Education In Virginia Research Articles

African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education

African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education, edited by Vernon C. Polite & James Earl Davis. New York: Teachers College Press, 1999. 272 pp. $54.00, cloth. $23.95, paper. Reviewed by Jeanita W. Richardson, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. In African American Males in School and Society: Practices and Policies for Effective Education, Vernon C. Polite and James Earl Davis have compiled works by various authors who provide valuable insight into the complex, multidimensional issues associated with the schooling of African American males. As suggested in the foreword by renowned scholar Edmund Gordon, descriptive data most often found in the literature fails to reflect the successes of African American males in juxtaposition to prevalent systemic challenges. While not addressing many of the noneducational data-driven interventions suggested by Gordon, this volume does depart from the usual myopic description of African American men and boys. Using a combination of empirical studies and policy analyses, the editors present a volume that attempts to shed light on prevailing dilemmas without blaming the targeted foci of the studies. Rather than bemoaning the well-documented educational inadequacies generally assigned to Black males, the authors offer suggestions for change in the context of successful scenarios grounded in their empirical research. Michele Foster and Tryphenia B. Peele discuss the positive engagement of African American males in education, as well as, the potency of teacher/student relationships and how the understanding, sensitivity, and persistence of teachers directly impact student learning. Further discussions include the role of teacher education programs in adequately challenging preservice practitioners' notions of consistency, stereotypes, classroom management, and personal biases as they relate to Black male students. Bernard A. Carver pursues an often overlooked aspect of computer technology in schooling (i.e., how computers are used in general and how often they are used with African American males in particular). Carver explores the notion of what it means to be information rich and information poor. Of particular relevance in the study is the relationship between technological literacy and educational and economic viability. In both chapters, the critical importance of the relationships between parents, teachers, and students are highlighted as pivotal to improving the educational engagement of African American males. Professional development for in-service teachers focused on revealing personal biases and practical techniques for enhancing the educational experiences of Black males are also suggested. The underrepresentation of African Americans as and the overrepresentation of this same group in special education are considered by Donna Ford, Tarek C. Grantham, and Deryl Bailey, and Beth Harry and Mary G. Anderson. Ford, Grantham, and Bailey call attention to the many shortcomings of the identification process, which have resulted in an underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs. Harry and Anderson discuss the social construction of special education students and the role subjective interpretations of behaviors, learning styles, and culture have played in the classification process. Both chapters call for more inclusive evaluative instruments in the identification process that do not presume uniqueness in students to be categorically viewed as an educational deficiency. Peter Murrell Jr., Joseph A. Hawkins, and Vernon C. Polite in each of their discussions reveal demoralizing influences in urban and suburban schools that cannot be narrowly assigned to poor students. Low expectations, disproportionately high rates of expulsion and suspension, as well as overrepresentation in special education courses remain common in economically constrained urban schools and affluent suburbs. …

