Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system (Crosse, Kaye, & Ratnofsky, 1992; Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). Although research on this topic is limited, youth with disabilities who are emancipating from foster care are at risk for particularly poor outcomes, experiencing even lower rates of employment,…

Advancement Via Individualized Determination (AVID) provides middle-achieving, underachieving and socio-economically disadvantaged students in grades 4-12 with success strategies, and rigorous coursework that prepares them for high school graduation and college acceptance. Based on a series of interviews with Latina students who had participated…

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of students, teachers, counselors, and building- and central-office administrators regarding students' transition from middle school to high school. A second purpose of the study was to compare the perceptions of students' transition from middle school to high school based on students'…

The purpose of this concurrent triangulation mixed methods study was to understand the status of succession planning and management (SPM) efforts of the subject university as perceived by the fulltime academic and fulltime administrative staff. Four research questions guided this study: (1) how do fulltime academic staff and fulltime…

Historically, first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities have had very high attrition rates at California Community Colleges and institutions of higher education in general. Based on figures compiled by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 2004, 4.5 million low-income, first-generation college students comprise…

The purpose of this study was to investigate and explore the differences, if any, between North Carolina high school principals' and counselors' perceptions of the implementation strategies of their freshmen academies. The results of this study provide additional knowledge to educational administrators, policymakers, and district leaders, as they…

An extensive review of the literature has been conducted in the area of self-determination for youth with disabilities who are preparing for their transitions from school to post school activities. Self-determination is presented as a best practice for transition education and current instructional practices used to teach such skills are…

The transition from elementary to middle school is a significant period of change for adolescents and is remarkable for several reasons, including the opportunity for new experiences and the potential for other developmental changes to occur simultaneously. Existing literature on transition includes both positive and negative outcomes for…

Due to the changes in disability legislation that protect persons with disabilities from discrimination, and allow for free, appropriate public education along with equal access to education, more and more students with disabilities are choosing to attend postsecondary educational settings. The transition planning process as outlined in the…

The literature examining the retention of students of color is very much like a puzzle. Many scholars have contributed to the puzzle attempting to make a complete body of knowledge regarding student departure. However, a void in the literature seems to be the role of students' values in the retention puzzle, specifically, whether the process of…

Highly qualified teachers are necessary to establish strong schools of instructional richness in which the student has the greatest opportunity to be academically successful. The responsibility of a teacher is much greater than just teaching academic content in a subject discipline. Schools are complex institutions which require teaching staff to…

The purpose of this study was to identify instructional strategies and support services of five learning community programs that focus on the retention of African American students at California Community Colleges. Empirical research indicates that colleges and universities have historically structured their curricula, student services programs,…

With over two thirds of high school graduates going on to pursue postsecondary options after high school and over one fourth at 4-year institutions and nearly half at 2-year schools never reaching their sophomore year, it is evident that the transition from high school to college is a broken one for many students. There has been a nationwide call…

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a ninth grade transition program at a suburban high school in Louisiana. Student data were analyzed from two groups of first time freshmen who indicated a need for help in mathematics: one without a transition program and one with a transition program. Academic data included standardized test…

This applied dissertation described the evaluation of a program designed to provide students with the necessary academic and social skills needed to matriculate and graduate from the university. The problem was that there was no evidence of a formalized program evaluation to determine if the Academic Empowerment Center (AEC) was effective in…