The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the available evidence on the effects of prevention and intervention programs aimed at primary and secondary students for increasing school completion or reducing school dropout. Program effects on the closely related outcomes of school attendance (absences, truancy) will also be examined.…

Virtual environments can resolve many practical and pedagogical challenges within higher education. Economic considerations, accessibility issues, and safety concerns can all be somewhat alleviated by creating learning activities in a virtual space. Because of the removal of real-world physical limitations like gravity, durability and scope,…

A key component in the success of students' first-year experience is their successful academic and social integration into the college environment (Tinto, 1993). Researchers have specified integration in terms of student behaviors and perceptions (Berger & Milem, 1999; Hurtado & Carter, 1997) and also studied it in terms of engagement (Kuh, 2009)…

As implemented in North Carolina, Early College High Schools are small, autonomous schools designed to increase the number of students who graduate from high school and are prepared for postsecondary education. Targeted at students who are underrepresented in college, these schools are most frequently located on college campuses and are intended…

An e-learning project is a balance of time, cost, and scope measured against learner engagement. With this measure, the learner is part of every stage in the project's development. Assessing decisions with regards to learner impact will contribute to a more engaging and therefore successful project. To illustrate this concept, this paper will…

Class attendance and out-of-class study time are known to be strongly associated with academic engagement and college GPA. The paper examines two other uses of time as influences on academic outcomes: those devoted to active engagements with friends and community as opposed to passive entertainments, and those that connect students to campus life…

In the current climate in Australian higher education, quality assurance in university teaching is a priority. In particular, the introduction of the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund (LTPF) has refocused attention on universities' internal student evaluation survey instruments. This paper reports the development, validation and…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a function-based intervention to improve behavior and reading outcomes for Latino English language learners (ELLs). The participants, four Latino ELLs in an elementary school general education setting, were directly observed over a 14-week period. Functional behavioral assessment via teacher interviews and…

American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted an external evaluation of Vermont's Ed-Tech Program from January 2010-June 2011. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide feedback on the implementation and outcomes of the competitive grant programs that were active during this time. The findings of the evaluation are intended to help VTDOE…

Graduate teaching associates (GTAs) play a vital role as instructors at many universities but often are not confident in their ability to perform their job-related duties. Based on Bandura's (1997) theory of self-efficacy, this project examined a teacher-training program for GTAs and assessed its outcomes. Our results revealed that GTAs reported…

This article presents a study that uses iterative searches of literature, guided by data from campus observations, interviews, and surveys, to locate and test a theory that can be used to strengthen institutional leverage over student engagement and outcomes. A review of literature was conducted to frame a preliminary theoretical framework for…

US schools fail to engage a significant proportion of adolescent students. Although student engagement is significantly related to academic achievement, there is a dearth of longitudinal research simultaneously examining the impact of personal and contextual factors on student engagement at both individual and school levels. Using a…

Universal design for transition (UDT) refers to an approach to instructional planning, delivery, and assessment that bridges the gap between teaching academic and functional/transition goals. It builds upon the principals of universal design for learning (UDL) assuring that instructional practices are designed to meet the needs of diverse learners…

The "Core Indicators of Effectiveness Report" delineates the performance of Wyoming's community colleges as measured by the 14 indicators set forth by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and adopted by the seven Wyoming community colleges and the Wyoming Community College Commission in 2002. These indicators, while…

The use of multimodal learning techniques is becoming more widespread, however, the pedagogical discourse surrounding its implementation into classroom and course design is complicated as these technologies are either demonized or viewed as the panacea for curriculum ills. Educators are faced with unique challenges when investigating how to…