This is a linear review of the education statutes of each state for the purpose of identifying those statutes which require the state's history to be taught in its K-12 schools, with further analysis for trends and outliers. The intent is to first serve as a benchmark as to where both each state and the nation as a whole is at this point in time. A related second point reflects upon the fact that three generations of Maine educators mistakenly believed the existence of a law which never existed. This research thus serves as a comprehensive guide to parties either interested in knowing what their own state's statutes already require and/or what statutes exist in other states and hence how their own state's statutes might be amended. Third, in the event that a national history curriculum is adopted, this research is intended to serve as a guide as to what local content would need to be included in these national standards in order to satisfy local interests; the presumption being both that the statutes reflect the will of the populace and that we are a federal republic of quite diverse semi-sovereign states which are not going to be identical. An incidental interesting aspect of this research was the redundancy of laws: in one state, no fewer than five different laws, arguably six, require the teaching of the exact same curricula. Regional distinctions were found, but they were neither as clear nor as consistent as anticipated. Likewise, there was no clear correlation between a state's generally perceived political climate and the number of relevant laws which it had. Finally, this dissertation includes a discussion of how the teaching of state history might be improved in three New England states (i.e. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine).

On April 18, 1989, eighteen school aged children from the metropolitan Hartford, Connecticut area, acting through their parents, commenced a civil action in the Hartford Superior Court. The suit named the State of Connecticut, constitutionally elected officials, and officials of various state commissions and agencies as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged significant constitutional violations under applicable sections of the State constitution which they believe constituted a denial of their fundamental rights to an education and rights to equal protection under the law. In the landmark civil rights decision of Sheff v. O'Neill, the Connecticut Supreme Court, on July 16, 1996, ruled that based upon these constitutional claims, the state had an affirmative obligation to provide Connecticut's school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity. This constitutionally guaranteed right encompasses the access to a public education which is not substantially and materially impaired by racial and ethnic isolation. The Court further concluded that school districting based upon town and city boundary lines are unconstitutional. The implications and potential ramifications of this decision are significant. This dissertation chronicles the events and examines the issues surrounding this landmark decision. The background contributing to the plaintiffs claims, the state's position, the historical evolution of the case, and reaction/actions and proposals to remedy and comply with the court's order are examined.

An in-school suspension program was planned for the target high school, as a viable alternative to the placement of students outside of the school environment for discipline reasons. The urban target high school also has adopted an in-school suspension program in recognition of the need for more effective disciplinary procedures. Although the discipline policy has been very effective in most cases in the past, there are students who are suspended who have serious problems that can only be corrected with counseling, a component present in the in-school suspension program. If discipline is to improve then special attention must be given to these students to meet their emotional and psychological needs not only their academic needs. An in-school suspension program allows a student who has arrived at a point of suspension to remain in school for his/her suspension; to keep up with academic work and receive credit for academic work done during suspension; yet at the same time, to be held responsible for his/her actions and to be given counseling to enable the student to avoid behavior that could account for any further suspension. Students who had participated in the program, their parents and teachers were surveyed during four semesters. The results of the surveys showed that the three constituencies were favorably disposed to the in-school suspension program and that the program was beneficial to the student. Although in-school suspension is not a cure-all, more schools should consider the in-school suspension program as an alternative to their out-of-school suspension. However, there have to be assurances that the counseling which was initiated in in-school suspension will continue after the student leaves the program. Also there has to be a way of actively involving more parents in the program other than their appearance at the time of the student's reinstatement to class.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate, through interviews, the factors influencing the career choice, role perception, and job satisfaction of 15 college health service nurse managers working in New England state colleges. The secondary purpose was to categorize nurse managers according to their attitudes and to determine the relevancy of the American College Health Association job description. The conceptual framework of the study included socialization, role theory, and job satisfaction. The 15 nurse managers who agreed to participate in the study comprise 75% of the potential subjects of this study. Interviews were conducted through the use of an open-ended interview guide. Qualitative analysis identified general themes from interview data. Selected segments of each audio taped interview were chosen by the interviewer to provide examples of key concepts related to career choice, role perception, and job satisfaction. Discussion of these findings resulted in the following conclusions: (1) Nurses need to assume a leadership role in developing policies and determining the direction for the college health service nurse managers' role. (2) Channels of communication between nurse managers and administrators must be identified and maintained to clarify role expectations and perceptions and to eliminate discrepancies. (3) Advanced education at the master's level and certification as a nurse practitioner may provide the nurse manager with the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill her role. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for future research.

