The purpose of this study was to research the phenomenon of an individual who has moved from long term poverty into middle class. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with six participants who had experienced poverty in their childhood, attended and graduated college and obtained professional licenses to teach public school; these licenses gave them access to a teaching position with its commensurate middle class status and salary. Interviews began with the question, "Tell me about your childhood and how you became a teacher." Data analysis revealed four themes (and subthemes) in the narratives of these six participants: (1) durable family relationships (longstanding marriages, strong emotional bonds with family members); (2) presence of encouragers (friends and family members as encouragers, teachers and other respected adults as encouragers); (3) determination to be different (proactive determination, reactive determination); and (4) school-based opportunities for meaningful participation (meaningful relationships with teachers, meaningful activities). The experiences of these participants indicate that schools that wish to support poor children and youth in achieving their life goals might consider ways to help students make positive connections with adults in the building, support the families of these students, and offer meaningful activities in addition to academic programs. Further research would be useful investigating the experiences of persons who grew up in poverty and moved into middle class in different geographic regions, through different career paths, and by moving away from their childhood communities.

According to analysis of 2003 NAEP data, the percentage of students enrolling in Algebra I prior to ninth grade continues to increase, up to 42% in 2003. This current study is designed to examine the benefits of acceleration into algebra by exploring four major questions regarding timing of algebra. The first question examines relationships between student characteristics and timing of algebra. Relationships between school characteristics and timing of algebra are examined by the second question. Questions three and four explore relationships between timing of algebra and mathematics achievement and course taking, respectively. Information was gathered on 449 students matriculating at a small liberal arts college, located in the Midwest, during 2007-2008. Students were grouped according to the grade level at which they completed Algebra I. Eighty-two students completed Algebra I prior to ninth grade, 288 during ninth grade, and 79 after ninth grade. Statistical tests utilized to analyze the data include the chi square test of independence, one way between group analysis of variance, and multinomial logistic regression. A significant positive relationship between SES and enrollment in Algebra I prior to ninth grade and a significant negative relationship between SES and enrollment in Algebra I after ninth grade was found. No significant relationship was found between gender or race-ethnicity and timing of algebra. Relationships between school type (home, private, public) and timing of algebra were significant. Home educated students were less likely than other students to complete Algebra I prior to ninth grade. Both home and private school students completed Algebra I after ninth grade more often than students from public schools. No significant difference in timing of algebra was found with regard to school size or school locale (rural/non-rural). While early entrants into algebra did not complete more mathematics classes, they did complete more advanced mathematic classes and were more likely to study calculus. However, early entrants into algebra were more likely to drop out of the mathematics pipeline after tenth grade than other students. Early entrants into algebra had higher mathematics achievement as measured by Algebra II grades, mathematics grade point averages, and ACT Mathematics scores.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the effectiveness of Nancie Atwell's reading workshop in motivating homogeneously grouped, struggling adolescent readers in a public school setting. This naturalistic, personal narrative describes the Atwell workshop and the modifications made to it for implementation with this group of students. Atwell, a noted reading educator, uses specific strategies to teach the heterogeneously grouped students in her private school in Maine. Her students' independent thinking skills and personal connections to text are remarkable. Since I do not teach in the same environment as Atwell, I modified Atwell's strategies to meet the needs of my students and to teach Tennessee State Standards. I questioned whether this modified workshop approach would engage my students in reading and develop independent thinking skills. Data collected during normal classroom instruction included: teacher observation; student and parent comments (both written and verbal); students‟ written responses on literary letters; shared connections during book talks; and demonstrated critical thinking during class discussions. These data proved the success of the modified workshop. Additionally, recommendations are included to continue and further modify the reading workshop for the next school year. Future data collected will reveal the benefit of students participating in the workshop for two consecutive years.

School accountability has become critical under the No Child Left Behind Act. As struggling schools strive to reach mandated proficiency levels, is it possible for an art teacher to contribute toward students‟ success by integrating math content into art lessons? This study attempts to show that without schedule changes, additional funding, or added training, an art teacher can support the efforts of classroom teachers as evidenced by increased scores on standardized math tests. The research used a Non-Equivalent Groups Design and examined pre-test and post-test scores for two groups of students. The population for this study is 3,800 elementary school children who attend Project GRAD schools. The experimental group which received integrated instruction is a convenience sample. It is comprised of 360 students who attend the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades at two of the Project GRAD schools. The control group is made up of 3,440 students who did not receive the experimental instruction. The test scores were analyzed using t-test for normal distribution of scores, and a confidence level of .05 was selected. The results of this research indicate positive results from integrating math content into the elementary art curriculum.

Environmental issues are at the forefront of public scientific inquiry. There is a pressing need to change the way we do things in order to reduce the human impact on the environment (Brower, 1999; Bierbaum, 2007). Environmental education is one key for implementing change (Disinger, 1982). Ijams Nature Center’s “Living Clean & Green!” program was developed with this goal in mind (P. Beute, personal communication, September 11, 2007). Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior and Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera’s (1987) model of Responsible Environmental Behavior were used in this study to determine if behavior change occurred among adult participants of this program over a three-month period. Instructor interviews, workshop observation, pre-/post knowledge surveys, behavior questionnaires, and post telephone interviews were used to examine the characteristics of the program, participant knowledge, intention to engage in environmental behavior, and actual behavior change. The results indicated that participants did learn information in the course of the program, and intentions to change behavior were predicted by the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). However, three months after the workshop, actual behavior change was not predicted by the theory, although behavior change did occur in a majority of participants. Unfortunately, participants did not connect changes in their behavior with overall environmental issues and human impacts on the environment. This program, offered through Ijams Nature Center, is effective in its goal to change human behavior, although its impact may increase if audiences can connect their individual behaviors to overall environmental impacts.

