Qualitative researchers often turn to focus groups as an efficient and effective way to gather data in a collective context. A common critique is that they play into power dynamics present at the site, privileging dominant, high status, and more vocal participants. Traditional focus group structures also rely on participants to trust the…

The Florida College and Career Readiness Initiative is a statewide policy that requires college readiness testing for grade 11 students and participation in college readiness and success courses for grade 12 students who do not test college-ready. During the first year of an evaluation of this initiative, data collection on program implementation…

Social emotional learning (SEL) is a term that encompasses a set of essential life skills including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2024, para. 1). Despite growing interest, many school districts struggle with…

This study was designed to explore the relationship between teacher practices and levels of student engagement in secondary agricultural education programs. Most researchers have agreed that student engagement at the secondary level may be measured through three constructs: cognitive engagement, behavioral engagement, and emotional engagement. The…

In the United States, more than 5.4 million children and adolescents under age 18 provide care for family members who are aging or have chronic illness, disability, or other health conditions that require assistance. In this policy report, we describe youth's care for the family, and highlight the increasing prevalence, global challenges, and…

This report examines the extent to which student characteristics, achievement, and postsecondary plans can predict the likelihood of college attendance. The report compares students' self-reported plans in Spring 2019 with subsequent college attendance through the 2019-2020 school year. The postsecondary plans used in this report are obtained from…

This first analysis of aggregated data from the Kahoot! game-based player response system demonstrates that it can provide assessments of overall US student polar knowledge and identifies differences in polar knowledge across several states. A kahoot online quiz on polar topics recorded over 25,000 United States teacher-hosted classroom players…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of a relationship between second-order change leadership behaviors of high school administrators and changes in student achievement on the Florida Standards Assessment English Language Arts/Reading component and the Algebra 1 End of Course examination in two large urban school districts.…

School-based health clinics (SBHCs) offer convenient, free, and much-needed health services to adolescents who have been shown to lack access to preventative care and treatment. With high rates of risky sexual behavior and associated negative health outcomes, SBHCs are particularly effective in providing sexual health services. This article…

Weapons at school pose a danger to students as well as faculty. Educational administrators have attempted to reduce their prevalence by implementing random weapons searches in schools. This article examines the effectiveness of this approach using data from two geographically adjacent school districts in Florida (Miami-Dade and Broward). In the…

Nontraditional students returning to college have many outside stressors that potentially prohibit academic success including full-time jobs, home life (children, spouses, and bills), and lack of time or understanding of college assignments. An explanatory mixed methods study was conducted for the purpose of determining if and for how long the…

Each school year, the School Climate Survey is administered to gather information on the perceptions that students, their parents, and school staffs hold concerning their schools. In 2011-2012, the survey was distributed to approximately 93,000 parents, 52,000 elementary, secondary, and adult students, and 24,000 staff. This report summarizes…

In the United States today, more jobs than ever before require at least some postsecondary education. Yet too many young adults are either not enrolling or not succeeding in college. This scenario exists across many different types of communities, but schools in rural areas, particularly those with large populations of low-income students, face…

The purpose of this research was to examine the factors and elements that contributed to the success and longevity of an exemplary Jesuit high school leader. Through an exemplary case study approach, qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Instead of merely employing one of two leadership frames, the convergent evidence suggested that…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…