Learning experiences are widely recognized as crucial in developing students' attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Vocationally-oriented polytechnics and universities provide distinct learning experiences that may significantly influence students' STEM self-efficacy, expectancy-value and career interest. The study…

Using data with detailed instructor employment information from a state college system, this study examines disciplinary variations in the characteristics and effects of non-tenure-track faculty hired through temporary and long-term employment. We identify substantial differences in demographic and employment characteristics between the two types…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the change in mathematics self-efficacy of students enrolled in a college mathematics course at a community college in Missouri. The change was measured over a single semester as a pre-test and post-test. The timing of this study is significant, given that it follows statewide changes in…

The view that colleges are generally safe has been challenged by threats of violence on campuses across the country, causing fear among stakeholders. Community college faculty are not immune to crime-related fear on campus; however, the research has largely ignored this population. This research serves to fill that gap. The purpose of this…

Although most education policy decisions are made at the state level, America has been having a national debate over the future of our schools for the last several years. Arguments have raged over COVID-related closures and the resultant student learning loss, Critical Race Theory, school funding, parental choice, college debt, and more. The 2022…

California community college (CCC) counselors assist a diverse student population with academic achievement, career exploration, and mental health/crisis interventions while tasked with administrative duties such as programming, coordinating, and advising. In addition, they have instructional duties such as teaching classes, writing syllabi, and…

While postsecondary education appears to promote civic mindedness and engagement, relatively little is known about the association between civic outcomes and types of postsecondary education, as well as across different academic programs. Using a convenience sample from two postsecondary education institutions in the Mid-Atlantic U.S., this…

Learning about evolution is a foundational part of biology education, but most current studies that explore college student evolution education are conducted at universities. However, community college students tend to be more diverse in characteristics shown to be related to evolution education outcomes. To explore how studies involving…

Existing research demonstrates gender- and race/ethnicity-based inequities in college outcomes. Separately, recent research suggests a relationship between time poverty and college outcomes for student parents and online students. However, to date, no studies have empirically explored whether differential access to time as a resource for college…

Using data with detailed instructor employment information from a state college system, this study examines disciplinary variations in the characteristics and effects of non-tenure-track faculty hired through temporary and long-term employment. We identify substantial differences in the demographic and employment characteristics between the two…

The transfer pathway from community college to university holds promise for advancing equity in STEM because it is followed by disproportionately high numbers of underrepresented students. Among the challenges these students face is cultivating belonging in multiple institutional settings. By combining belonging and validation theories, this…

This is the sixth issue in a series of American Association of Community Colleges analyses of trends in community college enrollments and examination of completion rates. Two sources are used, enrollment, graduation rates, and outcomes measures information from the U.S. Department of Education and enrollment and completion rates published by the…

Although active learning improves student outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, it may provoke anxiety in some students. We examined whether two psychological variables, social anxiety (psychological distress relating to the fear of negative evaluation by others) and academic self-efficacy (confidence in…

Previous research has generally focused on understanding individual variation in either on-line processing or off-line comprehension even though some theories explicitly link difficulty in processing to comprehension problems. The goal of the current study was to examine individual variation in performance both during on-line and off-line reading…

The goal of this study was to assess the relationships between computational approaches to analyzing constructed responses made during reading and individual differences in the foundational skills of reading in college readers. We also explored if these relationships were consistent across texts and samples collected at different institutions and…