Retention of College Students in Private Schools Coursework

Retention of College Students in Private Schools - Coursework Example This is a very thorough introduction to the steps and processes required in writing an extensive study on an education-related topic. There are comprehensive notes and references attached to each chapter, and the book could also be used as a textbook in class since there are exercises too. One useful feature is the â€Å"Key Concepts† section which recaps the most important themes and provides definitions that can be used in any dissertation. Chapters 4 and 5 on â€Å"Research Design in Quantitative Research† and â€Å"Experimental Research† give a lot of good information on how to set up data gathering procedures and how to evaluate the results. Methods such as surveys, interviewing and videotaping are also discussed with some very practical guidelines on how to avoid common mistakes. It is written in a complex and academic tone, but the effort of reading it is rewarded by many insights. Henderson, D. and Henderson, J. (2002) The Retention of Entering and Returning Freshmen enrolled at Florida A&M University’s School of General Studies during the Fall Semesters 1997-2001. Education 123 (1), 210-212. This short paper looks at the importance of the first year in the retention of students at a college with mainly African-American students. It collated figures on students who attended for the first time, and students who had switched their major and made a recommendation for strategies to enhance student retention based on these figures. Some issues were clearly concluded, such as the importance of developmental courses, interdisciplinary classes, advisement on demand and an attitudinal shift by the faculty and staff, but the article did not find ways to deal with variables.

The School of the Americas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The School of the Americas - Essay Example The schools presence in the region represented the United States growing role in Latin America. With the signing of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) in 1947 (Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Washington, DC) the United States involvement in the region grew even more. Yet another name change came in 1949. The U.S. Army Caribbean School continued to train both U.S. and Latin American soldiers. In 1963 the school got its most notable name: The School of the Americas (SOA). The SOA began training using Spanish only and controversy surrounding the school began. With the handing over of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama the school needed a new home. After much politicking, the Spanish speaking school was moved to Fort Benning, Georgia rather than Texas that had a Spanish speaking population (where the school thought was the most logical choice). In an August 1996 report sent to the Honorable Ronald V. ... The School of Americas thus played a part in this transition by providing Spanish language military training to Latin American countries that chose to send soldier-students. The School of the Americas closed in December of 2000 after much controversy and reopened in January 2001 as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act. 2. Training Provided. As stated earlier, The School of the Americas functioned as a Spanish language military school and continues as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. It is interesting to note that the new school offers instruction (again in Spanish) in many of the same courses that the SOA did at the same location. The current school offers training to Latin American military personnel in courses such as2: Civil-Military Operations Course Information Operations Course Departmental Resource Management Human Rights Instructor Course Peace Operations Course The schools website claims that all courses listed are accredited at at least the baccalaureate level, students can receive credit for courses taken,3 and that all students receive at least eight hours of human rights training. As the SOA the school offered courses using manuals with such titles as4: Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual-1983 KUBARK Counterintelligence Interrogation-July 1963 3. The Controversy. As the SOA, the school came under scrutiny by various human rights groups because of the type of training provided to the Latin American students and the resulting human rights violations by SOA graduates. The United States was accused of training these soldiers to protect its economic interests in the region. CIA manuals used by