The purpose of the quantitative ex post facto design of this study was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy increases after the implementation of a pre-entry program for community college student athletes in Southern California. The self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical foundation to address the research questions in this…

The aim of my study was: (a) to measure the effectiveness of a supporting tutor-training curriculum and content knowledge gains for preservice teachers engaged in service learning and (b) to determine whether tutor training and field experience improved the preservice teachers' teaching self-efficacy beliefs. One hundred and thirteen…

Background: Service-learning has been used in adapted physical activity and education (APA/E) courses in kinesiology. However, evidence has been lacking to clarify the need for utilizing service-learning in APA/E courses as an avenue to change attitudes of students. Purpose: This study aimed to compare two APA/E courses, one with service-learning…

What teachers believe about their own effectiveness in the classroom influences what and how they teach, so teacher preparation programs should work to cultivate strong self-efficacy beliefs (SEBs) in future teachers. I designed a science content course for future elementary teachers around the simultaneous goals of teaching science content and…

Insufficient physical activity during the elementary school years has been associated with a number of health problems (Strong et al., 2006). During the school day, the recess period provides the greatest opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (Robert Wood Johnson, 2007). Nonetheless, most children spend the majority of their…

The incidence of melanoma is rising among Hispanic populations in the United States. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pilot sun safety educational intervention conducted from 2006 to 2012 on Hispanic early adolescents in a high ultraviolet environment. Nineteen schools with high Hispanic enrollment were recruited from urban…

In this study, the effects of teacher education on preservice secondary science and mathematics teacher readiness (defined as an understanding of how to implement current standards, how to teach English learners, and the belief teachers have about their abilities and skills as educators) and teacher performance assessment (edTPA) scores were…

This study examined the effect of course delivery mode on academic help-seeking beliefs and behaviors, academic self-efficacy, and the levels of individual interest in biology of students in an entry-level General Education biology course. This intersection of online education, science courses, and academic success factors merits attention because…

Concern exists regarding civic education and involvement among youth in the United States. Where civic education is still given priority, instructional methods do not necessarily focus on the application of the knowledge gained in real and meaningful ways, which research has shown is critical to develop civic literacy and efficacy. This study…

This research project included two studies that investigated (a) differences between technology use in tech-knowledgeable and less tech-knowledgeable older persons, (b) cognitive and affective variables and their association with the application of technology, and (c) the implications of these variables on the design of remote-delivered caregiver…

We examined the sexual health change process experienced by 26 college student sexual health educators from three geographic regions of the United States who participated in a multisite arts-based sexual health prevention program. We conducted eight focus groups and used a phenomenological approach to analyze data. We drew from social cognitive…

Students beginning high school commonly experience increased stress and behavior problems alongside declines in grades, attendance, interest in school, and perceptions of academic competence and self-esteem (Alvidrez & Weinstein, 1993; Reyes et al., 2000). Moreover, research indicates that, relative to students who graduate from high school,…

This paper presents an interdisciplinary research project that studies the impact of collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) on the development of self-efficacy of students from various ethnic groups in an undergraduate senior-level computer networking class. Grounded in social constructivist and situated theories of learning, the study…

Despite the awareness of the importance of self-efficacy, this concept has been studied in a limited sense among community college students (Collins & Bissell, 2004), but it has been shown to be significantly related to career decisions among enrollees (Kelly & Hatcher, 2013). The literature does not address what types of experiences can…

An activity for eliciting student involvement in collaborative decision-making and problem-solving with adults--the student listening circle workshop--is examined for the first time through an experimental study of its effects on participating students. A student listening circle is a facilitated focus group in which students articulate to adults…