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NATIONAL FORUM OF APPLIED EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNALVOLUME 21, NUMBER 3, 2008

FOREWORD

NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY:CHALLENGES IN APPLIED RESEARCH

his issue begins our 21st Year Anniversary of publishing the NATIONAL FORUM

OF APPLIED EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL. The journal wasfounded in the interest of publishing the best original articles by educational researchers,

practitioners, and theoreticians on a variety of viewpoints for persons interested in teacher

education.

TProfessors, theoreticians, educational researchers, practitioners, directors of research and

service, deans, chairpersons, university administrators, curriculum and instruction specialists,

school superintendents, principals, supervisors, classroom teachers, management

consultants, facilitators, school board members, education policy persons, graduate students,

community leaders, and many others represent the cosmopolitan readership of the

NATIONAL FORUM OF TEACHER EDUCATION JOURNAL.

A function of the NATIONAL FORUM OF APPLIED EDUCATIONALRESEARCH JOURNAL is to strengthen the established common bond among

professors in higher education and practitioners in schools. The NATIONAL FORUM OF

APPLIED EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL seeks to help maintain a healthy

mutual respect and awareness of the roles, the problems, and the progress of teacher education

in all appropriate settings. NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS are highly regarded both

nationally and internationally.

The NATIONAL FORUM SOCIETY OF EDUCATORS helps the family of

NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS. Members' names are published in each issue throughout

the year. Becoming a member of the NATIONAL FORUM SOCIETY OF EDUCATORS

says you place value on financially supporting scholarly productivity in education.

________________

About this Issue

Educational research and implementation of proven best practices in

schools across this great nation are essential to strive toward a more

accountable system of education for young people. Continued emphasis

along with the unfunded mandates of No Child Left Behind make a strong

case for quality applied research in high performing urban, suburban and

rural schools. University research should target and foster the

implementation of research based best practices that contribute to a more

accountable education system that prepares children for the future demands

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2 NATIONAL FORUM OF TEACHER EDUCATION JOURNAL

of a high performance workforce with the purpose of building a stronger

national and global economy. Topics continue to emerge related to

accountability at the university and public school levels that create a

profound need for research with immediate sound practical applications.Articles in this issue address a selected set of topics on the forefront in

education research settings at the public school as well as the higher

education level.

In this issue you will find seven articles that address some of the key

issues currently facing educators in the field. The lead article by Jianjun Wu

and Yixin Zhang provides cross-cultural perspectives of Internet attitudes

between American and Chinese college students. Results of the study

indicate that American students had more positive attitudes towards theInternet than Chinese students, and female students had more positive

attitudes towards the Internet than male students. In the second article, John

Closen presents research that supports the proposal for an ideal setting to provide for academic achievement would be for students to attend schools ina K-8 and 9-12 setting. By keeping schools in neighborhoods, small in size,

and diverse, an increase in the chances for poor and minority students to

experience success should encourage more parental support and more

parental involvement in the schools. In the subsequent article, Randy L.

Seevers and Michelle Jones-Blank present a study that explores the effects of

social skills training on social skill development and on student behavior. It

was hypothesized that using instructional strategies for teaching social skills

would help students initiate and develop positive social relationships with

others, cope effectively with the behavioral demands and expectations of

specific settings, and appropriately communicate and assert one’s needs,

desires, and preferences. Next, Kimberly McLeod, Tyrone Tanner andWilliam Allan Kritsonis present a study that discusses teacher perceptions of

culture based on responses collected at an in-service diversity training

session. In addition, the authors introduce the concept of “culturally active”classrooms and how practitioners take into account the cultural perceptions

of the educator, the cultural perceptions or misconceptions of students

towards their own racial identity and the racial identity of others. In the fifth

article, Alex Torrez and William Allan Kritsonis present an article related to

three crucial pre-implementation principles that maximize the success of

Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) in large high schools. Establishing

clear understanding for the need of the SLC initiative is the first of these



NATIONAL FORUM OF TEACHER EDUCATION JOURNAL 3

principles. Long term commitment to a sustained plan for relevant SLC

professional learning opportunities will guarantee proper training, skills, and

knowledge for those working within the SLC schools. The sixth article by

Lloyd C. Kilmer and Georgianna L. Koenig presents research on job-embedded professional development for principals. The professional

development academy blended a variety of delivery systems, large group

presentations and job-embedded activities, to best meet the needs of the

participants. Program participants learned a large body of new research on

leadership and also developed the steps that they could take to improve their

organizations. Adam Ivy, David Herrington and William Allan Kritsonis

submitted the final article that provides an overview of Professional Learning

Communities, detailing the challenges of setting in motion the tasks and

mindset necessary to create them. The rationale is that the culture changesfrom one of superficial assessments and requirements to one that emphasizes

student learning.

I wish to thank all the writers who have contributed to this issue of the NATIONAL FORUM AERJ. A special note of gratitude goes to all the

members of our distinguished National Editorial Board for their many long

hours spent refereeing manuscripts. Finally, I would like to personally thank

William Allan Kritsonis for providing this publishing and editorial

opportunity as we further advance in our quest for excellence in education.

To our readers, colleagues and friends nationally as well as

internationally, thank you for your continued personal, professional and

financial sincerity.

Robert L. Marshall EdD National Forum of Applied Education Research Journal

Senior National Editor

foreword - national forum of applied educational research journal - - dr. william allan kritsonis,...

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