The Ability to Persuade People to Change

Dean Futrell speaks in a strong voice and articulates her ideas with great clarity and assurance, according to Mr. Goldberg. But she well understands that listening carefully and working with people are two other characteristics of leadership. MARY HATWOOD Futrell, former three-term president of the National Education Association and today the dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University, was not placed in the academic track in her segregated school in Lynchburg, Virginia, more than 40 years ago. The counselors and teachers at Dunbar High School liked Mary, understood that she was bright, and her work hard, but they concluded that her family was far too poor to maintain her in college. When Futrell was a small child, her father was quite ill. He died when she was 4 years old. By age 10, Mary and her older sister were occasionally helping their mother clean homes and restaurants. Young Mary was always under pressure from her mother to achieve at a level in As her mother told her many years later, knew you had potential, and I felt it was my responsibility to make sure you developed that potential. I was willing to work as much as I had to to give you the support to go to school. Josephine Hatwood did considerably more than that, although she herself had only a sixth-grade education. My mother always read to me and my sister, had spelling contests with us, checked our report cards, and came to school any time it was necessary - even though it might mean changing buses two or three times. Mrs. Hatwood didn't understand the implications of tracking well enough to press for Mary to be in the college-bound program and trusted the counselors to make the right decision. However, by Futrell's junior year in school she was fifth in her class of 89 students and getting such grades that she was finally moved into the academic track - too late to take a foreign language or advanced math, but not too late to be on the path to college. At Futrell's school graduation ceremony, she received an unusual and utterly unexpected scholarship from the teachers who had actually taught her. came up on the stage and handed me these envelopes with $1,500 for college. They had gone to the local businesses, churches, and sororities and collected this money for Mary Hatwood. These were the teachers who had entered her essay in a state contest in which she became a finalist, who had told her to believe in herself and to respect herself, and who had convinced her that nobody could ever take my education away from me. The South was still segregated when Mary Hatwood began her undergraduate work in 1958 at the all-black Virginia State College in Petersburg. Mary studied both education and business to increase her chances of getting a job on graduation. She did well in college, where had teachers who pushed me and demanded things of me. The demands made by her mother and her teachers in school and college became part of Mary Futrell's being and outlook. If you are around Futrell for any length of time, you hear the phrases hard work, determination, and high standards over and over. In 1963 Futrell went to work in the Alexandria, Virginia, school system as a junior and senior school business education teacher. It didn't take her long to become involved in the local teachers' association. got involved because I didn't like what they were doing. I thought the association should get more actively involved in issues that supported what teachers wanted to do in the classroom. These were also the difficult years during which the schools in Virginia were being desegregated, and minority teachers were frequently treated disdainfully, sometimes even being demoted to nonteaching positions. Futrell bridled against this treatment of some of her colleagues. In 1976, after more than 12 years of classroom experience and considerable activity in her local and state associations, Futrell sought the presidency of the Virginia Education Association (VEA), although she was strongly discouraged from running, and obstacles were placed in her way. …

Horticulture/Gardening in Kindergarten through Fifth and Sixth Grade Education in Virginia: A Survey of Teachers

In Spring 1995, a survey was conducted on horticulture/gardening in Virginia kindergarten through fifth and sixth grades (K–5/6). Ten questionnaires and cover letters were sent to each of 100 randomly chosen elementary schools of the 1143 elementary schools representing ≈45,000 teachers throughout Virginia. Based on a 33.7% response rate from a self-selected group of K–5/6 teachers in Virginia, there is a relatively high level of interest (87.5% of respondents were interested) regarding using horticulture/gardening in the classroom. To facilitate incorporating horticulture into the curriculum for the widest number of teachers, teaching packets containing horticulture-based lesson plans, activity ideas, posters, and AV materials should be prepared. However, it is likely that using these prepared resources alone will result in a minimum amount of integration of horticulture/gardening in the classroom. Materials should be presented to interested teachers at a local class or in-service where they can be reviewed and teachers are able to address any concerns or needs they may have. A follow-up outreach should be done in the form of monthly newsletters: one for the teachers containing new ideas on using horticulture in the classroom and one for students with horticulture-based activities and information. Additionally, the need for preservice undergraduate and postservice graduate level horticulture courses offered by Virginia Tech for teachers should be explored.

Teacher Characteristics Related To The Adoption Of Agriscience Curriculum Virginia Middle School Agricultural Education Programs

Middle school programs in agricultural education are unique educational experiences that provide 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in Virginia with a basic understanding of agriculture and its applied sciences. Curriculum innovations such as the one for Virginia middle schools provide guidance for teachers in the field and offer a base from which programs can operate. However, the benefits of educational innovations are never fully realized until the teacher in the classroom adopts and implements the changes. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between teacher characteristics and the adoption of agriscience curriculum in Virginia middle school agricultural education programs. The study was conducted in the fall of 1993. The population for this study consisted of the 57 middle school teachers of agricultural education in Virginia. All of the teachers were surveyed with an 81% response rate obtained.

