(2015). Military Social Work: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work Education. Journal of Social Work Education, v51 suppl 1 pS6-S25. Military social work is a specialized field of practice spanning the micro-macro continuum and requiring advanced social work knowledge and skills. The complex behavioral health problems and service needs of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans highlight the need for highly trained social work professionals who can provide militarily relevant and culturally responsive evidence-informed services. Responding to the military behavioral health workforce and service needs of recently returned veterans presents both opportunities and challenges for military social work education. This article discusses the rationale for a military social work specialization, the need for military social work education, and opportunities and challenges for social work education. An integrated model of intellectual capital is proposed to guide strategic planning for future military social work education…. [Direct]
(2018). Post 9/11 Gi Bill: A Proposal for Enhanced Services. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Wilmington University (Delaware). According to the Democratic Staff of the Joint Economic Committee, United States Congress (2017), "over 3.9 million soldiers have served in wartime, since September 11, 2001" ("Gulf War-era II Veterans," para. 1). The Post-9/11 Veterans Assistance Act of 2008 (GI Bill) "offers the 2 million Servicemembers who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts generous support for educational expenses, and has prompted a significant upturn in the number of Veterans and military personnel enrolling in higher education" (McBain, Kim, Cook, & Snead, 2012, p. 5). It is unknown if educational programming and services are adequate to meet the needs of this eligible population. This study identifies the adequacy of accommodations for eligible students utilizing the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits in post-secondary institutions through ex post facto data. The intention of this study is to promote Veteran and service member success in post-secondary institutions. As… [Direct]
(2010). Why Is Afghanistan Important?. Geography Teacher, v7 n1 p16-21. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, avid traveler, classroom geography teacher, and writer, the author has been interested in Afghanistan for decades. Sparked by her own travel experiences in Kabul in February 1970, she made certain that her ninth grade World History/Geography students in south Central Los Angeles not only knew where Afghanistan was, but understood why its landlocked location in Central Asia was strategically significant throughout the course of history right up to their own lifetime. These days, the author periodically does the same for her readership at the "Columbia Tribune" and "Boone County Journal," the two Missouri newspapers where her weekly columns have appeared since 1994. Not long before Hamid Karzai was sworn in for his second term as Afghan president amid allegations of high-level corruption and a rigged election, the author assembled virtual snapshots of Afghanistan in her newspaper column, "Notes From Boomerang Creek," as a… [Direct]
(2020). Remote Learning during the Global School Lockdown: Multi-Country Lessons. World Bank The COVID-19 pandemic is severely affecting education systems across the world. While schools are closed (or partially closed), simulations across different countries suggest that learning gains previously achieved by students will be partly lost. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have suffered these shocks even more and can be at a higher risk of dropping out of school. To better understand the effects of these shocks, as well as to analyze the perceived effectiveness of remote learning solutions, this qualitative exploratory study synthesizes the main national education actions deployed by a group of selected countries to mitigate learning losses. It includes three main sections that have been organized in a chronological order within this report: the first one, "What can we learn from education emergency responses in low- and middle-income countries?" analyzes the emergency education responses to the COVID-19 pandemic of over 120 governments from April until May,… [PDF]
(2012). Numbing and Dysphoria Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans: A Review of Findings and Implications for Treatment. Behavior Modification, v36 n6 p834-856 Nov. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans experience significant rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related mental health conditions. Understanding how specific PTSD symptomatology affects physical health and psychosocial functioning may be useful in improving the conceptualization of PTSD nosology and informing treatment approaches for this population. Confirmatory factor analytic evidence supports four-factor models of PTSD symptoms that classify emotional numbing and/or dysphoria symptoms as a distinct PTSD symptom cluster, and these symptoms appear to be related to poorer psychological adjustment among returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. This review briefly describes current conceptualizations of numbing/dysphoria symptoms of PTSD and summarizes research on the factor structure of PTSD symptoms. Then, the literature on the influence of numbing/dysphoria symptoms on physical and psychological health among these veterans is reviewed, and implications… [Direct]
