Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus pressures brought on by rising financial costs and the increasing impact of technology in higher education will force institutions to take a closer look at themselves and the academic community sooner or later. The lesson to the academy seems to be: take proactive steps now toward building a relational, intellectual community or face the possibility of a significant decline in the traditional collégial community in the future. Bennett presses for institutions of higher education to provide a relational model that addresses the need in individuals to feel connected to one another with a higher purpose. Otherwise, students may choose the convenience of internet and distance education courses as their primary source of content delivery, rather than the university campus and classroom.
Collégial Professionalismis recommended reading for faculty and administrators in higher education, particularly deans and department chairpersons. All university leaders would benefit by considering the thoughts and warnings presented by Bennett. Bennett succeeds, I believe, in painting a perceptive portrait of the relational crisis in higher education and in pointing the way toward a more positive, productive model.
Problem. This study investigated parents' perceptions of the psychosocial determinants of middle- and high-school violence. Method. Phase Four of the Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation (PRECEDE) model, developed by Lawrence Green, was utilized to examine the perceptions of parents regarding the psychosocial determinants of middle- and high-school violence. Respondents were 191 parents whose children were suspended for school violence. One-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the influence ofgender, age, education, family structure, and income on school violence. Results. Parents believed their children would solve problems using nonviolent means but they responded in a violent manner at school. The parents indicated that all stakeholders should be involved in violence reduction. They believed that parents are underutilized and could play a more active role in reducing school violence. Suspensions, detentions, sending the child to the principal and/or counselor, and having teachers stand in the hallways between classes were perceived as moderately effective. Strategies such as programs that teach problem solving, after-school activities for students, bringing the parent into the school, school staff violence development programs, and parent development programs were believed to be highly effective. Parents indicated that inconsistency in discipline was a significant contributing factor to school violence. Administrators and staff should be perceived as being fair and consistent in the implementation of school policies. The study included the perceptions of fathers and male guardians regarding violence in schools. Males, as well as females, did not view violence as an appropriate response to school issues facing their children. Conclusions. The results indicated that Phase IV of the PRECEDE model is partially supported. Forty of the 290 variables related to predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors were significantly different.
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