The purpose of this study, "A Qualitative Study of Elementary Afterschool Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact of Afterschool Programs on Students Receiving Special Education Services," was to assess elementary afterschool teachers' perceptions of the impact of afterschool programs on students receiving special education…

This dissertation presents an historical overview of the systematic educational limitations that have been faced by African-American's in the United States and then considers issues facing contemporary educational leaders in the context of current educational policy and institutional inequality. A portrait of the Black male in the United…

Students learn in and out of a formal classroom, and instructors and academic advisors play key roles in academic motivation and learning. Therefore, through the lens of self-determination theory, we examined the ways perceived support from instructors and advisors relates to satisfaction of college students' basic psychological needs. Advisor and…

Educators' lack of knowledge of the cultural and immigration overlays on behaviors presents a quandary. It makes it difficult, given the present state of assessment in this area, to determine whether an emotional or behavioral disorder exists, or whether the behavior is acceptable to the newcomer's culture and therefore reflects a cultural marker.…

Background: The relationship between outcomes, such as student learning, student motivation, and continued participation in activity, remains an important research focus within physical education. In particular, research has shown that secondary students exhibit behaviors indicative of low levels of motivation. Thus, there is a need for teachers…

Using self-determination theory as a framework, the purpose of this study was to test a structural model of hypothesized relationships among perceived need support from physical education teachers (autonomy support, competence support, and relatedness support), psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), intrinsic…

The following is an abridged version of the author's original Master's thesis written in 2008 for LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York. This qualitative, structural, comparison determined if twelve Character Education studies of Brigham Young University, specifically the Positive Behavioral Support Initiative, assessed the same literacy program…

Self-determination theory provided the theoretical framework for a cross-sectional investigation of elementary and junior high school students' autonomous motivation for homework. More specifically, the study focused on the role of teachers' support of students' psychological needs in students' motivation for homework in the two school systems.…

Background: The trans-contextual model (TCM) is an integrated model of motivation that aims to explain the processes by which agentic support for autonomous motivation in physical education promotes autonomous motivation and physical activity in a leisure-time context. It is proposed that perceived support for autonomous motivation in physical…

The author, a superintendent of schools, discusses a rising tide of social and emotional needs among school children as educators struggle with the issue of whether to deal with students' mental health issues. Readers are asked to consider this statement from "Children's Mental Health: Developing a National Action Agenda," a report prepared by the…

The book describes two similar and successful models of youth mentoring used by two acclaimed urban high schools that have consistently achieved exceptional graduation rates. Providing a detailed description of their methods--based upon extensive observation, and interviews with teachers, students, administrators, and parents--this book makes a…

This article presents a brief overview of empirical studies in school physical education (PE) that have employed self-determination theory (SDT) and, where relevant, proposes ideas for future research in this area. First, we review research on teachers' interpersonal style and its relation to students' motivation. Second, we discuss intervention…

The vast majority of schools today are not prepared to support children's social behavior needs. One challenge is that teachers may not be knowledgeable of evidence-based practices that can be utilized with children. This study explored teachers' agreement ratings for evidence-based and nonevidence-based behavior management practices for children…

This article describes a qualitative research study that examined the educational experiences of refugee students who have immigrated to Canada. Many children from war-affected countries have been denied basic human entitlements, and their immigration to Canada represents hope for their futures. Evidence suggests that these students are further…

The aim of the present study is to explore the views of migrant and non migrant students living in Greece on cultural diversity in the classroom. It focuses on students of both the dominant (i.e. Greek) and nondominant (i.e. migrant) groups and investigates their views in comparison to one another. Data were collected in the context of a pilot…