Mandiant Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mandiant Report - Essay Example The concern identified and highlighted by Madiant is critical to the future of the network industry. The activities of the perpetrators as indicated by Madiant are a threat to the security of various governments across the globe (Lambert, 2013). Why the report was written? Madiant report examines a number of issues; first, it identifies the cropping trends that threaten the network security. The network security is important because it helps in preserving useful information about an institution within a given country. Moreover, illegal acquisition of information is unacceptable across globe. Information laws tend to define the extent to which an institution can seek information or engage each other in acquiring certain information. Unfortunately, the APT1 the main perpetrator in this situation seems to be acquiring certain information from various institutions without the knowledge of these institutions. Second, the report explores cyber espionage campaign. The growing cyber espionag e campaign has reached a threatening level. The escalating cyber espionage by a specific perpetrator APT1 over others across the globe is alarming. In response to this observation Madiant wish to bring the attention of the whole world this unscrupulous group. Arguably, by presenting the report to the world, various governments would not only join hands in condemning the act, but would also loud initiatives aimed at creating cyber network environment where such practices do not find space. Lastly, the report is an insight about the escalating trends in the cyber network world. Although the world favors scientific activities, it does not welcome activities that seems to destroy the present gains. Cyber threat should attract condemnation across the globe because of various reasons such as breach of secrecy laws as well as threatening world peace (Lambert, 2013). The intrusion by the perpetrators may lead to leaks in security information, consequently, leading to security lapses. The ma in question that the report tends to answer is the owner of APT1. The question such as the intention of APT1 as well as who support their activity seems to form the premise of this report. Since the institutionalization of Madiant, it has conducted numerous researches about various cyber espionage, however, the trends of APT1 has been suspicious. The fact that the group has continued to attack various cyber network and still security information tends to suggest that the institution has some hidden objectives. Madiant report is condemnation of cyber espionage activities of China or groups believed to be receiving funding from the Chinese government. Madiant views cyber espionage as a threat peaceful coexistence between countries. Cyber networks run by various institutions especially governmental institutions contain information about a country’s affair (Carr, 2013). This seems to suggest that hacking such information contributes to leakage and exposure of such information to unauthorized identities. The suspicions of Madiant stems from the fact that the host country of APT1 does not show any support towards curtailing the activities of this group. If the Chinese government were not an interested party to the cyber espionage, it would take an initiative towards curtailing the missions of this group. Another suspicion of Madiant is the fact that APT1 trends are similar to those attributed to Chinese department of defense (US

Why does Britain want Turkey in the EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Why does Britain want Turkey in the EU - Essay Example The acceptance of Turkey as a member state of EU is a difficult decision mostly because the risk involved is high. More specifically, the country has proved the last years that significant efforts are made towards the improvement of the social and political condition both in the internal and the external environment; however, the standards set by the EU have not been met still. In order to develop its economy in accordance with the Western standards, Turkey introduced a privatisation programme which ‘has included the sale of a number of key state assets. As for UK, the possibly entrance of Turkey in EU could have significant benefits especially in the commercial sector. Possibly gains in political and military sectors could be also exist but only if the intervention of military in the country’s politics is limited. The final decision belongs to European leaders who will formulate their decision in accordance with the completion of the terms set to Turkey regarding its entrance in the EU. In case that Turkey will not follow the guidelines of EU (as presented also through the paper of the Commission of the European Communities published in 2006, section 2 above) then its entrance in EU is very likely to be postponed again in the next enlargement. For reason Turkish investment in the UK is also growing,the support of UK towards the success of bid of Turkey for the membership should be expected to continue for quite a long.

Importance Of Customer Service And Quality Control Tourism Essay

Importance Of Customer Service And Quality Control Tourism Essay Customer service and quality control is the most important part for the hotel business industry. The value of excellence in customer service will be acknowledge by this hotel. This hotels management will be introducing quality in customer service. The proposed hotel concept will definitely meet the customer satisfaction and will have satisfied customer. To ensure and keep the quality expected by now days customer, there is two aspects of quality in general with particular attention, design quality and the quality of conformity with design. The design quality is a concept implying the presentation of service directed to the needs of customer and hotel can satisfy customers demands. Our hotel will do market research in order to determine who their customers, and which of their demands require special attention. The quality of conformity with the design completes the first aspect because it represents the level to which service meets the demands of the market. The quality represents the satisfaction of the customers needs and in order to achieve it and keep it in time, we not only need a continuous research into the demands of the customers but also of our own capabilities. Such an approach would ensure the pursuing of constant improvements according to the demands of customer. Service concept This hotel will apply different method to improve their customer service . The delivery of service in this Hotel is dynamic and interactive in process based on the customers perspectives that is much more than trade of payment for a specific service. These features of this Hotel services are heterogeneity, perishabilty and simultaneity that always demand customers to be involved actively in supporting this established service value, through getting their own food in the buffet are, collaboratively working with the service staff and cooperating with the hotel management. There had been a volume of strategies applied by the hotel in order to evaluate the feedbacks of the customers about the service quality. From the implementation of information technology, market researches and some global businesses that puts excellent quality into customer service in order to achieve positive results (Ford et al, 1998). This Hotel will be aspiring to add its values to make the hotel a great place to relax and do business. The hotels core value is We achieve, cope, and exceed our consumers expectations. We will have the commitment for excellence and will provide the highest standards of fairness and integrity. We value the ideas, culture and diversity of people (BHA, 2002). While the advantages of the customer service quality have been recognized already, it is valuable to focus on the customer service quality which is dependent on the seminars, quality of trainings of a firm that experiences on the stages of exerted collaborative efforts. We respect the value and dignity of our customers as we develop our communities through motivating innovation, change and accountability. As we search for growth and knowledge by training. Guest Satisfaction Satisfaction of a customer is a business philosophy which tends to the creation of value for customers and demonstrating ability and responsibility to satisfy their needs. Quality of service and customer satisfaction are critical factors for success of any business (Gronoos, 1990; Parasuraman et al., 1988). As Valdani (2009) points out: enterprises exist because they have a customer to serve. The key to achieve sustainable advantage lies in delivering high quality service that results in satisfied customers (Shemwellet al, 1998). Quality of service and satisfaction of a customer are key factors to obtain competitive advantage and keep good relationship with customer. For management team of a hotel Nowadays one of the biggest challenges in the hotel industry is to provide and support customer satisfaction. Quality products and service is main requirements for customer in the hotel industry. The starting point of business is customer satisfaction. customers higher commitment and increase their return rate depends in positive relationships with the customer. Long-term and reciprocally advantageous relationships between customers and the hotel is becoming progressively important because of the highly positive correlation between guests overall satisfaction levels and the probability of their return to the same hotel (Choi Chu, 2001). management thinks that the hotels employee relations are good they will deliver satisfactory service to the guests. Hotel is dedicated to organize the pace for the hotel industry, increasing the bar on how it develops. Established according to diversity, the firm states that is the core values of the company in order to make an environment to make customers happy. It blends and mines the skills of its staff all over the world and takes care of their hotel guests. It is a commitment that starts at the top management, but also contributes to the tasks of each staff Our staff will do everything to ensure that you leave our hotel happy, so if there is a complaint, it is addressed with the utmost of haste. If your complaint remains unresolved or you leave disappointed, any one of our staff can invoke the 100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee. This means that you will not have to pay for your room or the service in question. Our staff will do everything to ensure that you leave our hotel happy, so if there is a complaint, our customer service team will handle the complaint as soon as possible. If customers complaint remains unresolved or customer leave disappointed, any of our staff can solve the problem ,This means that you will not have to pay for your room or the service .To keep you coming back time and again, we strive to provide an exceptional service level at all times. This is our promise to youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ or your money back. Location The hotel will be located in heart of Birmingham where the close attractions include Bullring shopping centre, Birmingham royal ballet, Alexandra Theatre, Sea life centre and international convention centre. Main reason for booking a hotel room in a culturally established in western country and any hotel located to numerous sightseeing places and attractive visiting sites is a fast-look(Nadeau and Ryan, 2010, p-444). The guest can make the most out of their day, in this Hotel in Birmingham. The guest can go back to the hotel after spending the entire day with colleagues, family and friends, have a slumber party, have fun the comfortable amenities of the hotel. The basic hotel feature will be the city centre location that will be nearby Bull Ring wonderfully located hotel in the second largest city of England in Birmingham.. The hotel location will be very convenient for all the guests and visitors due to the short walking distance towards various attractive locations including the Na tional Sea Life Centre, National Indoor Arena, Colmorow Business District and International Convention Centre. Other entertainment, shopping and dining venues will also be closely available such as the Mailbox and Bullring. Additionally, the hotel location will also be convenient for traveling due to Birmingham International Airport around twenty minutes drive and Train Station that are closest to hotel with five-minute walk. Front office The guest services and front office are the most important part of a Hotel. As the representatives for the service keepers and experience if the main keys to their guest drivers satisfaction, these two departments are crucial to the continual efficiency of the brands, company and hotels in general. The guest services and front office provide the consistent guest relation, with the most miscellaneous operating experience in this Hotel in Birmingham. The guest service and front office are related avidly to service quality and the much information that establish comforting and warm memories to the entire visit of the guests. They make sure that their guests are comfortable while far from home; even if they are there for leisure, travel of business (Hannan and Freeman, 2000). The Front Office Department will have: Reception Guest Service Offices Bell Services Reservation Operators Executive Club Health and Recreation Centre and Business Centre. Our hotel will provide guest assistance with luggage, transportation etc.The reason of the Front Office Department is to provide guests assistance with luggage, transportation, information concerning the hotel and the city, and any other service arrangements needed during their stay. Staff of the Front Office Department often provides the first and last impression of the hotel to our guests. It is therefore vitally important that employees display a prompt and courteous attitude to all guests and demonstrate the excellence in service. Manager of the front office who will come under the direct supervision of the Director of Rooms and supervises the Front Office Department. Hospitality, warm welcome is very essential. Management team in front office will provide first and last impression. They will try to have longest contact with guest, Long term service, recognition of repeat guests, remember names, guest histories. Staff will be trained how to upselling or suggestive sell to a customer(eg. Suggest deluxe or suites). Housekeeping concept in hotel This hotel will be experiencing in housekeeping operation in the hospitality industry and effectively managing the housekeeping function and staff. The management team of the hotel will develop procedures, service standards and operational policies, planning and implementing effective control. Excellent relationship building and vendor negotiation skills and will provide soft skills training for all levels of manpower and managing large teams and motivate the team members which will meet the customer satisfaction. Core member of the team will involve in the planning and setting up of housekeeping department at this five star hotel and spa and relationship with team members to create a harmonized work environment and eye for detail combined with skills to plan and implement novel ideas that increases customer satisfaction. Most of the hotel have this problem, Pillow Cases Off, She et Off Bed or dirty, Lift Mattress Foot, Lift Mattress Head, unclean toilet , tiles, not been vacuum, unclean carpet, unclean bath,sower , not stoked up, unclean curtain etc. In our hotel in Birmingham we will make sure all the staff been trained properly about hospitality , service, deal with complains, customer needs and the above issue, we will try our best not to happen the above issue in our hotel Bedroom concept As a five star hotel will have luxury bedrooms and bedroom service. Normally hotel rooms are divided into six types: one bed room, two double bed room, two bed executive room, king bed room, king bed executive room, and suite in order to meet customers satisfaction this hotel will have 28m by 2 spacious rooms that features the signature of their brands with the ceiling is about three meters highs, ultra comfortable bed and oversized pillows as well as the roomy bath amenities and walk-in showers made by Bliss Spa. Each room is equipped with supplementary wifi Internet and a plug and play connectivity, which links most computer devices to the 42 inches LCD TV, turning the guest room into a high technology office as well as entertainment room. Quality Control Quality control is the case of failure of many hospitality organization. Quality control is relatively easy to manage. In our hotel we will make sure quality is gone be on top of the range. the importance of the effective management of the delivery of quality service is becoming more evident throughout all aspects of the service sector and especially in the hospitality industry. The quality of service in hotel industry is an important factor of successful business. Existing trend of complete quality management in hotel industry ensures the achievement of competitive advantage of hotel companies. Similarly, the Ritz-Carlton hotel company, the recognized leader of the quality movement in the hotel industry, employs gold standards(their credo, motto, and basics) to communicate their commitment to quality service. Express Laundry Most probably in our hotel average guests stays at a hotel around two days, which makes getting laundry done a complicated matter. But our hotel will have Express Laundry. All shirts, blouses, socks, underwear, pants and other pieces of clothing, handed in before 8 p.m. will be returned fresh and clean that same evening. Check in and checkout This hotel will have a excellent check in system in place for the guest. The front office receptionist answer telephone and make reservation for the guest and will check the internet about reservation information . They also take messages and distribute mail both to guests and employees of the hotel. There is a special discount for the online customer so we encouraged our customer to book online. We will have a system to check out guest without causing any problem. Checkout procedures are essential for maintaining and growing our customer base that as the final impression that our customer will have of our hotel. We will ensure that our front office staff makes the most of this opportunity by developing a checklist for your checkout. This is one of way to meet customers satisfaction, keep customers loyalty. In our hotel there will a express check in and checkout system, so customer dont have to wait for check in or checkout in the front counter. Even with our improved departure process with Satellite Reception desks, some guests cannot spare the time to check-out in the morning. For our guests in a rush we offer Express Check-Out to save valuable time and ensure an efficient and accurate check-out, by offering the options of sending invoice by email, mail or a quick pick-up at the reception desk Bar service We will have bar area for the customer and there will be a restaurant in the same floor with open kitchen so customer can see directly how we take care of our customers food. We will have a live music show for our customer in every weekend and drinks for our customers and also open to public. We will have A large screen led TV on the other side of lobby. Sometimes, customers can watch football match whilst enjoying meal. High speed internet access This hotel will be providing high speed internet connection and hotel will have this following facilities:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª High-Speed Internet connection in the entire building including the common areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª Automatically assigns IP address via DHCP (Dynamically Host Control Protocol).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª Always-on Internet no dialup just plug in and start to browse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª Each room is on its own Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) connection thus protecting your data from other users.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª Public internet protocol address assignment for VPN access.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª Firewall protection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª 24 hour support service for technical assistance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢- ª No additional software required to connect. Conclusion As the customer service quality is affected by different elements such as hotel management and staffs , in the case of this Hotel, it will be obvious that solely the training is not enough for excellent service quality (Ford et al, 1998). . The dedication to adaptability and leadership of the management on change are also valuable to service quality The possibility and feasibility of establishment of a new contemporary hotel in Birmingham will be successful. This new concept of the hotel is designed and planned with the new planning and designing in order to make the guests stay very comfortable with confidante and with satisfaction. This hotel in Birmingham Will be giving sufficient power to effectively contribute customer satisfaction.