(2014). Veteran Transfer Students and Concealed Weapons on Campus. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, v17 n3 p33-47 Sep. This case details the challenges faced by various members of a 4-year university regarding Kathryn, a non-traditional transfer student and military veteran who recently returned from a traumatic deployment in Afghanistan. Precisely, this study identifies ambiguities pertaining to (a) threat assessment, (b) university weapons policies, (c) transfer students from community colleges to 4-year institutions, (d) military veteran students, (e) awareness and treatment of student mental health concerns, and (f) student residential issues. The case presents educational leaders with a detailed narrative of various campus stakeholders and promotes discussion of topics related to university policy, veterans' affairs, and campus safety…. [Direct]
(2013). Understandings of Gender and Education in the Political and Cultural Context: The Case of Afghan Students in an MA (Education) Programme. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, v33 n1 p53-67. Globally, gender differences in education have been an area of policy concern, research, and development partnerships. The international agenda of gender equality has been adopted by national governments even in countries, such as Afghanistan, where predominant views are clearly at variance with this agenda. Attempts to analyse such conditions must be based on examination of gender and education in the broader political and cultural context. Gender issues have been a central theme in an EU-funded Master's programme in Educational Research and Development for Afghan students at Nangarhar University, conducted during 2008-2010. This article analyses the political and cultural context of gender in Afghanistan, which constitutes the framework for the Afghan students' understandings of gender and education. These are examined as expressed in texts produced by the students and in group interviews. On the basis of our analysis, the following tension is clear: the students are aware of the… [Direct]
(2015). A Case for Drones. Technology and Engineering Teacher, v74 n7 p24-29 Apr. The time has come for drones. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles played an integral and indispensable part in the United States' military operations during the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Since then, drones have taken new forms, found their way into hobbyists' hands, and recently have played a role in postmodern transportation. Current developments in drone technology prompted visionary leaders of business and industry to adopt Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as an improved means of transportation in various areas of goods and services. The time has come for pioneers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) integration and technology education to utilize this cutting-edge tool as both a topic and instructional device in K-12 education. In this article, the author presents how drones have a place in secondary education as a tool to help foster technological literacy…. [Direct]
(2015). Coming Home to School: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Teaching with Military Veterans. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, v10 p43-55. This article is an analysis of the unique needs of returning service members at the college or university level that impact the teaching decisions made by instructors. The article also discusses the challenges that service members are individually addressing while acclimating themselves to their new environment of learning. With the reduction in forces occurring after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, many higher level learning institutions are struggling to adequately meet the needs of returning veterans. In turn, veterans often find that the style of instruction and the general college-level universe are difficult to negotiate. The combination of these factors can often result in veteran students performing below expectation or leaving school without finishing. The article proposes a variety of ways to understand and address these challenges including the use of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) strategies and characteristics…. [PDF]
(2021). Veterans' Perceptions of Mattering and Marginalization on Community College Campuses. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. With troop withdrawals in Iraq and the recent U.S. peace treaty with the Taliban in Afghanistan, community colleges can expect more veterans on their campuses in the near future. Many institutions are eager to serve these students but are not certain how to meet their needs. Veteran students contend with a range of issues, from the bureaucracy of veterans' benefits to physical and emotional disabilities. The goal of this study was to understand the experiences and needs of student-veterans as they transition from military service to postsecondary education. The findings are derived from structured interviews with 20 student-veterans attending an urban, mid-sized, California community college. Questions explored how well the school's veterans resource center (VRC) was meeting the needs of the student-veteran participants, what gaps existed between these needs and what the VRC (and campus) offered, what would increase their sense of mattering, and what factors contributed to their… [Direct]
