Learning experiences can affect students' interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. Applying the social cognitive career theory, this study tested and compared the effect size and effect mechanism of formal learning experiences (FLE) and informal learning experiences (ILE) on 1133 tenth-grade students' interest…

The Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP) is designed as an effective drawing-based instrument for measuring creative potential. Many studies report adaptation efforts in other cultures pointing out good psychometric properties of the instrument nonetheless revealing also some trouble spots. The present study includes adaptation…

Social-emotional health influences youth developmental trajectories and there is growing interest among educators to measure the social-emotional health of the students they serve. This study replicated the psychometric characteristics of the Social Emotional Health Survey (SEHS) with a diverse sample of high school students (Grades 9-12; N =…

Recent studies on professional development programs indicate these programs, when sustained, have a positive impact on student achievement; however, many of these studies have failed to use longitudinal data. The purpose of this study is to understand how one particular instructional practice (STEM PBL) used consistently influences student…

This study explores the pathways through which school-based mentoring relationships are associated with improvements in elementary and high school students' socio-emotional, academic, and behavioral outcomes. Participants in the study (N = 526) were part of a national evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs, all…

In this study, the researcher sought to determine whether Nebraska teachers and administrators agreed about what constitutes sound grading practice. The results of this study indicated that Nebraska teachers and administrators working in public schools in 7th-12th grade settings did not always agree about what constituted sound grading practice.…

Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, however, a paucity of causal evidence for interventions to promote self-determination. This article presents the results of a group-randomized, modified equivalent control group design study of the efficacy of the Self-Determined Learning Model of…