This research study examined the difference between a formal pre-kindergarten (pre-K) experience and a non-formal pre-kindergarten experience and the impact it had on the academic achievement of kindergarten students. The study also examined the impact these experiences had on kindergarten students as it relates to the Phonological Awareness…

I examined the relationship between career readiness and academic success among a sample of approximately 500 11th grade students from selected rural school districts in South Carolina. There is limited research regarding the relationship between career readiness and academic success. I used R2W assessments to measure career readiness and the…

The goal of Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms was to provide teachers with ongoing, differentiated professional development and research-based curricular materials to improve elementary student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading. This work used an inquiry-based science curriculum, Smithsonian Science for the…

This study served two primary purposes: (a) to explore students' perceptions regarding the utilization of technology in their classroom-based instruction, and (b) to provide an overview of the current use of technology in classrooms that encompasses all high school students. The significance of the study was to contribute to the body of research…

Objective: We wanted to identify factors associated with pre-nursing student retention and success at a small, rural two-year institution in South Carolina. Method: Transcript analysis generated a dataset for pre-nursing students (N = 125). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze high school and university data. Results:…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between district-level per-pupil expenditures and district-level student achievement in rural South Carolina school districts. School districts in rural South Carolina are synonymous with higher concentration of minority students and students living in poverty (Showalter, 2019). The…

This study examined whether there was a significant difference between the End-of-Course Examination scores (EOC) across multiple academic disciplines between students who participated in sports and those who did not participate in athletics at all in three rural high schools in South Carolina. The theoretical foundation for this study was based…

According to the content found on its website, AVID has conducted studies to evaluate the academic performance of AVID students when compared to their non-AVID peers. A distinct research endeavor was undertaken to evaluate the impact of introducing AVID Elementary within a small rural school district. This study focused on student academic…

A rural lower socioeconomic school district in South Carolina was the focal area for this research study. Data was disaggregated by using the Title I elementary schools' SC assessments and data collected from the participants. The data analysis attempted to determine the leadership behaviors used by principals based on the overall perceptions of…

With more than two decades of on-the-ground experience impacting 300,000 educators and 3 million students, NIET's success is grounded in research. The success of NIET's work is evident in the positive findings from evaluations of impact. In NIET's 2022-23 Research Summary, we summarize findings from five new studies and highlight selected findings…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact the job satisfaction and retention of teachers at a rural high school in South Carolina. An electronic survey was given to 22 teachers in order to collect information on job satisfaction and teacher retention. Several factors were identified that impact job satisfaction and teachers…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores between fourth-grade African American male students who were enrolled in single-sex classrooms and their counterparts who were enrolled in coeducational classrooms. The research provided descriptive data concerning one Title I school in rural…

This study examined the impact that cooperative learning and traditional learning have on the academic performance of elementary school students in rural school districts. Cooperative learning is considered a typical model that can maximize the effectiveness of constructivism. Slavin (1991, p. 71) completed a synthesis of research on cooperative…

In light of continuing educational reform and the increased focus on student achievement, school districts, states, and other constituents involved in preparing K-12 public school teachers have increasingly come under scrutiny as to how they have been and are continuing to prepare future educators. One area that has garnered increased attention is…

Albert Bandura, the leading pioneer in the study of self-regulation, has defined the term as the child's ability to self-educate, self-direct, regulate motivation, and learn to think about what she is learning (1994). Lev Vygotsky's theory that children can be taught to think independently about how to solve problems expands upon Bandura's work…