Increasing the representation of skilled workers in STEM fields has been a priority in the United States, with a particular emphasis on supporting underrepresented groups. While urban areas with established higher education institutions have made efforts to engage underrepresented students in STEM, this study sheds light on the challenges faced by…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the Nation's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for Americans with low income. SNAP-Education, commonly referred to as SNAP-Ed, is the nutrition education arm of SNAP benefits. SNAP-Ed aims to help individuals stretch their food budget while also supporting a healthier…

Coalitions are central to Extension's community-based programs. To assess characteristics that support well-functioning coalitions and to support coalitions in which Extension stakeholders participate, we used the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory to assess 10 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education coalitions on the basis of…

The Mountain Plains Region (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming), in partnership with the Southwest Region (Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), have combined efforts to produce the first cross-regional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)…

Purpose/Objectives: Farm to school (FTS) programs have many benefits, including potential for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables by students. However, there are challenges with hourly school nutrition employees' abilities to successfully process local produce and promote it to students. The purpose of this study was to identify…

An estimated 1.2 million refugee students attend schools across the United States (U.S.). They represent between 35-40% of the total number of refugees in the U.S. Yet, we know little about how school districts work with refugee students, most of whom have had significant gaps in their formal education and for whom English is not their first…

DREAMzone is an educational intervention designed to increase higher education professionals' competency and self-efficacy for working with undocumented students. Grounded in social learning theory, we developed the DREAMer-ally instrument to investigate the effects of DREAMzone on DREAMer-ally competency and self-efficacy. Findings support the…

Online education is unique in part for the relatively high degrees of autonomy afforded learners. Self-direction and self-regulation, along with support, are essential for students to succeed. The site of this action research project was a new, small online public charter school for middle and high school students, Foothills Academy Connected…

Commuter students make up an overwhelming majority of the college student population. At the same time, the amount of research on commuter students is minuscule compared to that of residential students. The characteristics of the commuter student subgroup that is referenced in this chapter can be described as living independent of guardians or…

This study investigated parental perceptions of high school transition services. Experiential learning theory that emphasizes the use of hands-on learning for students with disabilities served as the theoretical framework. The cross-sectional, correlational design explored parental perceptions about the effectiveness of their children's high…

This dissertation is an action research study that had as its primary goal to increase retention of honors college students at Arizona State University by implementing an additional advising session during the fifth semester of their academic career. Introducing additional, strategically-timed support for the honors thesis and demystifying the…

Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC), located in Phoenix, Arizona, is part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD). PVCC was founded in 1987 and in the fall of 2007 served 8,739 students in credit courses. Since 1997, PVCC has been on a quest to become a "more learning centered" college. As a result of placing…

Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university nestled below the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona. It enrolls more than 21,000 undergraduate and graduate students at its main campus in Flagstaff, through its 35 statewide sites, and via online program offerings. Within the university organizational system, Student Affairs has a…

"JOBSTART" is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED (General Educational…

The public receives environmental information from a variety of sources. Evaluation of a single program or one organization's effort is incomplete. Through surveys and interviews, we evaluate the cumulative impact of outreach by 20 water-related organizations in Maricopa County, Arizona. Household water conservation is a topic addressed by 18…