Discussions have been carried out in recent years regarding the emergence of iSchools in the field of library and information science (LIS). One theme in the discussions centres on whether those iSchools, deriving from LIS programs, are indeed different from other non-iSchools of the field. To address this question, five iSchools and five…

The writing program administration literature in rhetoric and composition has long advocated the use of local data to determine the direction each writing program should take. Using a mixed-method design employing a standard survey and in-depth interviews, this dissertation describes how writing programs across institutional and programmatic…

The United States' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is growing slower than in the past, in comparison to demand, and in comparison to other countries. Competitive talent conditions require the United States to develop a strong pipeline of STEM talent within its own citizens. Given the number of female college…

Previous research on service-learning in international contexts tends to focus on the benefits and outcomes for students and educational institutions. This essay is intended to provoke further examination of issues related to university-community engagement in global contexts, particularly in terms of the consequences for host communities. In…

PhD programs in the United States are increasingly marked by the rising influence of market-oriented dynamics. As a case in point, one of the primary objectives of the new PhD program offered at the University of South Dakota is to deliver a doctoral program through a flexible--or hybrid--format that is accessible to nontraditional as well as…

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program has the potential to be the largest school voucher program in the country. Though the authorizing legislation capped enrollment in the program at 7,500 for its first year (the 2011-12 school year), that cap was increased to 15,000 for this year, and will be removed for all subsequent years. With careful…

Digital inclusion is the ability of individuals and groups to access and use information and communication technologies. Not all members of a community benefit equally, and some communities have been left out altogether. This paper is a guide for fostering digital inclusion throughout the United States so that everyone can take advantage of…

Given the current economic constraints facing the country, school districts in the U.S. have been pushed to develop annual budgets through a new lens and to accept the reality that budget adoption is a complex, political process. Whether a school district is rich or poor, growing or declining in enrollment, serving a specialized population or…

In the United States, about one third of new teachers being hired are drawn from alternative certification programs. One way to address controversy about the differences among the training experiences of teachers in traditional certification programs, fast-track alternative programs, and residency alternative programs is to examine teacher reports…

This article synthesizes research on social capital, school outcomes, internet use, and volunteering to argue that e-mentoring--which is commonly practiced over long distances--could become a powerful way to build greater cohesiveness in local communities. Realizing this potential will require a larger-scale and more coordinated approach to…

Student-directed projects are increasingly becoming a common phenomenon in schools of social work across the United States. Students acquire a great learning experience from these projects, which sharpen their skills in leadership, innovation, and practice. Social work practitioners who go through such a process emerge having acquired knowledge…

Study abroad is generally recognized as a transformational experience for university students to help prepare them to be what many in higher education are now calling "global citizens." Responding to the need to prepare citizens for the interconnected global world of the 21st century, K-12 educators recently established new standards and…

The type and amount of student interaction with major socializing agents on campus--faculty and their peers--determine the impact of college on students. Much of the research on postsecondary education links the quality of peer interactions directly to student learning outcomes and satisfaction with the college experience, and Alexander Astin went…

This study uses a mixed methods approach to examine a new type of curriculum configuration that supports students' transitions to college: career technical programs of study (POS). Interview and survey data were collected from a college and its feeder high schools in each of three well-established ("mature") sites in geographically…

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, forced the fall semester closure of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the aftermath of this unprecedented storm, the Tulane leadership set forth a plan for renewal to secure the survival, recovery, and sustainability of the institution,…