School counselors have critical roles in enhancing college readiness, providing college admissions counseling, and fostering a college going culture in their schools. In fulfilling these roles, school counselors must answer the "Why go to college" question. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine school counselors' beliefs…

The Advanced Placement (AP) program created by the College Board offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. The AP course curriculum program comprises a panel of college-level educators and experts in a particular field of study. Colleges and Universities may grant placement and course credit to those students who…

This study introduces the Professional Development Evaluation Scale (ProDES), a tool that has been developed to evaluate the impact of professional development as it relates to participants' Learning and Use of New Knowledge and Skills, Organisational Support, Student Learning Outcomes, and reactions. Grounded in Guskey's (2000) framework for…

Since professional learning is about shifting adult mindsets and behavior, it is work that frequently challenges assumptions, expectations, beliefs, instructional practices, and long-standing habits. To have meaningful and productive conversations about evaluation and data, educators must be equipped with effective practices and tools that allow…

This study assessed the impact of Mawhiba-IAU (an innovative gifted summer program in Saudi Arabia to prepare gifted students to thrive in an innovation-based economy) on students' achievement, soft skills, and satisfaction. The convenience sample consisted of three datasets of gifted students for the various research questions. A…

Growth mindset has received more focus in schools in the past fifteen years as a possible way to improve various educational outcomes. There are important possible benefits if students believe in the malleability of intelligence and the potential to improve in ability and various human qualities. Students with growth mindsets set self-improvement…

The problem addressed in this study was high school science teachers' lack of understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and clarity for the integration of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) approaches to align standards in STEM with high school science education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) and character education are important components of adolescent development. In this study, we evaluated a randomized controlled trial of CharacterStrong, a curriculum that combines SEL and character education that included 1609 students and 242 teachers across 14 schools. This study applied baseline target…

Evidence in psychology and economics has converged on an understanding of what matters for students' learning and what influences their life trajectories. While earlier work focused on the role of large scale assessment test scores, more recent research emphasizes the importance of socioemotional skills, experiences, and mindsets--such as conflict…

There has been growing concern regarding youth participation in martial arts programs (Vertonghen & Theeboom, 2013). Previous studies have revealed contradictory findings of youth martial arts programs related to a potential increasing physical aggression and violent behaviors as a negative side of youth martial arts practice (Endresen &…

Self-reported perceptions of the impact of acceleration through an early college entrance program at the University of Iowa National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (NAASE), revealed the program's contribution to students' overall development. Responses from a sample of 76-gifted participants to a 64-item survey offered insights about…

Background: Transition Year (TY) is a quasi-gap year offered midway through post-primary education in Ireland. TY is intended to provide a low-stakes environment to promote maturity and social skills, and to prepare students for adult life. Previous interview-based research has found that TY is seen as a positive experience by many students and…

This dissertation aims to understand the contribution of schools to reducing bullying behaviors and, in turn, to examine the benefits for students of attending a school that effectively reduces bullying. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to the literature on bullying by (a) locating the school as a key environment in social-ecology of…

The strategy of outdoor learning can be combined with various models and methods. The discovery learning model is one approach that can be integrated with outdoor learning and can be utilized in biology education. The purpose of this study is to ascertain how the outdoor-based Discovery Learning methodology affects Class X pupils' ability to think…

The U.S. education system provides 12 years of public education, but with the main focus on academics, graduates may not know how to complete the many adulthood tasks required of them when they exit high school. This quantitative study investigated the health, money, home, and travel skills high school graduates from 2010-2020 learned from their…