This activity engages students with the concept of mathematics identity to expand conceptions of what mathematics is and therefore what doing mathematics and being mathematical can mean. By mathematics identity, we refer both to ways a learner sees themselves and participates in mathematics, and the ways that others speak about or treat that…

Students' experiences of boredom at school are receiving increased research attention. Most inquiries to date have focused on how often students experience boredom in classroom situations and in specific subject areas. Despite its frequency, limited research efforts have explored how students' boredom experiences might inform positive education…

Practical educational assessment tools for adolescents champion student voice, use technology to enhance engagement, highlight discrepancies in school experience, and provide actionable feedback. We report a series of studies that detail an iterative process for developing a new school climate assessment tool: (1) item generation that centres…

Research question: For students enrolling in introductory computer science classes at community colleges, how did they experience the class in an emergency remote teaching environment, particularly in contrast to in-person instruction at the start of the semester? Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 students from diverse…

This qualitative study assesses the influence of a college-level intervention program on its student participants' self-efficacy. Self-efficacy theory provides an essential foundational lens for this study as it provides the necessary sources to broaden an intervention program's plans from students' individualized experiences. Study participants…

The rapid and impressive development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in less than half a decade has generated contrasting arguments about their social dimension. This paper investigates how the socio-economic background of learners affects their own experience and chances of course completion. The analyses test whether learners with a low…

In the ever-growing discussion of how to build and support honors programs that reflect the diverse communities our institutions serve, the recruitment of transfer students has only recently been identified as a key avenue to enacting more equitable programs. Reflecting on four years of recruiting, enrolling, and graduating transfer students in…

Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) youth are at high risk for bullying and violence, poor mental health, and other challenges. The availability of data from WestEd's California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), which provides arguably more data on LGBTQ youth than any other source in the nation,…

The following is a qualitative study on Chinese international English language learners' (ELLs') experiences in an English as a second language (ESL) classroom. Set at Sunset University (pseudonym used), a public university in Northern California, the study uses ethnographic field methods to gauge information about an ESL teacher's and Chinese…

Student motivation continues to be a source of concern for educators. This phenomenological study captured the voices of secondary agriculture students as they shared their perspectives and experiences surrounding student apathy. Four focus group interviews were conducted at four central California high schools with distinguished agriculture…

The aim of this research is to explore whether participation in study abroad by community college students impacts levels of engagement and if there is a connection between studying abroad and academic achievement. While university-level studies have a history in exploring these questions, the same is not true for community colleges. The…

This is the second article in a three-part series on reimagining the community college student experience, describing a new model for academic pathways, key design principles, examples from colleges leading the way, and implementation challenges. Community colleges are beginning to embrace the task of reimagining students' educational experiences.…

This study examines unique patterns of college engagement and outcomes among Latino undergraduate students attending highly selective institutions in comparison with those from other racial/ethnic groups. The study also identifies predictors of select college outcomes--that is, cognitive, affective, and civic outcomes--for this population.…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities committed to assessing and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. While each participating institution receives a detailed, customized "Institutional Report," the "Annual…

Today's nationwide focus on college completion is central to both individual and societal success. For individuals, attaining a credential has become essential to earn a livable wage and support a family. In addition, as each person's educational attainment increases, so does his or her capacity to contribute to the economy, his or her community,…