The Florida Legislature responded to the national call for education reform by passing four statutes in 1991, referred to as Blueprint 2000. One intent of the legislation was to encourage change in schools through local community involvement in School Advisory Councils (SAC). The SAC, composed of parents, community members, teachers, and students was responsible for guiding the school through the process of school improvement. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of the SAC in the implementation of Florida school improvement initiatives. The study was designed to identify local factors affecting the interpretation of policy and to develop understanding of the members of the SACs defined their roles. Four elementary schools in Duval County, Florida, were selected for study. A case study approach over one year was used to gather data from written materials, participant observation, and interviews. The data were analyzed to develop understanding of the roles of the SAC from the participants' perspectives. Findings indicated that SACs were fulfilling their basic responsibilities as outlined in the legislation. Evidence showed that no decision was entirely site based and the extent of the SAC's influence was greater than intended. Members' perceptions of influence to implement change may be more potent than the actual authority given to the SAC by law.

This study investigated the degree to which teacher expectations of at-risk students affect the teacher's instructional behaviors. Four elementary teachers were observed and videotaped for 20 minutes each during a language arts lesson. The videotapes were analyzed using an instrument consisting of ten behaviors from the Florida Performance Measurement System that reflect Rosenthal's four factors of teacher expectations, climate, input, output, and feedback. The teacher's instructional behaviors were recorded each time the behavior occurred during the 20 minute observation. The data were analyzed to determine if a relationship exists between the teacher's expectations for average or above average students and at-risk students and the teacher's instructional behaviors. The findings are displayed in two forms: raw score numbers and percentages of the behavior occurrences. The results of the study appear to indicate that teacher's expectations of different ability level students affect the teacher's instructional behaviors.

The Hispanic population in the United States already constitutes the fastest growing minority group in the United States and by the year 2050 this group will constitute 24% of the total population and one fourth of the national workforce. Because this is a very young population whose median age is 27.2 years old, the education of this group is pivotal to the future of this nation. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived importance of personal and external factors found in the literature as significant in Hispanic college success for a sample of 137 Hispanic college seniors from four public higher education institutions in Florida. This mixed method study used an instrument containing 13 demographic variables, 61 quantitative items, and 5 qualitative questions. The information gathered from the demographic items revealed a relevant data characterizing the participants as first, second, and third generation immigrants or Hispanic Americans with a diverse Hispanic background. They also belonged to middle and upper income households with at least one college educated parent. The results from the descriptive analysis of the quantitative data from the survey indicated the students in the study had a strong desire to succeed, perceived a strong parental support and a supportive campus environment, and had a strong academic preparation to attend college. All these factors were corroborated by the qualitative results. The recommendations for future studies and practices should include a greater understanding of the important role a supportive family and institution play in the academic success of Hispanic students. More research is recommended on the family-student relationship and its effect on students. Reaching out to Hispanic parents and families and ensuring their participation in campus events, as well as increasing institutional support with the outreach and hiring of Hispanic faculty are two specific recommendations worthy of consideration in the effort to ensure greater success for Hispanic students.

The purpose of this concurrent mixed methods study was to explore how well Florida's 2+2 articulation agreement and transfer student services meet the needs of students. Phase I employed quantitative methodology to compare the academic success and persistence to graduation of a single cohort (n = 2,612) of Florida public community college Associate in Arts graduates (n = 1,738) and native (n = 874) juniors (60-to-70 credit hours) who entered the same universities as FTIC. Discriminant analysis results yielded statistically significant differences in the academic success and persistence of community college transfer and native student graduates and dropouts. On average, native students graduated with twice as many lower level credit hours and cumulative credit hours than community college transfers. Discriminant analysis results did not yield appreciable differences in the final grade point averages of student graduates, indicating that community college transfer students performed just as well academically as native students. However, the results of the chi -square tests of independence indicated that a greater percentage of native students graduated and a greater percentage of community college transfer students dropped out of academic degree programs. These findings support the conclusion that community college students are as academically capable as native students but may benefit from services that promote student engagement. The qualitative component provided a context for enhancing the interpretation of quantitative findings and for addressing the structure of articulation services, availability of transfer student services, compliance with the statewide articulation agreement, and advocacy of transfer students on each campus. Interviews with 15 current and previous administrators led to the identification of three significant issues related to the rapidly evolving universities and their primary feeder community colleges.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that heuristics instruction for certain strategies and skills used in the solution of non-routine mathematical problems would have on problem solving behavior. It was conjectured that subjects given compressed but explicit instruction in problem solving strategies would exhibit higher achievement than subjects who did not receive such explicit instruction. Subjects were elementary education student volunteers from the University of North Florida. They were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups for instruction. A pretest and a posttest were administered to collect the data to evaluate this experimental design. The null hypothesis that there would be no difference in the mean gain scores between the experimental and control groups could not be rejected at the .05 level of significance. The results of this study indicate that successful generalization of complex concepts should not be expected following such a short instructional period.

