This study examined the relationship between attendance at entertainment events and first year retention. First year retention is a strong indicator that a student will persist through to completion of a bachelor's degree. The purpose of the study was to determine if a significant relationship exists between student attendance at social events on…

To help students achieve academic success, school administrators need actively engaged teachers. However, public schools in the United States struggle to keep teachers engaged, contributing to an already existing teacher attrition crisis. This quantitative study examines the association between professional development elements and teacher…

Evidence suggests that religion and spirituality contribute to positive outcomes in youth, including academic functioning, social behaviors, and well-being. Islamic psychology merges psychological and spiritual well-being within the individual. Studies have shown positive outcomes for adult engagement in Islamic religious practices (i.e., salat…

Middle and high school administrators in a Midwest school district needed to implement strategies to support parent involvement. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how middle and high school administrators implemented strategies to support parent involvement that may influence student achievement. The conceptual framework…

Over two-thirds of youth participate in a structured sport, making it a vital context in which transactional relations with cognitive development can occur. Yet, little is known about how these constructs inform one another across childhood. Most previous studies have focused on health benefits of sport participation, or on demographic and family…

Mental health struggles in college students have been steadily increasing in recent years. In an effort to slow the trend, scholars have searched for methods and tools to help students manage their mental health. One such tool that has shown to be correlated with less stress, anxiety, and symptoms associated with depression is mental toughness.…

This study was a companion study, modeled after a 2013 study that explored the relationship between secondary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, their family involvement self-efficacy beliefs, and the frequency and type of parental involvement practices. This study explored the same relationship between elementary school teachers and parental…

It has been established in prior research that parent involvement and school-family partnerships have the potential to positively impact student achievement; however, creating and maintaining positive and productive parent-teacher communication can be difficult. Since teachers function as the link between school and the home, there is an increased…

By 2031, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) fields are projected to grow by almost 11% (Krutsch & Roderick, 2022). To meet this demand the enrollment and retention in STEM degree programs must be increased, particularly among student populations that are underrepresented in these fields. Despite growing identification with…

Since Bandura's original study on self-efficacy, many studies have concluded on the importance of self-efficacy and success (Bandura, 1977). Later he studied the contributing factors of how self-efficacy is established (Bandura, 1986). Given the importance of home factors in establishing self-efficacy for students, research needs to occur to…

College and universities have seen a shift in parent and family involvement in their traditional-aged college student's experience. Generation Z members, born between 1995-2012, were born into a world with the Internet, smartphones, and social media (Twenge, 2017). As defined by Wartman & Savage (2008), parent involvement includes parents and…

This mixed-methods study explored the relationship between teacher academic optimism and personalized professional learning in a rural Appalachian elementary school in southeastern Ohio. Twenty K-5 educators participated, with pre/post-surveys utilizing the Teacher Academic Optimism Scale-Elementary (TAOS-E) yielding quantitative data. Six…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if and to what extent there is a correlation between paternal school involvement, and (school, cognitive/intellectual, and personal) involvement in their children's academic achievement of first through eighth-grade students in a private school. The theoretical foundation of…

This correlational study investigated how secondary educators' engagement in online learning communities relates to their tech-enhanced instructional practices, a relationship that gained importance following the COVID-19 pandemic's acceleration of educational technology adoption. Through the lens of Keller's ARCS Model of Motivation (Keller,…

The problem addressed in this study was that despite the development and implementation of the national standards for family-school engagement, some teachers and parents still struggle to establish relationships. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if there was a relationship between a teachers' perceptions of the…