The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify ways to improve learner persistence in General Equivalency Diploma (GED) programs in the U.S. The participants in this multiple case study were GED instructors and adults without high school diplomas who were enrolled in two GED programs were located in the Southern and Southwestern U.S.…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the actions of online language learners from an activity theoretical perspective. It also attempted to explain how the students' learning outcomes evolved from their online learning experiences. This explanation placed an emphasis on the learners' previous experiences, defining their activity…

The purpose of this study is to expand understanding and discover knowledge about degree attainment among adult learners. This qualitative inquiry explores what recent non-traditional-age bachelor's degree recipients report contributes to attaining the degree. Professional research and expert material on demographics, motivation, challenges and…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the influence of the graduation coach's ethic of care on potential dropouts (at risk high school seniors) in a Georgia alternative high school. Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the objective of this research was to identify if the graduation coach's ethic of care had an influence on…

This study is about the lives of three low-socioeconomic Hispanic students who dropped out of high school and felt compelled to return to the school setting to earn their high school diploma. This research focused on one research question: What are the life experiences of low socio-economic Hispanic students who successfully graduated from high…

In 2006, a 9th-period program and an A, B, C, Incomplete grading policy were implemented as high school reform initiatives in a rural high school in the Midwest. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to determine how teachers interpreted the effect of the A, B, C, Incomplete grading policy and the 9th period reform initiatives at the…

"First-generation" college students, whose parents have not attended college, are an increasing presence at elite colleges and universities. Admitting these students, however, is not enough to ensure that they can take full advantage of the opportunities available to them in college and succeed there. Indeed, research indicates that…

This study extends what is known about the experience of mid-childhood immigration. Fifteen participants, college students who immigrated to the U.S. from Latin America between the ages of 8 and 16 and who had completed at least a semester of transferable college-level coursework, provided their narratives by way of an open-ended interview…

This study of L-2 Russian interlanguage production examined the salience of phonetic, lexical and syntactical features for L-1 listener intelligibility, based on L-2 recitation of written scripts (Part I) and also unrehearsed speech (Part II). Part III of the study investigated strategies used by native-speaking teachers of Russian as a Second…

Service is increasingly being viewed as an integral part of education nationwide. Service-based courses and programs are growing in popularity as opportunities for students to learn and experience their discipline. Widespread adoption of learning-through-service (LTS) in engineering is stymied by a lack of a body of rigorous research supporting…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between college EFL students' autonomous learning capacity and motivation in using web-based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in China. This study included three questionnaires: the student background questionnaire, the questionnaire on student autonomous learning capacity, and…

As less than 3% of student-athletes go on to play sport professionally, it is important that they are prepared for careers outside of athletics (Susanj & Stewart, 2005). Many football student-athletes have low grade point averages and graduation rates. Universities incorporate academic motivational programs to help combat low academic performance.…

Scope and method of study. This descriptive case study was designed to describe the critical issues surrounding Baby Boomers and their motivations to attend community college, in addition to their perceptions of learning and curriculum needs. Additionally the study explored what these Baby Boomers plan to do after completing their courses and…

Current research has focused primarily on the negative aspects of African American males and high school attainment, examining the misleading high school drop out rates among African American males rather than the steady increase in high school completion. My study explored the factors that help contribute to high school completion among African…

The goal of this study was to describe what motivates adult women enrolled in a community college to pursue higher education. Utilizing profile analysis and multiple regression analyses, this study investigated the extent to which gender, English as a first language, and age predicted the seven factors of the Education Participation Scale (A-form)…