Religious education in Australian Catholic High Schools is the raison d'etre for the Catholic education system and religious education teachers are critical to this mission. This paper offers a framework for investigating the self-efficacy of religious education teachers.We first describe the nature and context of religious education in Australian…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine the effect that Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators, non-CTE concentrators and academic concentrators have on the on-time graduation of 1035 high school students in 7 high schools in Arizona for the 2015--2016 school year. There were three research questions…

The purpose of this action research study was to explore the impact instructional choices had on student participation in the classroom learning environment, growth of knowledge in social studies, and self-efficacy in the learning process. The instructional choices implemented through a flipped learning instructional approach were designed to…

This qualitative study examines the effects of career pathways programming and targeted career counseling services on 71 high school seniors across seven schools engaged in school reforms funded through South Carolina's Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA). EEDA is a statewide, multipronged effort to improve academic achievement,…

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) are less likely to continue their education or become employed after high school. Although transition services are provided, little is known about students' understanding of their post-high school options. Using a social cognitive framework, the authors interviewed students with ID to determine their…

This study sought to extend the research on adolescents' hope, academic expectations, and average grades. The hope theory (Snyder, "Psychological Inquiry" 13(4):249-275, 2002), the salutogenic paradigm (with a focus on sense of coherence (SOC) (Antonovsky 1987)), and Bandura's ("Journal of Management" 38(1):9-44,…

The current study focuses on the contribution of five personality traits to the development of self-efficacy and outcome expectations regarding selecting a high school major among adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). Social cognitive career theory and the Big Five personality traits model served as the theoretical framework. Participants…

The exploration of African American adolescents' career development has gained increasing attention in light of literature describing various barriers impacting their educational and career development and goals. Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was used as a theoretical framework to help shed light on the contextual factors that influence…

The authors have examined the relative contribution of personal (emotional state, gender-role attitudes), contextual (perceived social supports and barriers), and cognitive (self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations) variables to technological interests in a sample (N = 2,364) of 10th-grade Spanish students. The results of path analysis…

This mixed-methods case study examined two out-of-school (OST) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs at a science-oriented high school on students' Self-Efficacy. Because STEM is a key for future innovation and economic growth, Americans have been developing a variety of approaches to increase student interest in science within…

This study evaluates the Youth Development Program (YDP), a component of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). We examine whether the YDP reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the impoverished Mississippi River Delta in southeast Arkansas. Initially, the program seems to have an impact. Students…

In the United States, the number of students entering into and completing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas has declined significantly over the past decade. Although modest increases have been shown in enrollments in computer-related majors in the past 4 years, the prediction is that even in 3 to 4 years…

The predictive utility of social cognitive career theory's (SCCT) interest and choice models was examined in a sample of 600 Portuguese high school students. Participants completed measures of occupational self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, social supports and barriers, and choice consideration across the six Holland (1997) RIASEC…

The ability to interact with peers and coworkers in online digital networks is essential in learning and business environments. Our digital participatory culture is based on communication in response to purposeful activity and is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT). Students with emotional, behavioral, and learning…

Many students in Grades 9-10 are not meeting state standards on standardized mathematics tests in the Southeastern United States. The focus of this study was to determine if a teacher's confidence level affects student success in mathematics and to discover which type of teacher self-efficacy best predicts student performance. Bandura's social…