In this qualitative study, we explored the opportunities and difficulties experienced by cognitively high-ability students during the transition to higher education. Although high-ability individuals undoubtedly have the cognitive capacity to excel academically, research has demonstrated persistent underachievement among this group of students,…

Expectancies of success and values were used to predict success in an online undergraduate-level introductory statistics course. Students who identified as primarily face-to-face learners were compared to students who identified as primarily online learners. Expectancy value theory served as a model. Expectancies of success were operationalized as…

Embedded in a new understanding of the concept of parental involvement is that parents work as a collaborator with the school to improve student learning; through involvement in school activities, parents tend to better understand the curriculum and be more closely connected with teachers. However, the literature shows that opportunity available…

Undergraduate students who are the first in their immediate family to go to college represent a unique population on campus deserving special attention to their educational and career development needs. We explored career development characteristics of first-generation college students and compared them to those who are not first-generation, using…

Students' goal orientations are examined using two major frameworks for learning: achievement goal theory (AGT) and students' approaches to learning (SAL). Previous student success research is extended, by examining goal constructs from the AGT framework to determine if they help explain the learning process in accounting. Data were gathered using…

There is a limited body of research examining how students' beliefs about intelligence and about their abilities relate to different learning environments. As reported here, I examined secondary school students' beliefs, goals, and expectations guided by Zimmerman's (2000) model of self-regulated learning. In this exploratory study, 230 secondary…

Background: Engineering programs strive to retain students and prepare them for engineering careers. Introducing group design projects into courses may help keep students interested while also improving their learning outcomes. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study measures differences in student content knowledge and intention to persist in engineering…

The focus of this research is the mandatory use of Computer Based Technology (CBT) with social work professionals. Such a study is important in order to investigate which determinants are essential for social workers 45 and older to achieve adoption of CBT. The membership list of the National Association of Social Workers provided access to…

This study compares two initiatives for preparing science teachers for careers in high-need schools, each using a distinct, locally adaptive approach. One university adopted an immersive, naturalistic strategy, with modified field placements that gave preservice teachers protracted experiences in high need classrooms. The other university provided…

Most students participating in science undergraduate research (UR) plan to attend either medical school or graduate school. This study examines possible differences between premed and non-premed students in their influences to do research and expectations of research. Questionnaire responses from 55 premed students and 80 non-premed students were…

This study assessed the impact of a youth-targeted multilevel nutrition intervention in Baltimore City. The study used a clustered randomized design in which 7 recreation centers and 21 corner stores received interventions and 7 additional recreation centers served as comparison. The 8-month intervention aimed to increase availability and…

First-year university students (n = 185) completed an online questionnaire that allowed comparison of those who reported studying on-campus with those who reported studying fully-online. Independent sample t-tests compared the means of students in the two study modes on demographics, frequency of use of digital technology and metacognitive…

This study examined the influence of discrimination awareness on children's occupational interests. Participants included 46 African American children aged 10 to 13. Children completed pretest measures of perceptions of occupational racial discrimination, discrimination-related self-efficacy beliefs, occupational outcome expectations, and the…

In this study, we assessed the feasibility of a specific elaboration of the efficacy construct, distinguishing between personal and contextual aspects, as a criterion for comparing learning environments. The participants were 163 students from two student-regulated and two teacher-regulated programs in higher education. We measured students'…

Replicating previous research, this study examined differences in 677 diverse college students' career aspirations and expectations based on gender and ethnicity, and compared their career expectations to the U.S. workforce. This study extended the literature base by exploring discrepancies between occupational aspirations and expectations…