High schools have the potential to foster the growth of students' interests and social relationships beyond the classroom. Sports teams, performing and visual arts groups, special interest clubs, and service projects are some of the extracurricular activities on campus that provide students with opportunities for personal development and social…

Student, family, and community engagement is an important ingredient to foster students' social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD). In this brief, the importance and impact of meaningful engagement--building personal relationships, trust, and mutual respect between students and their educators, families, and communities--is described, and…

"The Secret Syllabus" equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the…

Learning something new--particularly something that might change your mind-- is much more difficult than most teachers think. Because people think with their emotions and are influenced by their communities and social groups, humans tend to ignore new information unless it fits their existing worldview. Thus facts alone, even if discussed in…

Several factors, such as declining birth rates, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have contributed to the current downward trend in college enrollments in the United States (Marcus, 2021, May 22). Declining enrollments create a greater focus on retention of students. Retention, however, is complicated by factors such as rising tuition costs, an uncertain…

Schools are pivoting to rebound from the negative effects the COVID-19 pandemic created for student development, academic achievement, and school culture. As all school constituencies collaborate to reinstitute normalcy, support student development, and maximize academic achievement, extracurricular activities may become more essential than ever.…

In this paper, the author reflects on experiences with being an outsider researcher during their dissertation in which they worked with six undergraduate Native Hawaiian mentees and their six faculty mentors. Four mentor participants self-identified as Hawaiian themselves, whereas two mentors were non-Hawaiians. In this qualitative study, the…

To cultivate humanity is to invest in, enrich, or elevate all that it is to be human. But cultivating humanity has become a pressing challenge in higher education because learning about what it means to be human depends on significant and ongoing personal engagement of students with faculty and staff who serve as mentors, advisors, and guides.…

Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Programs (IPSE) have emerged as opportunities for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to experience college life and prepare for independent living and integrated employment. However, to date there is no standard definition for what defines a successful IPSE experience. This manuscript…

Today's teenagers face a myriad of factors that impact their brains. From technology to trauma, the current brain of a teenager is physiologically altered by factors outside themselves. In order for today's educators to support their students, they require a foundational understanding of how technology and trauma impact the teen brain. Teenage…

In this time of deep divisions, many Americans have recognized the need to heal schisms, repair the social fabric, and restore trust and civility in public discourse. The Better Arguments Project is based on the premise that American civic life does not need fewer arguments; it needs Better Arguments. The project stems from the founding idea that…

Many students experience difficulties during their graduate education. Scholars have proposed mentoring as one potential strategy to support them. While often assumed to be the sole responsibility of faculty, graduate students are also in a position to provide meaningful mentorship to their peers. Thus, the purpose of the current article is to…

Higher education today is not about transferring consolidated or developed knowledge. There is a need for a range of generic skills that are relevant for society, essential for employability and overall citizenship such as applying knowledge in practice, adapting to new situations, information management skills, autonomy, team work, organising and…

Launched to "advance a new vision for what constitutes success for our schools and our students," the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (NCSEAD) began their work by listening to students who shared their thoughts on how they learn best. The young people were clear and unequivocal: They want positive…

The Better Arguments Project was created to encourage Americans to engage one other in better, more productive debates about core American ideals. The project stems from the foundational premise that America doesn't just contain arguments, America is an argument -- between Federalist and Anti-Federalist worldviews, strong national government and…