The focus of this descriptive study was to determine parental attitudes and perceptions which deter parents from voluntarily becoming involved in the activities of their child's inner city elementary school. The research instrument used to determine both individual and collective impacts upon the relationships between the Home and School connection was a questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent out to 140 parents of inner city elementary school students. The targeted population was composed of African Americans, Asians, White Americans, and Hispanics. The measurement tool was translated both in English and Spanish, so as to accommodate the language preferences of the school community. This questionnaire measured parent involvement variables such as parent communications with the school, parental awareness of school operations, parental participation in school activities, home-school work habits, and overall relationships with teachers. The information elicited analyzed comparisons among the various ethnic groups concerning their parental attitudes towards the openness of the school, the collaborative nature between Home and School, effectiveness of the school, and the general school climate. This study not only identified those elements which impede parental involvement but it also recognized positive and encouraging factors leading towards the formation of viable Home and School partnerships. Since parents are being given more choices in selecting schools for their children, educators must encourage and foster parents to become collaborators/partners in the education of their children. It is incumbent upon us as educators to investigate, identify, measure, and recognize these adverse factors and determine an appropriate course of action to reduce and eliminate this apathetic trend currently held by parents towards teachers and education in general.

The purpose of this research was to identify, describe, and analyze the extent of faculty participation in administrative decision making within selected schools of nursing. The style of participation was analyzed. The secondary purpose of the research was to observe whether the dean and faculty shared similar perceptions regarding the extent and style of participation in administrative decision making. This qualitative research study utilized in-depth interviews with the dean and two faculty members from three randomly selected baccalaureate schools of nursing in New England. The dean and faculty members were interviewed regarding the extent and style of participation in administrative decision making. For the purpose of this study, administrative decisions fell into the following areas: (1) budget, (2) policy formulation, (3) facilities utilization, (4) faculty tenure, and (5) faculty workload. The formulation of these decision making areas were, in part, taken from a study conducted by O'Kane in 1984. Although categories for the styles of participation emerged as the investigation proceeded, Lawler's (1985) classifications of styles of decision making were utilized as guidelines. Conclusions from this study included the following: (1) In each of the five areas of administrative decision making, the extent of input from the deans and faculty members depended upon the type of decision to be made. (2) Perceptions expressed by each participant regarding the extent of participation in decision making were shown to be parallel. The dean and the faculty viewed both the process and the individuals engaged in the process similarly. (3) The style of decision making utilized depended upon the area of decision making addressed. (4) The following themes were commonalities within and across schools as identified by the researcher: organizational climate, structure, and the dean's style of leadership. These themes direct the style of decision making employed within the schools of nursing.

A study of two hundred and fifty (250) public school teachers employed in a partial regional school district was conducted in order to examine their attitudes toward various forms of parent participation with the schools. Teachers were asked to respond to a fifty (50) statement survey investigating seven categories of parent involvement. These categories included: parent and teacher relationships; parents as supporters; parents as an audience; parents as decision makers; parents as advocates; parents as tutors for their children; and parents as learners. The purpose of the study was to determine if any differences in attitude existed among these teachers concerning parent participation in the schools. Comparisons were made among the teachers according to grade level, educational background, age, family status, formal training for parent involvement, years of service, and gender. Several interesting patterns emerged from this investigation. The results indicated that there are significant differences among teachers at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels toward parent involvement with the schools. Elementary school teachers revealed more positive attitudes toward parent involvement than junior high and high school teachers in the areas of parent and teacher relationships, parents as supporters of the schools, and parents as tutors assisting their children with school related activities. Significant differences surfaced between elementary school and the junior high teachers concerning parents as an audience for school activities. High school and junior high teachers disagreed concerning the role of parents as learners in the schools. Other factors also influenced teacher attitudes toward parent participation. A significant difference surfaced between teachers who had received training for parent involvement activities and those who had not participated in any training programs. Teachers who are parents also held views that differed from those who are not parents concerning parent involvement. Examination of the teacher responses by gender revealed that the attitudes of male and female teachers differed concerning parent participation with the schools. Age, years of experience, and educational background did not significantly affect the attitudes of the teachers toward parent involvement with the schools.

