Career Preparation and Choices of Fundamental Christian School Students

Abstract

Forty years ago, Alan Peshkin began his study of fundamental independent Baptist Christian schools. With time, further insight can be gained on the outcomes of the students from these schools. Despite possessing employer-desired character traits, fundamental Christian school students were expected to earn few academic or career achievements. The purpose of this study is to determine if Peshkin’s expectations became reality. Thirty-five former Christian school students were surveyed anonymously regarding career preparation and choices. All survey participants have completed some higher education. Over one-fourth of the participants earned at least one graduate degree and an additional one-third of participants hold at least one bachelor’s degree. Survey participants have chosen a wide range of career paths.     

A Comparison Between Homeschooled and Formally Schooled Kindergartners: Children's Early Literacy,Mothers’ Beliefs,and Writing Mediation

The study characterized children's literacy, mothers’ beliefs, and writing mediation of homeschooled compared to formally schooled kindergartners. Participants were 60 children (ages 4–6) and their mothers (30 in homeschooling). At the children's home, we assessed children's literacy, maternal beliefs, and video-recorded mother–child joint writing of a birthday invitation. Results showed that homeschooled children had lower literacy levels than those formally schooled. Homeschooling mothers reported lower levels of belief in learning activities and demands from their children and showed lower levels of writing mediation. Maternal writing mediation predicted children's writing, beyond the child's phonological awareness and schooling (home vs. formal).     

Relationships Between Sense of School Community and Sense of Religious Commitment Among Christian High School Students

Quantitative analysis was used to determine whether relationships could be determined between sense of school community and sense of religious commitment among high school students (N = 71) based on their scores from separate instruments measuring the two constructs. Study results provide evidence that relationships do indeed exist and that differences between the two constructs can be identified within the data. Correlations between the two constructs were higher among girls than among boys, but there were no significant gender differences in either sense of community or in religious commitment. Implications of these results are discussed and recommendations for further research are provided.     

The Relationship Between Biblical Literacy,Academic Achievement,and School Behavior Among Christian- and Public-School Students

This study assessed the relationship between Bible literacy among secondary school students and their academic achievement and school behavior. A total of 160 students who attended either Christian or public schools in the 7th to 12th grade were randomly selected for the study sample. Three measures of Bible knowledge were combined to obtain an overall measure of Bible literacy. The results indicate that students with the highest level of Bible literacy also had the highest average grade point average (GPA) and the highest ranking in test and grade results. In contrast, those with the lowest level of Bible literacy also had the lowest average GPA and the lowest ranking in test and grade results. This trend held for students attending both Christian schools and public schools. Christian school students were also rated higher than public school students in school behavior.     

Narcotics Use Among Miami's Public School Students, 1992: No Restraints

This analysis examines narcotics use by 464 adolescents in Dade County, Florida public schools during 1992. Significant factors that tend to increase the probability of narcotics use include peer use of narcotics, that they are White, that they are male, and that they tend to be good students.     

崇尚科学提高全民科学素质

胡锦涛总书记提出的“八荣八耻”,把“以崇尚科学为荣,以愚昧无知为耻”放在第3位,可见其重要性。因为头两位“热爱祖国”、“服务人民”是每一个中国公民必备的基本道德,“危害祖国”、“背离人民”是犯罪行为。而“愚昧无知”在过去极左思潮的长期影响下,特别是在“知识愈多愈反动”的年代里,不仅不是耻辱,反而是光荣。改革开放以来,我们逐步树立起了科学技术是第一生产力、科学思想是第一精神力量的正确观念,逐步认识到了科学对社会主义现代化建设的关键性作用,愚昧无知导致落后、导致贫穷、甚至导致邪教滋生、危及社会稳定和国家安全。…     

Differences Between the Sexes Among Protestant Christian Middle School Students and their Attitudes Toward Science,Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

Research focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education among conservative Protestant Christian school students is scarce. Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory is examined as it pertains to religion as a group identifier. The STEM Semantic Survey was completed by 157 middle school students attending six different private Christian schools in Michigan. A MANOVA analysis found a significant difference between male and female students. Post hoc analysis revealed that females had less favorable views of engineering and technology than did their male counterparts. The researchers concluded that attitudes toward STEM among Protestant students are similar to those found in secular schools.     