Internet and Technology :: essays research papers

Opportunities and Challenges of the Internet In a world of light-speed data transmission, any individual with little training and expertise can make a fortune from the Internet. Many companies, like E-bay or Amazon.com, thrive from business done only through Internet transactions. As computer technology progresses, data transmission becomes faster, and as high level encryption becomes available for public use, the amount of Internet consumers also grows. Technology advances also allow employees to work from home faster and safer. A manager's first challenge is to create a presence on the web. With a phone line, computer, and HyperText Markup Language (HTML) authoring tools, a business can advertise or do business over the Internet. HTML authoring tools can be freeware, like Sausage Software's Hot Dog, or advanced and expensive utilities like Microsoft Front Page. Any computer user familiar with a word processor can effectively use these applications with minimal training. Putting the HTML and graphic files on an Internet service provider's (ISP) servers is sufficient for relatively low traffic sites. Some online businesses, like Amazon.com, handle hundreds of thousands of people, or hits, everyday. They require specialized hardware and cabling to control the vast amount of traffic on there site per day. A manager's second challenge is to make the business's web site visible on the Internet. The first step in this process would be registering a domain name. Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique number attached to it called an IP address. To simplify finding specific computers on the 'Net, the numbers where substituted with alias called domain names. The names come in two levels, before and after the dot. Fees are generally a $70 startup cost then $35 per year to hold the license of the name. Network Solutions Inc. is the official registrar of domain names. Individuals in the past have registered company names, like Coca-Cola, to themselves and th en sold the domain license to the company for thousands of dollars. There are currently more than four million domain names registered with Network Solutions. Domain name registration is not required but makes your site much easier to find. Another way to make your site visible is to register certain keywords with the most popular search engines like Yahoo! and Alta Vista. Keywords are a small number of words that describe your site and business. These are the words web surfers will most likely type in to find your page.

