In this study, we compared students' engagement in college and career readiness experiences between three academies and a traditional, comprehensive high school. The three academies differed on fidelity in implementing the NAF career academy model. We found that students in the high fidelity NAF academy engaged in both college and career readiness…

Cognitive activation is an approach to instruction associated with increased mathematical achievement and engagement. However, researchers have questioned its effectiveness for students with different learner characteristics. A Year 6 class participated in a lesson designed using cognitive activation practices. Interviews with ten case study…

In the secondary school setting, student engagement with mathematics has been declining for various reasons and for a significant amount of time. Gamification and standards-based grading are strategies that have the potential to improve student engagement with mathematics. The problem was poor student engagement with classroom activities in…

COVID-19 abruptly changed educational institutions globally and challenged teachers and students. This immediate shift was difficult for K12 teachers because they were required to teach their courses online or using a blended learning (BL) model. As BL use continues to grow, concerns about student-content engagement have emerged. This single case…

Research that uses self-report measures to examine the complexity of self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic challenges for adolescents is limited. This study examined the psychometric property of the Self-Regulated Learning Profile and Self-Diagnostic (SRL-PSD) instrument and addressed the multi-components of SRL and academic challenges for…

English Learners (ELs), students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, are a fast-growing, understudied, group of students in the U.S. with unique learning challenges. Cognitive flexibility--the ability to switch between task demands with ease--may be an important factor in learning for ELs as they have to manage learning in their non-dominant…

This team of authors collaborated to transform a middle school-focused informal STEM learning experience to a virtual platform that engaged students in authentic STEM learning experiences while simultaneously promoting discourse.

There are ramifications for the educational loss that comes with student disengagement. Contemporary use of alternative high schools focuses on Tier III responses to intervention for disengaged students at comprehensive high schools. Alternative schools are affiliated with students disenfranchised by traditional educational institutions and are…

As the number of STEM opportunities and the need for a scientifically literate society increases, educators in STEM fields require tools that help support these needs. Chemistry is one STEM content area that would benefit from exploring educational technology that supports conceptual understanding. An action research study was conducted to…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship between participation in career-based learning opportunities and students' level of engagement in school. In this study, a survey measured the level of engagement reported by students. Students indicated if they were involved in a career-based learning opportunity and their…

Building on research showing social-emotional benefits from a single live theater performance, this study tests for significant differences in pre to post social-cognitive outcomes among a racially and economically diverse sample of young audiences who attended the same theater performance with or without additional pre- and post-show educational…

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 forced teachers and students of the research site (given the pseudonym Roxy High School) into an online learning environment. Neither the school nor the teachers had previously experienced such a high demand for online courses, and many did not recognize the differences between online and face-to-face…

The problem addressed in this study was that the transition from traditional schooling to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic caused high school students and teachers to pivot and, as a result, negatively impacted instruction and learning. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate and understand secondary education…

Since 2012, the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice and the Supportive School Discipline Initiative (SSDI) collaborated in helping schools move toward a more restorative way of engaging students, and using suspensions and expulsions only as a last resort. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a…

Students across the United States experience high levels of contact with the police. To clarify the causal relationships of this contact with educational outcomes and the mechanisms by which such relationships arise, we estimate the effects of arrest on student engagement with school using daily attendance data. Recently arrested students missed…