Biblical Fidelity of Christian School Textbooks

A reasonable expectation of textbooks used in Christian schools is that they should regularly incorporate biblical content. It is also reasonable to expect the biblical content to be integrated—not segregated—to influence matters such as worldview, biblical relevance, character, and integrative skills. This expectation was tested via a representative sampling of 15 texts across a span of elementary, middle, and high school grades and representative content areas from eight Christian schools in the eastern Virginia region. Important findings include: close to half the texts used in the schools were from non-Christian publishers; textbooks from Christian publishers were predominantly from only two companies; the adequacy of textbook worldview scores is not in alignment with research showing major student deficiency in Christian worldviews; and approximately half of the scores for Christian textbooks were below the minimally acceptable level.     

Using the Good Behavior Game with High School Special Education Students: Comparing Student- and Teacher-Selected Reinforcers

The authors investigated the implementation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on disruptive behaviors of high school special education students. Additionally, the study compared the effect of student-selected rewards versus teacher-selected rewards. A multielement withdrawal (A/[B?+?C]/A/[B?+?C]) design was used in the classroom to monitor behavior and compare the reward topography. Results suggested that the GBG decreased the frequency of disruptive behavior in both teams; however, there were no notable differences across reward type for either team. Effect sizes were reported using nonoverlap of all pairs. Nonoverlap of all pairs scores indicated moderate-to-large effects for the GBG, but small effects for reward topographies. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.     

A Self-Modeling Intervention for High School Students with Public Speaking Anxiety

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the effectiveness of self-modeling as an intervention for public speaking anxiety. The participants were six high school students with elevated levels of self-reported public speaking anxiety. Students presented public speeches to randomly selected peer audiences. Direct observations measured the behavioral manifestations of public speaking anxiety. In the intervention phase, students viewed self-modeling videotapes that were edited to remove speech dysfluencies and behavioral symptoms of speech anxiety. The self-modeling tapes depicted only adaptive, exemplary behavior with an edited-in audience feature making it appear that the students were producing a fluent speech to an audience of their peers. All of the participants evidenced substantial decreases in behavioral symptoms of speech anxiety and these changes were maintained throughout follow-up. The range of the participants' effect sizes was 2.7 to 4.9. Self-report measures of state anxiety and confidence as a speaker were used to assess additional effects of treatment. For all participants, there were also substantial decreases in self-reported public speaking anxiety and state anxiety from baseline to follow-up. A post-treatment interview revealed high social validity and self-reported generalization of treatment.     

Early Literacy Skills and English Language Learners: an Analysis of Students In A Title I School

This article examined student literacy assessments in light of students' levels of English language proficiency. The study supported the hypotheses that a student's level of language proficiency positively predicted their DIBELS Composite score at the beginning, middle, and end of kindergarten by utilizing a simple linear regression. An ANOVA discovered differences in scores between native English speakers and multiple levels of English Language Learners at the beginning of the school year, whereas no significant differences were found at the end of Kindergarten. Future research analyses regarding the effects of a student's level of language proficiency on literacy assessments are included.     

Christian School Leaders and Spirituality: A Reaction to Banke,Maldonado, and Lacey

Banke, Maldonado, and Lacey (2012) found evidence to suggest that the experiences of Christian school leaders affect their roles as spiritual leaders because learning from various prior experiences aided these leaders on how to be better spiritual leaders. Argued herein is that this conclusion “begs the question” because the conclusion that the authors attempt to prove is included in the initial premise of their argument. This approach perhaps explains why the authors purposefully nominated participants for the study and made other simplifying assumptions such as equating servant leadership to spiritual leadership, equating protestant Christians to all Christian denominations, equating Christian school leaders to spiritual leaders, and equating Christian primary and secondary school leaders to Christian college and University leaders.     

