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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of influence from various factors on a student's decision to enroll in a food service-related course and whether these factors were affected by post high school graduation plans. Procedure: Sixty-nine percent of the Regional Occupational Centers/ Programs teachers and one section of students instructed by each teacher completed the survey instruments. The questionnaire items queried the respondents concerning demographic information as well as the degree of influence of various person- and job-related factors. Findings and Conclusions: Results of this investigation revealed that the responding student population had a strong interest in pursuing higher education. The major obstacle to enrollment for the non-college bound population was not discovered. Grade point average, course requirements and money were found to be perceived as not limiting their college enrollment. The teacher population rated the influence of various factors differently for six of 19 items and generally higher than the student group. The two populations were generally congruent with respect to the relative order placement of the factors. White and minority populations evaluated the importance of most factors differently from one another . The two gender groups noted some of the influencing factors differently. White and male populations indicated the greatest propensity toward higher education. Most vocational students intend to seek employment in the food service field. The teacher population tended to view students as being primarily job oriented. Vocational program students need to be informed about and, if appropriate, encouraged to pursue higher education. Vocational programs often enroll a disproportionate share of females and minority populations. Attainment of higher education by these group may serve as a vehicle for upward mobility. Students perceive satisfaction with the decision to enroll and with school in general if they note the applicability and relevance of the material they study. Recommendations: 1) Replicate the study using various vocation program students and nationwide to determine the consistency and generalizability of these results. 2) Conduct a follow-up study to determine the rate of actualization of college and job seeking plans. 3) Investigate the discrepancies between teacher and student populations relative to influencing factors and post-graduation plans to determine the sources of these differences.

This study collected information from 100 student teachers participating in programs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst between 2001–2004. The data was gathered by using a combination of surveys, interviews, and notes from seminar discussions. The information about the experiences of these new teacher candidates in the schools was used to determine the critical decisions that student teachers must make each day. The responses have been separated into five areas or spheres of influence. These five spheres are teacher education, school setting, educational policy, teen culture, and individual experience/personality . Each critical decision or choice made by these new teacher candidates was influenced by one or more of these spheres of influence. Based on the study's findings, five critical choices have been determined, the consideration of which may help student teachers prepare for their experience. Five critical choices. (1) How to successfully implement classroom management strategies and teaching methods together in the classroom. (2) How to address “high stakes” tests and other standardized testing concerns. (3) How to build productive working relationships with a cooperating teacher and other school colleagues. (4) How to motivate and relate to adolescents. (5) How to manage the stress and uncertainty of the student teaching experience. Listed below are some additional findings from this study that could impact teacher education. (A) Combining classroom management and lesson planning proved to be crucial to successful lessons and to a successful student teaching experience. (B) Understanding one's lesson planning role as it applies to assessment and preparation for standardized tests has become an important component to successful teaching. (C) Nearly all new teacher candidates stated that establishing relationships with students was the most rewarding aspect of their student teaching experience. (D) The majority of new teacher candidates reported that managing stress (combining teaching, college obligations, and a job search) was one of the most difficult aspects of student teaching. It is hoped that with additional research, teacher education programs can continue to determine how to best prepare new teacher candidates to make the best decisions when faced with these critical choices.

This dissertation studies the impact of two courses, “Rise Up” and “Leadership in Community Service,” at a Level Four high school in Massachusetts. The school, which had a higher than average level of student dropout, implemented the two courses developed by the researcher to address student retention, academic performance, and connection to school. Students in grades 9–12 took one or both of the semester-long classes, which used community building activities, group discussions, democratic teaching principals, community service-learning, and goal setting to address the needs of marginalized students. Students who participated in the classes showed increased connections to peers, teachers and community members, an improvement in indicators for school retention including grades, behavior, and attendance, and also an increase in their perceptions about their ability to persist in challenging situations.

