This article addresses the importance of highlighting teachers' emotional labor within teacher education programs. Given the changing landscape of schools in the 21st century, teachers' emotional labor now includes participating in annual safety drills and lockdown trainings, in addition to responses to violence (threatened or actual). This study…

This mixed-method double-blind study was designed to examine the relationship and impact of mindset, grit, and the influence of family members in the postsecondary goal selection process of students in one rural high school in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The population for this study consisted of twelfth grade students (N = 135). The study was…

This study focused on understanding female student persistence in a STEM community college program. The researcher conducted a mixed-methods study which utilized a student survey that asked both male and female students questions focused on encouragement received in school and perceived persistence level to complete their STEM program. Interviews…

Engagement of academic medical centers in community outreach provides the public with a better understanding of basic terms and concepts used in biomedical sciences and increases awareness of important health information. Medical students at one academic medical center initiated an educational outreach program, called PULSE, that targets secondary…

This article extends the literature on teachers' career paths by attending to the experiences of educators when they were students in secondary classrooms. Grounded in the perspective that biography is central to teaching, we investigate undergraduate pre-service teachers' educational experiences, views on teaching and learning, and professional…

Study abroad programs are formal educational courses provided by colleges and universities during which the student receives academic credits while studying in another country. There is a need for further research regarding the effects of study abroad in relation to career development. This study examined near-term effects of a semester study…

Controversy and fanfare accompanied the announcement in 2010 by Mattel, Inc. of the Barbie® doll's 126th career--computer engineer. Even though women have been and still are in a minority in the information technology (IT) and computer science (CS) fields, enough women voted for the computer engineer as the next career for Barbie® on Mattel's…

The purpose of this participatory action research was to create a comprehensive evaluation of advanced geoscience education in Pennsylvania public high schools and to ascertain the possible impact of this trend on student perceptions and attitudes towards the geosciences as a legitimate academic subject and possible career option. The study builds…

Ethnic minority students traditionally pursue degrees and careers in the food and agricultural sciences at rates lower than their non-minority counterparts. To help improve upon this situation, the Food and Agricultural Sciences Institute (FASI) was created to expose academically talented high school students to opportunities within the food and…

It is widely recognized that the current and projected shortage of adequately-educated IT professionals could be greatly reduced if more female and minority students would major in IT disciplines, yet the dramatic under-representation of these populations appears to be worsening. This under-representation is reflected in Drexel University's…

Students at seven junior colleges in southwestern Pennsylvania were studied to determine their reasons for choosing a particular college and whether college attendance helped them realize their goals. Results from 261 student questionnaires were categorized and analyzed by individual campus, sex, and type of program--whether terminal or transfer.…

A survey of rural secondary school students examined the formation of adolescent occupational identity by identifying predictors of students' ideal jobs. Data were collected from 612 of the approximately 750 students in grades 7-12 in a rural Pennsylvania school district. Predictors of choice of ideal job, by descending influence, were gender,…

In 2004, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania contracted with Pennsylvania State University to begin a longitudinal study of rural Pennsylvania school students to understand their future aspirations, the factors influencing these aspirations, whether their plans change as they age, and if they attain their goals and plans. The main research questions…

High school, postsecondary education, and work experience records of graduates from four high school programs of study were compared. The population consisted of all graduates (n=7,890) from academic, general, area vocational-technical school (AVTS), and home school vocational programs (HSVOC) from 16 sending school districts in Berks County,…

Specific programmatic segments of career education developed at four career education pilot sites in Pennsylvania--Ebensburg, Crawford County, Philadelphia, and McKeesport--were evaluated for the period June 1973 to September 1974. Evaluation was conducted through questionnaires, interviews, and observation. The Ebensburg project, conducted at a…