This study investigated the effects of conceptual instruction on conceptual understanding and algorithmic performance as well as the student's ability to relate the two. The sample consisted of 83 fifth grade students, divided into four classes. A total of 44 were in the experimental group and 39 served as the control group. Both groups were taught the concept of area. The experimental group received conceptual instruction and the control group received traditional instruction. Two regular classroom teachers implemented the experiment, each taught one experimental group and one control group. A pretest/posttest design was used to collect the data. Analysis of covariance was the statistical analysis used to test the three null hypotheses with a significance level at

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the arts magnet high school in preparing its graduates for college readiness from the threshold of college admission (high school grade point average and achievement scores) through matriculation to the type of baccalaureate degree awarded. The setting was 15 public arts magnet high schools and 15 randomly-selected public traditional high schools and the Florida State University System of 11 postsecondary institutions. The research population was four 6-year cohorts of graduates of the 30 high schools in the present study (N = 8,967). Logistic and linear regression techniques, college admission data (grade point average and achievement scores) and college participant data (number of terms to degree, changes in college major, college GPA) were used to predict college success. The results of logistic regression (N = 8,967) showed no statistically significant difference in achievement test scores and grade point average between arts magnet graduates and the comparison group. The present study found no evidence of instrumental value to the arts experience as measured in standardized test scores and grade point average. The findings of the present study were congruent with the results of other arts magnet high school research studies repmied in the literature. The majority of Florida's arts magnet high schools when compared to high schools in their respective districts present lower dropout and absenteeism rates and higher graduation rates. The results of chi-square test of independence indicated that arts magnet high school graduates who chose arts-based college majors were more likely to remain stable in their choice through baccalaureate degree than any other subgroup in the research sample including both traditional high school graduates and arts magnet graduates choosing other majors (p < .001). It follows that for the years studied in this research, arts magnets brought great diversity to the State University System. By ethnicity, minorities represented 47.4% (n = 1,826) of arts magnet research sample (n = 3,846). A chi-square test of independence indicated that Black males graduating from arts magnet high schools were more likely to complete to a college degree (p < .001) than those in traditional high schools. Overall, the demographic analysis of the present study provides strong evidence that arts magnet high schools have achieved the education diversity goals of the magnet concept. The findings of the present study support effectiveness of arts magnet schools as a public policy vehicle of school choice, equity, quality, and accountability. Arts magnet schools represent a paradigmatic shift in how public schools offer choice to parents. The present study found that graduates of arts magnet high schools are equally prepared for competitive college admission into state universities with a value-added component of an intensive arts curriculum and positive secondary school climate.

In an attempt to help developmentally young children experience success, many schools have established developmental kindergarten programs. An ex post facto study of a developmental kindergarten program in a Florida elementary school examined 598 student records covering five school years. Overall kindergarten retention rates before and after the implementation of the developmental kindergarten program were compared. Entry age, gender, and class size as factors in retention were also analyzed. A comparison of the entry age, gender, and kindergarten retentions before and after implementation of developmental kindergarten was also undertaken. Results of chi-square analyses showed no significant effects upon kindergarten retentions attributed to developmental kindergarten. The developmental kindergarten class, as implemented, had not significantly reduced overall retention rates for kindergarten students. Nor had it significantly reduced retention rates of at-risk students.

Few studies have investigated how race and ethnicity influence people's beliefs about rape, or what impact these beliefs have on what and how we teach college students in efforts to raise awareness about rape. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how students of color perceive the cultural relevance of materials commonly used on campuses for rape risk reduction education. Participants were African American and Hispanic students at a mid-sized state university. Focus group sessions and interviews were conducted with 23 student participants. Students reported that they found the rape risk reduction materials culturally relevant; however, other revisions of the materials were necessary if the materials were to connect with students. Data analysis, based on the construction of grounded theory and the use of educational criticism, revealed three recurring themes-the influence of popular culture on student perceptions of social situations, the role of racial and ethnic identity development within a global context, and developmental influences on students' ways of constructing knowledge. Therefore, rape risk reduction efforts must be culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate, and take into consideration the influence of popular culture in order to connect with students.

This research was a descriptive cross-site case study of organizational structures of public workforce education institutions in the states of Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky. Organizational structures in public workforce education institutions can be found in four basic designs: technical centers, technical colleges, community colleges, and community and technical colleges. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concept of organizational structure in terms of the operation and effectiveness of workforce education institutions by studying four workforce institutions operating under differing arrangements. This study investigated the following research questions: 1. Does organizational structure influence specific outcome factors for and between selected workforce education institutions? 2. Does organizational structure influence the processes and operations of workforce education institutions as reflected through a comparative policy analysis of the selected workforce education institutions? The study was conducted as a cross-site analysis of case studies of the selected schools to develop justified patterns of successful factors among schools. Data were collected during semi-structured interviews by audiotape recording and then transcribed. After making site visits to each school both qualitative interview data and quantitative program and institutional data were used for analysis of factors and characteristics that were linked to success by the school. Upon the completion of the four case studies, a comparative analysis was performed to discover the relationships among the participating schools through their commonalities and differences. Each of these organizational structures provided evidence of the production of successful graduates from their workforce programs. Although differences existed in the student completion rates and enrollment to completion ratio for the selected schools, every school had effectively placed their students in training-related jobs after program completion. As opposed to the individual institutions, the four organizational structures are a reflection of equifinality in that each structure is organized, governed, funded, and operated differently, and yet they each produce graduates who can successfully occupy technical career positions in the workforce. These schools have successfully developed the ability to be organizationally adaptable in order to sustain their existence. The study discovered that organizational structure may not be the central factor to determine the success or failure of an institution. But organizational structure should not be ignored for it does appear that institutions devoted only to workforce goals have a history of greater student completion. The study also produced the following six recommended practices for inclusion in all organizational structures. Public workforce institutions should have a dedicated local governing board; state level governance; integral participation in the state's economic development effort; precise program delivery processes; required strategic planning; and a supportive state legislature educated about the needs of workforce education.