<p> This Q methodological study addresses the subjective opinions of arts educators concerning the values the arts bring to the school curriculum and to society. In order to effectively defend the inclusion of the arts in budget-constrained schools, to clarify confusing and contradictory rationale for arts education and potentially to guide teacher training decisions, it was considered necessary to identify what opinions arts educators hold in terms of value orientations. A review of relevant literature in education, aesthetics, psychology, sociology and related fields was conducted to identify the breadth of the field and to develop an initial interview protocol. Six arts educators representing visual arts, music and drama were subsequently interviewed. The results of the interviews and the literature review were used to construct a 47 statement Q set which was sorted by 25 arts educators. PQMethod software was used to analyze the results and a three factor solution resulted. In addition to the comparison of statement positions on each factor, narrative input provided by the participants and interview commentary provided by interviewees who defined the factors aided in the interpretation of the results. The three factors were interpreted to be Arts Orientation, Student Orientation and Equity Orientation. Themes in the Arts value orientation included passion for the arts and quality of life; whereas Student orientation values the connectedness of the arts to other subjects, academic benefits and the learning environment. Equity orientation values the arts for bringing cultural equity into the schools and values accessibility for all. Common perspectives amongst the factors were associated with creativity and problem solving, communication roles, and rejecting the value of an art for only its excellence in the art. Demographic data was solicited addressing age, gender, education and discipline taught. An orientation distinction between visual and performing arts educators is suggested.</p>

<p> The purpose of this heuristic study was to explore and describe conservatory-trained violin performance major students' perceptions of their lived experience in violin learning from childhood to the music schools in New York City. The seven participants were undergraduate, graduate-level violin major students selected from the three major music schools in New York City. The primary data was collected via face-to-face audiotaped interviews, which became the narrative data.</p><p> The first question addressed students' perceptions of one-to-one violin instruction regarding expectations and values. The findings suggested that (1) autonomous thinking, boosted confidence, and transcultural learning were invaluable gains from instruction; (2) a reciprocal relationship existed between the amount of new ideas gained and one's performance outcome in lessons, which connoted students' recognition of self-responsibility in determining the quality of lessons; and (3) an ideal teacher encourages independent thinking, provides honest feedback, and respects students' individuality.</p><p> The second question asked students' perceptions toward power relationship and degree of autonomy in decision-making. The findings suggested that (1) interpretive demands seemed to cause a stronger impact to student-autonomy when compared to repertoire and technique-related demands; and (2) students adopted different reactive patterns and conflict management strategies to deal with conflicts and power struggle in the violin studio. </p><p> The third question explored students' perceptions toward the helpfulness of other courses to violin performance. The findings suggested that while all students were adept at independent learning, some students reported music theory/history courses were helpful in empowering interpretive/performance autonomy.</p><p> The last question investigated students' perceptions toward the interrelationships among self, music, violin performance, and culture. The findings suggested that (1) students' self-concept of ability in violin playing might be correlated with degree of autonomy and self-perceived technical competency; (2) the meaning of violin performance was to attain self-fulfillment in two domains: personal and social; and (3) performance autonomy might be circumscribed by socio-cultural expectation and economic condition.</p><p> This study implies that students' continued participation in violin learning might be influenced by economic concern, competitive environment, and self-concept of ability in violin playing. Violin teachers may need to help students maintain a sound professional development.</p>

<p> Schools continue to change in many ways. Technology, diversity, Response to Intervention (RtI), 21st Century Skills, and other initiatives warrant the need for continued professional development for all school staff. School psychologists play a key role in the school system and can bring significant contributions to the school team. School psychologists often have multiple schools to serve in rural and urban settings and, at times, have to serve schools in isolation away from other school psychologists. School psychologists need opportunities to engage in meaningful professional development and have the opportunity for collegiality and collaboration with other school psychologists. This study investigated the effectiveness of school psychology learning communities as a way to provide professional development, collegiality, and collaboration school psychologists need to contribute to the education environment. </p><p> A qualitative case study design was utilized in this study. Data sources from interviews, observations, and documents chronicled the perceived impact of utilizing professional learning communities for school psychologists as a method of professional development in a seven-district special education cooperative in the Midwest. </p><p> The findings of the study uncovered that the learning community produced an increase in knowledge and skills for school psychologists. It also provided a forum to study and find consistency in services school psychologists provide to schools. Data also showed that school psychologists felt that the goal setting process within the group served as a guide to identify continued professional develop needs. In addition, data revealed that school psychologists felt that collaboration within the learning community had an impact on student achievement and that the learning community increased job satisfaction of school psychologists. </p>

<p> This qualitative study explores the external protective factors of family, school, and community as perceived by rural students who live in poverty and demonstrate academic resilience. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that were reported by the students and teachers which supported the academic success of these students in a rural school district. By identifying the common variables among academically resilient students, educators identify practices that support or even cultivate resilience in students who are at risk for failure. </p><p> Resilience research has revealed both external and internal protective factors that serve to buffer against the effects of risk factors. Specific to academic resilience, individual attributes have been determined to provide significant internal support to students. External protective factors for students related to the family, school, and community have also been identified. By understanding these external protective factors as they are perceived by students, educators may develop policy and practice to support academic resilience. </p><p> The study employed multicase methodology using phenomenological interviews. Participants included six students who demonstrated academic resilience. Triangulation of data sources included in-depth, semistructured interviews with six students and a former teacher of each student, verbatim transcription of all interviews, a document review, and personal observations. </p><p> Findings revealed protective factors of connections, expectations, experiences, and instruction supported school success in rural students living in poverty. </p>

