The purpose of this study was to analyze the spring 2008 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) results from a community college located in Southeast Texas to determine what relationship student engagement had to student persistence and academic performance and if that relationship differed by race, ethnicity, or academic program.…

Laptop learning programs have been developed to create ubiquitous online learning environments. Given the infancy of many programs, there is little understanding of aspects of the program are perceived to provide value to faculty and students. This paper focuses on the value proposition (with respect to perceived benefits versus capital…

This report highlights three of the programs funded through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative in Pinellas County, Florida. These programs are: (1) Think First, an anger management program for high school students; (2) Families and Schools Together (FAST), a parenting program for parents of at-risk elementary students; and (3) On-Campus…

Two studies are reported in which the behaviors of four infant class teachers in England and their respective classes were observed and recorded. The aim of the studies was to examine the effects of contingent teacher touch behavior upon children's classroom behavior. Touch was found to increase on-task behavior and decrease disruptive behavior.…

Interdisciplinary research and education have long been part of the university programmatic structure. More recently, however, university interdisciplinary projects, programs, centers, and institutes have grown in number, diversity, and complexity. This growth generally reflects the need for new combinations of disciplinary knowledge and research…

This report explores best practices of on- and off-campus disciplinary alternative programs in Texas. It is based on a study in which Texas' alternative-program practices were compared with best practices of alternative programs in the United States. Following a literature review of best alternative program practices, a survey was developed to…

In 1995, the Texas legislature established a policy that each school district must have an "alternative educational setting for behavioral management." This policy brief examines the ways in which this idea has been implemented in Texas, using data from the Texas Education Agency. Findings show that, for the most part, these alternative…

This study examined the relation between parental coping styles, discipline, and child behavior before and after participating in a parent training program for parents of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and oppositional behavior. For mothers, use of more maladaptive and less adaptive coping styles was related to more…

This study examines whether program effects on mother-child relationship quality and effective discipline mediated the 6-year longitudinal effects of the New Beginnings Program (NBP) to improve mental health and competence outcomes in 218 adolescents from divorced families in a randomized experimental trial. The NBP is a theory-based and…

Due to new standards in fostering life-long learning at school, research has increasingly dealt with the promotion of self-regulated learning, resulting in a large number of intervention studies conducted at primary and secondary school. The current study aimed at investigating the impact of various training characteristics on the training…

In this article, we present findings from a survey study of portfolio assessment practices in four Norwegian higher education institutions after a major educational reform had introduced more varied assessment forms, more compulsory writing and closer follow-up of students. The purpose behind the study was to map these newly emerging writing and…

African American adolescents disproportionately perform poorly compared to peers in both behavioral and academic aspects of their educational experience. In this study, African American male students participated in an after-school program involving tutoring, group counseling, and various enrichment activities. All students were assessed regarding…

This Guide is intended to share the insights of SEDL's National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (the National Partnership) as well as information about both the academic and the organizational and management practices that successful afterschool programs use. The authors have organized these practices into the following four focus…

A survey of teachers and students at a high school located in a small city within an argicultural district indicated the need for school administration to seek solutions and strategies for the problem of excessive discipline referrals among ninth graders. A target group of high-risk students (N=20) was identified with chronic discipline problems.…

The call for a return to corporal punishment grows out of frustration. Students are more defiant now and authority figures are weaker and shaken. It is tempting to strike out in anger, but corporal punishment is not, and never has been, a real solution. (Author/SJL)