Scores on a state comprehensive assessment test showed that writing skills of 4th grade students enrolled in a K-8 magnet school in the southeastern part of the United States were below target. The assistant principal of the K-8 magnet school explained that a review of 3-year longitudinal data revealed that the number of students who met proficiency for the 4th grade writing assessment decreased by 1% each year. The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding from teachers about the best practices on how to improve students' writing skills. Denzin and Lincoln's constructivist theoretical concepts of accommodation and assimilation of learning were the basis of the conceptual framework. The research focused on how 3rd and 4th grade magnet school teachers described best practices to improve their students' writing skills. Data were gathered from three sources: (a) semistructured interviews with 5, 3rd grade and 5, 4th grade literacy teachers, (b) review of 10 lesson plans and 10 students' writing samples, and (c) 10 classroom observations. Based on the findings from the data, the following themes led to the professional development training: (a) oral activities to discuss as a class, (b) group discussions to gather feedback, (c) feedback to monitor progress, and (d) corrections. This professional development training is intended to strengthen the participating teachers' abilities to improve the writing skills of their students. The implications for positive social change is training teachers how to effectively instruct diverse elementary students to communicate effectively in writing.

Recent scholars have identified a phenomenon known as the motherhood wage penalty with research demonstrating that women with children face wage discrepancies beyond those associated with being female. This project adds to our understanding of non-wage-related penalties by investigating two distinct gatekeeping stages: screening and interviewing. I asked do employer hiring practices create barriers to mothers’ access to jobs? To answer this question, I used a novel mixed-methods approach, combining a dual-state audit study with qualitative employer interviews. I framed my study using the status theory of motherhood, which suggests that whenever motherhood is salient in the labor market, mothers will face discrimination. This study is the first of its kind in the field of motherhood and organizational discrimination. In phase one, I completed an audit study in two states: Utah and California. Each week, I applied for 10 jobs in each state using two fictitious applicants for a total of 40 resumes per week. This resulted in 960 applications (480 companies) over a 24-week period. I then randomly selected employers in each state for a total of 27 interviews, allowing me to speak directly with hiring managers regarding their employment practices. Throughout this project I identified employer bias at both the screening and interviewing stages. This included three key mechanisms: employers’ ideal expectations for their workers, the subjective assessment of both soft skills and family responsibilities, and the employment gap inquiry. Findings also varied by state suggesting that the salience of motherhood may be impacted by larger cultural and policy contexts resulting in varied labor market outcomes.

Live music has the ability to unite individuals and affect them on both cognitive and emotional levels. Its time-honored tradition remains the true test of a musical work?s strength and longevity. Electronic music in particular has had some difficulty in establishing well-formed performance practices in its relatively short life span. The problem may not be one of sonic, but rather visual inhibition and general discontinuities between the audience and performers. In this paper I raise three questions of aesthetic value concerning live performance. Why do we go to live musical performances? How do we perceive sound? How do we correlate physical gestures? To answer, I make observations on selected works spanning the continuum of the field.

The incidence of childhood and adolescent overweight in the United States is increasing at an alarming rate and is now considered the most prevalent nutritional disease of children and adolescents in this country. Although much attention has focused on genetic research, and heredity is an unarguable component of obesity, the role of the environment must be considered because genetic changes over entire populations are not likely to occur at such a rapid rate. In observing today’s environment where energy-dense foods abound, restaurant dining has increased, and children are more sedentary than ever, the current trends in child/adolescent weight status are not surprising. This study digs to the heart of worrisome eating habits by exploring the development of these behaviors in the family. Previous studies show that parents’ use of child feeding practices is related to their children’s weight status. It is hypothesized that children of parents who utilize highly controlling feeding strategies (pressure, restriction, monitoring) will have nutrient intakes and weight indicators that are either higher or lower than the average for children whose parents exert less control over the eating domain. The objective of this research is to discover if significant relationships exist between parental child feeding strategies and child/adolescent overweight or underweight and nutrient intake. Birch’s model explaining familial resemblances in eating and weight status was tested using her previously validated Child Feeding Questionnaire, standard anthropometric techniques, three days of diet records, and a previously validated child questionnaire. Three-hundred and twelve children/adolescents, 254 mothers, and 245 fathers from the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area completed interviews, and data was analyzed with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Results confirmed the validity of Birch’s model and previous studies that found significant relationships between child feeding strategies and children’s nutrition status. Parents who pressured their children to eat (motivated by concern about the child being underweight) were more likely to have children with lower BMI percentiles and skinfolds while parents who monitored or restricted the child’s intake had children with higher BMI percentiles and skinfold thicknesses. No clear relationships were found between feeding styles and nutrient intake.