Studies show that teachers lack training and confidence when it comes to intervening effectively in bullying situations. The goal of this study is to respond to the appeals of pre-service teachers for more formal training on bullying, including prevention and intervention strategies. A two-hour PREVNet workshop that provides information on bullying, bullying prevention and bullying intervention is offered in four Canadian Teacher Education classes. Two unique questionnaires, each consisting of simulated bullying incidents in a school context and a set of teacher interventions, were developed, piloted with a group of experienced teachers, and used to assess the effect of the workshop on teachers’ reported interventions in bullying situations. The results of a series of repeated measures ANOVAs reveal a marginally significant effect of the workshop on pre-service teachers’ reported interventions (N = 66), with the greatest improvements revealed in participants’ responses to children who bully.

Studies show that teachers lack training and confidence when it comes to intervening effectively in bullying situations. The goal of this study is to respond to the appeals of pre-service teachers for more formal training on bullying, including prevention and intervention strategies. A two-hour PREVNet workshop that provides information on bullying, bullying prevention and bullying intervention is offered in four Canadian Teacher Education classes. Two unique questionnaires, each consisting of simulated bullying incidents in a school context and a set of teacher interventions, were developed, piloted with a group of experienced teachers, and used to assess the effect of the workshop on teachers’ reported interventions in bullying situations. The results of a series of repeated measures ANOVAs reveal a marginally significant effect of the workshop on pre-service teachers’ reported interventions (N = 66), with the greatest improvements revealed in participants’ responses to children who bully.

The purpose of this study was to examine the proficiency or lack of proficiency of prospective teacher education students at two-year community colleges to use and integrate instructional technologies. In addition, this study also examined the perceived perceptions of prospective teacher education students levels of preparedness to use instructional technologies in their future classrooms. Participants in the study were students in a teacher preparation program. The survey was administered to students from six community colleges in the southeastern part of the United States. The Prospective Teacher Education Students Survey was developed and administered to a sample of 109 prospective teacher education students. Results of the study revealed a low proficiency in technology use for database, ethical use understanding, and spreadsheet. Prospective teacher education students reported greater proficiency in computer operation, word processing, and internet use. Low frequency and effectiveness were reported in the use of technology mediated instructional strategies for synchronous communication and simulations. Results indicated higher frequency and effectiveness in technology mediated instructional strategies for word processing and Internet use by students. Generally, students perceived their level of preparedness to implement various technology skills as somewhat well prepared . Descriptive statistics, raw percentages, and independent t-tests were used to analyze the data.

Reading is a basic skill for survival and those who have reading difficulties in early grades continue to struggle in school and later in life. Previous studies have shown that instructional procedures that incorporate basic language constructs with literacy instruction are helpful in improving reading skills. It has also been shown that many teachers and reading professionals are not familiar with such concepts. The purpose of this research is to explore reasons for classroom teachers' poor preparation to teach literacy skills and how this situation might be improved. First, a basic language constructs survey assessing self-perception, knowledge, and ability (46 items, Cronbach's a = .903) and based on recommendations by the National Reading Panel and reading research was administered to university instructors of EC-4 reading education (n=114). Forty-eight of these university instructors completed the survey after at least two years of participation in a professional development program (Higher Education Collaborative, HEC) geared towards the incorporation of scientifically-based reading research (SBRR) and research-based reading instruction (RBRI) into teacher preparation. The other sixty-six university instructors completed the survey prior to their participation in the professional development program (HEC). Second, the same survey was administered to pre-service EC-4 teachers (n=173) at the completion of their reading education coursework. Fifty-five of these pre-service teachers had been taught by the "HEC university instructors." The other 118 pre-service teachers had been taught by "non-HEC university instructors." Results indicate non-HEC university instructors and their pre-service are not familiar with basic language constructs and how to teach these concepts to primary level children. However, while room for improvement exists, HEC university instructors and their pre-service teachers did perform statistically significantly better on the survey than their counterparts. This study indicates pre-service teachers need better preparation in teaching the basic language constructs of the English language and university instructors often lack the knowledge to prepare teachers with such information. However, professional development programs designed for university instructors might be one way to help improve the situation.

Environmental issues are at the forefront of public scientific inquiry. There is a pressing need to change the way we do things in order to reduce the human impact on the environment (Brower, 1999; Bierbaum, 2007). Environmental education is one key for implementing change (Disinger, 1982). Ijams Nature Center’s “Living Clean & Green!” program was developed with this goal in mind (P. Beute, personal communication, September 11, 2007). Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior and Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera’s (1987) model of Responsible Environmental Behavior were used in this study to determine if behavior change occurred among adult participants of this program over a three-month period. Instructor interviews, workshop observation, pre-/post knowledge surveys, behavior questionnaires, and post telephone interviews were used to examine the characteristics of the program, participant knowledge, intention to engage in environmental behavior, and actual behavior change. The results indicated that participants did learn information in the course of the program, and intentions to change behavior were predicted by the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). However, three months after the workshop, actual behavior change was not predicted by the theory, although behavior change did occur in a majority of participants. Unfortunately, participants did not connect changes in their behavior with overall environmental issues and human impacts on the environment. This program, offered through Ijams Nature Center, is effective in its goal to change human behavior, although its impact may increase if audiences can connect their individual behaviors to overall environmental impacts.