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AN EVALUATION STUDY OF A YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM’S INFLUENCE ON SELF-EFFICACY AND LIFE SKILLS
Get PDFYouth entrepreneurship programs provide opportunities to learn and to practice strategies that are necessary to start and grow a business. In the summer of 2018, a nonprofit organization in central South Carolina facilitated a modified two-week entrepreneurship education program for 18 students who recently completed third through twelfth grades. Program managers wanted to conduct a program evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the modified program and its influence on the self-efficacy and life skills of the youth participants. Quantitative data were collected from measures of young people’s self-efficacy and life skills before and after the program, from entrepreneurial knowledge after the program, and from judges’ ratings of business plan presentations at the end of the program. Qualitative data included interviews with a student participant and the instructor. The results of the analyses revealed that the youth reported significantly higher scores on the measure of self-efficacy. There were no significant differences between the pre- and post-test scores on the measure of life skills. The judges’ ratings of the participants’ business plan presentations were consistently above average. Both the instructor and the student interviewee reported that covering the course material in a two-week program was challenging and that future youth entrepreneurship programs would benefit from a division of elementary-age students and secondary-age students
The Necessity of Second Language Learning
Get PDFIn the past half-century, Americans have had ongoing issues with foreign language instruction. Around 1970, the number of foreign language classes began to decline, and funding slowly began to disappear. Although some proficiency tests and requirements have been put in place, no nationwide requirements for foreign language instruction exist for public high schools. The foreign language requirements for entrance into college used to be more prevalent and followed, but studies have shown that 84% of four-year schools do not require foreign language credits (The History of Foreign Language Education in the United States Timeline 1). Because of this lack of regulation and consistency, the U.S. government should change the foreign language requirements for graduation through a federally enacted legislative mandate. This mandate would effectively make Americans more hospitable, increase alignment with needs for life after high school, impact America’s diverse economy, improve diplomacy and foreign relations, and strengthen the health of Americans who are bilingual.
Because our nation continues to welcome and embrace sojourners, we can show our hospitality by communicating and building relationships with our guests/sojourners. Sadly, most Americans today are only fluent in English and are unable to cross these language and communication barriers. The lack of strong high school foreign language regulations not only diminishes America\u27s ability to communicate effectively and hospitably but also decreases high school graduates’ acceptance into most college programs. Many competitive college programs require that applicants have completed at least two years of a foreign language, whereas the more competitive schools require more years of foreign language study (Grove 1). However, “throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 20% of K-12 students are enrolled in foreign language classes” (Devlin 1). The college acceptance rates are not the only thing that suffers because of the lack of regulations, but also our international economy, foreign relations, and diplomacy. If America is unable to communicate with those within its borders, what expectations exist that it can effectively communicate with those outside of its borders? Increasing the requirement for foreign language fluency will also increase the pool of eligible candidates to fill necessary jobs that require foreign language fluency, as well as improving the ability to communicate, work, and collaborate internationally. Moreover, bilingualism provides resistance to and adds protection against brain deterioration. “According to some studies, monolingual adults tend to show the first signs of dementia at the average age of 71. This is in contrast to bilingual individuals who show their first symptoms around 76 years old” (de Miguel 1).
To achieve these benefits, a national mandate requiring high school students become fluent in at least one foreign language must be enacted. The national mandate requires students in public schools to complete at least four years of the same foreign language study, so that students graduate high school being able to speak and understand a foreign language. Because the mandate requires fluency, the plan will address who is determining “fluency,” how fluency will be measured, and how the mandate will be funded.
A federal mandate for foreign language instruction is necessary in order to make Americans more hospitable, increase alignment with needs for life after high school, impact America’s diverse economy, improve diplomacy and foreign relations, and strengthen the health of Americans who are bilingual
TEACHER’S SELF-EFFICACY FOR TEACHING CHARACTER EDUCATION
Get PDFCharacter education is an important part of school curriculum, but it is not always taught intentionally. This thesis outlines the benefits of character education, the various character education curriculums, and teacher’s self-efficacy for teaching character education. The study was conducted in Lakeland, Florida through an online survey. Participants were first year teachers and current student teachers. Each teacher answered questions regarding their confidence teaching various character traits. Teachers agreed that the most difficult part about teaching character education is helping students understand the importance of their values in their individual lives. Overall, respect and responsibility were the character traits that teachers felt most confident teaching and fairness and citizenship were the traits that teachers felt least confident teaching. College and professional development courses that address specific areas of character education should be offered to increase teacher self-efficacy for teaching character education. Further research could include how beneficial professional development and college courses are to increase teacher’s self-efficacy for teaching character education and how teacher social and emotional well-being correlates with their ability to teach character education
A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF A UNIVERSITY’S PROGRAM FOR INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES
Get PDFOpportunities for individuals with exceptional needs to participate in inclusive environments have increased in recent years due to the implementation of various laws. Throughout the history of education, individuals with exceptional needs were prevented from attending higher education institutions; however, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008 provided opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to attend higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a university’s program to assist students with intellectual disabilities successfully transition from high school to adulthood impacted undergraduate students’ perceptions and comfort level of working with individuals with intellectual disabilities. This quantitative study was conducted at a small, private, Midwestern university and was comprised of 91 participants having contact with the university’s program designed to assist students with intellectual disabilities. The study’s research instrument was researcher-created and measured undergraduates’ general attitude toward individuals with intellectual disabilities and undergraduates’ perception of personal effectiveness in addressing the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. Although studies have shown that postsecondary higher education programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities are beneficial for those with intellectual disabilities, the findings from this study indicate these programs are also beneficial to individuals without intellectual disabilities that are attending the same university and have contact with the program. Universities should be encouraged to pursue offering postsecondary programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities based on the positive impact the program can have on the perceptions and attitudes of students without intellectual disabilities toward individuals with intellectual disabilities
Southeastern Alumni Magazine- Winter 2020
Get PDFTAKING RESEARCH TO THE SKIES Engineer and pilot Aaron Judy ’18 (Ed.D.) is working for the federal government as an engineer to discover new and innovative ways to train pilots.