Punishment or Treatment: What are our prisons for? Essay

INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today, we always hear news about crimes being committed by many people. Moreover, those people who commit crimes tend to offend again their previous criminal acts.   The repeating of doing such criminal act is known as recidivism. Specifically, recidivism is the term used when someone, who after receiving a punishment or negative consequences of the criminal behavior, repeat his or her criminal behavior. Due to the alarming increase in recidivism cases, policy makers in a given country try to find out what will be the best option or solution that will help in decreasing the number of criminal cases and one of their options is the implementation of punishment or what they call deterrence and the other method is rehabilitation. Deterrence had been a hot issue regarding on its ethical background and most especially its effectiveness in counterattacking recidivism. Many said that it is not effective in its sole purpose. They added that there are other ways to prevent an individual in committing crime again other than forcing those individual to be punished by law. But there were studies that concluded deterrence to be an effective tool in decreasing crime rate among crime violators whether the deterrence is specific or general. The most popular form of deterrence is imprisonment. Imprisonment brings fright to those possible committers. And this limits them to do crime again because deterrence brings bad experience to those who were found to have committed crime. OBJECTIVE The main audiences of this paper are the policy makers that are concerned on recidivism issues. Lawmakers will make certain policy that will guide these offenders and will treat them offenders. The said audience is not limited only to policy makers but also to those people like parole and rehabilitation officers who assess and guides these criminal committers in their probation program. This paper will try to analyze recidivism occurrence. This paper will have a deep analysis on the reasons why people tend to commit again their previous criminal behavior given that they were already given the right treatment and appropriate consequences to extinguish that behavior. The paper will not only tackle recidivism but also take a look on the current situation on the policies and actions given to those people who commit criminal acts again. Potential intervention to reduce the risk of recidivism will be one of the focuses of this paper. The effectiveness of the current actions will be emphasized as it will serve as a guide to the people who handle this kind of issue. The paper will compare deterrence and rehabilitation as the two most popular solutions and actions when dealing with recidivism. Is longer deterrence and rehabilitation will lead to minimize recidivism or will just increase the repeating of undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior? The paper will try to answer all these questions to enlighten and give knowledge to the proposed reader of this paper. III. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Recidivism and Deterrence In legal terms, deterrence and recidivism are two common terms used. These two terms have many meaning and it depends on the field that the two terms were utilized. Recidivism is the act of returning to the offense that was previously committed. It is the repetition or habitual committing on crimes. The word originated from the Latin word recidÄ «vus which means recurring. The said term is usually used in criminology. An example of recidivism case is when a sexual offender person who after release from prison does again sexual harassment. Recidivism does not only include sexual harassment but also other form of criminal acts. Recidivism rate has been a major problem of different countries and solution to the increasing rate on recidivism is being done (Maltz, 2007). Recidivism Theories After discussing recidivism, the next topic to talk about is the theories behind recidivism. The theories that will explain the occurrence of recidivism are: Anomie, Differential Association Theory, Deviance theory, Labeling theory, Rational Choice theory, Social Control theory, Strain theory, Subcultural theory and Symbolic Interactionism (Clarke & Felson, 1993). Anomie pertains to the condition malaise or depression of an individual. Depression is the result of minimal guidance set by the governing and ruling body of a country. It is the lack of rules and regulation, standards and values that hinder criminal behavior. When the term anomie is applied in a government, it means social unrest or turmoil. The term anomie is synonymous on normlessness. It means that a person in a society will react against from the social norms which are guided by the set of rules and standards of a given society. Anomie focuses on the social issues rather than on the individual reason why there are such incidences of recidivism. This theory emphasize that the society has big responsibility in molding and guiding every citizen in the right path. On the other hand, Differential Association theory is almost synonymous to anomie. The said theory was developed by Edwin Sutherland. According to Sutherland, differential association can be seen when a person is being affected by the people around him. That person learns the values of the values, attitudes and behavior of the people around him to do criminal behavior. Thus the society around an individual has big impact on the possible recidivism (Clarke & Felson, 1993). Deviant behavior is also a possible answer why people tend to engage in repeating criminal acts. When a person displays deviant behavior, he is more likely to commit crimes. He does not know nor follow rules in a given society (Clarke & Felson, 1993). Labeling theory is another aspect to look in understanding recidivism. In this theory, the person’s deviant behavior is being affected by the people around him because these people try to categorize or label him as a person with abnormal behavior. The society dictates and classifies a person which can include the deviant behavior (Clarke & Felson, 1993). Looking on the psychological aspect of a person with recidivism case, he or she may have some problem that cannot be resolved easily. Thus, his brain may not function well. That person will try to commit undesirable acts like crime. This is the main point of rational choice theory, in which the person weighs means and ends and makes rational decisions (Clarke & Felson, 1993). Another theory that has relation to deviant behavior is the Social Control theory. The theory hypothesizes that deviant behavior if a person is a result of the dissatisfaction in a society. The person will break laws as a sign of grief. On the other hand, the Subcultural theory states that within a society, there is a group of person that has natural deviant behavior. If these people meet together, then they will find comfort with each other because they have the same feeling when doing deviant acts (Clarke & Felson, 1993). And the last theory will be the Strain theory. In criminology, the strain theory states that social structures within society may encourage citizens to commit crime. When the structure of the society inhibits the needs of a person, there is a big possibility that this person will commit unnecessary behavior like crimes (Clarke & Felson, 1993).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the past few years, the recidivism rate in the United States had a significant increase. Given the figure below, we can see that between 3 years, the number of recidivism in the country in 1994 within the 15 states had increased to 70% which is higher than the year 1983 which had a record of 60%.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Office of Justice Program, OPJ of the United Stares, 67.5% of prisoners released in 1994 were rearrested within 3 years, an increase over the 62.5% found for those released in 1983. The figure also shows that, all the crime categories had a relevant increase from 1983 to 1994. The property offenders, drug offenders and public-order offenders had increased from 68.1% to 73.8%, 50.4% to 66.7% and 54.6% to 62.2% respectively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, OPJ emphasized that in the year 1994, recidivism rate within 3 years was estimated to be 51.8% of prisoners released during the year were back in prison for the reason of a committing fresh crime for which they received another prison sentence, or because they were not able to follow the regulations of their parole. Figure 1. Recidivism rate in 1983 and 1994 Deterrence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For this paper, two topics regarding on the correctional methods will be focused and these are deterrence and parole and probation. These two methods differ with each other in terms of the process and principle being employed. The former believes that correctional means can be attained and achieved when punishment or negative consequence is applied in the crime committer while the former consider the rehabilitation and education of prisoners. Another term which has relation on recidivism is deterrence. Deterrence is the act of providing necessary punishment on those who commit crime. The degree of the punishment depends also on the degree of the crime that was committed (Maltz, 2007). There are two forms of deterrence, the specific and the general. The former describes deterrence as punishment given only to the individual who committed the crime while the latter describe deterrence as punishment on the general audience. Specific deterrence is also known as individual deterrence. The general deterrence focuses on general prevention of crime by making examples of specific deviants. The individual actor is not the focus of the attempt at behavioral change, but rather receives punishment in public view in order to deter other individuals from deviance in the future. Deterrence as a major tool in lessening recidivism rate gained many criticisms about its effectiveness. Many said that deterrence, whether it is specific or general, is not effective in decreasing the crime rate in the country. Some studies regarding on the effectiveness of deterrence found that violators are not afraid on the punishment, but rather they are more afraid on the act of caught. Usually, the offenders are the drug and alcohol abusers. This result was supported on the findings on areas where surveillance cameras were introduced. Possible violators were afraid to be caught from the surveillance cameras thus lowering the rate of crime cases. General deterrence has also been heavily criticized for relying on publicity of heavy punishments; it has been described as â€Å"the least effective and least fair principle of sentencing†. Other countries like the Great Britain believe on rehabilitation procedure rather than deterrence. Deterrence Theory But why deterrence is still being implemented in many criminal procedures? To answer this question, it is better to examine the principle behind the use of punishment to eradicate crimes. In behavioral psychology, deterrence is theory on introducing punishment for those who violated the law. Today, United States is adopting and implementing this practice in their criminal justice procedure. The principle behind the use of an iron hand for those who committed crime is that, the violator will be afraid when introduced to punishment and will refrain from doing it again. Deterrence: Effective or not? This paper will try to analyze the effectiveness if deterrence in minimizing the crime rate or the recidivism among countries. Also, the two types of deterrence, specific and general will be examined. There were many studies were conducted to address the problem in the rise of recidivism. Part of the studies was the implementation of punishment among the violators. The studies analyze procedure on the implementation as well the effectiveness of the said procedures. According to the study that was made by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, punishment among violators on individuals who are apprehended for driving under the alcohol influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated (DWI), or related offenses such as driving after suspension for a DUI and violation of zero tolerance laws found that giving them a sanction is effective in doing the said crimes again. As a matter of fact, many policy makers use punishment to control the rise of crimes on their countries. They developed laws that will hinder in doing offense or any unlawful act. People are afraid on the punishment like going to jail. The principle behind the use of any kind of punishment is the inculcation or realization of the bad experiences from punishment (Henry, 2003). Specific deterrence has a positive effect on the decrease in the rate of crime cases. An individual will think again if he or she will do the crime again after the individual had a bad experience of the punishment he or she received earlier. This will make the potential offender afraid on the possible sanction he may incur and will also produce doubt in doing the crime again (Martin & Ellis, 1998). General deterrence also produce a positive effect in relation to the lessening the crime rate in a given place. People will have an idea on the proposed sentence or penalty. The most popular example of general deterrence is going to jail. The media will broadcast the bad condition of a person in a jail. According to studies, jail imprisonment is more effective as a general deterrent, but it appears to be no more effective as a specific deterrent for reducing DUI recidivism than other sanctions, and it is far more costly (Martin & Ellis, 1998). Another form of deterrence is the administrative license suspension or any other criminal records that will be a problem is any job employment. When a person committed a crime, he or she will have criminal record and when this person will apply for a job, the company he or she is applying will need a criminal clearance, if in United States, an FBI clearance. When the person applying for the job had a criminal record, the company will hesitate to employ the said individual. This form of deterrence had created an impact in the reduction of recidivism (Martin & Ellis, 1998). To strengthen the argument on the effectiveness of deterrence when it comes to the elimination of recidivism, another study was conducted to determine the effect of the length of imprisonment to the number of law violations.   According to Weinrath and Gartrell (2001), they concluded that sentence length exerted consistent deterrent effects on repeat drunk driving, even for chronic offenders. While in a shorter jail imprisonment, the offenders that will be imprisoned at shorter time were more likely to repeat their habitual crime commitment. This finding will strengthen the evidence on the argument that deterrence is an effective tool in lessening the crime rate in a given place ( Weinrath and Gartrell, 2001). Moreover, longer deterrence has positive impact in lessening recidivism rate. Another classification of deterrence is the severity and strictness. According to Henry (2003), mild punishment tends to have positive effects on decreasing recidivism while those severe consequences produce negative effects. Psychological research on punishment in has shown that mild punishment can be effective in changing behavior and is dependent on the frequency, immediacy application and with positive reinforcement of pro-social behavior. On the other hand, severe punishment will only lead to avoidance or escape, alienation of those punished, and aggressiveness. Parole and Rehabilitation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many possible causes why recidivism is present in our society. One is the problem in their family. When the parents of the family are not around in their home or a broken family, these are possible factors. The most prone to commit recidivism that is results on the minimal parental guidance are the youth or juvenile. The juveniles are not being monitored on their activities. This kind of family structure is not good for a child because juveniles has a low self control especially when encountering serious problem like family problems, they tend to break and to escape to the problem, they break the laws and norms of the society. In this period, they are engage in drinking alcohol and drug abusing. There will come a time when they will repeat the crime they had committed before.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Problems in their schooling are other factors that contribute to the increase in juvenile recidivism cases. If a child experience failing grades or does not do well in class, the child will find a way to escape on their problems and this may lead to juvenile delinquency activities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another major cause of recidivism among is the social factor. This can be explained when a person experienced racial discrimination, sexual harassment, abandonment, physical abuse and neglect. The society may dictate what an innocent person can do. If a person is surrounded by criminal incidences, that person may be influenced by these wrong doings. This is somewhat related to peer to peer relation. If group of people has engaged in wrong doing like alcohol drinking, drug abusing, the innocent person may be influenced. (Roberts, 2000)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because of the alarming news and impact of recidivism in the society, the government of United States made a program to lessen the impacts and cases of reoffending of criminal acts in the society. Lawmakers made a response to these issues. They made laws and policies that will eliminate recidivism cases in the society. Children who commits the case were been rehabilitate in a rehabilitation center to put in to realization the crime they had committed and how to escape from the disorder of their behaviors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Parole and probation are both part of the rehabilitation program made by lawmakers. Dressler (1959) defined parole as the release of the delinquent outside the rehabilitation center under supervision of a parole officer. The offender had undergone rehabilitation in a correctional center. The word parole was in the French language is defined as promise and in dictionary context it is word of honor. The release is conditional and the behavior of the delinquent is being monitored. While probation is the release of the delinquent to the community in which he can rehabilitate his behavior better. Like parole, the offender’s behavior is being monitored by the probation officer. The word probation comes from the Latin language meaning a period of supervision and guidance. Probation in church term means the period were a person is seeking in the entrance to the church.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a rehabilitation center, probation is a treatment where the offender will have the chance to have socialized in a community. Probation and parole programs are being handled by the court members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The delinquent under parole program had stayed in the rehabilitation center. Both parole and probation programs are made to change the behavioral problems of the offenders. They believe that rehabilitation can be made better to the offenders if they stay in a community than staying in prison. In the parole program, offenders are given the second chance to change their behaviors, as well in the probation program. The offenders tend to learn their lesson after they undergone in this two programs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Torbet (1996) said that probation or parole program on recidivism cases has been overwhelming dispositional decision of court judges. Almost half of the recidivism cases were made to probation or parole program. Torbet said also that probation is the roughest sanction that the offender can received. At the end of 80’s decade, Whitehead and Lab (1989) made a meta analysis on the effects of probation or parole treatment on the behavior of the juvenile delinquent and concluded that probation programs lessen the recidivism of the offender.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1992, Lipsey released another meta analysis study regarding on probation or parole programs. The result also showed that recidivism was lessening on juvenile delinquent when probation is granted to them than those in comparison group. In 1998, Lipsey together with Wilson conducted another Meta analysis study on the effects of serious juvenile delinquent cases to probation program. The result also showed that probation lessens the cases in recidivism. The results also suggest that there are many variations on how the probation program is being worked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some studies had been conducted to determine the effects of the duration of probation programs to recidivism. Wooldredge in 1998 found that the longer the time of probation the greater are the incidence of recidivism. Longer duration made the offenders to have impatience and disrespect on the probation officers. Wooldredge concluded that two years of supervision is the ideal duration for a probation program.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another study was conducted by Sontheimer and Goodstein (1993) to find out how intensive probation aftercare programs lessen the occurrence of offending using random assignment. And the result showed that it does not lessen the occurrence that the offender will commit again juvenile crime. Parole and Probation; Effective or not?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Effective response on recidivism cases is a key to minimize the occurrence of the said cases.   Effective intervention on the possible causes of recidivism cases and the proper management to the offenders is the first step in reducing the reoffending of crime cases.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Studies show that effective intervention reduce the recidivism rate. The effective intervention has a significant effect on recidivism rate. It made a 6% reduction from the previous cases. (Lipsey, 1992)    References: Clarke, R. V. and M. Felson   (1993). Advances in Criminological Theory, Vol 5. New   Ã‚   Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. Dressler, D. (1959). Practice and Theory of Probation and Parole. Henry, S. (2003). On the Effectiveness of Prison as Punishment [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 15, 2008, from http://www.is.wayne.edu/stuarthenry/Effectiveness_of_Punishment.htm Lipsey, M. W. (1992). Juvenile delinquency treatment:Ameta-analytic inquiry into the ariabilityof effects.: New York: RussellSage Foundation. Maltz, M. D. Recidivism. (2007). [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 15, 2008, from http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/forr/pdf/crimjust/recidivism.pdf Martin, S. E., & Ellis, E. (1998). EFFECTIVENESS OF STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING DUI RECIDIVISM [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 15, 2008, from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-99-023.html Roberts, C. H. (2000). Juvenile Delinquency: Cause and Effect. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, II. Sontheimer, H., &Goodstein, L. (1993). An evaluation of juvenile intensive aftercare probation: Aftercare versus system response effects. Justice Quarterly,. Torbet, P. M. (1996). Juvenile probation: The workhorse of the juvenile justice system. Washington Weinrath, M., & Gartrell, J. (2001). Specific Deterrence and Sentence Length. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Vol. 17(2, 105-122 ). Whitehead, J. T., &Lab, S.P. (1989). Ameta-analysis of juvenile correctional treatment. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Wooldredge, J. D. (1988). Differentiating the effects of juvenile court sentences on eliminating recidivism. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.

