Whereas much has been written about the role of resources and motivation for activating adolescents to become engaged citizens, less work considers the role that recruitment within schools might play in shaping youth civic engagement patterns. Drawing on interviews with over 100 high school students and over 40 school officials, our research…

This case study describes an experience of using constructivist grounded theory to analyze data. The project investigated how high school students improved their approaches to learning mathematics. Over 4 months, students participated in processes which supported their learning while simultaneously generating data, including interactive writing,…

This research study examined the conditions and features that have worked in concert to afford a select group of high school/unit district superintendents to become highly successful. Many studies have critically looked at leadership, educational leadership, and the superintendency, however, this one utilizes a non-educational theoretical…

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated…

This study aims to present high school students' perception of "English" through the impressions and images and the effect of these perceptions on their motivation in learning English. This qualitative study is based on the data about students' metaphors and the focus group interview to determine their effect on the students' motivation.…

Data-driven inquiry (DDI) is the process by which teachers design and implement classroom assessments and use student results to inform/adjust teaching. Although much has been written about DDI, few details exist about how teachers conduct this process on a day-to-day basis in any specific subject area, let alone chemistry. Nineteen high school…

Within blended learning environments, the availability and analysis of student data has emerged as a central issue. For struggling students, data generated by digital learning systems present new opportunities to investigate critical success factors. In reality, many seemingly basic questions about persistence, progress, and performance of these…

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to investigate the performance of a small, urban high school in the northeastern United States by examining graduation rates, attendance, test scores, and inappropriate student behavior to determine at what levels the school is at risk of losing accreditation. The selected school had declined…

In recent years, schools (as well as universities) have added cyber security to their computer science curricula. This topic is still new for most of the current teachers, who would normally have a standard computer science background. Therefore the teachers are trained and then teaching their students what they have just learned. In order to…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth may endure adverse experiences related to their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. While social supports are commonly described as protective factors, few researchers have investigated this phenomenon for LGBT youth. The current study used thematic coding to analyze…

Purpose: English learner (EL) education policy has long directed schools to address EL students' linguistic "and" academic development without furthering inequity or segregation. The recent Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorization expresses a renewed focus on evidence of equity, effectiveness, and opportunity to learn. We propose that…

Background: Extant literature contends that it can be difficult for White preservice teachers to develop culturally relevant curriculum for the diverse students whom they will encounter in classrooms. Though there is a significant body of research about culturally responsive pedagogy, teacher education programs have struggled with how to best…

Journey to College and Career (JTCC) is a PreK-12 program implemented at the research site to help students graduate from high school and plan for their future. JTCC had not been evaluated for its effectiveness at the research site regarding high school retention by determining (a) whether the goals and objectives of JTCC were being met and (b)…

More than a thousand Grade 10 Physical Science learners from four South African provinces participated in a study that probed their conceptions of energy. The purpose was to determine the learners' conceptual resources, i.e. their initial conceptions, and identify the potentially productive resources from which they may construct physics concepts.…

This study addresses how my freshman world history students come to understand controversial issues as provocative within the secondary social studies classroom, and in what ways does their engagement with provocative issues influence their understanding of the content and the world around them. In addition, this research study seeks to discover…