COMPETING ON THE WORLD STAGE In 2019, Uchenna Kanu ’19 made her debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and went on to set a national record while playing for the Southeastern women’s soccer team. Now, she looks to continue to play soccer on the professional level.
COFFEE WITH A MISSION With a heart for missions, Karen (Dickey) Beiler ’07 and her husband, Justin, use their business, Eurasia Coffee Company, to support nonprofits and missionaries around the world.
ENTREPRENEURS AT HEART Brittany (Clements) Ainsworth ’09 owns and operates a Chick-fil-A in one of the busiest malls in America, and Chad Ainsworth ’10 found a unique way to share his creative passion for videography with the biker community.
TAKING AIM TOGETHER Passionate about archery, Elton “Pepper” ’91 and Donna (Douglass) ’93 Brooke spend their weekends competing around the state of Florida. They reflect on how the sport has been a way for them to spend time together and minister to others.
LACY O’CONNOR: LIVING THE SWEET LIFE From early mornings in the kitchen to traveling around the country performing music, Lacy (McDougall) O’Connor ’12 shares what it’s like to be a pastry chef and aspiring musician.
TIFFANY HAMMER: WITH ELEVATION WORSHIP Tiffany Hammer ’17 is the full-time worship leader for Elevation Church’s Uptown campus in Charlotte, N.C., and a singer and contributing songwriter for Elevation Worship.
DEDICATING A LIFETIME TO MISSIONS In 1966, David ’89 and Maryann Vespa set sail for Ghana, West Africa, to serve as Assemblies of God missionaries. Thirty years later, their daughter, Brenda and her husband, Pat ’87, would follow in their footsteps to serve as missionaries to Botswana, eventually transitioning to serve in Greece and Italy.https://firescholars.seu.edu/seu_alumni/1014/thumbnail.jp
CENSORSHIP AND BANNED BOOKS FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFRemoving material due to controversial content has been a common practice for much of recorded history. This action is often done in concern for the psychological and emotional well-being of viewers, especially if these viewers include children. However, this does not necessarily mean this practice is always warranted. Many researchers have studied this topic as well as its effects, expanses, and connections to religion. Research shows that exposure to certain material can potentially cause changed behavior in individuals who do not possess the maturity needed to process them effectively. Individuals who are more mature or emotionally stable show no lasting impacts when exposed to controversial content. Additionally, the Bible encourages Christians to exercise caution regarding what they expose themselves to. New research was conducted in an effort to compare the opinions of Christian parents and Christian college students. This study concluded that the majority of both populations believed in the importance of protecting children through censorship. These populations differed in their opinions regarding the extent and severity of which censorship should be practiced in the lives of average peopl
EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF ANTI-RACISM INTERVENTIONS AND POSSIBLE CORRELATES
Get PDFAlthough there is a large body of research on anti-racism interventions, little research has been done on participant perceptions of anti-racism interventions or the relationship between certain perceptions and other factors. This study addresses perceptions of anti-racism interventions among college students and how perceptions relate to willingness to attend interventions, aspects of religiousness, identification with all of humanity, and factors such as gender and race. The sample includes 69 undergraduate students, all of whom self-identified as Christian. Results indicate that perceptions were generally positive. It was found that reported importance of interventions, agreement with reasons for positive attitudes, and willingness to attend interventions were all positively related to each other. Reported importance of interventions was also positively related to organizational religiousness, private religious practices, and intrinsic religious orientation, while willingness was only related to intrinsic religious orientation. These results suggest a link between positive perceptions and willingness to attend interventions, as well as a distinction between measures of religiousness and their implications for perceptions and behavior. These results suggest a need for further research on how perceptions of interventions impact their effectiveness and the specific factors that lead to specific perceptions
