The needs assessment explored how psychosocial adversity influenced high school graduates' college and career readiness, resilience, and social capital. It identified strengths, needs, barriers, and gaps within a K-12 school district and provided recommendations to enhance these themes. The assessment used a two-phase mixed-method design,…

This study aimed to identify the themes teacher preparation programs need to improve their current curriculum. The research focused on teacher preparation programs, professional development opportunities, technology use and integration methods, college and career readiness in PreK-12 students, ISTE Educator and Student Standards, and 21st Century…

The focus of this study was to explore, through the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's constructs of habitus, field, and capital, the post-secondary experiences of foster youth who transitioned out of the Louisiana foster care system. Specifically, this comparable multiple case study sought out to understand how cultural, social, and financial capital…

Early college high schools (ECHS) were designed specifically to disrupt the inequities that are present in high schools by focusing on serving students underrepresented in higher education. ECHS students can earn 60 hours of college credit setting them on a fast track to college and degree completion. Utilizing Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural…

Background: First generation college students, whose parents' highest earned degree is a high school diploma, go on to earn postsecondary degrees less often than their peers whose parents have a college degree. A current approach to addressing this problem is making sure "first gens" are ready to succeed in college. Purpose: There are…

The federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is designed to "increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education" (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). Despite this stated purpose, the majority of research on GEAR UP program…

The low number of California Native American students, both rural and urban, graduating A through G ready prompted this study. Using a qualitative and Indigenous research approach, the research questions that guided this study were: (1) What are the perspectives and beliefs about postsecondary education among a group of Native American students at…

In US-based postsecondary education, first-year students commonly have their compositional ability consequentially assessed on the basis of standardized tests. As a result, students who score above certain thresholds on ACT, SAT, or AP exams often are placed into honors or remedial courses; receive credit remissions; and/or test out of general…

The definition of postsecondary readiness is evolving from discrete tracks emphasizing preparation for college or career to one that emphasizes college and career. Ideally, such a definition would provide all students access to the curriculum and instruction that weaves together career skills and knowledge with the traditional academic curriculum.…

This narrative study focused on the perception of academic readiness of nontraditional African American students that delayed attending college after completing high school. This study discussed the influence of pre-existing socioeconomic factors on academic preparedness pre and post-enrollment into college. Higher education institutions have…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study is to examine the perceptions of Language 2 (L2) learners about project-based learning (PBL) at a Midwestern high school to acquire their mathematical concepts in English. L2 learners' insights using a PBL environment to construct their skills for college readiness, higher order thinking, autonomy,…

This study was designed to add to the body of work around specialized campuses in the state of Texas. These campuses are becoming increasingly popular across the nation and there is little data to support whether they or traditional campuses are more successful when it comes to student outcomes. This research aims to determine if specialized…

This study sought to understand the societal and educational barriers African-American high school male teens encounter preventing the participation of organizations providing college and career training. This project utilized an exploratory sequential mixed-method study that included research-based surveys to measure developed individual and…

Academically underprepared learners have been enrolling in college at increasing rates over the last several decades, yet their success rates in the courses designed to remediate their deficits have remained low. Theses courses serve as either gateways or gatekeepers to certificates and degrees for academically underprepared college students…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of district administrators in allocating resources and developing effective Career Technical Education programs (CTE). This study also sought to analyze the resources allocated by districts to support the implementation of CTE programs to improve college- and career-readiness. More specifically,…