Our ever-changing society has placed new challenges on our schools to educate a new generation of students. This generation comes to the schoolhouse doors with the same hunger and need to learn, with differences in culture, spoken language, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The challenge is not the ability of the students to learn, but the inability of the schools to teach them. Due, in part, to dwindling economic support, there is an increased interest in collaborations between schools and institutions of higher education. Such collaboration can be useful in addressing some of the additional support and academic needs of these students. Since my arrival three years ago at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, I have been working with the Lawrence High School Guidance Office to develop a supplemental educational project known as the College Prep Program. The project is conducted at the University, and it provides academic, social, and cultural opportunities to Lawrence High students during a summer program as well as on Saturdays during the school year. The program has been designed so that students and teachers have a voice in the decisions made about the program. In addition, the program theory of action draws from current research on learning and teaching. The focus of the project is to inspire students to pursue higher education. The subject of this proposal is to examine this program design and how this approach has affected the students who have graduated from Lawrence High School and the College Prep Program over the last three years. The study proposes to measure this phenomenon by documenting three case studies, using one student from each graduating class (1990, 1991, and 1992). In addition, the study administered a questionnaire to a group of 25 individuals drawn from the same pool of students. The intention of the questionnaire was to enrich the discussion of the case studies with the additional information obtained from these questionnaires. This method ensured the availability of both qualitative and quantitative information to verify the impact of the program on the lives of the students.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which support service programs are available for Black and Hispanic students attending the nation's twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities. Where programs existed the objective was to describe their makeup. A subsidiary goal of the study was to introduce the Donald Brown Retention Model which is a series of elements that are essential to recruiting and retaining Black and Hispanic students on predominantly White campuses. The researcher hypothesized that as a result of cutbacks in federal and state funding during the latter part of the 1960's and continuing into the 1970's, Jesuit institutions, like other institutions of higher education, cut back, if not completely eliminated support service programs. Since the subjects of the study were scattered throughout the country, the data gathering technique deemed most appropriate was a questionnaire. Rather than select a statistical random sampling from the population, it was determined that all twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities would be included in the study. Among the major findings of the study was the eighteen (69.2 percent) of the twenty-six (92.8 percent) respondents indicated that a support service program had been established for Black and Hispanic students on their campus. The major services provided by these programs are academic advisement, tutorial assistance, personal, group and career counseling. Contrary to the hypothesis alluded to earlier, which suggested that support service programs fell to their demise during the late 1960's and early 1970's due to diminished funding, it was determined that virtually half of such programs did not begin until the 1970's. A further revelation was that funding for these programs, for the most part, came from the institution's themselves. It appears that Black and Hispanic students are succeeding at Jesuit colleges and universities. Yet, there are areas that can be improved. It is hoped that the Donald Brown Retention Model will prove useful in recruiting and retaining Black and Hispanic students at Jesuit, and indeed, all institutions of higher education.

The dissertation was a hypothesis-generating study which investigated the scope and nature of learnings provided by an integrated model of training in cross-cultural transition. The model consisted of a conceptual tool, the Model For Cross-Cultural Synthesis and Growth, which describes cross-cultural transition as an on-going process of adaptation and growth experienced by human beings who significantly interact with one or more varying cultures. The model also consisted of an experiential learning tool, the Somis, Amicans, and Nirions exercise, which simulates critical interactional dynamics and dilemmas inherent in the process of cross-cultural transition. Two six-hour workshops were conducted on consecutive days, with participants with undergraduate or graduate training in the fields of education, human services, and management, using the same model and training staff. The participants were predominantly female, English speaking U.S.A. citizens, with European American cultural backgrounds. Journal and open-ended questionnaire data were gathered. They were analyzed by the constant comparative method of grounded theory. The findings revealed very strong support for the model as an effective tool in providing meaningful learning in the process of cross-cultural transition. They were equally as supportive of the conceptual tool, as accurately depicting the process of cross-cultural transition, and of the experiential learning tool, as a powerful simulation which effectively transmits meaningful knowledge of this process. Ethnocentrism, identity, and power dynamics were focal points in the learnings of the participants. Differences in individual interaction style and engagement mode were found. All participants reported significant learnings regardless of these differences.

