Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent to which human resources (HR) decision making is influenced by the social context of school systems. More specifically, this study draws upon organizational theory focussed on the microfoundations of organizations as a lens identify key aspects of school HR decision making at the…

Service learning with ecological restoration projects can positively affect participants' attitudes, behaviors, and learning, but little is known about the longevity of these effects. Furthermore, urban green spaces are an understudied, yet increasingly important, context for eco-restoration service learning. This study examined the persistence of…

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the lived experiences of adult learners at 4 Christian colleges in Indiana who desired to pursue bachelor and associate degrees in accelerated programs. The growing trend of accelerated programming exists to meet the needs of a growing number of adults who believe that earning an academic…

Agricultural best management practices (BMPs), or conservation practices, can help reduce nonpoint source pollution from agricultural lands, as well as provide valuable wildlife habitat. There is a large literature exploring factors that lead to a producer's voluntary adoption of BMPs, but there have been inconsistent findings. Generally, this…

While research on faculty meetings is limited, existing literature suggests that meetings could be an arena where schools can address their most pressing challenges (Brandenburg, 2008; Michel, 2011; Riehl, 1998). Building on Macey and Schneider's (2008) Model of Employee Engagement and McGrath's Model of Group Effectiveness (1964), this case study…

Background: Teacher quality plays a key role in student learning outcomes. Yet, data suggest that elite college graduates who enter teaching are less likely to stay in schools serving low income and minority students compared to other teachers. Thus, many educators and policy makers agree that in order to equalize the playing field, recruitment,…

The literature on preparing teachers for urban schools provides a rationale for helping candidates understand the particular cultures of students. However, research has not sufficiently "unpacked" features of the setting that programs can address; nor has it discussed how programs tailor teaching approaches to their specific contexts.…

Although increasing numbers of Latino/a students are pursuing higher education, many do not persist to graduation. The disparity of Latino/a students attending and graduating from Christian colleges and universities is even more pronounced than at comparison institutions. As institutions of Christian higher education seek to increase diversity on…

The predictive relations between social capital depth (high-quality relationships across contexts) and breadth (friendship network extensivity) and early-adult life adjustment outcomes were examined using data from a prospective longitudinal study. Interviews at age 22 yielded (a) psychometrically sound indexes of relationship quality with…

The data and research findings for this paper were derived from two studies. The first was commissioned to the National Afterschool Partnership (NAP) by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate effective practices at the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs). The purpose of this study was to develop resources and professional…

Bully victimization takes place within a social context of youths' parents, peers, teachers, school administrators, and community. Victims often rely on parents, educators, or peers for support. However, there is a gap in the literature in understanding parents' experiences of what occurs before, during, and after reporting bullying to school…

This study describes how staff qualifications, decisions on staffing procedures, and professional development opportunities support the recruitment and retention of quality staff members. Four high-functioning programs were identified. Qualitative procedures and instruments were designed to capture staff and parents' academic perspectives about…

This report describes and presents the results of a survey designed to obtain information on the preservation and conservation policies and procedures, staff, facilities, and expenditures of 18 academic libraries in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The goals of the survey were to inform each library surveyed of its strengths and weaknesses in the…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the definitions, perceptions, and extent of poverty in what has been called an "average income" county in the midwestern section of the United States. The uniqueness of the study lies in the utilization of respondents' perceptions of poverty to establish a definition of poverty. The data is based…