Virginia network fosters communication

AbstractIn August 1987 a network of Virginia institutions was established to develop and implement assessment plans and to discuss guidelines. The open exchange of ideas has been beneficial both to persons interested in and responsible for assessment activities on network campuses and to the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV). Dennis Hinkle, assistant provost at Virginia Polytechnic University, and Steve Culver, director of student assessment at Radford University, describe Virginia's network.

Assessing the Functional Knowledge of Participants in the Virginia Beginning Teacher Assistance Program

This article describes an assessment program for beginning teachers, the program's development, and its effects on teaching and teacher education in Virginia. Definitions of competence and performance, development of a system for assessing competence, training of classroom recorders, and the measurement of competence by observations of teachers' classroom behavior are discussed. We summarize results of assessments for a group of experienced teachers and three groups of beginning teachers. Beginning teachers tend to score higher than experienced teachers on the assessments, and some reasons for these differences are discussed.

Job Satisfaction among American School Psychologists

Job satisfaction has been associated with a variety of personal, social and work related variables, all of which have potential implications for practising school psychologists. The present study utilized a modified form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and a demographic data form to investigate overall levels of job satisfaction among practising school psychologists in the State of Virginia (USA), the degree of satisfaction expressed with each of twenty subfactors of job satisfaction, and the relationship between job satisfaction scores and selected demographic variables. A response rate of 87.36 percent was achieved, and responses from 267 practitioners were analysed. Results indicated that 84.27 percent of the respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. Of the twenty job subfactors measured, school psychologists expressed dissatisfaction wit1} only two: school system policies and practices, and advancement opportunities. Three significant predictors of job satisfaction emerged: membership in the Virginia Association of School Psychologists (positively related), membership in the National Education Association (negatively related), and contract length (negatively related). Four other variables were found to be significant correlates of job satisfaction: tendency to remain in current position (positively related), tendency to remain in the profession of school psychology (positively related), membership in the Virginia Education Association (negatively related), and membership in the National Association of School Psychologists (positively related).

A Hard Country and a Lonely Place: Schooling, Society, and Reform in Rural Virginia, 1870-1920

William Link's account of the transformation of Virginia's country schools between 1870 and 1920 fills important gaps in the history of education and the social history of the South. His theme is the impact of localism and community on the processes of public education -- first as a motive force in the spread of schooling, then as a powerful factor that collided with the goals of urban reformers.After the Civil War, localism dominated every dimension of education in rural Virginia and in the rural South. School expansion depended upon local enthusiasm and support, and rural education was increasingly integrated into this environment. These schools mirrored the values of the society. Drawing expertly from varied sources, Link recreates this local world: the ways in which schools were organized and governed, the experiences of teachers and students, and the impact of local control. In so doing, he reveals the harmony of the nineteenth-century, one-room school with its surrounding community.After 1900, the schools entered a long period of change. They became a prime target of urban social reformers who regarded localism as a corrosive force responsible for the South's weak political structure, racial tensions, and economic underdevelopment. School reformers began a process that ultimately reshaped every dimension of rural public education in Virginia. During the decades surrounding World War I they initiated sweeping changes in governance, curriculum, and teacher training that would have an impact for the next several generations. They also attempted -- for the most part successfully -- to impose a segregated pedagogy.Link carefully develops the role of the Virginia reformers, never assuming that reform and modernization were unmixed blessings. The reformers succeeded, he argues, only by recognizing the power and significance of local control and by respecting the strength of community influence over schools.Originally published in 1986.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Driver education in Virginia: An analysis of performance report data

To investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in driving in college students aged 18-24 years.The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a questionnaire was given to 265 college students. The sample contained 188 males and 77 females. In the second phase, the data pertaining to road accident injuries from March 20, 2007 to March 20, 2008 were collected from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, and analyzed.There were 14.0% of male and 19.0% of female participants traveled belted while driving on urban roads. It indicated that the participants unbelted or using mobile phone were more involved in accidents in last three years. This study also revealed that 19.0% of male and 4.2% of female drivers considered using mobile phone in driving not hazardous. The highest injury and property damage crash rates were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, which occured in male group aged 18–24 years. And 30% of all fatalities were 19–24 years old.More than 50% of college students traveled unbelted. The females were less involved in road accident injuries. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury.

