Many dancers enter college with plans to join a professional company after graduation. However, if for dancers that have already sketched out their post-college professional career on paper and it looks pretty similar to their high school or studio dance experience, then college is going to be a long four years. Choreographers today are searching…

Despite the familiar American scene of lined-up students being ushered out of school buildings while their classmates lay wounded or dead inside, and despite repeated calls for restrictions on the guns used in such shootings, nearly twenty years after Columbine, the gun lobby retains a powerful grip on the nation's politicians - using money and…

Across the United States, systems of education are failing, and this dysfunction is characterized by both academic underachievement and overachievement. This research was an investigation of whether a purpose-driven curriculum contributed to student success in school and in life. This dissertation was intended to inform school systems about…

It is difficult for students who are just being introduced to major geographical concepts to understand how relatively free countries like India or Mali can have such high levels of human rights abuses as child brides, dowry deaths, and domestic violence. Textbooks explain it and video clips show examples, but it still seems surreal to teenagers…

This article describes how public, nonprofit, and private partners in Detroit are working to improve and expand adult foundational skills development opportunities and connect them to workforce training as the city begins to make an economic comeback. It outlines the adult foundational skills challenge in Detroit, chronicles the work of a strategy…

Democratic education focuses on developing students using democratic principles and processes in the classroom. In this study, we aim to understand how self-identified democratic educators practice democratic education in public-school classrooms. Nine participants, teachers in K12 schools, were interviewed for this qualitative study. In…

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of empowerment, reframing it in critical terms and in a precise and useful way. I approach this exploration through two participatory action research studies. "Why are our teachers racist?" took place over an 18-month period from 2012 to 2014 at a mid-sized high school in a rural…

In this article, I explore the narratives and experiences of four Latinx mothers and fathers, Alma, Rose, Valente and Samuel, who participated with their adolescent daughters (grades nine-10), Blanca, Elizabeth, Rocky and Reyna in Somos Escritores/We are Writers writing workshops. Somos Escritores was a family engagement space, created with and…

Young women with disabilities often experience limited career options and opportunities. This study provides an overview and preliminary results from the "Paths 2 the Future" (P2F) curriculum designed to meet the unique career development needs of young women with disabilities. P2F includes 75 lessons covering topics of self-awareness,…

The transition from high school to college can be a nerve-wracking process for any student, but some students may face more obstacles than other students along their journey. Hispanic students currently make up roughly 18 percent of all college students and are one of the largest minority groups at universities nationwide. However, based on…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore African American parental involvement of students with disabilities during transition planning in urban high schools. Through an explanatory case study the author seeks to gain a better understanding of parental involvement during the transition process in preparation for employment or…

The authors examined the dimensions of reading engagement for rural ninth-grade students who participated in a supplemental literacy intervention for students who struggled with school-based reading. Using a comparative case study approach, researchers investigated the ways in which engagement was characterized and undermined within the context of…

In this reflective essay, Alan McCullough Jr., Felton Morrell Jr., Bernard Thomas III, Vincente Waugh, and Nicholas Shubert with their teacher, Amy Donofrio, share the youth self-authorship methods that empowered them to transform their labels from "at-risk youth" to "at-hope youth leaders" in Jacksonville, Florida. After…

A teacher's primary responsibility is the academic skill development of students. However, as detailed in this study, high school students report that they are more likely to reach out to teachers for college guidance than any other adults. Thus, teachers are uniquely positioned as "institutional agents" for students interested in…

In order to provide students with demand-driven skills that will set them up for career success, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and state businesses collaborated to create the Simulated Workplace--powerful learning environments that transform the traditional classroom into student led companies that replicate real-world work…