This study explores how a community initiative supports and advances a college-success culture in the African-American community. Research about creating and sustaining a college-going culture and a college-success culture within secondary schools and universities with a goal of increasing degree attainment is plentiful. However, a lack of focus…

Student-led conferences are an alternative method of reporting progress to parents. This qualitative phenomenological research study was conducted in order to examine elementary teachers' perceptions of student-led conferences in comparison to traditional parent-teacher conferences in Central and Southern Illinois. Additionally, the study examined…

The Qualitative research will explore issues that interface particularly with Black student- athletes on Division 1 basketball scholarships regarding academic readiness, academic support, family support and how the experience of a Division 1 scholarship impacted their lives. The population of Black student-athletes that the focus of the research…

Although the requirements for family engagement in education are included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), teacher education and administrator preparation programs have offered limited educational opportunities for new teachers and administrators to gain knowledge, skills and practical experience related to family and…

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2021, one of four U.S. students will be Latino. Research points to an increase in students identified as English Language Learners (ELLs), thus providing a glimpse of tomorrow's demographics and framing the reality of the classroom of the future. Schools are examining their partnerships with families from…

Across colleges and universities in the United States, few Latino men are reaching higher education. Saenz and Ponjuan call this phenomenon the ''vanishing" of Latino men in higher education. Much of the literature examining the presence of Latino men in higher education utilizes a cultural deficit approach to explain why students of color…

Researchers and policy makers have established that family involvement is related to student academic performance. Family participation at a school in a southern state in the United States was declining after the third grade level, and educators at the school needed more information to address this problem. Self-efficacy and ecological theories of…

This study involved a mixed design to generate the perceptions of students and teachers about failing ninth-grade students and the impact of learning resources. The participants in this study were a purposive selection of ninth-grade students and ninth-grade teachers in one Missouri school district. The conceptual framework of this study was based…

First-generation students, those who are the first in their family to earn a college degree, represent one of the fastest-growing populations of college students in our country today. Unfortunately, this segment of our nation's college-going population also happens to be the least successful, according to national retention and graduation…

This study explored the phenomenon of father-child relationship development within the context of an Outward Bound (OB) family course, an environment that may both disrupt the ordinary aspects of an established relationship, and provide activities to purposefully encourage relationship development through a variety of aspects inherent to the…

This dissertation examined the importance of family involvement in student learning and achievement within the Response to Intervention framework. This study built upon the premise that family involvement in a child's education is paramount if educational gaps are to be closed. Families included in this study were randomly assigned into a…

Speech therapy homework is a key component of a successful speech therapy program, increasing carryover of learned speech sounds. Poor return rate of homework assigned, with a lack of parental involvement, is a problem. The purpose of this project study was to examine what may increase parental participation in speech therapy homework. Guided by…

This qualitative study focuses on how beginning teachers attain skills to engage families in the educational process. Historical rationale, theoretical frameworks, and key research findings for family engagement training during the last three decades were reviewed, studied, and analyzed for themes. A review of scholarly literature is incorporated…

This qualitative study examines a five-year period of reform in a small, urban district during a time of crisis, using the issue of parental engagement as a lens through which to focus the analysis. While leadership in the Clarksville School District changed dramatically from 2007-2012, most parents remained in the community. As one of the few…

Research suggests that first-generation college students are less likely than their non-first-generation peers to persist to graduation. Impediments to persistence in college education include a lack of knowledge regarding navigating the college system, obstacles with the campus environment, inadequate academic preparation, and lack of family…