In this article, a principal is inspired to change the conversations with students and staff members from discipline and deficit to hope and planning for future achievement. He wants conversations to be more about academic goals and decision making and less about discipline and random acceptance of postsecondary plans. He has asked all staff…

Forty-eight new secondary science teachers participated in a study that required a listing, discussion, and application of criteria to rank three chemistry laboratory procedures. The three similar lab procedures involved synthesis of a compound from its elements. The top criteria noted by teachers focused on procedural issues (i.e., timeliness,…

This essay examined the issue of immigration and student success. I have developed an ideal organization for students based on the many models recently discussed. My career as an educator for the past forty-one years lends credence to a desire to create a difference model in education for the next fifty years. The model is named "Immigration and…

The decrease in urban green spaces limits the opportunities for adults and children to experience nature and learn about the environment. Yet, it is only when children experience nature in the outdoors that they can learn best to love it and strive to preserve it. As such, the need to include biodiversity studies in the curriculum becomes a…

The author of this article is a young elementary teacher at Rosado Elementary in Richmond, California, on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. She writes this article as a moving memoir describing her experiences as a tutor in literacy programs developed by low-income schools. In order for their students to remember their lessons, they have…

This article discusses a project launched by Penncrest High School in Penncrest, Pennsylvania, that encouraged parents to share, with the faculty members and students and with one another as well, expressions of their hopes for their children now and in the future. The project, which began with a challenge made by the principal to the…

According to research, students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have lower rates of high school graduation and university attendance. There is little research regarding interventions to address these issues. The current study compared the effects of two programs designed to increase academic motivation. Forty-seven high…

By examining data from interviews with students in the Upward Bound program (a federally sponsored program that provides academic support to students at risk who are preparing for college entrance), this study seeks to strengthen an understanding of the role of trust among urban youth at risk in the educational organizations that serve them. This…

The purpose of this article is to assess six habits of academic achievement by African American male students from households of poverty whom been successful in completing a 5-A high school program of study. Despite the wealth of research that indicates a great disparity among racial and gender groups with regard to standardized assessment,…

Using cluster analysis to combine specific adaptive measures related to mastery motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-adequacy, and locus of control), a total of 654 high school students were placed into distinct adaptive motivation groups. Mean scores on a variety of self-reported and peer-reported measures of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and…

There are many factors that influence the academic success and motivation of students. Social cognitive theory contends that individuals learn and perform based upon a triadic reciprocality of personal factors, behavior, and the environment. Personal factors such as beliefs, behaviors, and the environment equally influence one another. Existing…

Many middle school and high school youth recognize the value of participating in organized activities outside school, yet too often they limit their involvement because of busy schedules and family lives, disinterest in existing activity choices, lack of motivation to attend organized activities or the lure of freedom or relaxation over structured…

"What is science?" This is the question the author posed to his 10th graders as they were in the midst of selecting courses for their next term, and, in particular, deciding whether or not to continue with science. He explained the intersection between science, technology, creativity, and society in an attempt to convince them that their science…

The Sport Participation Model Questionnaire (SPMQ) was given to two hundred and sixty-four subjects to determine if significant differences existed in the composite scores of parents, coaches, youth sport participants, high school participants and college students; if the groups differed in their responses to pooled items; and if subject groups…

Using a composite example of field trips from several years of traveling to Yellowstone with high school biology students, the author illustrates how to raise the cognitive level of science instruction and student learning through science field trips. The author examines what teachers can do to raise the level of both teaching and learning in all…