a larger six-part series, Theory to Practice: Educational Psychology for Teachers and Teaching. This volume is edited by Mike Yough and Lynley H. Anderson and split into two parts. Part 1 is the bulk of the text, with seven chapters focused on advocating for educational psychology. Part 2 devotes four chapters to advocating for students [...]"

Excerpt: "Scholars have documented that when John Dewey formed an experimental university-based school in Chicago in 1896, he intended that research be a component of laboratory schools (Camp-Mayhew et al., 1936; Durst, 2010). However, the realities of teaching and the bureaucratic structures of higher education present obstacles to engaging in meaningful empirical work. Additionally, the majority of laboratory schools have converted from their original form as public, university-based institutions of innovative teaching and research to private, tuition-based institutions or to public facilities attended primarily by the children of university faculty (Whitman, 2020). However, there are examples of laboratory schools that still engage in research activities (e.g. Cutler, 2012; Weih & Ensworth, 2006; Wilcox- Herzog & McLaren, 2006) and all contemporary laboratory schools still list research among their missions and purposes, though the level and definition of research differs across institutions (Jozwiak & Vera, 2016)" [...]

Abstract Objective In this study we explored the associations among divorced parents' perceptions of the benefits and risks of dating and parents' sharing of private information about dating, specifically information related to the timing of introducing dating partners to children and coparents and disclosures to children about dating activities. Background Relatively little is known about how divorced parents decide how open they should be about disclosing information about dating partners. Method A convenience sample comprised 284 divorced mothers and 117 divorced fathers recruited following a state-mandated divorce education program. Participants completed an online survey. Data were analyzed with regression analyses. Results When parents perceive the dating partner as a benefit in coparenting their children, they are more likely to think that dating partners should be introduced earlier to children and that more information about dating relationships should be shared with children. Concerns about other's perceptions were related to later introductions between dating partners and children. Conclusion Some of the divorced parents' perceptions of possible dating benefits and risks are related to introducing a new partner and sharing dating information with children. Implications Family practitioners could help divorced parents evaluate both how to approach introduction of dating parents, as well as dating partners' potential to assist them in childrearing if the relationship becomes serious or long term. More research is needed on what goes into parental decisions to disclose information about dating to children.

Three-year-old Kasey has cerebral palsy (CP) with seizures. He often pushes books away, putting his head down instead. Kasey is learning preliteracy skills and enjoys manipulating objects but has great difficulty with fine motor abilities. Kasey’s twin, Kolby, also has CP. He enjoys having books read to him. He will often seek out books during check-out time, but he cannot interact with them on his own because of fine motor difficulties. His strengths include enjoying the computer with an adaptive switch, and he has the ability to understand key concepts in a story. Chandler is an active four-year-old with language delay, who often engages in imaginary play where he fights with ninjas during storytime. He seldom initiates looking at books, and when he does, he folds the pages, bends the corners of the book, or even tears the pages. During sensory activities such as playing in sand, finger painting, and playing with play dough, he is very attentive and will not leave that area. His strengths include his sustained attention to the sensory area and manipulatives table, his imagination, and his understanding of simple plots.

Assistive technology (AT) is defined as any piece of equipment that improves the functional skills of an individual with a disability. AT choices range from low tech (e.g., communication boards made of cardboard and felt, pencil grips) to high tech (e.g., computer applications, screen readers, specialized software or other curriculum aids; Center on Technology and Disability, 2018).

Objectives The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of video prompting and modeling with handheld devices/mobile technology to increase the ability of individuals with ID to engage in daily living skills. Methods A comprehensive systematic search in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards to identify relevant experimental studies utilizing video prompting or modeling on handheld devices to teach daily living skills for individuals with ID was conducted. Results Twenty-four SCRD studies met criteria for inclusion involving 64 participants with varying levels of ID with 79% (N = 19) of studies involving domestic skills (e.g., cleaning, cooking, doing laundry), and 21% (N = 5) involving community skills; 75% (N = 18) used video prompting, 21% (N = 5) used video modeling, and 4% (N = 1) used both. Conclusions Effect sizes and visual analysis indicated that video prompting or modeling through handheld devices were effective in teaching daily living skills to individuals with ID. Future research for this population should include studies to teach personal skills (e.g., dressing, grooming, toileting) as there were no studies in this domain.

This study examined the use of an institutionally-specific risk prediction model in the university's College of Education. Set in a large, urban, public university, the risk model predicted incoming students' first-semester GPAs, which, in turn, predicted the students' risk of attrition. Additionally, the study investigated advising practices within the College of Education via semi-structured interviews with the College's advising staff and a document analysis of students' advising notes in an attempt to find thematic links between undergraduate retention and usage of an advising center. Data were analyzed to determine the accuracy of the risk model in the College of Education. The results of this study are used to inform the College of Education's administration, faculty, and staff about the implications of risk prediction and to suggest potential treatments to increase retention rates. Furthermore, recommendations for future research are discussed for this study's institution and for the field of education. / Educational Psychology

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Trudy A. Salsberry / This dissertation examines an understudied group according the American Council on Education: the tenure-track early career faculty (ECF). The focus is on the culturalization, socialization, academic culture, and emergent themes discerned from ten semi-structured interviews with tenure-track ECF. This qualitative bounded system case study was conducted in the context of a Midwestern Carnegie I Research Land-Grant Institution, an institution with emphasis on teaching, research, and service. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed. From these, codes, categories, patterns, and themes were found. Additional documentation was also considered such as participants’ resumes and the faculty handbook, COE: Orientation to COE A Guide for Faculty 2008-2009. The themes included a reliance on socialization from the parent degree granting institution, and an overall request for balance between professional and personal life. In addition the ECFs need mentoring at their new institution in research, writing and publication, in professional identity, and socialization to tacit knowledge via cognitive apprenticeship. A recommendation is that there be a bi-directional conversation on socialization, rather than a top down approach.

We designed an experiment to evaluate change in students' spatial skills as a result of specific interventions. Our test subjects included high school students in earth science classes, college level non-science majors enrolled in large enrollment introductory geoscience courses and introductory level geoscience students. All students completed spatial tests to measure their ability to mentally rotate three-dimensional objects and to construct a three-dimensional object from a two-dimensional representation. Results show a steady improvement in spatial skills for all groups. They also indicate that students choosing science majors typically have much higher spatial skills as they enter college. Specific interventions to improve spatial skills included having a subgroup of the non-science majors and high school students complete a suite of Geographic Information System (GIS) activities. The intervention at the high school level was more extensive and resulted in significant improvements in both categories of spatial ability. At the college level, the non-science majors that received the intervention showed no significant difference from those that did not, probably because the time spent on the intervention was too short. The geoscience majors had nearly three times the improvement of non-science majors in both categories of spatial ability attributed to hands-on weekly laboratory experiences. These results reveal a wide range of abilities among all groups of students, and suggest that we evaluate teaching strategies in all courses to ensure that students can interpret and understand the visual imagery used in lectures.