Legal Education in Virginia, 1779-1979: A Biographical Approach

Legal Education in Virginia, 1779-1979: A Biographical Approach

Legal Education in Virginia, 1779-1979: A Biographical Approach.

Legal Education in Virginia, 1779-1979: A Biographical Approach.

463. A Descriptive Analysis of the Nurse-Faculty Role in Institutions of Higher Education in Virginia

463. A Descriptive Analysis of the Nurse-Faculty Role in Institutions of Higher Education in Virginia

Earth Science Education in Virginia

Earth Science Education in Virginia

Successful Administrative Relationships Make Successful Music Programs

VIRGINIA MUSIC EDUCATORS heard this article as an address when Mr. Flora spoke at the November 1960 meeting of VMEA which was held in conjunction with the Virginia Education Association in Richmond. The author, superintendent of the Radford City Schools, Radford, Virginia, so impressed his listeners that the VMEA president, Bernard W. Busse, made the speech available to Music Educators Journal, so that the talk “could be brought to the attention of a wider audience.”

Desegregation of Higher Education in Virginia

Desegregation of Higher Education in Virginia

The Role of the Negro College in Retrospect and Prospect

The role of each publicly-supported college will be determined in terms of its relationship as a part of system of public higher education of state in which it is located. West Virginia State College has already assumed role of providing higher education to a sizable percentage of white students as well as Negro students. On other hand, notwithstanding some desegregation in public higher education in Virginia, role of Virginia State College in minds of body which governs it and several colleges for whites is apparently to hold line against a too rapid influx of Negro students into colleges formerly for white students only. Other states with varying degrees of desegregation may assign certain areas of curricular emphasis to former Negro public college to dovetail with emphases at other public colleges in effort to offer a comprehensive state program. In last analysis, however, role of any given public institution will be subject to state policy and discussion which follows will be concerned primarily with role of privatelysupported college which at some former time had Negro students only and which I shall hereafter call the private Negro college. Several assumptions underlie this

Desegregation of Public Education in Virginia--One Year Afterward

Desegregation of Public Education in Virginia--One Year Afterward

Negro Higher and Professional Education in Virginia

No other state in the Nation has better and more understanding cordial relations between the two races than does reads the Report of the Virginia Education Commission.' This assertion is immediately preceded by the statement, It is well recognized that the Negroes of the State deserve educational facilities from every standpoint equivalent with those of the whites, and it is the full intention of the leadership of the Commonwealth to see that they get what they so well deserve. Anyone who observes educational practices immediately raises questions when he reads such sentences. Are they supported by the evidence? Is Virginia moving in the direction of equal educational opportunity for all of its citizens? Are its educational policies and practices designed and executed to provide the education necessary for all people? This chapter seeks to give information and interpretation concerning some of the issues raised and to answer the specific question-To what extent does the Commonwealth of Virginia provide equal opportunities for the higher and professional education of its population?

A State Chamber of Commerce Surveys Secondary EducationOpportunities for the Improvement of High School Education in Virginia.

Previous articleNext article No AccessEducational WritingsA State Chamber of Commerce Surveys Secondary Education Opportunities for the Improvement of High School Education in Virginia.Charles W. BoardmanCharles W. Boardman Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 52, Number 8Oct., 1944 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/441081 Journal History This article was published in The School Review (1893-1979), which is continued by the American Journal of Education (1979-present). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Agricultural Science and Education in Virginia Before 1860

Agricultural Science and Education in Virginia Before 1860