No student left behind

This yearbook is a compilation of select papers presented at the second annual Center for Educational Development, Evaluation and Research (CEDER) conference at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The conference featured the research and program development of the faculty and graduate students in the College of Education. Held at the University Center on the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi campus on February 28, 2004, the conference was co-sponsored by the Coastal Bend Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa. Over 200 educators from South Texas attended this conference to hear the 37 poster sessions, roundtables, regular sessions and the keynote session. Dr. Dee Hopkins, Dean of the College of Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi was the keynote speaker. The theme of the conference, No Student Left Behind, was obviously based on the No Child Left Behind federal legislation initiated by President George W. Bush in 2001. However, the Bush legislation dealt primarily with the literacy education of very young children; the thrust of this conference was much broader. This conference dealt with the research and program initiatives for students at all levels – pre-school through adult. Furthermore, the conference looked at all the factors that contributed to No Student Being Left Behind - the pedagogical factors, the emotional factors, and, of course, the literacy factors - all of which contribute to students’ success in school and in life. Accordingly, this volume of conference papers is divided into three sections: Teacher Education for Our Students; Counseling Our Students; and Literacy Affecting Our Students. The first section, teacher education for our students, contains chapters dealing with research and practice concerning the retention of teachers, the qualities of a good teacher, and good pedagogical practice. The second section of this volume deals with counseling our students and consists primarily of research done by the faculty and doctoral students in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The last section of this paper deals with the literacy issues affecting our students and focuses particularly on the literacy of Hispanic students in South Texas. Special thanks for this volume must be extended to Dr. Bryant Griffith, a professor in the department of Curriculum & Instruction and to Sydna Arnold, Catherine Swift, Norma Zunker and Roberto Garcia, in the doctoral program. Without their editorial work this volume would not have been possible. The Center for Educational Development, Evaluation, and Research at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi hopes that this yearbook will serve as a resource for all those educators and researchers dedicated to seeing that, indeed, No Student Is Left Behind.