This study looked to situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in order to explore students' participation in the social practices of first-year learning communities. Wenger's (1998) elaboration on "communities of practice" provides insight into how such participation transforms learners. These perspectives frame learning as a…

Collegiate livestock judging is primarily an extracurricular activity that reinforces concepts taught in the classroom. Previous research has determined that participating on a livestock judging team can aid in the development of perceived life skills. Participants of this study indicated that their experience on a collegiate team helped them…

Identity formation is particularly challenging for stigmatized minorities. The minority stress model (MSM) posits that both negative stereotypes and their internalization represent stressors. There is evidence that this applies to the gifted, too. However, their status is ambiguous, given that both negative and positive stereotypes exist.…

The majority of previous research on academic skills, self-concept of ability and interest has deployed the variable-oriented approach and focused on self-concept, or ability, or interest only. This study examined the patterns and dynamics of pattern change in Finnish children's word reading skill, self-concept of ability and interest from…

It is well known that teachers frequently observe a decline in the scholastic motivation of many adolescent students, which in turn is often associated with a decline in students' individual school self-concept. In contrast, less is known about the association between students' individual school self-concept and school engagement, or the related…

An online survey (N = 256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18-29) and older (baby-boomer: 41-64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer…

The purpose of this research was to contribute to the college student leadership literature through a more complex examination of the influences of race on socially responsible leadership development. Data represented 8,510 participants from 101 colleges and universities in the United States. Results provided evidence of the additive value of…

This goal of this study was to examine the benefits of a campus-wide initiative to build first-year students' strengths awareness. The results of a survey of the first-year class (n?=?1,421) suggest a positive and significant relationship between students' strengths awareness and their belief that the strengths initiatives on campus positively…

The study explored whether aspects of elementary students' writing about their personal values could predict if students were considered more at risk or more resilient. Essays from 176 fifth-grade students (79.54% African American, 20.46% Hispanic) from a low-income, urban district in New Jersey were analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word…

This dissertation adds to work exploring where language stands in the shaping of adolescent speakers' social identities, since identities emerge through discursive and social practices, and social selves are produced through interaction (Bucholtz 1999), but much of the literature studying the role of language in defining the adolescent's identity…