This study was conducted in 12 high schools in Massachusetts that were funded for dropout prevention. Reports indicated that some of these schools were more successful than others in reducing the dropout rate. The purpose of the study was to identify variables existing in these high school programs that are associated with increases and decreases in the dropout rate. The study sought to test the hypothesis that schools that were strong in student support were successful in reducing the dropout rate. A conceptual map was developed showing hypothesized causal relationships among variables. In the map, interventions were framed as variables (e.g., "the extent to which teachers are expected to attend workshops to develop strategies for communicating, understanding and teaching the at-risk students"), and the impact of changes in such variables was traced to the ultimate variable "willingness to keep trying." Immediately before arriving at this final variable, the paths from each of the intervention variables passed through one of four "proximate" variables: the extent to which at-risk students experience their academic tasks as involving, sense of belonging, the instrumental value of graduation, and the perceived likelihood of school success. The trust of this dissertation was developing this map and testing the extent to which there was a relationship between efforts that appeared to be likely to change these proximal variables (taken one at a time) and a district's dropout rate. A questionnaire was designed that asked questions relating to the four proximal variables, as well as how well each school's dropout-related efforts appeared to be organized, focused and coordinated in a coherent manner. Additional questions sought to see what else might be happening in the school that might impact the dropout rate. The results indicated that two of the key proximal variables correlated positively and all four approached significance on a stepwise regression analysis. During the study "program coherence" emerged as an important variable and also proved significant in impacting the dropout rate.

A three-year action research study was conducted in one public school district to design a professional development approach that helped inservice teachers integrate computer technology into their instruction. The central question guiding this research was, “What are the elements associated with a professional development approach intended to help teachers integrate computer technology into their teaching?” A framework was developed for conducting the investigation which included two components: (a) Examination of changes in teacher skill development guided by the question, “What changes occur in teachers' technical and computer skills when they participate in the designed professional development approach?”; (b) Examination of changes in teaching practices with technology guided by the question, “What changes occur in the ways teachers use computers for instruction when they participate in the designed professional development approach?” Fifty-five teachers completed self-evaluations of technical skills in 1997, prior to involvement in professional development, then again in 1999 after two years of technology professional development. Interviews were conducted with twenty-one teachers in 1999 to define changes in teaching practices with technology. Research results produced a revised professional development approach that included six elements that school districts should provide to help teachers construct and continually refine their understanding of how technology is best used in teaching and learning. These elements included skills training, experiences teaching with technology in the context of school classrooms and computer labs, mentoring support, support for planning curriculum, supervision of instruction, and collaboration with others using technology at similar grade levels or in similar subject areas. Over 90% of teachers interviewed reported that technical workshops and good access to just-in-time mentoring support had improved their skills. Over 95% found hands-on experience with technology contributed to a sense of empowerment with the computer. Over 90% felt that collaboration with colleagues improved their skills. Assistance with planning curriculum supported technology integration for 80% of interviewees by assisting with formulation of new technology-based learning experiences tailored to the needs of specific student populations. Supervision of instruction was found to reduce disparities among teachers for using technology and helped assure that teachers worked toward achieving district goals for technology integration.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of disciplinary background on the leadership styles of academic deans. The researcher conducted a nation-wide survey of academic deans from a wide range of disciplines. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether the disciplinary backgrounds of university deans are reflected in their self-reported actions, decision-making, and role perceptions. Subjects’ disciplines were categorized according to high-consensus and low-consensus fields as well as the pure/applied dichotomy. Four dimensions of organizational leadership (bureaucratic, collegial, political and symbolic) were utilized to define the subjects’ potential cognitive frames. The subjects’ use of cognitive frames were classified into predominantly single-, paired-, or multi-framed approaches. Descriptive statistics, mean comparisons, and logistic regression were utilized to analyze the behaviors and motivations of subjects in the study.