Interview of Music Teacher on the Importance of Music Programs

I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of interviewing Ms. ABC, Elementary School Music Teacher at ABC School. This interview is a true testament to the challenges educator’s face in today’s music classrooms. Music teachers are faced with diverse classrooms filled with children who have different learning styles and varying ability levels; therefore, certain issues will arise relative to the diversity. I am extremely grateful to Ms. Liza Smith for supporting me with this interview.Why is music important? When educational cuts are made, music and art are amongst the first subjects to go. Unfortunately, it means that parents, educators and even board members are overlooking each subject`s importance. Music education is more than just introducing students to beats, notes and songs. Instead, it completely transforms a child`s mind and opens up endless possibilities to their learning potential. Why is music education important? Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let's not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it! † Is music learning underrated? Music is something with affects the mind, body and spirit, but yet its importance is often underrated, especially when it comes to the educational benefits of which there are many.With the ability to influence behavior, social skills, sensitivity and general achievement, music can have positive effects on many aspects of life. In children, music education is important as it promotes a desire to persevere and succeed, as well as having a whole range of other benefits. There is some evidence to suggest that through involvement with music, children have the opportunity to fine-tune their listening skills and consequently their comprehension. Both skills can b e applied to other academic subjects and can help students with problem-solving and concentration.Music uses both sides of the brain, so any participation will enhance learning and challenge the mind. Should Music and the Arts be used to teach other academic subjects? While studies show positive influences in other academic areas, music and the Fine Arts are an academic discipline that are, as the other academics, an independent way of learning and knowing. Reading, writing, and mathematics are important and all students should be successful in those areas, however none of those academic areas justify their existence on the basis of what is accomplished for another area. Each academic discipline is important for a well-rounded curriculum.Music and Fine Arts are an academic area of study equal to reading, writing, mathematics and science. Should the study of Music and the Fine Arts be available to all students? Where music and Fine Arts programs have been eliminated because of fundin g difficulties, students have been deprived of a significant opportunity of learning and knowing about the world around them. All students should be able to â€Å"elect† to study music and the Fine Arts in depth at the secondary level. All students should have the opportunity to study music at the elementary level in a systematic, meaningful way.If music and the Fine Arts are reserved for only wealthy schools or communities, a cultural â€Å"elite† will be created, which also creates a significant distinction of social class. Music and the Fine Arts should not only be available to those children of wealthy parents who can purchase private tutors or subsidize public schools with donations to sustain public school programs, but also to students of average or low socio-economic areas. How should Music and the Fine Arts fit into the educational curriculum? The school curriculum should be designed to deliver more than a minimal education to students.Music and Art should be taught at every elementary school in a regular and systematic way. Music and all Fine Arts should be considered â€Å"academic electives† in secondary schools and available to all students on a multi-year basis to allow adequate time for skills to develop sufficiently for informed decisions about college programs and career choices. All academic electives, including Music and Fine Arts, should count towards entrance requirements in colleges and universities. All students graduating from public schools should have received at least one credit in Fine Arts.All colleges and universities should require one Fine Arts credit for admission. In closing it is my belief that we as music educators, must take the lead in sharing this information with the people that can make the difference in the future; school boards, administrators, parents, and legislative representatives. We must advocate for the arts. It is vital that we become proactive in our support of the arts. By reviewing the studies involving music we have found that participation in school music has a positive impact on areas considered outside the realm of music.As more people become aware of the research in this area, we should see increased enrollments in arts classes. The use if the arts throughout the curriculum, as a tool for better learning is an area that will expand. With dropout rates being so high, educators need to combine resources and to use the tools available for a more effective method of education. I feel that the arts will play a major roll in the future success of the education system. Don't stand on the sidelines and watch the profession dwindle away. Get involved and help it grow.

Essay on Hist Part B Plan

Essay on Hist Part B Plan Essay on Hist Part B Plan history plan b plan TURNING POINT 1789. "[It is necessary to] reduce, if not destroy, the tendency of Jewish people to practice a very great number of activities that are harmful to civilisation and to public order in society in all the countries of the world. It is necessary to stop the harm by preventing it; to prevent it it is necessary to change the Jews. [...] Once part of their youth will take its place in our armies, they will cease to have Jewish interests and sentiments; their interests and sentiments will be French." this shows how he wanted nationality to become forthright to religion making antisemitism effectively impossible as it implys that the jews are not a race. TURNING POINT 1808 jews emancipated as a religious group- stems from the declaration of man and citizen 1840 damascus affair. 2 jews blamed for muder of a friar and his assistant, beleved to have stole his blood. point to the fact how officals so ready beleved the rumours and supustition escalating into torture and the kidnaping of children to be held at ransom so their mothers would "tell them the hideing place of the blood" mention how the jews where used so easly as a scapegoat by figures of autority and how barbaric efforts people used to pursicute them ironicly using monsterus methods they would accosiate with jews TURNING POINT 1892 Panama scandal could be argued that this stems from the belef that the jews are controlling the world as "puppeterrs" thus inciting violence towards the jews would seam logical. its could be seen as a cause towards the creation of The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion TURNING POINT 1903 The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion sparked huge levels of violence against jews for example assassins of German Jewish politician Walter Rathenau (1867–1922) were convinced that Rathenau was a literal "Elder of Zion". showing how rumours where to be belived without rational thought. link back to the damascus affair 1903–1906 this could also be the cause a wave of pogroms in russia"The anti-Jewish riots in Kishinev, Bessarabia [modern Moldova], are worse than the censor will permit to publish. There was a well laid-out plan for the general massacre of Jews on the day following the Orthodox Easter. The mob was led by priests, and the general cry, "Kill the Jews," was taken up all over the city. The Jews were taken wholly unaware and were slaughtered like sheep. The dead number 120 [Note: the actual number of dead was 47–48[10]] and the injured about 500. The scenes of horror attending this massacre are beyond description . Babies were literally torn to pieces by the frenzied and bloodthirsty mob. The local police made no attempt to check the reign of terror. At sunset the streets were piled

Brunelleschis dome and the Greek Pantheon

Brunelleschis dome and the Greek Pantheon Free Online Research Papers Although Brunelleschi never duplicated classical features, he borrowed ideas from the ancient ruins and incorporated them into the desighn of his dome† (1). When a revival of classical styles became popular, new edifices in the classical style were built alongside or added to buildings of older styles. This is how the renaissance revived the classical past. The Ancient Greek Pantheon has a long history and has undergone extensive damage and restoration. The Greek Pantheon is divided into two distinct architectural sections, having height and diameter of equal dimensions. At the top of the dome is an opening, through this opening is the only way external light may enter. The Ancient Greek Pantheon used heavier material at the bottom and lighter materials at the top, this produced a self-buttressing system. The dome of the Ancient Greek Pantheon was heavy and was made out of solid concrete. It is the largest non reinforced concrete dome. The gothic masons that worked on the Ancient Greek Pantheon â€Å"built with pointed arches to create vaults that were reinforced with ribs† (2). Also during the time when the Ancient Greek Pantheon was constructed the masons used tall granite columns. This type of column was used in a lot of classical styles. In looking at the measurements of the ancient greek pantheon the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube. Also the height of the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same. These things show that ancient roman units of measurement are used, and almost certainly had symbolic meaning, â€Å"either numerical, geometric, or lunar† (3). The symbols here show the peoples worshipping of a higher power. The cathedrals 44 windows also have a symbolic meaning. The construction of the dome on top of the cathedral of Florence marks the begining of Renaissance architecture. The cathedral of Florence was built over many years as well. Filippo Brunelleschi traveled to Rome to study the classical construction of arches and columns, and incorporated his findings in his studies into the dome on top of the cathedral of Florence. In the mass sacristy the chamber has inlaid wood panels by Florentine masters of the 15th. Century. The artists used linear perspective that was invented in the early 1400s. Brunelleschi’s dome was 45 meters wide, and was originally made out of wood. The usual way to build arches or domes in these times was to use scaffolding. Brunelleschi made the decision to build his dome without scaffolding, in a way that it would support itself similar to the Pantheon. Even today 600 years after it was built the dome is still the tallest building in Florence. In conclusion you can see the same type of construction methods in both the pantheon and the dome. Such as the way both structures were built to be self supporting. Both structures are meant to be places of worship and have very specific measurements and symbols of worship and of a higher power. The pantheon and the dome are built on land that is raised higher than the land around it and both structures have stairs leading to them. The pantheon holds the record for the largest non reinforced concrete dome and the dome of Brunelleschi is the tallest building in Florence to this day. As you can see a lot of the quality’s and ideas of the classical style is apparent in the dome and the dome was the mark of the start of the renaissance. We could admire the pantheon for all its wonder and history and for the time that it was constructed, we can admire the dome for its new outlook on the classical style either way we stand back in awe. Research Papers on Brunelleschi's dome and the Greek PantheonMind TravelCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThree Concepts of PsychodynamicRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Changing Parental Participation in a Primary School