This study explored Disagreement in the parent-physician relationship in ideas about a child's asthma and its course of treatment as a potential cause of the difficulty for parents in maintaining control of the child's asthma at home. The study objectives were: (1) to measure 5 Types of Disagreement in 9 potential Areas of Disagreement, and (2) to determine whether Disagreement is related to control of the child's asthma. 12 physicians and 59 parents (one parent from each family), forming 59 parent-physician pairs, participated in the study. The 5 Types of Disagreement measured were Observed, Parent Perceived, Physician Perceived, Parent Inaccuracy, and Physician Inaccuracy. The 9 Areas of Disagreement studied were: (1) Causes of The Asthma, (2) Triggers to Asthmatic Symptoms, (3) Approaches to Treatment, (4) Qualitative Measure of Control, (5) Future Expectations, (6) Severity of The Asthma, (7) Quantitative Measure of Control, (8) Type of Parent-Physician Relationship, and (9) Satisfaction with The Parent-Physician Relationship. The Areas for each Type of Disagreement found to be more common in the parent-physician relationships than the others, are for Observed Disagreement: Areas 6, 7, and 8; for Parent Perceived Disagreement: Area 7; for Physician Perceived Disagreement: Area 9; for Parent Inaccuracy: Area 7; and for Physician Inaccuracy: Areas 4, 7, and 8. A comparison was made between the pairs whose children's asthma was "out of control" and those whose children's asthma was "in control". Types of Disagreement in the parent-physician relationship found to be significantly related to poor control of a child's asthma are, for Area 1: Observed, Parent Inaccuracy, and Physician Inaccuracy; for Area 2: Observed and Physician Inaccuracy; in Area 4: Observed and Parent Inaccuracy; in Area 6: Physician Perceived, Parent Inaccuracy, and Physician Inaccuracy; in Area 7: Parent Inaccuracy; in Area 8: Parent Perception and Physician Perception; and in Area 9: Observed and Parent Inaccuracy. This research suggests that clear communication of ideas about the child's asthma in the parent-physician relationship is an important influence on outcome of the asthma.

Typical high school algebra classes contain females, minority males, and white males in somewhat proportionate numbers. In contrast, the usual high school calculus class, three years hence, is but a small percentage of the original total who were in algebra, and they are predominantly white males of average to above-average ability. In a time span of less than two weeks, through three brief educational presentations that included factual information to demystify math study, showed the importance of math to personal goals, and provided panel presenters who would serve as role models, I sought to influence students, especially females and minority males, to commit to study math through calculus. When data collected on a questionnaire from 110 students studying Algebra 1 or geometry was analyzed in terms of two of the most important outcomes of the study--factual knowledge acquired and commitment to study math through calculus--there were no results significant at the.05 level for the experimental group who received the presentations. Regarding five other outcomes: the actual levels of math studied, the ability to match an appropriate amount of math to one's post-high school plans, the choice of counselor over other options for career or educational information, and the choice of any school personnel as opposed to other options for career counseling--the only outcome significant at the.05 level was the selection of school personnel for career counseling. In conclusion, perhaps a greater use of role models whose job it is to stress the importance of math to one's life goals, over a sustained period of time, might be most effective in changing student attitudes toward studying math through calculus.

The purpose of this study was to document the academic and interpersonal experiences of nine young people who left school before completing high school, to analyze the impact of violence on their leaving school, and to broaden the information base of multicultural education so that it may become a more effective tool for disarming this violence. This study focused on the participants' experiences with school structure, teachers, peers, and family. The participatory action research data collection methodology was employed to facilitate obtaining the desired information from participants by encouraging dialogue between them and the researcher. The goal of this research was to empower them to become investigators of injustice, in this case with respect to their education, so that they may become subjects (as opposed to objects) in the determination of their own destiny with respect to school and/or education. Engaging in similar dialogue with nine participants from vastly different, broadly interpreted cultural backgrounds helped to establish validity. The findings of this study indicate that young people generally like school and their teachers and love their parents despite often grave dysfunction (i.e., violence) in their experiences with each. These experiences characterize, in a variety of ways, how society in general is largely out-of-touch with the reality of young lives. All of the participants in this study appreciated the opportunity to engage in dialogue about their educational experiences in the context of "what did you need that you did not get," yet none of them blamed others for their leaving school. And while all of the participants were visibly emotionally affected by recounting their histories, it is likely that only some of them will transform that emotion into the action necessary to become successful participants in our increasingly diverse and hopefully increasingly democratic society. The implications of this study have relevance for all schools, educators, and parents. It is important for all the participants in young people's lives to become aware of, knowledgeable about, and understanding of the real conditions of existence of young people, which today necessarily include some form of violence, and to reflect this in the organizational structure, curricula, and interpersonal interactions of which young people are a part.

