Within the five chapters of this dissertation, the overall theme was to examine student goal setting when engaged in the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) in inclusive, secondary, academic content, general education classrooms over multiple years. Chapter 1 provides an overview of self-determination, goal setting, and the…

Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood and rates are significantly higher among college students than their non-college attending peers. Negative alcohol-related outcomes are common among college drinkers. This longitudinal study aimed to reduce negative alcohol-related outcomes, indirectly, by promoting the salience of first-year students' academic…

This longitudinal case study investigated the developmental trajectories of two participants enrolled in an ITA oral communication course at Purdue University. The course provides language support to the ITA population who play a crucial role in higher education programs in the U.S. (Gorsuch, 2016). Over four months (i.e., one semester), I…

Emerging literature suggests that ideal/desired emotions vs. actual emotions represent an important aspect of subjective emotional experiences that may be particularly important for cross-cultural research, as culture may influence the subjective experience of how individuals value certain emotions and to what extent they actually experience them.…

More than ever before, public schools are under immense pressure to raise the academic achievement of students. Administrators, teachers, and parents alike are searching for ways to equip students with the necessary knowledge to be successful in the 21st Century. Research proves that goal setting provides students with a tool to plan, monitor, and…

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in science dual enrollment courses influenced African American high school students' post-secondary aspirations that will lead to college attendance. The investigation examined the relationship between African American students' learning experiences and how their self-efficacy and outcome…

Results of the three studies on the speech production of female-to-male transgender individuals (transmen) present phonetic evidence that speech produces the transmen by what I termed triple decoupling. Transmen successfully decouple gender from biological sex. The results of the longitudinal studies exemplified that speakers born and raised…

Study abroad is an under-researched domain of language learning. Moreover, most investigations of this phenomenon adopt traditional structuralist approaches, wherein outcomes of study abroad are assessed solely in terms of proficiency gains as measured through conventional exams. The present study builds upon an emerging body of poststructuralist…

This study investigated relationships among teacher practices, student motivation and student achievement on standardized mathematics assessments using an Achievement Goal Theory framework. From 2006 through 2009, 800 public school students participated in mathematics assessments and completed surveys measuring perceptions of teacher practices and…

While the growth of the Hispanic population in the United States is outpacing other ethnicities, college enrollment and graduation rates of Hispanic students continue to lag behind other groups. This longitudinal, qualitative case study explored when, how, and why a sample of Hispanic high school seniors at a large high school in North Central…

A study was conducted to propose a research-based model for a longitudinal data research system that addressed recommendations from a synthesis of literature related to: (1) needs reported by the U.S. Department of Education, (2) the twelve mandatory elements that define federally approved state longitudinal data systems (SLDS), (3) the…

A mixed methods approach was used to identify factors that influence the underrepresentation of Latinos in the domain of science. The researcher investigated the role of family influences, academic preparation, and personal motivations to determine science-related career choices by Latinos. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted using…