RESEARCH PROPOSAL . 2010 AN ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL In Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Masters in Teaching University of Fiji LECTURER: ASS. PROF. MR. KENNETH NOBIN HEAD OF DEPARTMENT EDUCATION THE UNIVERSITY OF FIJI SAWENI, LAUTOKA. ‘You never come in an isolated way; you always come with pieces of the world attached to you’. (Malaguzzi, 1994) NAVEEN KUMAR (ID: S100150) EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 AB S T R AC T Participatory action research will be conducted to determine whether or not teacherinitiated, regular communication with parents makes an impact on parents’ participation in school activities, helping children show effectiveness towards teaching and learning outcomes. The goal of me as a teacher researcher is to communicate in native language about school activities and diminish the ‘barrier’ that limits the teacher parent interaction. The feeling of much poor participation towards Gandhi Bhawan Primary School has been the poor communication. The purpose is to better the line of communication between home and school. This study will focus on Class 8 students and their parents employing instrumental qualitative research tools that are home visits (interviews), class meetings (focus group) and case study. The challenge is to provide an atmosphere that is user friendly and if parents were struggling with how to best support in school activities they could feel free to contact me. It is my belief that positive and consistent communication between home and school is important for student transitioning into adulthood. However, the challenges and possibilities faced in the core of the research will be discussed further after its implementation. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 2 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 T AB L E O F CO N TE N TS 1. 0 Abstract Background of the Problem 1. 1 Personal Motivation 1. 2 Need for Study 1. Description of Community 1. 4 Description of Work Setting 1. 5 Researcher’s Role Purpose of Study 2. 1 Purpose 2. 2 Aim 2. 3 Research Question Theoretical Framework 3. 1 Defining Parental Involvement 3. 2 Why Parental Involvement 3. 3 Frequency of Parent-Teacher Interaction 3. 4 Type of Parent Involvement 3. 4. 1 Parent in Involvement Process 3. 4. 1. 1 Parent as Audience 3. 4. 1. 2 Parent as Volunteer 3. 4. 1. 3 Parent as Paraprofessional 3. 4. 1. 4 Parent as a teacher of own child 3. 4. 1. 5 Teacher as Decision Maker 3. Significance of Parental Participation 3. 6 Barriers to Parental Involvement 3. 6. 1 Socio economic background 3. 6. 2 Language 3. 6. 3 Parent Literacy 3. 6. 4 Literacy 3. 6. 5 Family Structure 3. 6. 6 Working Parents 3. 6. 7 Teacher Attitude 3. 6. 8 Parents The Possibilities 3. 7 Research Design 4. 1 Rationale 4. 2 Study Design 4. 3 Data Collection 4. 4 Data Analysis 4. 5 Delimitation 4. 6 Participants Research Timeframe Proposed Thesis Structure Significance / Expected Outcome of Study Reference Appendices Page No. 4 4 4 5 6 7 8 8 8 9 10 10 11 13 14 17 17 17 18 18 18 20 23 23 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 29 30 30 31 32 33 34 34 35 36 38 39 41 2. 0 3. 0 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 8. 0 9. 0 _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 1. 0 B AC K G R O UND O F P RO B LE M 1 . 1 Personal Motivation The social and educational cont ext of this research proposal is directed towards increasing parent-teacher-child interactions and changing parental participation towards educational requirements of the child. Very few of the parents of the students in my class participated in the school-related activities which I experienced at the first year of transfer to this school. The parental participation was very limited to report signing. As a new ‘recruit’ to this organisation, I anticipated for parental participation as compared to the previous school. The parental ‘touch’ which I felt at previous school was somehow missing in the current location. As such, the need for this study will ‘open the door’ to the community interaction. The action process will journey through the challenges and possibilities. While no single meeting is especially memorable, I have noted several recurring problems: (1) parents do not attend scheduled meetings; (2) parents appear to be unaware of the purpose of Community Parent Support (CAPS) working; (3) parents only ask questions; (4) parents ask others to make decisions on their behalf; (5) parents rarely refute statements made by educators; and (6) parents seldom ask for services. 1 . 2 Need for Study Rather to give perception on parental participation, the study is much needed in providing naturalistic approach to understand ‘real world setting’ where the phenomenon of interest unfolds naturally. Though the research does not compare between two different settings preferably rural and urban community however through personal experience as a teacher in both settings primarily differences can be identified. In addition, communication is a key to any relationship and so is the case with parents and teachers. The parent and the _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 teacher relationship are dynamic. Therefore, what one does affects the other, but in any educational community the most impacted is the child. As Class 8 is a transition point from primary school to high school, parental participation is a must to enable them better understand the reforms in education from 2011. Most parents are quite unfamiliar on its implementation of internal assessment and school zoning and requirements and through this research intervention; parents can be made more aware of their roles and responsibilities. However, internal assessment and school zoning can be taken account into another research finding. Parents need to be facilitated and challenged to ‘shift’ their thinking from ‘exams results’ to child-centred learning. Moreover, the absence of Parent Teacher Association was largely felt this year as ‘bulk’ of burden lies on our shoulders rather than having a shared responsibility. In a much more holistic term, parents are to be made aware to taking ‘ownership’ of the school in their community. 1. 3 Description of the Community The setting where the study will take place is urban community about 4 kilometres from Lautoka City and it largely consists of Indo-Fijian and Fijian ethnic groups. It is densely populated housing area adjacent to the Tavakubu Industrial Area. The residents range from low-income earners to moderate income earners. Public services (transport, health care) are easily accessible along with shops, religious centres, Public Park, and police post. In each household, at least a member is self employed, part time employee or full time employee. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 5 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 1. 4 Description of the Work Setting The Vision Statement of the school is; To provide wholesome holistic education in partnership with the community. The Mission Statement of the school is; To educate the students holistically to become directed, lifelong learners who can create a positive future for themselves, . the community and the nation. School Annual Plan (2010) The primary school where this research will be conducted is classified as follows: CLASS KINDERGARTEN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NUMBER OF STREAMS 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 The school in which research will be conducted is Gandhi Bhawan Primary School in Lautoka with 384 students enrolled as of 2010. Due to increasing number, plans for building extension are in the pipeline. See Appendix for School Location as in Home Zone Classification School Ethnic Classification. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 6 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 1. 5 Researcher’s Role I, as the teacher researcher graduated from Lautoka Teachers College in November, 2001. This is my ninth year as a teacher. Currently, teaching Class 8 and got posted to the school in Week 8, Term I 2010. First year, I taught in a remotely located rural school (Bulabula Indian School), seven years in another rural school (Teidamu Primary School) and a year in urban school (Arya Samaj Primary School). During this year, I have held responsibilities, as Athletics Coordinator, Quiz Coordinator, Scouts Leader and Coordinating School Based Programmes as delegated by the Head Teacher. Because of these activities, I was able to interact with few parents and the in many cases poor responds has ignited the quest to pursue with this study. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 7 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 2. 0 P UR POSE AN D AI M O F S T U D Y 2 . 1 Purpose The intended purpose of this study is examine how parental participation changes to school-related activities (such as reviving of Parent Teacher Association, attending to family support programs, volunteering and involving in general obligations at home includi ng school supplies, general support and supervision at home) through home visits, class meetings and family support programs. The strategies defining ways to change parental participation in this study to some extent runs parallel to the developed framework of defining six different types of parental involvement by Epstein (1995, p. 703). It also intends to help parents understand that the school desires their participation. Finally, by having parents involved in school-related activities, it is hoped that there will be lot of challenges. 2 . 2 Aim The present study aims; ? ? To see how parental participation to school activities change through processes of increased parent-teacher interactions. To identify the challenges and possibilities towards achieving increased parental participation. To achieve this twofold aim, the study will consider the extent to which parental involvement is maximized in relation to school related activities. The study will involve qualitative case study of naturally occurring events during parentteacher and parent-teacher-child interactions at a primary school environment in Fiji. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 8 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 2 . 3 Research Question The compelling issue guiding this case study mirrors in some respects to Greenwood Hickman’s (1991, p. 279) idea of six types of parental involvement: (1) Parent as a volunteer What do parents contribute towards the success of school events? (2) Parent as an audience How well do parents meet the basic obligations at home? (3) Parent as decision maker How does PTA participate in decision making about schools program and activities? (4) Parent as a learner How do the parents value the family support programs? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 9 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 3. 0 T HE RE OTI C AL F R AME WO R K 3. 1 Defining Parental Involvement â€Å"Parent involvement† and â€Å"parent participation† are nebulous terms because there is an array of parent behaviors that these could include. As Carol Ascher (1986, p. 109) has stated, â€Å"Of all education issues, parent involvement is one of the vaguest and most shifting in its meanings. Parent involvement may easily mean quite different things to different people†. To define parent involvement more operationally, Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler, and Brissie (1987) theorized a two-way breakdown into home-based activities (e. g. , parent home tutoring) and school based parent involvement activities (e. g. , parent volunteering, attendance at parent-teacher conferences). Adding to this distinction, Ascher (1988) finds that â€Å"the meaning of parent involvement in this new era [the 1980’s] has shifted from the affairs of the school to the home site. † (p. 120). In his journal, Smith (n. d, p. 44) discusses parental involvement relating to Lareau (1987) as an integration of home and school. He continues to define it as a practice that encourages parents to participate in the life of the school, as well as attend to the learning of their children at home with respect to the work of Epstein, Sanders, Simon, Salinas, Jansorn, Van Voorhis, 2002. He elaborated that many educators believe that creating a community of families, students, teachers, and school administrators provides additional support for children’s learning. Furthermore, evidence suggests that academic success may be predicted by the quality of these connections (Booth Dunn, 1996. The work of Comer and Haynes (1991), Epstein (1995), and other researchers’ points out that family, school, and community are three major interrelated spheres of influence on a child’s life. They are parts of a larger whole that can either work toward academic success or, conversely, can impede progress. Because they are part of a larger whole, these spheres are themselves influenced by societal factors, such a s cultural values and economic conditions. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 10 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 The following figure shows how the three components interrelate. It is based on the concepts of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) and their subsequent adaptation by James Garbarino (1992). As discussed by Onikarna, Harnmond Koki. the inner most core is the individual child. The child has face-to-face interactions with those most influential in his or her life, including parents, other family members, teachers and church members. There are also important interactions between home and school, school and community, and community and home. These are strongly influential in the life of a child, depending on the frequency and quality of the interconnections. Negative or conflicting relationships may place a child at risk in all three settings. 3. 