Student engagement is an indicator of student achievement. For students living in poverty it is difficult to engage in a school that is not relatable to their own cultural norms and values. This phenomenological study sought to understand the lived experiences of these students and their teachers related to student engagement. The purpose of this…

Tinto (1993) argued that all students have different needs and require different resources and services to enable them to persist at the university level. One group of students that requires individualized attention is students from rural areas. During the 2010-2011 academic year, 57% of public school districts in the U.S. were in rural areas…

This work extends examination of African American students' attitudes toward learning and achievement to contrast the oppositional culture (Ogbu and Fordham) and cultural integrity perspectives. We assessed 200 students' responses to classrooms designed to support competitive, individualistic, communal or high-verve thinking, and behavior.…

Positive perceptions of school climate correlate with many dimensions of academic well-being and student health. Unfortunately, some existing research finds more favorable perceptions in middle school for general education students (GENs) than for students with disabilities (SWDs). Given the importance of ninth grade to student success, it is…

School psychologists and counselors with large caseloads struggle with delivery of high-quality mental health services in the school setting due to time constraints and competing responsibilities. These providers can benefit from technology solutions that help engage and monitor the mental health of their clients in and out of session. This study…

This study explored the achievement, engagement, and school climate perceptions of African American males in urban high schools. Hierarchical regression and focus group interviews were used to analyze male sample (n = 114) data from a larger study. Findings suggest that students' perceptions were influenced by having information about and access…

This paper discusses findings of a quantitative, causal-comparative study that sought to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between a rural predominantly white institution and an urban minority-serving institution in terms of their white American male students' perceptions of whiteness as ontological expansiveness. As the…

Despite the importance of computer science education and computational thinking, there have been limited examples of computer science education at K-12 classrooms that authentically represents the work of computer scientists, especially programming. One reason is the lack of a measurable definition of computational thinking and a programming…

The issue of school food and its role in the learning environment has been overlooked by educators, education researchers, and policy makers. This study uses observations and interviews in three high-poverty, urban schools to investigate how participants experience school food policy in their daily lives. Participants at all three schools believed…

This qualitative case study explores the motivating factors that influence CTE pathway selection for African American men students and will investigate the interplay between two components of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and their role in the career decision-making process. Drawing upon SCCT, this…

We examined the additive associations of two motivational beliefs (growth mindset and academic self-efficacy) and self-regulation with mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) scores, as well as the interplay of students' beliefs and self-regulation skills, controlling for previous test scores. We tested whether these pathways differed across…

A mixed methods evaluative case study approach using an advocacy lens was used in this study to measure the college-going cultural capital of students actively involved in a college-preparatory program (active case), as compared to those who were not (passive case). Both similar and differing perspectives regarding academic and non-academic…

The participants in this study are 9-year-olds who demonstrate signs of incipient alienation. Even with an experienced teacher who had a positive relationship with her students, some students describe school as boring. The arts may provide a path away from alienation when learning is embedded in the students' cultural knowledge and when the…

Studies suggest that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) are negatively associated with student perceptions of school climate and attitudes toward school. However, this relationship has not been considered in the case of disciplinary approaches such as restorative practices (RP) and in-school suspensions (ISS). Using a sample of 30,799 secondary…

Science achievement gaps exhibit racial disparities starting in primary grades and attitudes toward science have been shown to affect academic achievement and motivation. Leveraging the immersive nature of Virtual Reality 360 videos, we present a Design-based Research iteration testing how a novel technological-learning experience influenced our…