Recent policy efforts have attempted to increase the number of dual enrollment courses offered within Career and Technical Education pathways and there is evidence to suggest that this practice is widespread. However, there is very little research on student participation in CTE dual enrollment and on its impacts. This study examines participation…

Rural residents are at a disadvantage with regard to health status and access to health promotion activities. In many rural communities, public libraries offer support through health information provision; there are also opportunities for engagement in broader community health efforts. In a collaborative effort between an academic researcher and a…

When examined more thoroughly, the complexities created by the discrepancies between admission and graduation of African American students point to the impact of their psychological orientation to community college. It simultaneously highlights the degree of their mainstream orientation experience and its impact on their perceptions of…

Adult Education (AE) in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) is undergoing changes in the twenty first century in response to legislation passed, namely the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA), beginning in 2014. Conceptualized instruction that targets job interests, a goal of employment or enrollment into a postsecondary…

The sexual behaviour of US youth places them at risk of negative outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. The US Centres for Disease Control recommend a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and relationships to improve these outcomes. Yet, sexuality education across the country, especially in the US…

Competency-based education (CBE) has gained popularity over the course of the past several years, and the North Carolina Community College System is now working to develop its first CBE degree path. Though a number of institutions have implemented CBE on the national scale, only minimal research has been conducted regarding faculty and…

The Coalition for Community Schools (Coalition), as an alliance of national, state and local partners that advocate for community schools, wanted to provide support and a space for community school leaders to share their challenges and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning March 17, 2020 through the present, the Coalition conducted…

Climate change education in the southeastern United States can be challenging. Due to economic factors, as well as the conservative political and faith perspectives typical of the region, high proportions (40%) of the population are not engaged, not convinced, or doubt Earth's climate is changing or that climate change has anthropogenic causes.…

Since 2012, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has supported educational enrichment in rural areas by awarding over $3.3 million in grants to six outstanding organizations operating in Iowa, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In this report, the authors combine the experiences of these organizations with findings from the…

This study aimed to measure perceived psychosocial outcomes of middle school intramural participants in psychological development, social development, and school connectedness and to identify differences between gender and grade level. One hundred four middle school students were surveyed via a modified version of the Social Outcomes…

Community colleges across the United States are adopting multiple measures policies that place students into college-level or developmental coursework based on more than one indicator of student ability. Historically, community colleges relied on high-stakes tests for student placement but recent studies have exposed these as unreliable indicators…

With the majority of "good jobs" that pay a family-sustaining wage requiring at least some college education -- such as a technical certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree or another credential of value -- ensuring the existence of high-quality postsecondary CTE [Career Technical Education] programs and programs of study is more…

The problem to be addressed by this study was the lack of student retention on the part of community college students, how that was perceived by faculty, staff, and students, and how retention could potentially be impacted by student participation in fine arts courses and activities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine fine arts…

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) seeks to conduct relevant, sustainable research that is tailored to the needs of the communities with which it is engaged through equitable collaboration between community representatives and professional researchers. Like other participatory approaches to research and planning, CBPR has been…

A majority of the research on the impact of learning communities has focused on the positive outcomes for students in their first year of study (Andrade, 2007; Goldman, 2012; Laverick, 2018; Wathington, Pretlow, & Mitchell, 2010). Less is known about the impact of learning community involvement as students complete their enrollment and persist…