Student voice may seem like a new concept; however, it has a long history of being engrained in public schools in the United States. The trend towards incorporating and expanding student voice opportunities in high school is based on the tenets of democracy. Educators seek to provide an opportunity for students to practice democracy in their…

Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

This study utilized a quantitative research approach with a survey design to determine whether a sample of K-8 principals in the state of Illinois, that rated teachers in a set of classroom instructional videos, exhibited inter-rater reliability since they all received the Illinois state-approved training and certification for teacher evaluators.…

Inadequate transition outcomes for youth with disabilities have produced a call for enhanced transition service delivery that includes implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). However, research indicates transition service providers still lack the knowledge and skills to effectively implement EBPs to ensure youth with disabilities…

This first analysis of aggregated data from the Kahoot! game-based player response system demonstrates that it can provide assessments of overall US student polar knowledge and identifies differences in polar knowledge across several states. A kahoot online quiz on polar topics recorded over 25,000 United States teacher-hosted classroom players…

The purpose of this multi-state study was to identify agricultural education teachers' perceived level of importance regarding selected instructional supervisory practices used in the nonformal components of agricultural education. The theoretical frame supporting this study was the theory of andragogy. Data were reported on the perceived…

Teacher attrition is a significant problem nationally and a special challenge for school-based agriculture education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate contributing variables associated with former Illinois school-based agriculture teachers and their decision to leave the profession. A four-factor conceptual model is proposed…

The action research project report was created to remedy a lack of multicultural literature within the regular level sophomore English class and to assist regular level sophomore students' connection to their reading. The teacher-researcher also examined her students' own ethnic backgrounds, cultures, religions, economic status, gender, and/or…

The purpose of this study was to examine educator's perceptions regarding the quality of student learning during the implementation of a one-to-one computing program in a private secondary school in central Illinois. The sample of the study consisted of 26 teachers, administrators, and counselors who worked with 320 students during one-to-one…

Most students finish high school with low levels of financial knowledge, yet they are months away from important decisions about how to finance college. Students may not know about family finances, even though parental income is a key determinant of financial aid for college. This study measures the financial knowledge of high school students by…

"Transition Planning for Youth with Special Health Care Needs (YSHCN)" chronicles the research and work completed by agencies in Illinois to provide examples of best practice in transition planning. Increasing numbers of YSHCN survive into adulthood creating a need for focus on the transition to adult life for these young people,…

The National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI) is a nonprofit organization committed to improving educational outcomes that traces its roots back to the early 1990s. NMSI's College Readiness Program (CRP) is a long-standing program with the goal of promoting STEM education in high schools to improve students' preparation for college. The three-year…

In this study, we conducted binary logistic regression on survey data collected from 244 past participants of a Talent Search program who attended regular high schools but supplemented their regular high school education with enriched or accelerated math and science learning activities. The participants completed an online survey 4 to 6 years…

The purpose of this study was to compare novice and experienced teachers' perceptions of student motivation at the high school level and to determine if the teachers were likely to incorporate research-based techniques. Survey data were collected on the following motivational constructs: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; performance, mastery,…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…