Recent Theories of Human Development

Violence in America's Schools

Understanding, Prevention, and Responses

R. Murray Thomas

The problem of violence in schools has not gone away despite radical reductions in violent crimes throughout the country over the last decade. Students continue to harrass, haze, and harm each other in a variety of ways, disrupting classrooms and whole schools. In the wake of the Columbine massacre, many focused on the worst kind of school violence: deadly assaults with dangerous weapons. But other forms of violence are more persistent, common, and just as destructive in many ways: fighting, sexual abuse, carrying weapons to school, vandalism, and assorted other crimes that happen behind the closed doors of elementary, middle, and high schools across the country. The consequences range from violent victimization and death, to the disruption of learning and fear among student bodies and teaching staffs. Here, Thomas provides a foundation for understanding why the violence occurs, preventing it from happening, and treating both offenders and victims after it happens. Using scores of case descriptions to illustrate the types of school violence and their treatment in recent years, the author skillfully shows readers how the problem of violence and crime in schools is an insidious issue that cannot go untreated. He offers both tested and proposed methods for dealing with a host of violence issues and a guide to planning treatment of the problem and its associated consequences. He answers the questions: What are prominent types of violence in American schools? What conditions contribute to those types of violence? What methods can be applied in an effort to reduce school violence? Readers will come away from this book with a greater understanding of the scope of violence in America's schools, and the myriad ways of addressing it.

Overcoming Inertia in School Reform

How to Successfully Implement Change

R. Murray Thomas

R Murray Thomas uses inertia theory to describe how educational reform efforts work or don′t work in schools.He also uses case studies of reform efforts to illustrate the five themes that emerge from applying inertia to education.The examples are of situations common to most educational settings.The lessons from each example can be applied to a wide range of settings to help educators avoid the pitfalls common to reform efforts.It′s a quick and easy read that can be absorbed all at once, or can be used as a reference for specific case studies that apply to each educator′s need.

Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Theses and Dissertations

R. Murray Thomas

This groundbreaking guide discusses various research methods, the strengths and limitations of each, and how they can be effectively combined.

Blending Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Theses and Dissertations

R. Murray Thomas

`Aimed at empowering students with the information necessary to choose the best approach to fit their needs, the text outlines numerous research options from varying viewpoints, and highlights the procedures involved with putting each method into practice′ - Qualitative Research Journal `This book offers a broad spectrum of research methodologies within one text that is easy to understand. R Murray Thomas examines educational research as a series of simple and complex questions. This integrated presentation of research methodologies makes this a unique text′ - Roxana Della Vecchia, Assistant Dean, College of Education, Towson University Traditionally, graduate students have written theses and dissertations that take either qualitative or quantitative approach. But in the current environment, many students are opting for a mixed-methods approach that combines some quantitative methods with qualitative methods. This is a growing trend, yet no book exists that applies mixed methods to writing the dissertation or theses. This book aims to fill that gap.

Conducting Educational Research

A Comparative View

R. Murray Thomas

Emphasizing the comparative aspects of research, this introduction to educational research traces the process through five stages—choosing what to study, including specifying the research problem; collecting information; organizing and summarizing information; interpreting results; and reporting the outcomes. Each of the stages offers diverse options available to researchers for solving the problems of that stage, and a research project checklist at the end of each chapter guides readers in applying the chapter's contents to their own research studies. In much educational discourse, comparative education has referred solely to the study of educational similarities and differences between regions of the world or between two or more nations. This book uses the broader definition of the term to encompass a large body of research including studies focusing on comparisons between local educational systems, schools, classrooms, language groups, religious denominations, genders, social classes, and individual students. Students who are planning research projects as well as staff members of such organizations as ministries of education, school systems, bureaus of educational research, and educational aid agencies will find this volume indispensable.

Human Development Theories

Windows on Culture

R Murray Thomas

Human Development Theories reveals how different theories of development contribute to an understanding of cultural influences on the lives of children and youth. R Murray Thomas argues that, in order to comprehend a culture in all its complexities, that culture must be viewed from a succession of vantage points.