(2013). A Lifetime of Trauma: Mental Health Challenges for Higher Education in a Conflict Environment in Afghanistan. Education Policy Analysis Archives, v21 n68 Sep. More than 30 years of war in Afghanistan have resulted in immense policy challenges to address the resulting mental health issues. The purpose of this policy analysis is to examine the potential role of higher education in addressing the pressing mental health problems in Afghanistan's public universities and higher education institutions as a major policy challenge. We define and spell out the extent and nature of the mental health problems and policy issues involved, putting them in the context of students in a war environment. We discuss efforts by the leadership of the Ministry of Higher Education to respond to the physical damage of war and the resulting mental health crises in a setting of very scarce human and financial resources. We describe a system of higher education battered by years of war yet seeking to rebuild and raise quality even while the fighting continues. The conditions of the higher education system are described, as well as the scope, complexity and nature of… [PDF]
(2013). Current Knowledge and Training Needs of Certified Rehabilitation Counselors to Work Effectively with Veterans with Disabilities. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, v27 n1 p2-17. Veterans with disabilities have gained national attention in recent years because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This study examined certified rehabilitation counselors' (CRCs) knowledge and preparation for working with veterans with disabilities on their rehabilitation. Results indicate that CRCs report low levels of preparation in some of the areas deemed important by veterans and professionals. However, CRCs report high knowledge in many important areas to work effectively with veterans with disabilities…. [Direct]
(2017). What Makes a Skateboarder? Teaching High School Students How to Conduct Sociological Inquiry. Social Education, v81 n4 p244-249 Sep. In most places in the world, teachers might be concerned that skateboarding will take students out of school rather than keep them in. Outside Afghanistan, skateboarding has long had an aura of rebellion. Rose and Strike labeled skateboarding as "dangerous" and "rebellious." Atencio, Beal, and Wilson call attention to its "non-conformity" and embrace the "risk." A T-shirt from the 1990s protested, "Skateboarding Is Not A Crime," but even "The New York Times" has called the skateboard "a talisman of youthful rebellion." These are discomfiting words to describe an activity shared by several million people in the United States, many of whom sit, perhaps disinterestedly, in middle and high school classrooms. What makes a skateboarder, really? Do skaters' teachers and peers understand? And if not, how can they begin to? This study focused on the process of socialization created by skateboarders, in addition to the… [Direct]
(2012). Invisible Wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Teaching Insurgencies in Public Schools. American Educator, v35 n4 p19-21 Win 2011-2012. This author contends that contemporary issues classes no longer have currency, as standardized test results are the litmus test for education. In many schools, students are isolated from firsthand accounts and formal study of events that textbooks will one day proclaim as defining experiences of their generation. According to Doyle, schools tend not to teach many, perhaps most, headline-making problems: climate change, debt crises, the national and international polarization of wealth, revolutions in the Middle East, and oil dependence. Students can graduate from many, perhaps most, high schools today and remain tragically naive about the public history of their own times. Convinced that it is important for schools to reflect the history-making events of modern times, Doyle, feeling a bit like an "insurgent," slips these lessons into his classes "covertly," so as not to raise accusations about deviating from the official curricular script. He states his belief… [PDF]
(2014). The Resilience of Women in Higher Education in Afghanistan. Study No 1: Obstacles and Opportunities in Women's Enrollment and Graduation; Study No. 2: The Human, Social and Institutional Resilience of Female Doctors and Postgraduate Residency Programs. Resilience in Education Settings (RES)-Research Studies Series. World Bank Female access to higher education in Afghanistan has been and continues to be limited. At the basic education level, the country has made great advances since 2000; it increased access from 900,000 students in 2000, almost all boys, to 6.7 million students in 2009, and girl's enrollment increased from 5,000 under the Taliban to 2.4 million in the same time period (Afghanistan, Ministry of Education 2009-2010). Seventy-one percent are currently enrolled in primary and middle school (Grades 1-9) and 29 percent are enrolled in secondary education (Grades 10-12; Samady 2013). The post-secondary gains for girls have already increased, as 120,000 girls have graduated from secondary school, and 15,000 have enrolled in universities (George W. Bush Institute 2013). Every year, more than 100,000 secondary school graduates write the Kankor, the nationwide higher education entrance exam, but due to insufficient spaces and limited capacity, only about half of those students find a spot at the… [PDF]