2 Why Parental Involvement In an article titled, â€Å"Listening to Parents’ Voices: Participatory Action Research in the school† by Christine Ditrano, the author stated, â€Å"Family-school collaboration is an approach that virtually everyone supports but few know to implement successfully. † School and parents will need to assess the best avenues to take in maintaining a positive, consistent interaction between the two entities. Gandhi Bhawan Primary School took some steps to improve parent interaction in Term 2 when Community Parent Support Workshop (CAPS) was held. Teachers were located their classrooms to discuss with parents on the pertaining issues. As suggested by Ditrano (n. d, p. 7) an open parent-teacher conference night can be held where parents can move freely from one teacher-to-teacher. As responded by parents in this situation that this was first time they had seen their child’s teacher in four years (Ditrano n. d, p. 8), a totally opposite _____________________________________________________________________________________ 1 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 had been responded by teachers at Gandhi Bhawan Primary School, some parents hardly turn up to school activities. Besides, the ideas presented in the article supports it is vital for schools and parents to develop a community of learners to best serve their students. Ideas for teachers to support parent al involvement include keeping parents informed and call home immediately when academic problems appears; send home a newsletter telling parents of class activities and deadlines; and give parents valuable study ips (McDonald, 2007. ) Though McDonalds above perspective is quite influential in parental participation, however, the study will look into home visits as to get face-to-face contact with the parent so that first hand information is sought. In their article, Avvisati, Besbas Guyon (2010, p. 3) states, â€Å"we review about levels, determinants and effects of parental involvement in school, and what we could learn from the current wave of reforms. † They tend to elaborate further on parental involvement being instrumental to student achievement. It is quite remarkable how they discussed on the influences that make parents get involved. These influences include parents’ understanding of their roles in the child’s life, parents’ sense of efficacy for helping their child succeed in school and general invitations, demands and opportunities for parental involvement by both the child and the child’s school. These arguments were also milestone to developing the current research questions. â€Å"Parental involvement practices also vary with the child characteristics† Avvisati et al. (2010, p. 3) explains on study by Muller (1998) in his data from the US National Educational Longitudinal Study showed that parents are involved slightly differently in their sons’ and daughter’s school life, in ways which are consistent with the general literature on gendered education. That is, parents are more nurturing and restrictive towards their daughters but may discipline their sons more. During h ome visits, class meeting, this trend be argued further as agreeable or disagreeable from personal observation, reflection and interactions. However, to Ostby (2010) at the launch of the Millennium Development Goals Second Report 1990-2009 for Fiji Islands revealed that Fiji has succeeded in achieving gender equality in primary and secondary school _____________________________________________________________________________________ 12 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 enrolments but is lagging behind in empowering women in decision making and professional jobs. Besides these impact of gender of parental participation can be taken as separate piece of study with detailed findings. One of studies that have assessed the relationship between parental involvement and school performance longitudinally was by (Izzo, Weissberg, Kasprow and Fendrich 1999, p. 387). This research is greatest contribution to current study as it provided additional evidence that parental involvement is worth pursuing and may actually yield measurable improvements in children’s school functioning. They later recommended on experimental and quasi-experimental studies in order to move from basic research about school-family collaboration to assessing their impact directly on children’s school performance. . 3 Frequency of Parent-Teacher Interactions A significant study that examined the ways in which parental involvement in children’s education changes over time and how it relates to children’s social and academic functioning in school was carried out by Charles V. Izzo, Roger P. Weissberg, Wesley J. Kasprow and Michael Fendrich in Chicago. For the purpose of this study teachers provided information on parental involvement and school performance for 1,205 urban, kindergarten through third grade children for 3 consecutive years. As predicted and results suggested the frequency of parent-teacher contacts, quality of parent-teacher interactions, and parent participation at school declined from Years 1 to 3. While discussing their research, Izzo et al (1999, p. 833) explained that the study explored three important issues regarding school-family partnerships: current practices of parental involvement in children’s education, changes in parental involvement over time, and the relationship between parental involvement and children’s later school performance. They also found partial support for their hypothesis that parental involvement declines over time. There were small, but significant declines in the number of parent-teacher contacts and parents’ participation in school activities. Declines were also found for quality of parent-teacher interactions. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 13 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 As related to current study parental participation needs to be increased in relation to school activities. The frequency of parent-teacher interaction at the school concerned will also be outcome to reflect upon. Though the research will look into a particular class involving 26 parents, the frequency at which this interaction changes will be a matter of concern. 3. 4 Type of Parental Involvement Some researchers’ views on types of Parental Involvement include; ? Although most parents do not know how to help their children with their education, with guidance and support, they may become increasingly involved in home learning activities and find themselves with opportunities to teach, to be models for and to guide their children. (Roberts, 1992) ? When schools encourage children to practice reading at home with parents, the children make significant gains in reading achievement compared to those who only practice at school. (Tizard, Schofield Hewison, 1982) ? Parents, who read to their children, have books available, take trips, guide TV watching, and provide stimulating experiences contribute to student achievement. (Sattes, n. d) According to Henderson (1983), families whose children are doing well in school exhibits the following characteristics. ? Establish a daily family routine. Provide time and a quiet place to study, assigning responsibility for household chores, being firm about bedtime and having dinner together. ? Monitor out-of-school activities. Setting limits on TV watching, checking up on children when parents are not home, arranging for after-school activities and supervised care. ? Model the value of learning, self-discipline, and hard work. Communicating through questioning and conversation, demonstrating that achievement comes from working hard. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 14 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 ? Express high but realistic expectations for achievement. Setting goals and standards that are appropriate for children’s age and maturity, recognizing and encouraging special talents, informing friends and families about successes. ? Encourage children’s development/progress in school. Maintaining a warm and supportive home, showing interest in children’s progress at school, helping with homework, discussing the value of good education and possible career options, staying in touch with teachers and school staff. Encourage reading, writing, and discussion among family members. Reading, listening to children read and talking about what is being read. Existing programmes to better teacher-parent-child interaction can be classified along a variety of dimensions and differ in many ways from each other. An influential classification distinguishes programmes according to the type of involvement that schools try to foster. Avvisati, Besbas and Guyon (2010, p. 14) refers to Joyce. L. Epstein’s (1991) as a frequently cited scholar in this area distinguished six types of involvement from parents. Epstein’s Six Types of Parent Involvement Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins University has developed a framework for defining six different types of parent involvement. This framework assists educators in developing school and family partnership programs. â€Å"There are many reasons for developing school, family, and community partnerships,† she writes. â€Å"The main reason to create such partnerships is to help all youngsters succeed in school and in later life. † Epstein’s framework defines the six types of involvement and lists sample practices or activities to describe the involvement more fully. Her work also describes the challenges inherent in fostering each type of parent involvement as well as the expected results of implementing them for students, parents, and teachers. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 15 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement Type I Parenting Help all families establish home environments to support children as students. E. g. Family support programs to assist families with health, nutrition, and other services. Type II Design effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school Communicating communications about school programs and children’s progress. Such as conferences with every parent at least once year. Language translators to assist families as needed. Type III Volunteering Recruit and organize parent help and support. Such as school and classroom volunteer program to help teachers, administrators, students, and other parents. Parent room or family center for volunteer work, meetings, and resources for families. Provide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning. Such include Information on homework policies and how to monitor and discuss schoolwork at home. Involvement in school decision-making, governance and advocacy. Includes active PTA/PTO or other parent organizations, advisory councils, or committees for parent leadership and participation. Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development. Such as Information for students and families on community health, cultural, recreational, social support, and other programs/services. Type IV Learning at Home Type V Decision Making Type VI Collaborating with community Izzo et al. (1999, p. 817) also rated the following four dimensions of parental involvement: frequency of parent-teacher contact, quality of the parent-teacher interaction, participation in educational activities at home, and participation in school activities. In addition, these distinguished participation mirrors in some respects to teacher’s role, particularly in the primary school, interacting with 6 types of parental involvement: (1) parent as audience, (2) parent as volunteer, (3) parent as paraprofessional, (4) parent as teacher of own child, (5) parent as learner and (6) parent as decision maker. Greenwood, G and Hickman, K (1991, p. 279). By developing awareness of the levels _____________________________________________________________________________________ 16 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 of family involvement, schools can let family members know that there are many different ways in which they can participate in the education of their children. 3. 4. 1 Parent in ‘Involvement’ Process The subtitles later follow integrated educationists view on different types of parental involvement as discussed earlier in detail. 3. 4. 1. 1 Parent as audience As Chavkin (1993, p. 76) defines, â€Å"parent as audience supports child by going to school performances, open houses and so on. † The parent as supporter of child’s activities gets involved. Active parents may be more likely to have active children because they encourage that behavior through the use of support systems and opportunities for physical activity, but there is no statistical evidence that a child is active simply because they see that their parents exercise,† said Trost. (2010). Activities that may see parent as audience annual functions, school athletics and sports and other school based competitive or participatory events. 3. 4. 1. 2 Parent as volunteer School-program supporter can be involved by parents coming to school to ssist in events. Volunteering in school enables to contribute towards progress and development of the school and its pupils and this brings happiness and satisfaction. Brinton, B. (1991) in an article ‘Parents’ Source’ shared reflected on her experience as parent volunteer. Her duties varied according to the needs and styles of the teacher. Assistance were in forms of supervising art projects, signing out homework books, running off copies, and working one on one with students who might need a little extra help with a certain subject. As for qualifications for parent volunteers, the NEA recommended that parents enjoy working with children, have an interest in education and the community, feel committed to the goals of parent involvement, have the desire to help, and are dependable and in good health. Based on her observations, she also recommend that a parent volunteer be flexible, and expect the unexpected. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 17 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Parents can volunteer in our local schools through organizing and arrangements for religious festivals, fund raising drives, school development projects, school outings and assist in meeting educational meets of extremely needy students in class. 3. 4. 1. 3 Parent as paraprofessional Paraprofessionals have many different roles, duties and responsibilities, and expectations that often vary among individuals who work as the same school. Paraprofessionals provide aides and support to teachers in classrooms and colleges. Even without being lead teachers, paraprofessionals work responsibly assisting head of departments and senior teachers. In the recent years, owing to stress and pressure on teachers in schools and colleges, paraprofessionals have been recruited to provide assistance in variety of educational set ups. As discussed by Hankerson (1983, p. 75), this development incorporated many concepts: (1) new careers, (2) growth of educational technology, (3) cultural assimilation and diversity, (4) team teaching, (5) personal improvement of teacher aides, (6) parents as partners, and (7) home and school focus on achievement. The research findings on teacher aides and parent involvement in early childhood and elementary school programs showed that with this additional support, children make significant cognitive gains. In his ‘The Urban Review’ he summed up relating to the work action theorists (Mead, 1934; Brookover, 1959; Smith, 1978; Smith and Brache, 1963) have postulated that, â€Å"the child’s motivation and achievement performances are influenced by his/her primary interactions with parents and ‘significant others’. Smith defines â€Å"significant other† as persons (such as teachers, teacher aides, community members) other than natural parents who are important to the individual. Thus, with parents serving as teachers aides, both motivating factors are met. 3. 4. 1. 4 Parent as a Teacher of Own Child Homework can be an effective way for students to improve their learning and for parents to communicate their appreciation of schooling. In the article, No Child Left _____________________________________________________________________________________ 18 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Behind Report 2003 states that, â€Å"research shows that if a child is having difficulty with homework, parents should become involved by paying close attention. † Furthermore, it argues that parents’ interference in learning can confuse child such as completing tasks that the child is capable of completing along. Peterson (1989) states, â€Å"children spend much more time at home than at school. Their parents know them intimately, interact with them one-to-one, and do not expect to be paid to help their children succeed. The home environment, more familiar and less structured than the classroom, offers what Dorothy Rich (1985) calls â€Å"‘teachable moments’ that teachers can only dream about. † 3. 4. 1. 5 Parent as Decision Maker This fifth type of parental involvement as explained by Epstein (n. d) stated that parents’ voices must be heard when it comes to decision making at the school. This enables families to participate in decisions about the school’s programs and activities that will impact their own and other children’s educational experiences. All parents must be given opportunities to offer ideas and suggestions on ways to improve their schools. Having families as true stakeholders in the school creates feelings of ownership of the school’s programs and activities. Sample Activities Examples of activities schools could conduct to promote decision making include, but are not limited to:




