The number of young people who leave school before graduation continues to be a problem in the United States, with approximately 485,000 young people leaving school each year. Not graduating translates to substantial individual and societal economic, civic, and social costs. Understanding the factors that lead young people to leave school can have…

This two-study report investigates achievement goal theory in the social domain to gain greater understanding of how the social climate of outdoor courses relates to peer interactions. In Study 1, we used mixed methods to examine how adolescents experienced the social climate of weeklong outdoor courses and how those perceptions related to peer…

Middle and high schools across America are striving to equip their students with the tools necessary for achieving their highest academic potential to become model citizens. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the strategies and interventions available for middle and high school students referred to In-school suspension (ISS)…

Supporting social interactions and positive peer relationships is an important element of comprehensive secondary education and transition programming. For many adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), such social connections may be fairly limited apart from intentional programming. We examined the efficacy and social validity of peer…

The purpose of the study was to develop a grounded theory of the underlying social processes and/or other ecological factors that impact the effectiveness of skill acquisition for students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders in a Midwestern city in the United States. Theory development was based on in-depth investigation of five students…

This dissertation describes the development of a state-of-the-art immersive media environment and its potential to motivate high school youth with autism to vocally express themselves. Due to the limited availability of media environments in public education settings, studies on the use of such systems in special education contexts are rare. A…