The achievement of Black students has repeatedly met only the lowest standards of performance on standardized assessments, which begs the question; do American schools have the capacity to educate Black children? The purpose of this action research manuscript dissertation was to explore the teacher behaviors and instructional strategies that developed a culture of high achievement among Black students as measured by student engagement and discourse, immediately before and after desegregation, and in classrooms today. The examination of popular theories concerning the education of Black people in the early 1900's and narratives of individuals who attended segregated schools, provided a historical description of the state of Black education. In addition, the connection between student engagement and teacher dispositions was recognized. A review of relevant literature informed this study by providing a conceptual understanding and operational definition of student engagement, teacher dispositions, and discourse. Last, a case study was conducted to bring a local, practical focus to the research. The purpose of this case study was to examine the impact of student engagement on student learning in an urban school with a majority Black student population, as evidenced by student actions and discourse. Data were collected through meetings and classroom observations using the Student Action Coding Sheet. This research found student engagement to be highest in classrooms that balanced certain teacher dispositions and discourse.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect that the language of instruction has on the reading ability of limited English speaking students at the secondary school. Procedure. Reading test scores from several secondary school districts in California were subjected to statistical analyses to ascertain the effect that the language of instruction had on the reading ability of secondary students with a linguistically distinct background, namely, a Spanish mother tongue. Two dependent variables were used, English and Spanish reading test scores. The independent variable, reading instructional treatment, conducted in English, Spanish, or bilingually. The data was analyzed by ANCOVA and the post-hoc comparison of test means, Scheffe. Conclusion. This study suggests mother tongue reading instruction of limited English speaking secondary students promotes literacy in the first language and has a positive effect on the reading ability in the second language. The improved literacy in the mother tongue promotes English language reading skills. Recommendations. An improvement in the state of the art in bilingual, bicultural education is essential if this educational alternative is to become a viable phase of general education. Research designs that are compatible to the population to be studied should be explored and utilized. The assessment instruments that ascertain the student's language proficiency and basic skills achievement should be used as effective guides in selecting a course of studies that serves the educational interest of the student and his/her family. Administrators should utilize practices that aggressively recruit bilingual, bicultural, biliterate teachers. Site administrators, bilingual coordinators and bilingual staff should seek methods and techniques that promote and enable them to implement services to the linguistically distinct students that provide equal status to the mother tongue while the student learns the second language. A sequential non-graded language development program in both languages that incorporate an open entry/exit curriculum to foster an opening up of the traditional curriculum to any students in the secondary school should be developed and implemented by the staff working with the students.

How do oral deaf high school students experience Least Restrictive Environment policies as they participate in mainstream classes with hearing teachers and peers? This study focused on three oral deaf students who did not use sign language. In classes that privileged uses of spoken language, the focal participants communicated with their hearing teachers and peers by speaking, speechreading, and listening with their aided residual hearing. Ethnographic data were collected during semester-long participant observations of two math and two English classes. Data collection methods included audiotaping and videotaping classes, informal interviews, and Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR). During IPR meetings, the researcher and the focal participants analyzed "rich points"—moments when "normal" discourse practices were interrupted, allowing hidden tensions to surface. These rich points were identified by the focal participants themselves and/or by the researcher. The construction of classroom power relations was analyzed using Microethnographic Discourse Analysis (Bloome et al., 2005). This study revealed that the focal participants had learning experiences that were qualitatively different from those of their hearing peers. In particular, they faced challenges that were overlooked by their hearing teachers and peers. During class discussions, the oral deaf students' participation was restricted because they had to visually access verbal exchanges. To make sense of interactions, they had to interpret a series of incomplete signals using speechreading, aided residual hearing, and visual/written prompts. Thus, their participation in discussions was limited. However, when the oral deaf focal participants had opportunities to interact directly with their hearing peers in small group work, they demonstrated their ability to communicate and learn by using personal and contextual resources to engage in language and literacy events with their hearing peers. This study concludes that mainstream classrooms do not automatically become Least Restrictive Environments when oral deaf students are placed in classes with hearing students. Rather, the creation of Least Restrictive Environments for oral deaf students requires the active collaboration of their hearing teachers and peers. Otherwise, mainstream classrooms may become settings where oral deaf students' differences are highlighted, and the goal of mainstreaming—to respect and bridge differences in a diverse classroom—is not achieved.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how 16 secondary school physical educators working in three different schools described and made sense of the place in which they worked. Three broad views of the school as a workplace were identified in the literature: (a) the physical setting of the school, (b) how the school is organized, and (c) the culture in which teachers do their work. Teachers were asked to take pictures of their school as a workplace and then to describe their pictures. A minimum of three weeks was spent at each school. Field notes were taken during job shadowing and observations and transcripts of informal and formal interviews were generated. School profiles were developed to describe the physical, organizational, and cultural characteristics of each school. Although the profiles represent the job of teaching physical education in secondary schools, they represent three distinctly different work environments in which the job of teaching occurs. There were also broad similarities identified among the three schools. These similarities are represented in the form of the following themes: (a) teachers feel ambivalent about the effects of isolation, (b) teachers lack control over significant aspects of their daily work lives, (c) teachers seek rewards for activities other than physical education instruction, (d) teachers feel a vacuum in department leadership: like a boat without a rudder, (e) teachers are influenced more by students than by any other aspect of their workplace, (f) teachers' finite time and energy are drawn away from instruction toward other responsibilities. This study found that school context has a significant impact on teachers, their work and their behavior in the workplace and that schools have a strong role in defining the job of teaching physical education. Although the construct of teaching implies work that is common and well-known, work in schools varies in relation to the specific context of each school. Cultural variation among these schools defined their most important differences.

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