Encouraging parents to attend school improvement team meetings. Assigning staff members to help parents address concerns or complaints. Inviting staff and parent groups to meet collaboratively, providing space and time to do so. Helping families advocate for each other. Involving parents in: o planning orientation programs for new families, o developing parenting skills programs, and o hiring staff members. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 19 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 This current research on ‘Changing parental participation in a primary school in Fiji’ will give critical insight into ‘Parent as volunteer’, ‘Parent as an audience’, Parent as a decision maker’, and ‘Parent as a learner. Epstein’s (1995) and Greenwood Hickman’s (1991) distinguished parental involvement will be well challenged in the sense the settings and time factor being a variable. As related to current education system in Fiji what impact it has and doors of possibilities can be looked into. Engaging as a reflective practitioner will be very vital tool to analyse and discuss the researc h findings. 3. 5 Significance of the Parental Participation Constructive interactions as recommended earlier in Izzo et al findings is well supported by the article, ‘Parents and Learning’ by Dr. Sam Redding who is the president of Academic Development Institute. Dr. Redding’s article (n. d. p. 7-27) under each chapter is summarized as following; ? ? ? Identifiable patterns of family life contribute to a child’s ability to learn in school. Children benefit from parent / child relationship that is verbally rich and emotionally supportive. Children do the best in school when parents provide predictable boundaries for their lives, encourage productive use of time, and provide learning experiences as a regular part of family life. ? ? Parents set standards for their children, and these standards determine what children view as important. Students learn best when homework is assigned regularly, graded, returned promptly and used primarily to rehearse material first presented by the teacher at school. ? ? Children benefit from communication between their parents and their teachers that flows in both directions. Parental involvement includes parents’ involvement with their own children, involvement with parents of other children, and involvement with their children’s school. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 20 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 ? Programmes to teach parents to enhance the home environment in ways that benefit their children’s learning take a variety of forms and may produce substantial outcomes. ? ? Because families vary in their relationship to schools, schools must use different strategies to engage all families in the learning lives of their children. When the families of children in a school associate with one another, social capita is increased, children are watched over by a large number of caring adults, and parents share standards, norms and the experiences of child-rearing. On the same context, Dr. Redding’s integrates and states a commonly accepted typology into categories as it was discussed by Joyce. L Epstein’s (1991) distinguished types. As mentioned earlier, this current research will focus on these types. Dr. Redding (n. d. p. 18-19) provides a selection of communication examples between school and homes. These include parent-teacher-student conferences, report cards, school newsletter, happy-grams (complementing students for specific achievement and behaviour), open day parent / teacher conferences, parent bulletin board, home links from classroom and assignment notebooks. Dr. Redding’s principles as discussed herein needs to be assessed with reference to local conditions and adapted accordingly. Leaping into local context, parental participation in school management in most countries, including Fiji, generally lies between consultation/pseudo-participation and involvement / partial participation levels. This is mainly because the statutory power in most schools lies largely with school heads and they determine the types of parental participation in their schools as viewed by Dr. Sharma (n. d. p. 60). Furthermore, Sharma (n. d. p. 61) noted, The Fiji school curriculum is based on the centre-periphery model, and it is designed largely to secure the passing of external examinations. It is inevitable that in such a system of education, preparation of examination becomes the preoccupation of pupils, teachers and parents. As a result, there is little concern for parental participation in school management and curriculum development because of the fear of not completing the syllabuses. ______________________________________________________________________________ _______ 21 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 However, the shift from exam oriented curriculum to internal assessment as of 2011 which also marks the new era in Education System in Fiji by introducing 12 year basic education (as circulated through EDU Gazette, Term 1, 2010) calls for great challenges and possibilities on teachers and parents role. This current study on parental participation at Class Level will integrate the shift to assessment procedures and implications. The research shall address on this issue also. In addition to this, Sharma (n. d. p. 70) concluded that the parental participation is central to democracy, strengths parents-autonomy and welfare of child. He also emphasized that parent involvement in management helps improve pupils’ learning environment and prepares them for a democratic society. In addition another challenging issue raised by Koki Lee (1998) argued on perceived value of parental involvement in the Pacific. According to their perspective as Education Program Specialists discussed a fundamental barrier to increasing family involvement in the Pacific education is that it is not closely aligned with Pacific cultures. They pointed out that attending school functions is of considerably less social value than holding titles and receiving public recognition and that participation in school activities does not carry as much credence as attendance at a village feast, where participation is expected. It also compares private and public schools in view point that parents who pay tuition for private education assume greater responsibility for their children’s education and play more active role. Because public schooling is not an inherent part of the traditional culture, many parents now see themselves as outsiders, rather than as significant stakeholders in the school. The challenging question posed at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning centre was, â€Å"Is there a Pacific way of involving parents in their children’s education? † This question was investigated the uestion by surveying Pacific educators in order to develop parental involvement profile and identify promising practices. Three successful practices identified were Hawaii Parent-Community Networking Centre (PCNC) Program, Belau Family School Community Association (BFSCA) and Chuuk Teacher, Child, Parent and Community (TCPC) Project. _________________________________________________________ ____________________________ 22 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Applicable observable facts though with different names were discussed based on the three successful practices. PCNCDeveloped a sense of community in and among the home, classroom, school. and neighbourhood, so that supportive networks of personal development and student academic achievement and performance are created and nurtured. The program followed a four-phase sequence. BFSCARepresented a partnership among individuals and organisations – school, families, community, and students – in order to improve education and the quality of life for future generations of Palauns. The association worked to assertive parenting skills, and make parents comfortable in reinforcing school policies at home. TCPC The project demonstrated a strategy often overlooked by Pacific schools in parental involvement – first involve traditional leaders, and get their support. Then parental involvement in schools will become a reality. Koki Lee (1998) recommended the intent of their paper was not be exhaustive, but rather to feature promising practices and a successful mean in bringing parents and schools together. They advised on adapting it to other areas of Pacific in order to increase parent’s involvement in education. 3. 6 Barriers to Parental Involvement in Schools 3. 6. 1 Socioeconomic status Socioeconomic status has been recognized as an nfluential factor concerning parental involvement. â€Å"The Coleman (1966) report, which stated that the best predictor of student achievement is the socioeconomic status of the parents, led to a flurry of investigations on student achievement† (Bulach, et al. , 1995) Muller(1991), in Schneider and Coleman, (1993) stated that several researchers have found that parent qualities typically associated with socioeconomic status are positively related to parental involvement. For example, Lareau (1987) found that upper middle class parents were _____________________________________________________________________________________ 23 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 typically engaged in school activities and influential in school decision, while working class parents took on a more supportive role with respect to their involvement with their children’s school. As a result of his personal experiences, reading, and research, Motsinger (1990) asserted that â€Å"the developers of Teacher Expectation Student Achievement (TESA) workshops found that teachers do tend to give high achieving students more attention than those who lag behind† (p. 5). Underachieving children feel disliked by the instructor. Parents then feel, â€Å"it is because we are poor (p. ). † and resentment grows. According to Brantliner and Guskin (1987), some low income parents feel schools discourage their involvement and view them as the problem, and they believe that stereotypes of poor parents as inadequate care givers and uninterested in their children’s education persist among educators . Although low income families may feel unneeded or unable to be involved with their children’s school, Henderson (1988) states that children of low income families benefit the most when parents are involved in the schools and parents do not have to be well educated to make a difference. . 6. 2 Cultural background The cultural background affects the relationship between home and school. As cited in Rudnitski (1992), Litwak and Meyer (1974) found that â€Å"parents from racial, ethnic and cultural minorities, especially those of low socioeconomic status, tend to feel less affinity for the school than those in the mainstream middle class† (p. 15). This shows that schools in the United States have different values than those of the family as well as inability to communicate with culturally diverse families effectively. Also in Rudnitski (1992), Liontos (1991) writes that: Low income, culturally different parents have traditionally been marginalized through an inability to communicate with schools and through the inflexibility of the school as an institution. This tradition has fostered the feelings of inadequacy, failure, and poor self-worth which are cited as reasons for low participation of parents from marginalized groups (p. 15). _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 It is proven in this research that these traditions of ineffective communication and cultural differences are the factors that prevent parents from becoming involved in their children’s education. 3. 6. 3 Language A language barrier happens when a lack of English proficiency prevents communication between immigrant families and the school system. Ascher’s (1988) work discussed the language barrier that affec ts Asian/Pacific American parents. Since English is not the native language of this group, parents think their language skills are so poor that they cannot be useful as participants in assisting their child in school. â€Å"Involving parents from any background is no easy task and in light of cultural and language differences, linguistic minority parents present a special challenge† (Constantino, et al. , 1995, p. 19). In a study by Zelazo (1995) it was found that more English than Spanish speaking parents are involved at the school site as volunteers and in attending school meetings. Parents whose English proficiency is limited may find it difficult or intimidating to communicate with school staff or to help in school activities without bilingual support in the school or community† (Violand-Sanchez, 1993, p. 20). Lack of language skills became an intimidating factor when parents and schools could not communicate effectively. 3. 6. 4 Parent literacy Students cannot expect parental support in their home sc hooling when their parents are not literate. As stated by Liu (1996), â€Å"Students’ academic performance at school is closely related to the family literacy environment and their parents’ educational levels† (p. 20). Children need families that can provide literacy rich environments that often foster readers in the school (Edwards, 1995). Unfortunately, not all students can have literacy rich environment at home because many parents did not receive an adequate education and therefore are unable to provide academic support for their children. This issue is severe with many parents whose English proficiency and education level is low (Liu, 1996). Parents who dropped out of school needed to support the family or care for _____________________________________________________________________________________ 25 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 siblings. Limited schooling impaired parental help on homework beyond the primary level. A compound problem exists when the dominant language in the home conflicts with assignments in English (Finders and Lewis, 1994). If parents are not literate, they cannot assist their children with school work at home. 3. 6. Family structure These days, the changing structure of the family affects parental involvement and student achievement. According to Lee (1991) the structure of the American family has undergone significant changes over the past thirty years, and as a result of this, it is clear that many children experience multiple family compositions resulting from the transitory nature of the modern family. Students who have complete families may have problems that e ffect parental involvement, but according to Motsinger (1990), â€Å"having two parents will give a student a 200% better chance at success in school. This does not mean that students who do not have two parents cannot succeed, but they have a more difficult time or have to struggle harder to succeed. 