There are an increasing number of articles written by Indigenous and First Nation authors about their worldviews, cultures, research and ways of being and knowing in relation to Indigenous theories and pedagogies. As a result, their experiences, philosophies and approaches emphasize the increasing borders for understanding the importance, value and rightful place of Indigenous theories and pedagogies in research, teaching and practice. Additionally, non-Indigenous authors are also writing messages of encouragement and support for Indigenous theories and pedagogies and highlight ways for non-Indigenous practitioners/teachers to reframe a worldview that incorporates Indigenous worldviews in a "good and respectful way". / Volume 8, August 2012: Indigenous Social Work Practices and Theories / School of Native Human Services

There are an increasing number of articles written by Indigenous and First Nations authors about their worldviews, cultures, research and ways of being and knowing in relation to Indigenous theories and pedagogies. As a result, their experiences, philosophies and approaches emphasize the increasing borders for understanding the importance, value and rightful place of Indigenous theories and pedagogies in research, teaching and practice. Additionally, non-Indigenous authors are also writing messages of encouragement and support for Indigenous theories and pedagogies and highlight ways for non-Indigenous practitioners/teachers to reframe a worldview that incorporates Indigenous worldviews in a “good and respectful way”.

Abstract Making Meaning, Out of Meaning Making by Alda M. Blakeney This study examines the ways in which three elementary teachers appropriated and implemented a defined literacy curriculum in their classrooms. The overarching question guiding the study is, “What are the social and cultural patterns of meaning making in the literacy practices of three elementary teachers?” The study is framed by sociocultural perspectives of learning (Bourdieu, 1986; Gee, n.d; Vygotsky, 1978). Literacy practices involve the cultural, social, political, and historical ways of interacting and making sense of the world. Therefore, to study literacy practices of three elementary teachers means to study the social and cultural contexts in which they occur. Field notes, interviews, and teacher-produced artifacts were analyzed using emergent coding schemes (Spradley, 1979; LeCompte and Schensul, 1999). Findings from the study revealed that the literacy practices of these three teachers were standards driven, emphasizing a foundational approach to literacy development. Additionally, the teachers focused on transforming Spanish speakers into English readers. These findings suggest that the social and cultural patterns of meaning making between and among teachers and learners are not equally represented in the curriculum. Moreover, the teachers did not disrupt commonly held beliefs and practices about literacy, thereby maintaining the status quo. Implications for this study including equipping teachers, both pre-service and in-service with knowledge of critical theory and literacy, with a goal of increased engagement in literacy practices and a democratized production of knowledge.

