This causal-comparative study examined the relationship between enrollment/non-enrollment in music programs of differing content or quality and mathematical achievement among 739 secondary (grades 8-12) students from four different Maryland counties. The students, both female and male, were divided into sample groups by their participation in a…

In longitudinal education studies, assuming that dropout and missing data occur completely at random is often unrealistic. When the probability of dropout depends on covariates and observed responses (called "missing at random" [MAR]), or on values of responses that are missing (called "informative" or "not missing at random" [NMAR]),…

Each year, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) offers a summer education program designed to assist students with a variety of instructional needs. The 2015 summer education program allowed students the opportunity to repeat required courses needed for promotion, to get ahead by taking required courses before the next school year, or to…

The relationships between adolescent ethnic identity and attitudes toward school and school climate are investigated in a small, multiracial/multiethnic city in the Great Lakes region with ethnically diverse adolescents taught by primarily White teachers. The mixed methods investigation of 986 eighth through eleventh grade students during the…

The California Department of Education (CDE) has long asserted that success Algebra I by Grade 8 is the goal for all California public school students. In fact, the state's accountability system penalizes schools that do not require all of their students to take the Algebra I end-of-course examination by Grade 8 (CDE, 2009). In this dissertation,…

The purpose of this study was two-fold in nature. First, this study sought to identify whether extracurricular participation for students in a rural, Grades 7-12 building created significant differences when examining academic performance, attendance, gender, lunch status, and student discipline compared to their non-participant peers. Secondly,…

This study examined the effectiveness of the course, Math Recovery, on a group of ninth-grade students enrolled in the course Algebra/Geometry I measured by course grades and subsequent tenth-grade MAP scores. In addition, gender and race differences were investigated in this study to determine the impact, if any, on academic achievement. The…

This qualitative study describes and analyzes the perspectives of students with challenging behaviors regarding what they believe contributes to student teacher relationship quality. The conceptual framework guiding this study was informed by research in the following areas: transactional theory, self-efficacy theory, and teacher-student power…

Throughout the history of education, it has been noted that teachers are influential people in lives of children (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Daisey, 2010; Gambrell, 1996; Ruddell, 1995). Children spend one-third (or more) of the day with teachers; and as they enter into adolescence, children come in contact with more and more teachers during…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) created the grades 1-12 Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) in response to district interest in the Early Warning Indicator Index (EWII) that the Department previously created for rising grade 9 students. Districts shared that the EWII data were helpful, but also…

The focus of the study was to identify secondary school students' difficulties with aspects of linearity and linear functions, and to assess their teachers' understanding of the nature of the difficulties experienced by their students. A cross-sectional study with 1561 Grades 8-10 students enrolled in mathematics courses from Pre-Algebra to…

In October 2010 Perry Beeches school, an 11-16 Local Authority controlled community comprehensive in Birmingham, was widely featured in the national media as the "most improved school in the UK"--Ever. Some of the ways in which this was achieved are explored. Whether the changes undergone by this school reflect a pattern that has become…

Using data from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal study involving U.S. adolescents, multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate whether news media use is predictive of a set of civic indicators (civic duty, civic efficacy, neighborhood social connection, and civic participation) for youth in Grades…

Two theoretical perspectives have been proposed to describe, explain, and intervene in adolescent development--prevention science and positive youth development (PYD). An integrative model bridging these two perspectives posits that it is important to assess the extent to which the same, similar, or complementary mechanisms may be responsible for…

This paper provides evidence on the sources of differences in inequality in educational scores and their evolution over time in four European countries. Using Programme for International Student Assessment data from the 2000 and the 2006 waves, the paper shows that inequality decreased in Germany and Spain (two "decentralised" schooling…