Savvy Decision Making: An Administrator's Guide to Using Focus Groups in Schools

"Because of its comprehensive scope, this guidebook can be a single tool for designing and implementing focus groups in schools." Patricia A. All, Assistant Superintendent Olathe District Schools Olathe, KS "This work provides an extremely detailed overview and a most thorough examination of focus groups. The depth and clarity of content is truly astounding. I found myself, time and again, thinking, ′Goodness, they have thought of everything!′ This is truly an amazing resource for anyone using—or thinking of using—focus groups for any sort of decision making in educational organizations." Rick Keaster, Chair Department of Educational Leadership & Research University of Southern Mississippi A practical how-to guide for using focus groups to help make important school decisions! Focus groups of parents, students, community members, or teachers can be an effective means of gaining support for school decisions, modifying programs, gathering constituent feedback, and conducting research. Savvy Decision Making contains the practical, easy-to-implement steps you need to design and run an effective focus group, as well as solid advice on how to analyze and report the information that emerges. Researchers and lecturers, Madhavi Jayanthi and Janet S. Nelson, cover all the basics, including: Using focus groups in the decision-making process Selecting a moderator Determining what types of participants you need Scheduling focus groups Recruiting participants Developing a focus group guide Moderating the group Analyzing and reporting the findings Educational examples, guidelines, and a simple, step-by-step process provide administrators with everything they need to use focus groups—a powerful qualitative research tool.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Using Focus Groups in Schools 2. Selecting a Moderator 3. Clarifying the Purpose 4. Determining the Composition of Focus Groups 5. Making Decisions About Scheduling Focus Groups 6. Finalizing Important Details 7. Recruiting Participants 8. Developing a Focus Group Guide 9. Moderating a Focus Group 10. Analyzing and Reporting Focus Group Findings References Index

About the Author :
Madhavi Jayanthi, Ed.D., is a respected lecturer, presenter, and writer in the fields of qualitative research and special education. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, Reading and Writing Quarterly, School Psychology Review and many other publications. Most recently Dr. Jayanthi served as consulting editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities. He continues to write and lecture nationwide. Janet Sylvann Nelson, Ed.D., is currently Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She has worked as a special education teacher, a supervisor of student interns, and a research associate at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. An accomplished author and researcher, her work has appeared in Remedial and Special Education and Reading and Writing Quarterly, among many others Dr Nelson has also presented across the country on the subjects of special education, communication, and research and testing methodologies.

Review :
"Because of its comprehensive scope, this guidebook can be a single tool for designing and implementing focus groups in schools." "This is truly an amazing resource for anyone using – or thinking of using – focus groups for any sort of decision making in educational organizations...a blueprint for success."