The houses that Charles built: The house as symbol in David Copperfield , Bleak House , and Great Expectations

Because of his work’s enduring quality, Dickens has been subjected to critical scrutiny. Slater examines Dickens’ women; Herst explores Dickens’ heroes; Thurley considers the myth in Dickens; Collins traces crime and education in Dickens. Each study adds a richer understanding of either his characters, his symbolism, or his craft. The research seems extensive, and it would appear that little remains to be said; however, after reading Bleak House the title suggested to me another area for future interpretation. To date, few have examined the Dickinson house in detail. Frances Armstrong considers Dickens’ concept of home, and Alice Van Buren Kelley concentrated on the houses in Bleak House. All excellent works, but they stopped short of thorough investigation of each house’s relationship with his occupants. I believe that Dickens utilized the house, and its variants, as outward manifestations of his characters

The implementation of a school-wide anti-bullying program

A safe and civil environment in school is necessary in order for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Conversely, harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, disrupts both a student\u27s ability to learn and a school\u27s ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Students learn by example, therefore, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers are encouraged and commended for demonstrating appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and for refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation or bullying. Through on-site research and review of current literature, I was interested in finding out students\u27 perceptions about bullying. The thesis was designed to share data resulting from a student survey on harassment and bullying. Data was collected and reviewed from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students at Middle Township Middle School in Cape May Court House, NJ. In addition, part of my thesis focuses on our school implementation of the state mandated policy on bullying and harassment

A Process Model of Children\u27s Savings Indirect Effects on College Progress

In addition to direct effects that accompany owning savings, asset researchers hypothesize that savings also has indirect effects. However, theory and research on the psychological effects of assets are in their early stages of development. One promising area of theoretical and research inquiry is the study of college expectations as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between assets and children’s educational outcomes. However, little theory has been developed about how assets may influence college expectations. a recent study uses Identity-Based Motivation (IBM) theory to explain the indirect effects of assets. There are three core components of IBM: (1) salience, (2) group congruence, and (3) difficulty. We build on IBM by suggesting that institutions (1) provide important contextual cues that bring the college-bound identity to the forefront of the mind; (2) provide an embedded thought process or strategies for overcoming difficulty; and (3) provide power over resources. Our results suggest that children’s savings programs may promote college progress by making children’s college-bound identity more salient

Helping People Act on Their Hopes Rather Than Their Fears: Lessons From Non-Enrollees in the SEED Initiative

Helping People Act on Their Hopes Rather Than Their Fears: Lessons From Non-Enrollees in the SEED Initiativ

Professional Development Effects on Teachers\u27 Perceptions in Analyzing and Using Student Data

In a school district in Southern New Jersey, teachers have struggled to analyze student district data to make informed instructional decisions. There is a demand for teachers to use data to inform instruction, but teachers often lack sufficient knowledge in data disaggregation. The purpose of this study was to note the effects of professional development (PD) on data-driven decision making practices by collecting survey data before and after participation in a training module. Guided by the theories of knowledge management (KM) and data literacy, the research questions examined teachers\u27 perceptions on PD\u27s impact toward using data. A quasi-experimental quantitative study was employed. Surveys on data-driven decision making were administered to 50 teachers before and after a PD session on how to analyze and use student data and modify instructional practices. ANOVA was utilized to examine mean differences. The results indicated a significant increase in teachers\u27 perceived abilities to analyze student data and use data to modify instruction after completing PD. The results of this study suggest that implementing PD programs could help teachers effectively use data to improve instructional practices. This study contributed to social change because participants were able to increase their capacity to analyze and use student data by participating in targeted professional development. This research has significant implications for educators who are concerned with using data to increase students\u27 academic succes