Minimal research has been conducted regarding success factors of high school students in rural districts. Through archival data retrieval, student interviews, and observations, this mixed methods study sought to identify success factors of juniors and seniors enrolled at one rural public school in South Texas. The impact of support systems, the…

This study was conducted to examine the impact of spirituality and religion on a student's College experience at a large Hispanic-serving community college in South Texas. The problem is that in the realm of higher education literature and research, there is scant information regarding spirituality and religion as factors in a student's motivation…

Background: Over the past two decades, inclusive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high schools have emerged as one strategy for increasing and broadening participation in STEM majors and careers, particularly for currently underrepresented students in those fields. However, limited research has examined whether strategies…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) and the University of Texas's Project MALES began a partnership to design a mentoring system for young men of color in hopes of improving the the matriculation and sustainability of this group in college by addressing the social, economic, and cultural obstacles impacting these young men. This strong…

This paper explores Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Schools, a local variant of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD's) influential PISA that not only assesses an individual school's performance in reading, mathematics and science against international schooling systems, but also promotes 17…

This qualitative phenomenological studied investigated the lived experiences of first generation Latino and Latina community college students who share common behaviors in their pursuit of educational attainment. Based on Tinto's (1994, 2002) persistence theory a narrative investigation collected data through interviews from 10 first generation…

With distance learning increasing in popularity across the country and the world, a review of the extant literature as it relates to distance learning and face-to-face learning is warranted. In particular, this paper examined distance learning, including a historical overview, prevailing themes in past research, and studies relating the importance…

The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the learning experiences of adult Latino college students, as described directly in their own voices. The study was guided by two research questions: RQ1: "How do adult Latinos describe their undergraduate college learning experiences?" and RQ2: "How do culture, gender, and ethnic…

The Inventory for Student Engagement and Success (ISES) is a self-guided framework for conducting a comprehensive, systematic analysis of the properties and conditions for student success that are present at an institution. It can be used to assess an entire institution; units within an institution, such as a school or department or an academic or…

The purpose of this study was to examine suburban high school teachers' beliefs about non-European ancestry immigrant students; more specifically, suburban teachers' beliefs regarding the impact of students' cultural backgrounds on academic performance were examined. Non-European ancestry immigrant students are those students whose ancestral…

In this article, I advance the argument for a listening pedagogy that attends to the voices of children and brings attention to multicultural and power issues. I focus on the need to nurture a student-centered educational system within the constraints of the high-stakes standards and accountability model. Embedded within an ethic of care and…

Relative to other urbanized areas, the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas consistently ranks at the bottom in regard to almost every objective indicator of socioeconomic welfare: per capita income, educational attainment, employment, and health and housing conditions. The 1970 census discovered that approximately one-half of its population,…