Sexual Prejudice among Christian College Students, Denominational Teachings, and Personal Religious Beliefs

Although numerous studies have examined the role of religious tradition and religiosity on attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, the role of endorsement of denominational teachings has largely been overlooked, even though such teachings are often cited to explain study findings. To better understand the complex relationship between religion and sexual prejudice, this study explores the unique contributions of religious tradition, religiosity, and individual endorsement of denominational doctrine about same-sex sexuality in shaping these attitudes. Findings indicate that endorsement of denominational doctrine concerning same-sex sexuality is more influential than religiosity, and that endorsement of denominational doctrine is not simply a proxy for believing that same-sex sexuality is a sin. Implications for future research are discussed.     

The Price of Charity: Christian Love and Financial Anxieties

Love and money, according to the intuitive logic of Christian political theology, stand in opposition to each other. Where economic relations obtain, relations of love are understood to be absent or distorted. The opposition between the two has led social theorists and political theologians—including John Milbank, Kathryn Tanner, and Daniel M. Bell—to understand Christian love as a reservoir of opposition to the politics of contemporary financialized capital. This opposition, however, ignores the complex interrelationship that has characterized Christian thought about love and money. Love and money—and their apparent competitive relationship—have been understood throughout the history of Christian thought on the basis of a relationship both maintain to the notion of indebtedness. This paper argues that any apparent tension between Christian theological caritas and oikonomia must to be contextualized in terms of a shared relationship between both of these concepts and the organization and administration of relations of debt and obligation.     

On Public Aid to Christian Schools in the United States: A Reformed Christian Perspective

This paper seeks to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the topic of public aid to Christian schools in a Reformed Christian perspective. To do so, I need to clarify a Reformed Christian approach in regard to this topic and then review the studies of the issue in legal and educational aspects in the light of the Reformed perspective. Through reviewing legal and educational discussions, I argue that Christian schools are necessary for people to exercise their religious freedom and make a society more moral and spiritual and thus deserve receiving public aid. Nevertheless, public aid to religious schools needs to be carried out in a careful, restricted way.     

Perceived Rewards of Nursing Among Christian Nursing Students in Bangalore,India

Nurses in India face significant challenges and often migrate to practice nursing abroad. Few studies have focused on the rewards of nursing in India. The aim of this study was to illuminate perceived rewards of nursing among Christian student nurses in Bangalore, India. Photovoice, a participatory action methodology was used, and 14 Christian student nurses participated in the study. Thematic interpretation of photographs, journals, critical group dialog sessions, and observational field notes resulted in the identification of two main themes. These themes included intrinsic rewards and lifelong benefits of nursing in India.     

Deconstructing the Associations of Religiosity,Christian Denominations,and Non-Religions to Rape Myth Acceptance among University Students

Minimal research exists regarding the relationship between rape myth acceptance and religion. This study assessed rape myth acceptance of 503 university students’ disaggregated by five religious identities from 21 Division I postsecondary institutions. Except for Presbyterians, females disagree with rape myths at greater levels than males. Religiosity is a non-predictor for rape myth acceptance after controlling for students’ demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The least religious (Agnostics and Atheists) reject rape myths, whereas the most religious (Baptists and Presbyterians) show non-relationships with rape myths. Catholics accept rape myths, and religiosity functions as a moderator as highly religious Catholics reject rape myths.     

The Role of Christian Belief in Public Policy

It seems intuitive to the believer that God intended throughinstruction in the Law to define morality, intended to leadhumankind to "the right and the good." Further, God's love forhumankind, exemplified by the incarnation, atonement and teachingsof Jesus, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, should lead to abetter world. Indeed, the Christian worldview is a coherentand valid way to look at bioethical issues in public policyand at the bedside. Yet, as this paper explores, in a pluralisticsociety such as the United States, it is neither possible nordesirable for Christians to try to force their views on others.Still, it is obligatory for Christians to stand up and articulatetheir views in the public square. We should try to persuadeothers using either prudential or moral arguments. While wemust be willing to live with "the will of the people," at thesame time, we must not be intimidated into accepting the positionthat our voice is not valid because it has a religious basis.