Purpose: Much scholarly hand-wringing has concerned the academic engagement of Black and Latino boys. At the center of these conversations are questions of culture. Cultural disconnects between home and school are profound for students from marginalized communities, particularly so for young men. Prudence Carter asserts that young men in urban…

This study investigates the effect of incorporating different learning materials (paper textbooks, wearable AR material, and wearable hybrid AR/VR material) in a physics laboratory education on the situational interest, engagement, and learning performance of high school students. The study utilized a quasi-experimental research design. The…

Students teaching students is widely accepted to be one of the most effective teaching methods with benefits for both the students teaching and those that are learning (Sorcinelli, 1991; Stigmar, 2016). Previous studies have found that students acting as instructors experience improved content knowledge and develop skills and confidence in…

While there is evidence to support the notion that extracurricular activities have a positive impact on student success and development, the reasons "why" students participate in these activities, why they continue to participate in these activities, and "why" these activities lead to better educational outcomes are unclear.…

Project-based learning (PBL) is a widely used methodology in the sciences for grades K12. Forward-thinking instructors are also implementing PBL by creating student-led learning opportunities in other subjects. There is, however, a lack of research on teacher perceptions of PBL as a motivational factor in high school. The purpose of this basic…

This mixed method case study investigated student engagement at a regional technical high school. Having lagged in a variety of performance measures, the study sought to measure the current status of student engagement at Tech High, to identify engaging Tech High teachers and answer why they were considered engaging by students and administrators,…

Interest plays a critical role in learning and development. It is able to compel students toward short term exploration, motivating them toward the pursuit of future goals, as well as leading to the development of knowledge and cognitive abilities. Interest also enables students to rise above perceived restrictions and limitations to achieve their…

A socially relevant curriculum connects learning to the needs of students as members of families, communities and society. Curriculum as place is concerned with experience; how the curriculum nurtures students' learning, growth and development and how they in turn make meaning of what they are learning given their situatedness. This study,…

The increasing ubiquity of social media use among teenagers has resulted in varied research findings and often contradictory advice from experts. While there is evidence of negative outcomes for excessive use of social networking sites (SNS) by adolescents, there is also evidence of positive benefits of SNS to young people. This study focused on…

This brief evaluates the causal effect of attending Las Americas Middle School on newcomer students' early high school outcomes. Using administrative data from the Houston Independent School District (HISD) spanning the 2007-2008 through 2018-2019 school years, the study examined the academic performance, course-taking patterns, and school…

Students' perceived social support from important others may be an important protective factor in science self-handicapping. This study examined the extent to which science self-handicapping mediates the relationship between perceived social support and science academic outcomes (engagement and achievement). The study used a cross-sectional survey…

The integration of digital storytelling (DST) into teaching has significantly influenced educational development, especially English language acquisition. This study examines the impact of DST-integrated pedagogy on students' attitudes and perceptions toward learning English. In a quantitative study using an experimental design, 200 middle school…

Despite the value of reading, research documents declining reading rates among American adolescents - a decline that exacerbates student dropout rates and academic performance. As a high school English teacher in a public, regional, suburban school, increasing the number of students who deeply read the assigned texts for class has been a…

Many articles in this issue consider how school-community partnerships are sustained over time. We ask a related but distinct question: What models of school-community partnerships sustain a teacher as they engage with different partners over their teaching career? For partnerships to feel meaningful to students, they must address issues with…

Understanding how to foster belonging and ensure equitable engagement in STEM fields for diverse students is a critical need in education today. Despite substantial growth in the STEM workforce (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023; NSF, 2023a), there remain persistent gender and racial/ethnic gaps in students' access to advanced STEM education,…