Developing academic writers must continually position themselves discursively as they negotiate institutional, programmatic, and disciplinary contexts. The inextricable relationship of writing and identities raises questions of access to social identities in schools, a particularly salient issue when considering the complexities and challenges of…

'Homebound' children are unable to attend school for illness-related reasons. To lessen their predicament, schools have begun experimenting with 'telepresence robots' that can enable remote participation. While promising, we know little about the use of telepresence robots in practice. To begin to redress this, we draw on 159 semi-structured…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the social and academic experiences of Black students in AP English classes at a diverse suburban high school. This study aimed to illuminate their experiences, while giving voice to this traditionally marginalized group. Students provided recommendations for increasing academic success and…

This study examined factors that impact Black middle and high school students' academic and psychosocial well-being. Qualitative analysis of focus group data using grounded methodological approach on 51 middle and high school students in a predominantly White urban school district. Findings show Black students are constantly exposed to racial…

The focus of this mixed-methods study was to compare the experiences of gifted (n = 705) and non-gifted high school students (n = 341) during emergency remote education associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that both groups assessed emergency remote learning as less adequate, and judged that their general mood, well-being, and…

Gamification is an increasingly popular approach to engage learners in educational contexts. Although many studies have examined the effects of gamification in comparison to a non-gamification approach, less attention has been paid to the impact of different ways of implementing gamification on students' learning and engagement. In this study, we…

What is the social, emotional, and academic impact of attending school remotely rather than in person? We address this issue using survey data collected from N = 6,576 high school students in a large, diverse school district that allowed families to choose either format in fall 2020. Controlling for baseline measures of well-being collected 1…

The secondary school transition is considered a critical life event by practitioners and researchers alike, and the challenges presented by the pupils during this transition continues to be high-profile in educational, social and political contexts. This study focused on Year 7 pupils aged 11 to 12 years old in their first year of secondary…

Triennial data collected by districts and reported by states identify students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) as the subset of students with disabilities (SWD) most negatively affected by the transition from high school to postsecondary school or employment. Unfortunately, the quantitative data collected by the state does not…

Improving students' lives through education is a continuous goal of school systems. Although education has assumed various roles throughout the years, one of the main goals is to help prepare students for future success. A key characteristic of supporting students in their quest of finding their purpose in life is equipping them with the skills…

The results of this basic qualitative study explored the lived experiences of former students diagnosed with or at-risk for an Emotional Disturbance as they transitioned through the secondary setting. The purpose of this study was to uncover what contributed to within-school transition success in secondary settings for this population.…

Rolefulness is a psychological concept that refers to a person's continuous sense of role satisfaction in their daily lives. This study introduces the rolefulness development theory--that social rolefulness emerges from social experiences first and then facilitates internal rolefulness. Hence, using a sample of high school students, this study…

The needs assessment explored how psychosocial adversity influenced high school graduates' college and career readiness, resilience, and social capital. It identified strengths, needs, barriers, and gaps within a K-12 school district and provided recommendations to enhance these themes. The assessment used a two-phase mixed-method design,…

This study investigated the lived experiences of (12) elementary and middle school principals in the Northeast United States throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the emergency COVID-19 guidelines that have been implemented across schools in the United States, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how principals…

In this study, the lack of teacher preparation to incorporate Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies in the classroom that could benefit African American and Latina girls in urban secondary schools was examined. Research showed that over 50% of students in urban schools experienced SEL challenges which correlated with higher risks for…