This study documents an experience in which a small group of cognitively and developmentally disabled adults expressed their personal goals and views related to art museum visits. A review of literature related to disability studies, museum access and inclusive programs, art therapy, and person-centered thinking provide background and context. Case study and qualitative interviews are used as methodologies to support an investigation of the use of person-centered thinking in the implementation of art museum programming for the study participants. Person-centered thinking is considered and assessed as an approach to structuring meaningful collaborations between visitors with disabilities and art museums. Data collected in the forms of visual and written response, observation, and documentation of interviews inform the findings, discussion, and analysis of the study's research goals. The resulting case study may be used by museums to structure visits with similar groups. This study contributes to a growing body of knowledge pertaining to how museums can best collaborate with disabled populations to create inclusive programs.

This thesis is a critical reflection of the author’s time as a Principal of an Indigenous state school from 2003-2004. The purpose is to reassess the impact of her principalship in terms of the staff, students and Community change that affected learning outcomes at the school and to reanalyse to what actions and to whom positive changes could be attributed. This thesis reflects and identifies, in light of the literature, strategies which were effective in enhancing student learning outcomes. The focus of this thesis was the Doongal State School*, its students, staff and facilities. The author will attempt to draw out theoretical frameworks in terms of: (1) what changed educationally in Doongal State School, (2) what seemed to be important in the Principal’s role, (3) the processes that took place, and (4) the effect of being non- Indigenous and a female. Overall, the author undertook this critical reflection in order to understand and embrace educational practices that will (a) lessen the gap between the academic outcomes achieved by Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and (b) enhance life choices for Indigenous children. The findings indicate that principal leadership is critical for success in Indigenous schools and is the centrepiece of the models developed to explain improvement at Doongal State School. School factors, Principal Leadership factors, Change factors and factors relating to being a non-Indigenous female principal, which, when implemented, will lead to improved educational outcomes for Indigenous students, have evolved as a result of this thesis. Principal Leadership factors were found to be the enablers for the effective implementation of the key components for success.

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Introduction: In 1996, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) reinforced its historical commitment to multidisciplinary community engagement by developing a graduate level community partnerships program in the Division of Health Sciences. While the university's earlier health partnership efforts relied primarily on curricular innovation, the approach to graduate health professions education was to seed a series of curricular enhancements and interdisciplinary, community-based learning experiences and service into traditional curricula. This paper presents the experience of one school in crafting a regional network that became the basis of a division-wide graduate level teaching and learning initiative. Innovations and Evaluation: Carefully selected planning and implementation techniques enabled multidisciplinary practitioners and community members from across a 20-county region to participate with university faculty in training ETSU learners in community-based medical care. By year four of the project, curricular "enhancements" were institutionalized in over five departments across the Division and engaged 1160 medical residents and graduate learners in a give - get model of health education. Programme evaluation methodology was collaboratively defined and documentation of programme effort and outcomes regularly reported and strategically reviewed. Conclusions: Programme evaluation demonstrates mutual benefit to community and university. Faculty involvement in programme activity increased fourfold and community involvement in training of health professions graduate learners increased threefold by year four. Educational innovations were adopted into traditional curricula, thousands of hours of clinical services were provided to underserved communities and the university-community team forged by network links continues to promote multidisciplinary interests through joint public policy endeavors.

In 2013, South Carolina implemented a multi-year program providing support services for pregnant and parenting teens. Local lead sites were responsible for coordinating service delivery in partnership with other multidisciplinary community-based organizations. We used social network theory and analyses (SNA) to examine changes in partnerships over time. Using two-stage purposeful sampling, we identified three lead sites and their self-reported community partners. We administered two web-based surveys grounded in social network theory that included questions about partnership relationships and organizational characteristics. We calculated selected whole-network measures (size, cohesion, equity, diversity). Following the Year 1 surveys, we reviewed our findings with the lead sites and suggested opportunities to strengthen their respective partnerships. Following the Year 3 surveys, we observed changes across the networks. Survey response rates were 91.5% (43/47) in Year 1 and 68.2% (45/66) in Year 3. By Year 3, the average network size increased from 15.6 to 20.3 organizations. By Year 3, one lead site doubled its measure of network cohesion (connectedness); another lead site doubled in size (capacity). A third lead site, highly dense in Year 1, increased in size but decreased in cohesion by Year 3. Innovative use of SNA findings can help community partnerships identify gaps in capacity or services and organizations needed to fulfill program aims. SNA findings can also improve partnership function by identifying opportunities to improve connectedness or reduce redundancies in program work. The ability of lead sites to strategically reconfigure partnerships can be important to program success and sustainability.

