Understanding student motivations for participating in high-impact educational practices is important for improving learning experiences. This article explores student motivations across and within five forms of experiential learning at Elon University: study abroad, research, internships, service-learning, and leadership experiences. Surveys and…

Why do another study on the Arts and Sciences (A&S) students (often referred to as liberal arts students) when the media, politicians, and many labor market pundits have been constantly devaluing their worth? When the value of education is under close scrutiny and parents are pushing their sons and daughters toward academic majors that lead to…

Although associate professors comprise only about 20 percent of all full-time instructional faculty in degree-granting institutions, the rank is important because it is the primary pipeline from which institutional leaders emerge. In this article, the authors describe the results of a campus-wide needs assessment at the University of North…

In light of escalating enrollments of African American students on college campuses and continuing calls to increase the numbers of African American male faculty, a considerable amount of research has been conducted over the years to explore the relative status of African American male faculty (Bennett, 2001). It was difficult to find a college or…

The Early Learning Challenge (ELC) program awarded more than $1 billion in four-year grants to 20 States to implement comprehensive and cohesive high-quality early learning systems that support young children with high needs and their families. A key lever in making these improvements was the enhancement of States' Quality Rating and Improvement…

This paper describes a series of integrated career development activities offered in several required courses which are designed to help accounting majors gain a competitive edge in the job market. Supported by a partnership between the School of Business and the Academic and Career Planning Office, the Career Tool Kit program consists of…

TechMath is a professional development program that forms collaborations among businesses, colleges, and schools for the purpose of promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers. TechMath has provided strategies for creating highquality professional development by bringing together teachers, students, and business…

The feminized labor of composition studies is usually seen as being in service of, or subservient to, literary studies, ignoring composition's disaffective position against other fields, specifically creative writing. Viewing composition studies' complex labor histories in tandem with the meteoric rise of creative writing allows for a new way of…

The purpose of this report is to describe what the authors learned from studying eight teacher career advancement initiatives implemented across a variety of contexts, including urban, suburban, and rural districts; high poverty and affluent districts; and in schools/districts both with and without strong union presence. They describe key…

This brief estimates the impact of a statewide implementation of Opportunity Culture models, using North Carolina as an example. Impacts estimated include student learning outcomes, gross state product, teacher pay, and other career characteristics, and state income tax revenue. Estimates indicate the potential for a statewide transition to…

This study sought to improve our understanding of factors that influence the career paths of African American female school principals in North Carolina. Three pertinent research questions were addressed in this study: (1) What formative experiences influence the career path decisions of African American females who want to become school…

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…

This article features the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) which serves as the founding credential in the six states and one locality in the Career Readiness Certificate Consortium (Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.). The Career Readiness Certificate was developed by the small consortium…

Brigadier General Anthony "Tony" Tata of the U.S. Army had one of those "ah-ha" moments in April 2006 when, on the eve of an operation he was heading in Afghanistan, an Al Qaeda rocket shattered a nearby school. The attack killed a teacher and seven students and wounded dozens more. The rocket incident eventually nudged Tata…

Investment in the certification of teachers by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) represents a significant policy initiative for the nation's public school teachers. This article investigates the potential impact of NBPTS certification on teachers' career paths. Using a competing risks model on data from North Carolina…