T.C. Fuller presents his dissertation titled No Safe Alternative: The Power of Personal Narrative in Educating Law Enforcement Officers in Implementing Deadly Force on November 3, 2009 12:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m., John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill
Policing in modern American society is a calling successfully pursued by few people. The profession has evolved over the years to a point that it is now more diverse, in terms of gender, race, religion and sexual orientation, than at any time in its history. Those who answer the call today bring with them a host of perspectives, formed by a lifetime of varied experiences. Before becoming serving police officers, they are all subjectd to a litany of training on a variety of subjects, including that most formidable of responsibilities: the administation of deadly force. Once a person becomes a law enforcement professional, they join a small, unique fraternity who have numerous responsibilities, including in some cases the legal requirment to take a human life in an instant, rarely with the luxury of sober reflection and guidance. How we take people with such distinct sentiments and train them for this task is a crucial, yet haphazardly addressed, area of the profession. It is also one which this dissertation hopes to address, in an effort to begin a desperately needed conversation on this critical issue.
Shelley Mathias presents her dissertation titled A Study of the Relationship Between Foundational Per Pupil Investment and Student Outcomes November 20, 2009 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill
The concept of return on investment for public education requires an understanding of the cumulative impact of resources employed to educate a student over time. The State of Vermont presented a unique opportunity to measure the return on investment as indicated by student outcomes. The governance structure of Vermont school districts allowed the identification of investments at the local school level, thereby enabling a match between the outcomes for 1355 students on the New Standards Reference Exam and cumulative investments over time.
The longitudinal study examined the relationship between the cumulative investment made during the first eight years of school and student outcomes based upon three assessment points, in fourth, eighth and tenth grades for students within the sample. The study included an examination of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), investments and student outcomes. SES indicators included Free and Reduced Lunch eligibility and Adjusted Gross Income. The study also examined the relationship between student performance and responses to the Opportunity to Learn Survey, assessing the student's perception of their school. Vermont Department of Education databases including financial expenditures from 1997 through 2004 and matched student outcomes on the New Standards Reference Exam in 2000, 2004, and 2006 in both English and Language Arts and Math.
The results of the analysis indicated statistically significant relationships between student outcomes and investment. The analysis indicated that the strength of the effect on outcomes grew over time, and when the investments were more closely related to direct impact on students, and were especially evident in math. The analysis indicated that there was statistically significant relationship between levels of investment and outcomes for students within the same socioeconomic group. There were also statistically significant relationships between students' responses to the Opportunity to Learn Survey and investment levels, and between responses to the Opportunity to Learn Survey and student outcomes.