Objectives: The study examines how Loansome Doc services are implemented and used by libraries in the Southeast Region and describe end users' experiences with and attitudes toward Loansome Doc. Methods: 251 active DOCLINE libraries and 867 Loansome Doc users were surveyed. Results: Roughly one half of the libraries offered Loansome Doc services. Of those that did not, most indicated no plans to offer it in the future. The majority had a small number of end users and experienced minimal increases in interlibrary loan activity. Problems were relatively rare. Satisfaction with Loansome Doc was high among all types of libraries. End users were usually physicians or other health care professionals who requested articles for research and patient care. Most learned about Loansome Doc through PubMed or Internet Grateful Med. End users appeared to be largely self-taught or received informal instruction in Loansome Doc. Loansome Doc filled document requests in a timely manner, and end users reported being satisfied with the service. Conclusions: Greater promotion of what Loansome Doc is and how it can benefit libraries can increase the number of participating libraries. While satisfaction of Loansome Doc end users is high, satisfaction could be increased with more help on the PubMed screen, more library training, and faster delivery methods.

Student engagement is a topic of interest among teachers and school leaders. In an era of high-stakes testing and a push to make students prepared for the workforce, teachers are finding ways to increase their student’s level of engagement. One method to increase student engagement is to use community partnerships to help enhance classroom instruction. This can be accomplished through work-based learning, problem-based learning, civic engagement, or service learning. While much research has been conducted on what public schools are doing with community partnerships and student engagement, little research has been conducted on faith-based schools. The goal of this study is to utilize the case study approach on two faith-based schools and see how they are using their community partnerships and whether these are improving student engagement or not. More specifically, this study looks to study the relationship between voluntary and compulsory course and/or program requirements in these schools and how teachers explain the role of their administration in such learning experiences. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Experiential learning programs, such as service learning, help students in Spanish medical interpreting classes to increase their interpreting proficiency, which includes their cultural understanding, linguistic performance, and professionalization (Rudvin & Tomassini, 2011). Currently, the Spanish Medical Interpretation class at Brigham Young University uses a community service-learning project in which students volunteer six hours of their time interpreting within the community. While largely beneficial, not all community partners offer the same learning opportunities. Some include training and shadowing programs, while others do not. This thesis seeks to determine the impact that shadowing opportunities and community partnerships have on interpreting proficiency and the service-learning experience. Pre- to post-test data cannot prove significant correlations between different interpreting proficiency categories and the impact of shadowing programs. Furthermore, there is no significant correlation between the six community partners and linguistic performance or cultural understanding of the participants. There was however a negative correlation between professionalism and one community partner. This is especially concerning considering the current "readiness-to-work gap" experienced by interpreters (Humphrey, 2015; Johnston, 2007; Martínez-Gómez, 2018). Furthermore, student responses to surveys indicate that there is more to the service-learning experience than interpreting proficiency alone. Survey data also suggest that students would benefit from an increased focus on service learning throughout the course.

The past few decades of research support both the impact of trauma (e.g., abuse, neglect, violence) particularly in childhood, and the ability to lessen its effects through the implementation of trauma-informed care (TIC). We have successfully developed a communitywide system of TIC enhancing collaboration and common language across sectors and organizations within sectors. The collaboration involved more than 100 individuals from more than 45 organizations including healthcare, education, children’s services, the faith community, behavioral health providers, criminal justice, law enforcement, private businesses, and others. The process for developing a system of care has been evaluated through community surveys and focus groups, verifying its ability to increase understanding and implementation of TIC principles, replication in a nearby city, and the development of an instructional toolkit to aid other communities in creating such systems of care.

This work centered on the Creating Creators Cinema Project (CCCP), a for-profit organization that works with K-12 school districts in California to integrate student filmmaking into core subjects. The qualitative case study documented the experiences of CCCP’s founders, the teaching artists who mentor filmmaking youth, and the students participating in year-long projects, providing a “thick description” of the creation, implementation, and impact of the program in a high school setting. The research addressed the dearth of arts programs in urban schools and their connection to representation in arts fields, particularly filmmaking. The study utilized three frameworks: Critical Pedagogy, Constructivism, and Situated Learning Theory to analyze data about pedagogical approaches and impact in the personal and professional lives of those involved in the project. Findings revealed participants in CCCP challenge traditional schooling practices and create a professional identity for students in the program. This study affirmed the importance of arts education in student lives and identifies how arts is a transformative vehicle for students and educators.