Earnings comparisons between full-time male and female workers consistently show that women earn less over a lifetime than their male counterparts. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that women made $.82 for every $1.00 earned by men. This research brief examines the disparities in median lifetime earnings of Kentuckians based on educational…

"Operation Comics" is a series of mathematics comic books for 4th-6th grades that was implemented with 142 elementary school students to investigate the effects of an "Operation Comics" books intervention on student mathematics and comic book attitudes using the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (Tapia, 1996; Tapia &…

Super Star Chef is an experiential summer youth nutrition education and cooking program designed to enhance participants' nutrition knowledge, food preparation skills, cooking self-efficacy, and intention to eat more fruits and vegetables. In a program evaluation comprising a single-sample pretest-posttest design, participants' pretest and…

Two studies (conducted in 2013) examined whether elementary-aged children endorse a within-gender stereotype about sexualized girls. In Study 1, children (N = 208) ages 6-11 rated sexualized girls as more popular but less intelligent, athletic, and nice compared to nonsexualized girls. These distinctions were stronger for girls and older children,…

Student loans can be a good investment in an individual's future, providing financial access to higher education and improved chances of economic success after college. However, avoiding undue financial obligations and maximizing the return on investment require careful planning and prudent borrowing. Estimating whether the student loan debt…

In this paper we estimate the impacts of the "pathways" chosen by community college students--in terms of desired credentials and fields of study, as well as other choices and outcomes along the paths--on the attainment of credentials with labor market value. We focus on the extent to which there are recorded changes in students' choices…

Although the topic of cyber-harassment in schools is one that has received significant media and research attention, much of that attention has been given to harassment against (and among) students. In this article, we examine responses from more than 5,700 public schoolteachers regarding their experiences with cyber-harassment by parents, a topic…

Universities are challenged with finding ways to motivate the increasing number of diverse students so that the largest number of students can be expected to succeed. University success is measured by retention and graduation rates, which affect profit. A lack of academic motivation among increasingly diverse students influences student retention,…

It is evident that the failure rate is higher among online students than in-class students at Hopkinsville Community College. An analysis of the academic records of students who enrolled in online courses for the first time at Hopkinsville indicated a 13% higher withdrawal and failure rate than those who took in-class courses over the same period…

The purpose of this research was to survey selected Eastern Kentucky Teachers (Elementary, Middle, and High School) to collect data about stress in public schools. This was a continuation study for Eastern Kentucky that collected data on how men and women teachers and men and women administrators handle stress. A stress survey (Appendix C) was…

This study investigated the effects the demographic variables age, gender, and ethnicity and their interactions had on academic performance in online courses delivered by public two-year colleges in Kentucky. The study controlled for previous academic performance measured by cumulative grade point average (GPA). The study used a random sample (N =…

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was a statistically significant difference in collegiate success rates of GED credential recipients and high school graduates in community colleges. Data obtained from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) PeopleSoft system at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical…

This paper provides the first detailed empirical evidence of the labor-market returns to community college diplomas and certificates. Using detailed administrative data from Kentucky, we estimate panel-data models that control for differences among students in pre-college earnings and educational aspirations. Associate's degrees and diplomas have…

Almost all of the extant research examining aggressive activity uses data from student populations. In this study, we extend that literature by examining teacher perceptions of parental aggression in public schools in Kentucky. Using data from a sample of 5,971 public school teachers, we determine that parental aggression directed at public school…

Education reform has been in progress for at least two decades, yet our nation's postsecondary institutions continue to see increasing numbers of underprepared students. Despite numerous and varied attempts at nationwide reform at the secondary education level, the number of students requiring remedial education courses in postsecondary education…