Mary Frances Agnello

Looking at Rural Communities in Teacher Preparation: Insight into a P—12 Schoolhouse

A flashing light at the highway intersection slows down trucks carrying cattle or oil field equipment and invites drivers to stop for a cup of coffee at Billie Dean’s. Three blocks east, Main Street has a fourway stop where an inattentive traveler might catch sight of a soda shop with a girl leaning out the window seemingly ready to offer a cold drink on a hot day. On closer look, she finds that it is one of nearly a dozen murals by Joe Taylor depicting the history of the town on its old brick buildings. (Instructor observation)

A Critically Compassionate Approach to Financial Literacy

A Critically Compassionate Approach to Financial Literacy offers a unique approach to conceptualizing financial literacy. Differentiating between notions of financial worth and personal self-worth, the authors present a description of financial literacy tenets founded in principles of self-awareness and cooperative community that are rooted in principles of compassion. Basing their work on principles of psychological and archeological research that associates personal wellness with self-security based on principles of trust, the authors posit that personal fulfillment occurs independently of accumulated financial resources.

Integrating geospatial technologies, action research, and curriculum theory to promote ecological literacy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and report on the impact of integrating geospacial technology and ecological literacy into an educational leadership Masters class block comprised of action research and curriculum theory.Design/methodology/approach – Action and teacher research informed by environmental issues framed an action research and curriculum theory course block in a Masters Educational Leadership program. A phenomenological study captured what transpired at a rural campus in Summer 2009. Teachers in Cohort VII investigated environmental relationships through observation, data collection, and analysis. The use of geospatial technologies built on place‐based educational pedagogies through the experience of kayaking on the Llano River to examine ecological social contexts as they relate to environmental issues.Findings – Data reveal great interest in geospatial technologies but need for more professional development.Practical implications – This action research engaged future scho...