There is a great disparity in college-going rates between students from the highest and lowest socio economic quantiles in the United States. This quantitative study looks at messages students receive about college as a way to explore reasons why students choose to attend or not to attend college. [The dissertation citations contained here are…

This quantitative study endeavored to compare a new strategy of making irrelevant information less salient with a common reading strategy of highlighting to determine which would best aid students in making connections within and between multiple texts. Participants were 60 high school students, ranging in age from 14-17 years old. The adolescents…

The immigration process in the United States has undergone constant changes and evolutions, each with its own rules, regulations, protocols, nuances, and consequences. Keeping track of those changes is a challenge for even the legislators who are charged with regulating and monitoring it. Undocumented students, who have arrived here under many…

Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and executive function (EF) difficulties exhibit numerous symptoms that contribute to their struggles in school. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate and improve the academic experience for high school students with ADHD and EF deficits at Bayside High School.…

This research examined secondary southeastern teachers' experiences and perceptions of technology integration in the classroom. Two research questions guided this study: What are the experiences of South Carolina secondary high school teachers in technology-equipped classrooms? How do secondary high school teachers in southeastern schools perceive…

This dissertation was a case study of student perceptions in two history classrooms in a large suburban high school. In each classroom examined for this study the teacher was committed to using social studies inquiry and mobile technology in their instruction. Students were also expected to complete assignments and conduct inquiry with mobile…

School choice is a research topic that is often associated with public funds supporting educational alternatives. While much of the school choice research literature focuses on this category, additional types of school choice merit examination. This study examines how Catholic parents chose high schools for their children within the geographic…

Community colleges are an integral part of the postsecondary education system in the United States. Unfortunately, college completion rates continue to decline. Additionally, median income in the United States is also declining. The idea that each successive generation of students will do better than the previous one is quickly becoming a fantasy.…

The complex topic of global climate change continues to be a challenging yet important topic among science educators and researchers. This mixed methods study adds to the growing research by investigating student conceptions of climate change from a system theory perspective (Von Bertalanffy, 1968) by asking the question, "How do differences…

The purpose of this historical case study was to gain an understanding of dropout recovery programs from an interpretive historical perspective. Dropout Recovery is an Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education initiative that provides high school dropouts an opportunity to re-enroll in school, gain academic credit, and participate in…

The purpose of this descriptive study is to examine the factors that influenced parents in a school district in Delaware when they selected a high school for their child. This study also sought to examine the sources of information that parents used. Also examined was the impact of socio-economic status in the high school selection process. A…

As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) research and development initiative (http://www.scijourn.org; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students' scientific literacy.…

Choosing a college is one of the first important decisions that many young adults undertake. Popular media suggests how students should find an appropriate college based on traditional practices (Hallet, 2008; Kulman, 2007), yet, many aspects of the reality experienced by new kinds of students and colleges is largely ignored in the college choice…

Institutions of higher education are increasingly engaged in sustainability efforts, both in classrooms and on the campus. Yet, little is known about what students really know and believe about sustainability issues. Using Lattuca and Stark's (2009) curricular frame and a single case study approach, this research explored student and non-student…

Building on previous studies of multiple text reading in history, this study aimed to contribute to that body of work by focusing on non-traditional multimodal sources. In an age of rapidly increasing access to and use of multimodal sources and a demand for reading and comprehending increasingly complex and specialized texts, it appeared there was…