There is a workforce shortage in middle-skill occupations requiring some educational training but not a 4-year college degree, such as skilled trades (e.g., construction), transportation (e.g., drivers), and manufacturing. Identifying factors that promote adolescent interest in middle-skill occupations is crucial in combating this shortage. This…

This small scale study looks at the challenges teachers face and their attitudes. Drawing from the literature on teacher attrition, teacher burnout, and teacher collective efficacy, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of five teachers selected from a convenience sample. Three themes emerged: teachers struggle with students'…

Minimizing teacher stress is an essential aspect of effective teaching and supporting a healthy school climate. Previous research has indicated that teachers who experience elevated levels of occupational stress may have a negative perception of their school's climate, poor mental/physical health, poor relationships with their students, and are…

K-12 science teachers in the United States are encouraged to teach their students engineering. When incorporating engineering into their science curricula, teachers commonly either focus on: (1) engineering and lace science throughout; or (2) science and lace engineering throughout. This study explores middle school students' nature of engineering…

Past research has highlighted some differences in how sarcasm is interpreted by different groups of individuals as well as biases in individuals' expectations regarding who is more likely to use it (e.g., occupation, gender). However, examinations of patterns of sarcasm production have been much less frequent. The current research extends past…

Students build up their STEM career interest based on their experiences. However, it remains unclear how students reflect on their STEM experiences in light of their understanding of STEM careers. This study aimed to explore how students relate their practices in STEM project-based learning (PBL) with their perceptions of scientists' and…

Aspirations and expectations are conceptually and empirically different. Given their differential impact on various educational outcomes, it is expected that they, and consequently their convergence, would be affected by different factors. This study examines the factors leading to high aspirations, high expectations and to their alignment by…

SC TEACHER's research mission includes publishing yearly reports that detail the South Carolina educator workforce, sharing insights with educators themselves, policymakers, community members, and other stakeholders. This report is an annual review of the state's public school teacher workforce. Analysis in this study uses statewide data from…

Professional identity has a significant impact on teachers' interpretation of their different roles and their understanding of how to perform these roles. This study aimed to explore mathematics and science teachers' perceptions of the factors influencing their teacher professional identity within three dimensions: teaching efficacy, teaching…

The study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometrical properties of a new brief measure of gender stereotyping career attitudes. Participants were 222 early and 196 middle adolescents from Croatia. The Vocational Gender Stereotype Attitudes Scale (VGSA) consists of 12 items that represent masculine, feminine and gender-balanced activities…

The relationship between parents and children is important for realizing developmental tasks, intra-family, and peer relationships. Self-concept and self-esteem are closely related to a person's personality and identity. This study examined the relationship between 5th grade primary school students' secure attachment to their mothers and their…

The authors of this report aim to understand the health of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and labor market in the Appalachia region -- defined as the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia -- with a focus on the mining and extraction industry. This report is the third in a three-part series.…

The purpose of this study was to examine Mexican and Mexican-American mothers' perspectives about the construction of two-way dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs in the context of an urban area in South Texas and to analyze the factors that contribute to their decision about their children's participation in such programs. Our main…

As part of a longitudinal study of the development and implementation of a middle school engineering design curriculum, we have used an occupational values subscale of the Assessing Men and Women in Engineering (AWE) project's Engineering version of the Core Survey for Middle School-Aged Participants to measure student occupational interest in…

The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study is to explore the different pathways into teaching in rural primary and middle schools. As a conceptual framework, the continuum of teacher learning and occupational choice theory were used to study teacher preparation and recruitment. Research participants included twelve teachers (seven male…