THE USE OF THE EARLY WARNING INDICATOR REPORT TO IMPACT NINTH GRADE PROMOTION RATES IN A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how four high schools used an Early Warning Indicator Report (EWIR) to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Ninth grade on-time promotion is an early predictor of a student’s likelihood to graduate (Bornsheuer, Polonyi, Andrews, Fore, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011; Leckrone & Griffith, 2006; Roderick, Kelley-Kemple, Johnson, & Beechum, 2014; Zvoch, 2006). The analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the ways that the four schools used the EWIR. The research took place in a large urban school district in the Mid-Atlantic. Sixteen participants from four high schools and the district’s central office voluntarily participated in face-to-face interviews. The researcher utilized a qualitative case study method to examine the implementation of the EWIR system in Wyatt School District. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed, along with district documents, to identify categories in this cross case analysis. Three primary themes emerged from the data: (1) targeted school structures for EWIR implementation, (2) the EWIR identified necessary supports for students, and (3) the central office support for school staff. The findings revealed the various ways that the target schools implemented the EWIR in their buildings and the level of support that they received from the central office that aided them in using the EWIR to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher provided a number of key recommendations: (1) Districts should provide professional development to schools to ensure that schools have the support they need to implement the EWIR successfully; (2) There should be increased accountability from the central office for schools using the EWIR to identify impactful interventions for ninth graders; and (3) The district needs to assign dedicated central office staff to support the implementation of the EWIR in high schools across the district. As schools continue to face the challenge of improving ninth grade promotion rates, effective use of an Early Warning Indicator Report is recommended to provide school and district staff with data needed to impact overall student performance.

Promotion and diffusion of tha career Bachelor and Licenciature of Mathematics Teaching in rural areas of Costa Rica project: effects and results

This article describes the purpose and activities of the project Promoting Mathematics Education in Rural Areas of Costa Rica. The activity has focused on two objectives. First, supporting and monitoring students who have expressed interest in studying a mathematics teacher. To achieve this, it has been working with students who have an ideal profile for the career, mainly from rural areas. The second objective is to conduct training workshops for high school in-service teachers, to strengthen and improve their knowledge in the area of mathematics. Among the results of the project, it can be highlighted a significant increase in the enrollment of students in the career of Mathematics Education in 2010 and 2011, and the training processes in the field of Real Functions of Real Variable and Geometry at different regional areas mostly rural as Aguirre, Sarapiquí, Coto, Buenos Aires, Limón, Cañas, Pérez Zeledón, Nicoya, Los Santos, Turrialba, Puriscal, Desamparados, San Carlos, Puntarenas, Limón, Liberia, Santa Cruz y Upala.

Selling customer value in B2B markets - Case KONE JumpLift

Skepticism of promised value-added is forcing suppliers to provide tangible evidence of the value they can deliver for the customers in industrial markets. Despite this, quantifying customer benefits is being thought as one of the most difficult part in business-to-business selling. The objective of this research is to identify the desired and perceived customer benefits of KONE JumpLift™ and improve the overall customer value quantification and selling process of the solution. The study was conducted with a qualitative case analysis including 7 interviews with key stakeholders from three different market areas. The market areas were chosen based on where the offering has been utilized and the research was conducted by five telephone and two email interviews. The main desired and perceived benefits include many different values for example economical, functional, symbolic and epistemic value but they vary on studied market areas. The most important result of the research was finding the biggest challenges of selling the offering which are communicating and proving the potential value to the customers. In addition, the sales arguments have different relative importance in studied market areas which create challenges for salespeople to sell the offering effectively. In managerial level this means need for investing into a new sales tool and training the salespeople.

L’association Duterimbere et la promotion du crédit aux femmes rwandaises : cas de la préfecture de la ville de Kigali