<p> Review of literature revealed a shortage of research describing the development of K-12 virtual communities and the absence of a tool to measure sense of virtual community in K-12 virtual education students. The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study was to examine the perception of a sense of virtual community from the perspective of virtual students. The sample for this research consisted of 205 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade virtual education students. The researcher combined existing research on community in the brick-and-mortar school context, and scales used to measure the sense of virtual community in virtual education and other online settings. From this analysis of existing scales, the researcher created a scale to measure the degree of virtual community perceived by the fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-grade virtual education student. </p><p> The measurement instrument consisted of two sections. The first section was a 25-question Likert scale used to measure the degree of virtual community perceived by the students. The second section of the instrument required students to rank virtual classroom and face-to-face activities according to what they felt was the most important for fostering a sense of virtual community. Data analysis revealed the majority of students revealed that they perceived a superior to significant sense of virtual community. ANOVA tests revealed that there was no significant difference between gender or grade level. Rankings of the virtual classroom and face-to-face activities were developed from the data. The rankings revealed that activities such as in-person field trips and gatherings, as well as virtual options such as emails and online live chats, foster a sense of virtual community for virtual students.</p>

In two studies, the process of insight as used in problem solving and the training of insight were examined. In Experiment 1, subjects either practiced solving insight problems or studied insight problems before attempting to solve an insight problem where they were able to ask limited questions of the experimenter. In Experiment 2, subjects were either trained on identifying common assumptions or given practice solving insight problems. Solution rates and verbal protocols for four test problems were collected. Neither study provided evidence of the re-organization of subjects' problem knowledge (as modeled by the Pathfinder algorithm) during problem solution. Though type of training did influence the rate and types of questions asked when solving the test problems, it did not facilitate the actual solution of those problems. The definition of insight was discussed as the identification of relevant and irrelevant problem features rather than as a change in problem representation.

Recent meta-analyses have suggested that the validity of interviews is much higher than previously reported. However, three issues are unresolved: individual differences in interviewer validity, incremental validity, and fairness of interviews. These issues were examined using ratings on 12 interview dimensions, SAT scores, and high school rank in a sample of freshmen admitted over a two-year period to a highly selective university (N = 860). Overall the interview was not a significant predictor of freshman GPA, and it provided no incremental validity over SAT and rank. The interview was valid for non-science/engineering majors (r =.12), but differential prediction among majors was not indicated. No individual interviewer (experienced or inexperienced) had a significant observed or incremental validity. The interview was valid for the first sample year (r =.12) but not the second. Implications for the use of interviews in personnel selection and college admissions are discussed.

A possible paradox arises from two major paradigms in the literature studying transfer: designing training to increase transfer (e.g., by including task variation) may lead to lower self-efficacy. The present study investigated this paradox by examining the relationships among design of the practice condition, self-efficacy, and transfer. 82 participants (36 men, 46 women) filled out premeasures, trained on a computer-based task, filled out a self-efficacy measure, and completed a computer-based task for the transfer test. The practice condition was found to impact transfer performance, though not in the expected direction for all transfer tests. While the practice condition did not impact self-efficacy level, the practice condition did impact self-efficacy generalization. Weak support was found for a relationship between self-efficacy and transfer performance. These results suggest relationships among practice condition, self-efficacy, and transfer. Specifically, they indicate that the design of training can influence not only transfer, but also self-efficacy generalization.

<p> This quantitative study took place at a private international school in East Asia. The purpose of the study was to investigate United States college admission trends comparing International Baccalaureate Diploma Program candidates and International Baccalaureate non-Diploma Program candidates from the same school. Descriptive data was collected for the Classes of 2007-2012 and the two groups were compared based on the number of college acceptances for each group by year and as a whole, and the eventual collegiate success of the two groups once they matriculated to college, as measured by college persistence and graduation rates. The results of this study show there was a statistically significant difference between the mean number of college applications and the mean number of college acceptances per group, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the college acceptance rates for the two groups of students. There was a statistically significant difference between the matriculation rate of diploma and certificate students, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the graduation rates for the two groups of students. The information analyzed provides school stakeholders valuable data to explore the final educational outcomes for its graduates and determine if there is a significant difference in the college success of the two groups.</p>

Undergraduates' conceptual knowledge of important concepts in a Pre-historic Archaeology course was investigated with a pre-post open-ended test procedure. Students were randomly assigned to one of three levels of a concept mapping intervention. All students were given an introductory lecture on concept mapping. Of the 124 students who completed the pre- and post-tests, students (n = 45) in the first treatment level were given a reading guide to the textbook material. Students (n = 36) in the second treatment level were given a reading guide with incorporated concept mapping questions. Treatment level three students (n = 43) were also given the concept mapping reading guides and received instructor and peer feedback on their responses to the concept mapping questions. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that students in all three treatment levels gained in conceptual knowledge. A secondary descriptive analysis revealed that concept mapping appears to aid students in clarifying misconceptions.