The incidence of childhood and adolescent overweight in the United States is increasing at an alarming rate and is now considered the most prevalent nutritional disease of children and adolescents in this country. Although much attention has focused on genetic research, and heredity is an unarguable component of obesity, the role of the environment must be considered because genetic changes over entire populations are not likely to occur at such a rapid rate. In observing today’s environment where energy-dense foods abound, restaurant dining has increased, and children are more sedentary than ever, the current trends in child/adolescent weight status are not surprising. This study digs to the heart of worrisome eating habits by exploring the development of these behaviors in the family. Previous studies show that parents’ use of child feeding practices is related to their children’s weight status. It is hypothesized that children of parents who utilize highly controlling feeding strategies (pressure, restriction, monitoring) will have nutrient intakes and weight indicators that are either higher or lower than the average for children whose parents exert less control over the eating domain. The objective of this research is to discover if significant relationships exist between parental child feeding strategies and child/adolescent overweight or underweight and nutrient intake. Birch’s model explaining familial resemblances in eating and weight status was tested using her previously validated Child Feeding Questionnaire, standard anthropometric techniques, three days of diet records, and a previously validated child questionnaire. Three-hundred and twelve children/adolescents, 254 mothers, and 245 fathers from the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area completed interviews, and data was analyzed with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Results confirmed the validity of Birch’s model and previous studies that found significant relationships between child feeding strategies and children’s nutrition status. Parents who pressured their children to eat (motivated by concern about the child being underweight) were more likely to have children with lower BMI percentiles and skinfolds while parents who monitored or restricted the child’s intake had children with higher BMI percentiles and skinfold thicknesses. No clear relationships were found between feeding styles and nutrient intake.

School leadership provides a critical bridge between student success initiatives and their impact on students in Texas schools. This study, which was one of four cohort studies conducted concurrently in Region V Education Service Center (ESC), Texas, examined the relationship between student performance, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), and leadership practices of elementary school principals in Region V ESC schools. The investigation procedures for this study involved an analysis of the responses from principals and site-based decision making (SBDM) committee members from their respective campuses to the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by Kouzes and Posner (2003) which evaluates the use of five identified leadership practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. Student performance information for the participating elementary campuses was obtained from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System database. This study found no linear relationship between perceived leadership practices of elementary principals and the academic success of students as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). However, a relationship between these variables is strongly supported by the literature. The data were an indication that Region V elementary principals embrace the leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner at least moderately (between the 30th and 69th percentile) or at a higher level (70th percentile or above). As a group, the principals in this study rated themselves higher overall in regard to perceived leadership practices than did their observers, but only significantly higher on three of the five individual practices. Principals and their observers agreed that the practice Enable Others to Act was the most frequently noted followed by the practices Model the Way and Encourage the Heart. The practices with the least reported frequency were Challenge the Process and Inspire a Shared Vision. Further analysis of the data showed that the demographic variables of gender, ethnicity, age, and years of experience in the field of education did not have an effect on survey responses of the study participants.

The purpose of this study was to determine how leadership practices impact student performance as perceived by principals and selected site-based decision making (SBDM) committee members of high schools in Region V Education Service Center (ESC), Texas. The study is one of four studies which examined perceived leadership practices of principals in the public school system in Southeast Texas. The other studies in this cohort focused on elementary principals, middle school principals and superintendents. This study compared the perceptions of high school principals and selected SBDM committee members regarding leadership practices and determined if selected demographic variables had an impact on the perceived leadership practices of the two identified groups. The investigation procedures for this study involved an analysis of the responses from principals and site-based decision making committee members to the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner (2003) which evaluates the use of five identified leadership practices. Student performance information for the 29 participating high school campuses was obtained from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System. Findings indicate no linear relationship exists between perceived leadership practices of high school principals and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) performance. Further analysis revealed no statistical significance in the correlation of student academic success as measured by TAKS and the five leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner(2002); Inspire a Shared Vision, Model the Way, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. The data indicated that Region V high school principals embrace the leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner at least moderately (between the 30th and 69th percentile) and in some cases at a higher level (70th percentile or above). Also, the data revealed that, as a group, the high school principals rated themselves higher overall regarding perceived leadership in comparison to their observers. Further analysis of the data showed that the demographic variables of gender and ethnicity did not have an effect on survey responses of the study participants. After examining the differences between the LPI responses of principals and their observers regarding age and years of experience, it was evident that such demographic variables did not impact survey responses.