School engagement is an important predictor of graduation. One strategy to enhance student engagement is mentoring. Check & Connect is a structured mentoring program that has resulted in favorable outcomes for many students, including those with emotional and behavioral disorders. Effectiveness, however, depends on the quality of the…

This current investigation examines the effects of technology on the success of traditional and non-traditional, post-secondary students in nursing programs in an Appalachian vocational setting. A survey was developed for use in Columbiana County, Ohio, a designated Appalachian area at a county vocational school with several programs in the…

The research partnership among university faculty, information technology graduate students, and science content experts from school districts developed the Web-based two-dimensional and three-dimensional virtual reality science games. The games were implemented to engage middle school students in learning, retaining, and applying newly acquired…

The purpose of this study was to assess self- efficacy beliefs of students in early childhood education movement practicum courses offered in Northeastern Ohio higher educational institutions. The sample population consisted of early childhood education students from four higher educational institutions (two community colleges and two…

Background: Appalachian adolescents are at an increased risk for sedentary behavior; little research has addressed this concern. Purpose: This study examined adolescents' expectations for engaging in physical activity (PA), chiefly expectations for relaxation and fitness. Independent variables were self-efficacy expectations (SEEs) to overcome…

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy published free online lessons that help students take action to prevent unplanned pregnancy and complete their education. From the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2014, approximately 2,800 students took the online lessons and participated in pre- and post-lesson evaluation surveys at four…

This mixed-methods longitudinal project investigates the association between student perceptions of their schools and themselves. Findings from the first two waves of data analysis with 894 middle and high school students in a midsized Great Lakes city reveal similarities and differences between the grade levels (7th-10th) and their perceptions of…

The number of students attending higher education institutions has increased across the nation over the past few decades. Nearly 46% of students chose to begin postsecondary education or technical training at a community college (American Association of Community Colleges, 2008). Accessibility and lower tuition have contributed to the enrollment…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…

Assessed the relative influence of peer norms and parental involvement on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use. Surveys of secondary school students indicated that the relative balance of peer-parent influences did not differ across grades. In all grades, perceived peer norms had substantially greater correlations with cigarette and alcohol use…

A self-reporting questionnaire (57 items) was administered to all high school sophomores (599 completions) in 3 rural Ohio high schools for purposes of identifying correlations between selected social factors and acts of vandalism. The variables examined and the student responses indicated: 52% had committed 1 or more acts of vandalism; 37% were…