Depuis longtemps, les femmes du monde entier en général et rwandaises en particulier sont restées et restent encore, sauf quelques rares exceptions, en marge des activités de développement économique ou s'y sont intéressées tardivement. Dépourvues de propriété et de biens, les femmes n'ont que le droit de l'usufruit sur le patrimoine familial dont seuls les garçons sont héritiers. Retenues par les travaux domestiques et agricoles non rémunérateurs, les femmes ne disposent pas d'argent, à part de petites sommes qui leur sont remises par leur mari, destinées à défrayer les dépenses courantes (achat de sel, pétrole, savon etc.). Depuis un certain temps, la terre arable se fait plus rare et de plus en plus improductive. Les femmes deviennent chefs de famille suite au veuvage, à l'abandon du toit conjugal par les hommes, à la tolérance des enfants illégitimes. Pour ces raisons certaines femmes abandonnent les activités agricoles ou les associent au petit commerce, à l'artisanat et aux divers métiers non structurés apportant un revenu monétaire immédiat pour faire vivre leurs familles. Cependant l'accès aux ressources de production n'est pas facile. Malgré la possession d'une capacité de travail admirable, les femmes se heurtent à l'acquisition des ressources naturelles et du capital de risque qui constitue une base importante pour la réussite de ce genre d'activité d'appoint. La majorité des femmes n'ayant pas de revenu salarial ou autres revenus permanents, l'accès au crédit se présente comme un tabou. Cela est dû à plusieurs facteurs dont les plus fréquents se résument par le manque de garantie, l'absence ou l'insuffisance d'information et de formation en matière de crédit, la sous-estimation par les banquiers des femmes dans les affaires, etc. Pour faire face à cette situation, les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) extérieures ayant des projets de développement dans le pays octroyaient de temps en temps des crédits aux femmes ou les avalisaient auprès des banques. Mais une fois que le projet en question arrive à terme, cette activité d'appui aux femmes s'arrête sans laisser aucune structure de continuité. Le Centre de formation et de recherche coopératives et le ministère de la Jeunesse et du Mouvement associatif prennent la relève en avalisant les coopératives et les groupements (y compris ceux des femmes) auprès des banques populaires. Toutefois leur soutien reste encore insignifiant face au problème. C'est dans cette optique qu'en mai 1987, pour tenter de briser ce mythe à l'égard des femmes en matière d'accès au crédit, l'association «Duterimbere» («Allons de l'avant») fut créée par un groupe de femmes intellectuelles, en tant qu'organisation locale sans but lucratif. Celle-ci vient se joindre à d'autres intervenants qui déploient des efforts pour relever le défi d'inaccessibilité des femmes au crédit. Préoccupée par ce problème, nous partirons de l'analyse des services de l'association Duterimbere à l'égard des femmes pour pouvoir apprécier en quoi Duterimbere se distingue d'autres ONG ou structures d'appui aux femmes. Le projet de création d'un service d'épargne et de crédit que nous nous proposons d'intégrer parmi les services de Duterimbere serait, à notre avis, d'un apport non négligeable et viendrait parachever le soutien de Duterimbere aux femmes, au moins en ce qui concerne les petits crédits.

“SINGING CHASES AWAY THE BLUES.” KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF THE VOICE AS HEALTH PROMOTION RESOURCES FOR CHORISTERS

Objetivo: Compreender o conhecimento e o uso da voz por mulheres que cantam em coral e as repercussões para a promoção da saúde. Métodos: Realizou-se estudo qualitativo, de dezembro de 2011 a fevereiro de 2012, com 13 mulheres de 23 a 66 anos, membros de um coral de uma universidade, em Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. Coletaram-se os dados através de entrevista semiestruturada. Aplicou-se a análise temática para organizar os resultados em categorias, analisando-as à luz do interacionismo simbólico. Resultados: Identificaram-se dois núcleos de sentido: conhecimento sobre voz e uso da voz. As coralistas definiram a voz como meio de comunicação, identidade pessoal e forma para expressar emoções. Elas não demonstraram conhecimento consistente sobre os aspectos anatômicos e fisiológicos da voz, mas as definições apresentadas mostram que elas entendem que a voz permeia espaços pessoais, sociais e profissionais. A voz profissional e o envelhecimento destacaram-se no contexto do uso vocal. As participantes reconhecem que o conhecimento e o uso da voz podem ser aprimorados pelas atividades no coral, o que remete à promoção da saúde. Conclusão: As coralistas apresentam conhecimento limitado sobre a saúde vocal, porém, compreendem os efeitos benéficos do coral sobre sua saúde, ampliando a compreensão sobre a voz; isso estimula a adoção de hábitos saudáveis e de medidas preventivas, o que favorece o uso vocal.

DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF THE INSTRUMENTO DE AVALIAÇÃO DA PROMOÇÃO DA SAÚDE NA UNIVERSIDADE - IAPSU (ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AT THE UNIVERSITY)

Objective: To present the Instrumento de Avaliação da Promoção da Saúde na Universidade – IAPSU (Assessment Tool for Health Promotion at the University) and its reproducibility assessment process. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted between May and July 2014 with 50 students from a university of Fortaleza, Ceará, which developed the IAPSU through the analysis of government documents and a systematic review of the literature on a potentially healthy university. The tool has 41 questions divided into five domains: physical activity, diet, environmental factors, psychosocial factors and alcohol and drug use, integrative and complementary practices. To assess the inter-examiner reproducibility, the students answered the IAPSU twice, applied by two different examiners; to assess the intraexaminer reproducibility, another application of the instrument was performed after seven days. Results: The study comprised 40 Nursing students and 10 Physical Therapy students, with a mean age of 25 ± 5.4 years; 88% were women and white individuals were predominant. In the reproducibility assessment, strong intraclass, intra- and inter-examiner correlation coefficients - above 0.8 - were observed in all the domains. Conclusion: The IAPSU is a reproducible and reliable instrument for assessing health promotion at the university.

Good Practices in the field of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention

Background; Approach and Concept; Methods (Country reviews; Definition of Good Practice Criteria; Identification of Good Practice Examples; Identification of transferable practices / elements); Outputs

La construction d'un project interculturel pour la promotion d'espaces communicatifs á travers l'etude de la réalité du Sénégal

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2013

Joint Action CHRODIS Work Package 5 - Good practices in the field of health promotion and chronic disease prevention across the life cycle: outcomes at a glance

Associated Partners in the Work Package 5: National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Portugal (Luciana Costa)