For many years, those who work in the mentoring field have wondered how they can extend the impact of their programs beyond the benefits experienced by young people they serve. There has been an increasing desire within our field to harness the power of mentoring to enable the youth served in a program to not just grow individually, but to…

Numerous empirical studies and syntheses have explored technology-mediated task-based language teaching (TMTBLT) (for example, Chong & Reinders, 2020; Kim & Namkung, 2024; Lai & Li, 2011; Ziegler, 2016), with findings highlighting the affordances of technology for interaction and its associated benefits. However, few studies have…

While sufficient methodological training and effective implementation of assessment approaches are essential for successful evaluation in student affairs, those with an interest and passion for social justice may be conflicted. Many of the assessment approaches employed today are misaligned with social justice agendas, lack theoretical grounding…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship of pre-service teachers with action research. Faculty researchers wanted to find out if pre-service teachers could learn and apply the principles of action research in their teaching and to investigate how action research could be used to promote or encourage reflective teaching…

Being literate empowers individuals to be effective consumers, to be informed about lifestyle options, to read aesthetically for relaxation and enjoyment and to further their knowledge of people and places that can enable them to participate more fully in communities. However, there are limited literacy opportunities and programs specifically…

This report describes a program for advancing character education by expanding school goals of respect and responsibility and developing emotional intelligence by using the current curriculum. Targeted population consisted of elementary students in one first grade class and one fourth grade class, and middle school students in one sixth grade…

This report describes a program for improving memory retention through instructional and motivational techniques in elementary art. Targeted population consisted of third grade students at three sites in a middle class suburb of a large midwestern city. The problems of memory retention were documented through teacher pre-surveys and art memory…

This report describes a program designed to empower students through the use of the democratic classroom to improve students' attitudes toward school. Targeted population consisted of sixth grade students in a growing middle class community, located in a major midwestern city. The problem of poor student attitude was documented through data…

This action research paper describes a program initiated by teacher researchers to improve academic achievement and interest in social studies. The targeted group consisted of fifth graders in a lower middle class community in the Midwest. Analysis of the problem-causes data show three main factors: curriculum, attitude, and effect. In regard to…

The Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) conducts an urban, volunteer-based literacy tutoring program for adults that emphasizes goal setting. The council believes that students entering the literacy program should understand why they are there, what GPLC can do for them, and how they can apply themselves to get the maximum benefit from…

An approach to educational research that is receiving renewed attention is participatory action research (PAR), which emphasizes a bottom-up approach to research as well as useful outcomes. PAR is a philosophy, and not a methodology per se. It is a deliberate, goal-directed, structured, and applied means of obtaining information that looks to…

This report describes a program for improving moral character to increase academic achievement. Targeted population consisted of middle school students in a growing middle class community in a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem, an absence of proper moral character, was documented through data collected from discipline referrals to…

The instructor of a course focusing on basic academic and job readiness skills for welfare recipients at the Goodwill Employment Help Center in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, conducted an action research project to determine whether developing personal mission statements would increase students' motivation in her course. As new students were accepted…

The majority of employment and training programs are designed as one-size-fits-all, leaving approximately 85 percent of participants unsatisfied, unmotivated, or forced back into a job with no chance of advancement. In targeting a clientele of single parents and dislocated workers, an action research project, called Chance to Advance, conducted in…

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Area Labor-Management Committee (SPALMC), which serves approximately 180 adult students annually, was experiencing inconsistencies in performance among its adult education staff. The problems included teachers arriving late 50% of the time and individualizing instruction only 70% of the time. To remedy these problems,…