The goal of this study was to provide insights on the extent to which high school students receive support for college and career planning, the mechanisms through which they receive this information, and how this varies across students and settings using data from a multi-state, multi-study project focused on advising for postsecondary…

This playbook provides ways in which students and their families can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Students are the most important stakeholders to Raise the Bar for student success and can play an active role in shaping the "education-to-workforce" system to focus on Unlocking Career…

The purpose of this quantitative associative correlational study was to examine to what extent there is an associative relationship for high school teacher attitudes toward professional development and time for classroom preparation, as measured by the Teaching and Learning Conditions of Colorado survey, and overall rural high school performance.…

In this study, I documented, analyzed, and compared the thought processes of six high school science teachers during twenty minutes of planning for NGSS-aligned instruction. Teachers' thoughts were captured using a virtual revisit think-aloud protocol and their thoughts were analyzed and compared using a novel tool called a thinking web. A…

A new group of Grade 12 students graduates from high school each year. This is an important time for young adults because they must make decisions for what life after high school will look like. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to investigate what decisions students in Alberta are making for after high school, and (b) to examine how such…

This study explored the manner in which poor planning skill impairs reading comprehension of students with ADHD. Ninety-six adolescents with and without ADHD completed a planning task (Tower of London) and answered open-ended questions following the reading of two expository texts under two reading goals - study and entertainment, while their…

Transitioning away from high school to postsecondary life can be a complicated process for any young person. This process can be made more difficult for students with disabilities if options are not put in place before they leave high school. This is where the transition process becomes an important development to help guide students with…

Rural youths often feel compelled to leave their home communities to seek new opportunities, especially at the secondary-postsecondary educational transition. These decisions are driven in part by perceived developmental imperatives to leave rural regions given messages that success is best achieved elsewhere. The present study used the framework…

Research on preservice teachers' (PST) adaptive competence in physical education is critical to prepare them for effective teaching in an ever-changing pedagogical context. This study examined the adaptive competence of two PSTs (one male, one female) during their twelve-week school placement while teaching two 10th-grade classes. The adaptations…

Executive functions, which begin developing in early childhood, are necessary for the tasks of daily life, such as decision making and planning. Despite their early development, often without teaching, many teens with disabilities need explicit instruction to acquire and apply executive functions each day. Gaps in executive functions directly…

This study examined how algebra teachers plan curriculum units when they actively design their curriculum. I used a case study (Yin, 2013) of five experienced high school mathematics teachers who came from school districts of varying sizes across the nation. More specifically, I analyzed the teachers' unit planning processes and products by…

Background: Intervention construct validity procedures test the efficacy of a program to impact on targeted theory constructs. Purpose: To examine the intervention construct validity of the Planning to be Active (PBA) and Mentored Planning to be Active (MPBA) programs on high school youth residing in Appalachia. Methods: Twenty high schools in…

In an effort to deepen learning in K-12 science classrooms, there has been a national movement to integrate computational thinking (CT). The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to understand teachers' perceptions of the function and usefulness of a task analysis and a decision tree tool designed to help them with integration. Teachers…

The implementation of course-based STEM research experiences in high school would greatly expand access to high-level research, thus providing more students with the type of integrated learning recommended by organizations such as the National Science Board and the National Academy of Science. While there is ample literature on the success of…

The transition to adulthood is a challenging time of major decision-making about education, employment, finances, living situation, and social relationships. Transition planning is vital for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who are more likely than those without special education needs to encounter challenges with social integration,…