This study examines the relationship between self concept, andragogical orientation, and the impact of a significant life transition in a sample (n = 140) of former professional athletes who retired from football from the 1960s through the 1980s. The research was conducted in the context of designing a career transition program intended to assist the retired athletes move into a post-football career, as a prior survey (Rhodes, 1990) administered to these subjects found that 86% would have participated in a career transition program if one had existed. Self concept was measured using Miskimins Self-Goal-Other Discrepancy Scale-I (MSGO-I) (Miskimins, 1967), with modifications to the personal construct scale. Andragogical orientation was measured using the Adult Learner Orientation Questionnaire, adapted from the Student Orientation Questionnaire (Christian, 1983). Schlossberg's Model for Human Adaptation for Transition (1981) was used to interpret the responses to the MSGO-I instrument's personal construct scales in order to determine the degree of trauma precipitated by retirement from football. The subjects were divided into seven groups, according to the length of time retired from football. Scores were computed for seven measures of andragogical orientation, twelve measures of self concept, ten personal construct scales. The findings indicate that the subjects most recently retired (0-5 years) were the least andragogically oriented, had the least favorable self concepts, and were the most traumatized by the retirement transition out of professional football. The study concludes that the most appropriate instructional format for a career transition program appealing to the most recently retired players is a four-stage process based on a developmental model of situation-specific response to trauma.

In a study by a high school guidance counselor in the Burr School District, one factor identified as having a positive correlation with students leaving school before graduation is being over-age for grade as a result of being retained or participating in a pre-one program. This research on over-age middle school students in a rural community in Northwest Rhode Island: (1) identifies the 36% of the student population who are over-age for grade, (2) reports the reasons for not being grade appropriate in terms of being retained or having participated in a transitional program, (3) through school records, identifies which members of this population are not attending school regularly or succeeding academically and behaviorally, and (4) through responses from a questionnaire and interviews, gained insights from students as to their attitudes toward school and their perceptions of the relationship of school to success in later life. The information gained through this research assisted the District's Administrative Council and Middle School staff in identifying, developing, and implementing interventions. An evaluation of student academic and behavioral success indicates that some change is taking place. Additional strategies are being developed to increase the extent to which all students feel cared about and have the desire and ability to succeed.

<p> Developmental education continues to be an area of concern for higher education institutions. Understanding and developing programs to provide support and increase retention, completion, and success rates for developmental education students is vital to increasing degree attainment in the United States. This study explored one developmental education program at a Midwest community college implemented in 2011. A mixed-methods approach was executed to compare completion and success rates two years prior to implementation and two years following implementation, as well as to obtain qualitative information regarding perceptions of the program. Quantitative data analysis revealed increases in developmental education rates for qualifying Connection Program students when viewed holistically; however, varying degrees of program effectiveness were seen in discipline-level results. Qualitative data analysis revealed four emerging themes: 1) Flawed Placement, 2) Positive Intentions, 3) Flawed Execution, and 4) Student Ambiguity. These findings coincided with research in the developmental education field as areas of importance in regard to increasing degree attainment for these students.</p>

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of STIPS case note documentation and SOAP case note documentation on counseling trainees' perceived case conceptualization abilities. By training master's level counseling students in the use of case note writing and then asking them to rate their perceived conceptualization this study looked at an area of training that has received little attention in the past. This study attempted to begin the process of understanding if case note documentation could be an area that could help counseling students develop their case conceptualization skills.Quantitative and qualitative data analysis was utilized due to the exploratory nature of this study. The quantitative portion examined how the case note documentation affected trainees' perceived case conceptualization abilities while the qualitative portion examined patterns in the responses of participants to open-ended questions about case note documentation.The quantitative results showed that there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of their perceived case conceptualization. The qualitative results indicated that there are benefits and drawbacks to both the STIPS and the SOAP case note formats. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services