3. 6. 6 Working parents I found that working parents can still participate in parental involvement programs, but it is harder than those who do not have a job. Unfortunately, many parents hold down two or three jobs in order to cope with economic realities, and quite frequently work schedules prevent these parents from attending meetings and other events at the school (Onikama, 1998). According to King(1990), â€Å"in the United States, more than half of the women with children under six years of age are in the labor force† (Onikama, 1998, p. 21). How can educators effectively involve working parents in children’s education, especially in families where both parents are working, is a major issue today. As stated by Onikama (1998), working class parents want their children to do well, but tend to give educational responsibility to the teacher. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 26 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 3. 6. 7 Teacher attitudes Teacher attitudes can be one of the barriers in parental involvement. According to the State of Iowa Department of Education (1996), â€Å"School staff interest may vary in terms of commitment to family involvement, and may generate mixed messages to parents† (Onikama, 1998, p. 2). Many schools believe that classroom learning is best left to the professors. They also argue that involving parents is a time consuming â€Å"luxury† that places yet another burden on already overworked teachers and principals (Henderson, 1988). These worries make parents feel that the teachers don’t want them around, which drops off the level of parental involvement. 3. 6. 8 Parents When discussing parental involvement, the most commonly appearing-word will be â€Å"parents†. Before introducing parental participation strategies, it is necessary to define the meaning of â€Å"parents†. As Lockette (1999) mentions, â€Å"When we use the term Lunts (2003) includes parents, ‘parents’ involvement, we need to remember that ‘parent’ can also mean other adults who play an important role in a child’s life† (p. 1). uardians, stepparents, siblings, members of extended family, and any other adults who might carry the primary responsibilities for a child’s health, development and education into the meaning of â€Å"parents†. In the article by Bal and Goc (1999), they indicate that: Numerous methods to increase parent involvement have been suggested. Such strategi es include increasing communication between teacher and parents, involving parents with limited English proficiency, providing information regarding how parents can enhance learning at home, and encouraging parental academic engagement at home (p. 7). In spite of this fact, many teachers still show their concerns about the lack of parental involvement at schools and its negative effects on students’ academic performances on grades. Parents are also dissatisfied that they are not well informed about their students’ behaviors or test grades conducted in the classroom and admit that they are not actively involved in these school activities and it affects on their own students’ _____________________________________________________________________________________ 7 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 performance. Knowing about the most state-of-the-art strategies of parental involvement and taking them into practical actions are essential no t only for parents and their students but also for everybody who is involved in education such as teachers, educators, practitioners, and community. Onikarna et al in a promising article based on ‘A synthesis of Research for Pacific Educators,’ stated specific barriers to effective family involvement dentified by case studies and these included; ? Lack of time — Many parents hold down two or three jobs in order to cope with economic realities. Work schedules prevent these parents from attending meetings and other events at the school. ? Language barrier — Lack of English proficiency often hampers communication between immigrant families. Cultural differences — Differences in cultural values affect family involvement. In some cultures, family involvement at school is valued; in others, its priority is lower. ? ? English as a second language — In immigrant families as well as among the local population, lack of English proficiency often makes it difficult for parents to read with their children at home. ? Student attitude — Students, especially at the secondary level, may not welcome their parents’ presence at the school and may discourage their parents’ participation in school activities. Other researchers that identified some barriers to family involvement in education across all cultures and groups are cited as below; ? Families may lack the means to help their children learn and become socialized. They may not know how to approach schools in order to become involved (Mannan Blackwell, 1992). ? Schools may not know how to effectively encourage families to participate (Ortner, 1994). _____________________________________________________________________________________ 28 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER ? THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 School staff interest may vary in terms of commitment to family involvement, and may generate mixed messages to parents (State of Iowa Department of Education, 1996). Outreach procedures that are not sensitive to community values can hinder participation (Ortner, 1994). Changing school system policies may create instability in the area of soliciting family involvement (Mannan Blackwell, 1992). ? Events outside the home, school, and community are also important in a child’s life as emphasized by Onikarna et al. Examples include parents’ work obligations, s chool board priorities, recreational pursuits, and religious activities. A decision made by a school board might directly affect the school curriculum. If it conflicts with family values and beliefs, then the support a family gives to education might be decreased. As Pacific educators look at barriers to family involvement, they must acknowledge the complexities of home, school, and community interactions and realize that events at all levels can and do affect the lives of children, directly or indirectly. This article is quite remarkably summed up with the statement, ‘as barriers are overcome, school, home, and community can once again find common ground. They can be woven together, like pandanus mats, into a foundation that supports and fosters student learning. † 3. 7 The Possibilities There are many parents who want to become involved but do not know how to translate that desire into effective involvement. (Baker, 2000b; Eccles Harold,1993; Epstein Connors, 1992). They may feel they lack the skills to participate in such activities as school advisory councils or classroom volunteering (Greenwood Hickman). This is an unfortunate state of affairs given that it has been suggested that parent involvement programs will meet with limited success unless they address parental efficacy for helping their children succeed in school (Hoover-Dempsey Sandler, 1997). Teachers need to be informed of the importance of parental efficacy for involvement, and they need to have some understanding of communication and parent involvement strategies that will increase such efficacy. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 29 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Finally, yet more than thirty years before Ramirez’ research in 1999, the Plowden Report in1967stated: â€Å"What matters most are the attitudes of teachers to parents and parents to teachers whether there is genuine mutual respect, whether parents understand what the schools are doing for their individual children and teachers realize how dependent they are on parental support. † 4. 0 RESE AR C H DES IG N 4. 1 Rationale The approach of this research study is on changing parental participation to school activities. ‘School activities’ in this approach is defined as ocial, educational, physical and spiritual development through teaching and learning in collaboration with its stakeholders particularly the parents. The participation of parents, teachers and students makes it more of participatory in nature. As such, Participatory Action Research (PAR) or Action Research, as it is sometimes known, will be implemented for the action pu rpose. Lewin (1946), as a social psychologist, felt ‘that the best way to move people forward was to engage them in their own enquiries into their own lives’. The other difficult issue for PAR is the research end date. Unlike most other research methods, which tend to be timed undertakings with clear start and stop periods, the iterations of PAR continue until the problem is resolved. In addition, contextual findings will emerge after close observation, careful documentation, and thoughtful analysis of the research topic. This inquiry process will be more of qualitative research approach. Denzin and Lincoln (1994) defined qualitative research: Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials case study, personal experience, introspective, life story interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual textsthat describe routine and problematic moments and meaning in individuals’ lives. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 0 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 4. 2 Study Design The methods and strategies used in this research process need triangulation to maintain validity and reliability of research and findings. Mathison (1988, p. 13) elaborates this by saying: â€Å"Triangulation has risen an important methodological issue in naturalistic and qualitative approaches to evaluation [in order to] control bias a nd establishing valid propositions because traditional scientific techniques are incompatible with this alternate epistemology. The proposed methodology for this study is illustrated as follows: Action Research Methods Putting PAR into Place Home Visits Meetings Family Support Programs Strategies to Promote School/Home Interaction The iterative cycle of participatory action research Observation Observation Observation Cycle continues until issue is resolved or agreed by all parties Action Action Action ISSUE Initial Planning Reflection Informed Planning Reflection Informed Planning (Adapted from Wadsworth, 1998) _____________________________________________________________________________________ 1 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 4. 3 Data Collection In order to maximize validity of findings, the data collection process will involve:  · Data triangulation (Collecting accounts from different participants involved in the chosen setting, from different s tages in the activity of the setting and †¦ from different sites of the setting’, Tindall, 1994, p. 146) Participants in each case will be ? Children ? Teachers ? Parents  · Method triangulation (The use of different methods to collect information’, Tindall, 1994, p. 47) This will include; Naturalistic Observation – will entail the collection of field notes and will include a focus on the interactions occurring parent – teacher – children towards school activities. Digital photographs – will similarly focus on the interactions occurring between parents, teachers and children around notes and audio-recordings. Naturally occurring conversations with adults and children – These conversations are intended as those spontaneously occurring (unplanned and unstructured) between myself and adults and children. Selected conversations will focus on the experience and interpretation of documentation, and will be taped and transcribed in full. Interviews with children, other staff and parents – This semi-structured format is the most appropriate to ensure that significant questions posed by the study are addressed, while allowing for participants’ views and perspectives to be revealed through an open-ended documentation. facilitation of discussion. Interviews with both adults and children will occur in small groups, and will focus on uses and interpretations of the processes of collecting, observing, and interpreting documentation. Photos will be collected to supplement and extend field _____________________________________________________________________________________ 32 EDU 410: THE TEACHER AS RESEARCHER THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 2010 Researcher’s reflective journal – The reflexive journal will focus on recording my feelings, perspectives and experiences within the context, in order to assess how these may have influenced data collection and analysis. Case Study – a qualitative descriptive research approach that will look at parent participants using interviews, conversations and direct observations. Theoretical triangulation (The embracement of multi-theories, Tindall, 1994) The study is not locked in one theoretical tradition, but instead it develops and relates insights from: educational theory, research, and practice and developmental theory. In addition, the study interprets and integrates scholarly and practitioner theory, research and practice from the diverse sources. 4. 4 Data Anal ysis It is predicted that data will be divided into five subgroups according to its nature: 1. Sub-group 1 will include data from: observations and digital photographs. The data collected through these methods is considered to be closely related, due to its naturalistic essence and to the focus on processes of documentation (audiorecordings and photographs supplement field notes). 2. Sub-group 2 will include data from: naturally occurring conversations and interviews. The data collected through these methods is considered to be closely related, due to my own involvement in questioning and in facilitating discussion. 3. Sub-group 3 will include data from reflective journal. The data collected through this method is considered to be closely related, due to its narrative and ‘documentative’ nature. . Sub-group 4 will include data analyzed from questionnaires. The data will be derived from other staff members at the school. 5. Sub-group 5 Analyzing the case through the following steps; 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Defini