The purpose of this study was to examine the Students Who Achieve Together (SWAT) peer tutoring program at Greystone High School (an Illinois suburban high school of approximately 1500 students), and to use the information gathered to evaluate the program's effectiveness and provide an analysis for future decision-making about the program. In…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…

Despite the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act's (IDEA) mandates for student involvement in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, several researchers have demonstrated limited student participation. One method for encouraging self-advocacy and active IEP participation is to teach students to communicate their hopes, dreams,…

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan argued in a 2010 address to the College Board, "High schools must shift from being last stop destinations for students on their education journey to being launching pads for further growth and lifelong learning for all students. The mission of high schools can no longer be to simply get students to…

This study aims to give voice to public high school principals in Illinois as to their perceived views on the purpose of high school education and their perceptions of partnerships with businesses. Data from 105 distinct public high schools from 50 Illinois counties were analyzed. Findings reveal that principals view the purpose of high school…

In this article, the authors describe a mixed-methods study in which an adapted Motivation to Write Profile (MWP)--the CLMWP--was used to investigate the conceptualizations, perceptions, and practices of adolescent writers. Results of this study suggested that participants held differing conceptualizations of writing, depending on the context. In…

This research study examines how Illinois public high school Career and Technical Education educational leaders employ best practices in providing all students rigorous, relevant, and equitable learning experiences within a professional learning community structure. This study utilized a mixed method two-tier case study methodology. Tier one…

This research study explored the critical nature of the connection between student achievement and superintendent leadership. A great deal of scholarship has addressed either student achievement or leadership and previous evidence has suggested the impact of both parental education and racioethnicity on student achievement, but few studies have…

Within primary and secondary school technology education, engineering has been proposed as an avenue to bring about technological literacy. Different initiatives such as curriculum development projects (i.e., Project ProBase and Project Lead The Way) and National Science Foundation funded projects such as the National Center for Engineering and…