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University Relations Tip Sheet - Education and Policy- April 14, 2004

POLICY - Transportation departments back on track
The perception that public transportation officials are blind to customer service is "as dated as the El Camino," says Ted Poister, professor of public administration and urban studies at Georgia State University. "Departments of transportation are often criticized for having a rigid engineering mentality, for just laying down pavement and not being more sensitive to people or the environment, when, in fact, the culture at many DOTs began turning around during the last five to 10 years," says Poister, who has studied transportation administration and policy for more than 20 years. "They've been under tremendous pressure to do more with less, to become more customer-oriented and to find multimodal solutions to transportation problems. Many have responded to these challenges. We're seeing this trend in numerous states." Poister, who has researched the practices of state transportation agencies across the country, recently was awarded a $221,000 contract by the Georgia Department of Transportation to conduct an evaluation of its strategic management. Contact Poister at 404/651-4594 or tpoister@gsu.edu.

EDUCATION - When school's out, children should explore new interests
As the school year comes to a close, parents face a plethora of choices for their kids' summer schedules - from camps to academic classes. Children should be included in the decision-making process, says John Kesner, an associate professor of early childhood education at Georgia State University. While there's no rule of thumb about whether it's best for a child to spend the summer engaged in solely academic or social activities, Kesner advises parents to ensure that the child enjoys and actually wants to do whatever activities are chosen. Parents should also try to encourage their children to explore new interests, he says. Kesner, an expert in childhood development, is director of the College of Education's Saturday School for Scholars and Leaders, a year-long program that offers a variety of enrichment classes ranging from fine and applied arts to forensic science and zoology for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. For other tips for parents, contact Kesner at 404/651-2584 or ecejek@langate.gsu.edu.

POLICY - 'Offshoring' demands understanding of cultural differences
Many American companies that are outsourcing jobs to less expensive workers in India and other countries fail to consider how cultural differences can affect the success of an overseas operation, says Carol Hansen, associate professor of public administration and urban studies at Georgia State University. "Businesses overestimate the notion that you can take an American organizational culture somewhere else and have it work just as well," says Hansen, a noted expert on intercultural organizational behavior. "The Internet has given us a false sense of a global business culture." Differences among cultures include ideas about work ethics, teamwork, loyalty and rewards, she notes. For offshore operations to succeed, companies need to dig deep to understand other cultures and be sensitive to other kinds of work environments, she advises. Contact Hansen at 404/651-1653 or chansen@gsu.edu.

EDUCATION - Columbine anniversary should prompt educators to rethink security measures
As the five-year anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting approaches this month, school systems and administrators should be reviewing their own efforts to prevent school-based violence, says a researcher at Georgia State University. Some efforts by school systems to prevent a similar tragedy, such as adopting an anti-violence curriculum or establishing peer-mentoring groups, may not be entirely effective, says Chris Henrich, assistant professor of psychology. "Group mentoring, if done well, can help kids develop positive social skills and feel a connection to their school. But if it's not done well, it can do more damage, especially if the meetings suddenly stop or you're grouping kids together who already have problem behaviors," says Henrich, who has researched the impact of violence-prevention strategies such as the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program. "School systems shouldn't be overreacting and installing metal detectors or creating zero-tolerance policies. The best approach they can take is to sensitize students, staff and teachers to see problems before they develop and start paying attention to the emotional issues in students that could lead to violence." Contact him at 404/651-0704 or chenrich@gsu.edu.

POLICY - Airport security demands high-tech solutions
American airport security was an international joke for decades before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, says Rick Charles, associate professor of public administration and urban studies. Security measures have improved markedly since that time, but much more work needs to be done in the area of biometrics, which involves the screening of passengers with fingerprint-ID, retinal-scan and facial-recognition systems, adds Charles, director of Georgia State University's aviation management program and a noted expert on flight-safety issues. More effort also needs to go into the protection of airport perimeters, not only with security personnel, but also using satellite technology, he says. Contact Charles at 404/651-1099 or rcharles@gsu.edu.

EDUCATION - Deaf kids need early language, vocabulary exposure
Though early-intervention strategies can work to identify babies born deaf or hard-of-hearing, researchers and parents still struggle to ensure these children have access to language and that their vocabulary develops on par with their peers. "The vast majority of deaf children come into this world with a very atypical language learning environment where, because of their hearing loss, they have much less access to the language of their parents," says Amy Lederberg, professor of educational psychology and special education at Georgia State University. "I think most people don't understand that deaf children essentially have no language or very impoverished language," she says. Though hearing-impaired children are capable of acquiring vocabulary at rates similar to hearing children, better measures are needed to ensure they reach that potential, says Lederberg, who recently published an article in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education on vocabulary assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. "When you get these word-learning skills later on in life because you didn't learn language in the first two or three years, it doesn't work the same; you're always going to be handicapped." Contact her at 404/651-0115 or alederberg@gsu.edu.

POLICY/EDUCATION - Vouchers could be good for public schools
School voucher opponents argue that using public funds to allow children to attend private schools would help some at-risk kids at the expense of others. But Gary Henry, professor of public administration and urban studies/educational policy studies at Georgia State University, says that probably wouldn't be the case. In a five-year longitudinal study of Georgia's pre-kindergarten program - free, state-funded preschool offered to Georgia families by both public and private institutions - Henry discovered that students at both types of schools made improvements. "Considerable evidence of the enduring effects of preschool programs makes them a prime testing ground for theories on the extent to which competition may impact educational outcomes," Henry says. "Students improved in three of the four educational outcomes we researched, suggesting that competition among public and private educational programs can be better for students." For more information, contact Henry at 404/651-2343 or gthenry@gsu.edu.

Happening at Georgia State University:

Georgia State to host summer program for future educators
Georgia State University's College of Education will host its annual summer academy for high-school students interested in pursuing careers in education June 7-12. The Advanced Academy for Future Teachers, part of an initiative created by the Metro-Atlanta P-16 Community Council, is intended to attract talented high-school students to the teaching profession and provide them with professional and academic preparation. During the six-day program, students collaborate with faculty, attend educational seminars and workshops, and participate in other personal and professional development activities. Students admitted into the program are rising 10th-, 11th- or 12th-graders enrolled in participating schools in Atlanta, Decatur, DeKalb County, Fulton County and Gwinnett County. The application deadline for the summer program, to be held on Georgia State's campus, is April 16. Scholarships are available. For more information, visit www.gsu.edu/AAFT/, or contact Marsha Walker, program coordinator, at 404/651-4666 or via e-mail at AAFT@gsu.edu.

Hilliard to lecture on anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
Asa Hilliard, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University, will lecture on "Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka at 50 Years: Necessary but Far from Sufficient" at 7:30 p.m. April 29 in the Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, as part of the College of Education Speaker's Series. A reception will precede the lecture at 6:30 p.m. in the Rialto lobby. The event is free and open to the public. Hilliard is a founding member of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations. He has written hundreds of articles on topics including ancient African history, teaching strategies and public policy. Hilliard is the recipient of the Outstanding Scholarship Award from the Association of Black Psychologists, the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association of Teachers of Education and a Knight Commander of the Human Order of the African Redemption. For more information, contact Angela Turk at 404/651-4033 or Troy Russell at 404/651-1002.

 

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