The Colorado Graduates Initiative demonstrates seven factors that must be present to build an effective statewide collaborative effort to increase high school graduation rates. These include: 1) Leadership to unite diverse stakeholders on specific, common goals and catalyze them into action; 2) A focus on data, particularly on actionable, early…

In this study the full array of personal goals pursued by adolescents was examined using an idiographic goal-elicitation procedure. The aims of the study were twofold. Firstly, we investigated individual differences in self-generated goals and goal process appraisals based on sociodemographic characteristics. Secondly, we investigated the…

This pilot study examines the role of metacognitive awareness as a motivational strategy in second language learning. The paper begins by exploring metacognitive strategies within the general language learning strategy framework, and then zooming in upon "interest enhancement" as a particular strategy that influences motivation and…

The purpose of this study was to better predict how a first semester college freshman becomes prepared for college. The theoretical framework guiding this study is Vrooms' expectancy theory, motivation plays a key role in success. This study used a hierarchical multiple regression model. The independent variables of interest included high school…

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) students in public education are challenged with the detrimental effects of homophobic harassment. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions and lived experiences of former GLBTQ high school students and their experiences with school…

One of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in the history of the United States ripped through the southeast Missouri town of Joplin on May 22, 2011. As it traveled along a 13-mile path it claimed 161 lives and caused more than $151 million in damages. Ten schools were damaged or destroyed and Joplin High School was a total loss. Just 48…

This eight-year longitudinal study deals with the effects of an intense inner-city cultural immersion experience on fifth-year secondary students. Over 250 preservice teachers were given orientations to the inner-city setting and were placed in one of two select inner-city high schools. Approximately 30 students took part in the one-week cultural…

Our goal was to identify how students' perceptions of their parents shape the kind and degree of motivational goal orientations that they adopt in their mathematics classroom, broadening the application of achievement goal orientation theory and self-determination theory to students in Korea. Two groups of students participated, one from a middle…

This investigation assesses performance and mastery orientation from a Rasch perspective among high school and university students and provides a complementary approach to the factor analytic methods typical in goal theory research. Data shows that both school and university students are high in mastery orientation relative to performance…

Objective: To examine the relations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics's (STEM) self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and contextual supports and barriers to STEM educational goals in college students with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Design: Quantitative descriptive research design using…

This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020--if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and…

On a mid-week day in mid-December 2008, Boston Day and Evening Academy's room 209, usually used for board meetings, student assessments, awards dinners, and other occasions requiring an intimate atmosphere, smelled like Chinese food. These second-trimester students at Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) were having a reunion after just a few…

Objective: To compare risk of suicide ideation and attempts in adolescents with 1) gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) identity, 2) "unsure" identity, or 3) heterosexual identity with same-sex attraction/fantasy or behavior, to heterosexual identity without same-sex attraction/fantasy or behavior. Method: A total of 1,856 students 14 years…

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the extent to which Latina/o students' perceptions of support from high school teachers and counselors, as well as acculturation, predict enrollment in AP coursework; (b) examine Latina/o students' perceptions of different forms of support that appear to play a role in academic success (Hassinger…