South African learner achievement remains poor, despite large investment in schooling over the last two decades. Literature and research findings offer no single explanation or solution. In this article, the authors explored the relative contribution of specific language factors such as the role of home- and school-language equivalence, cultural…

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship between features of the classroom environment and misalignment between teacher and observer ratings of preschoolers' classroom engagement and the extent to which years of teaching experience moderated this relationship. In a sample of 116 preschoolers and 21 teachers in 29 classrooms,…

This study examined the influence that previously researched and affirmed persistence and early withdrawal factors such as student demographics, enrollment status factors, student characteristics, and student educational goals had on Iowa community college retention rates for the 2005, 2007, and 2009 academic years. It is the researcher's…

It is generally expected that funds invested in public instruction will strengthen pupil achievement. Similarly, it is expected that enrollments of young children in preschool education should lead to higher achievement. In a trend analysis, we examined three variables as predictors of grade 8 achievement in 2007: (1) state expenditures per…

In this paper we present time series data collected from a cafe run by business students at a Midwestern public university. The data were collected over a ten-week period during the spring semester of 2010. These data can be used in introductory courses to illustrate basic concepts of time series and forecasting, including trend, seasonality, and…

Assuming that a period of racial disharmony is potentially indicative of increasing salience of racial categories for social life, the issue of whether a period of racial discord is indicative of (1) a point of rapid transition in an overall trend of decreasing salience of racial categories, or (2) preliminary evidence of a general trend of the…

The purpose of the investigation was to examine the longitudinal trends in graduate course grades, controlling for selected academic and personal characteristics of students. Stepwise multiple regression was used to analyze 138 separate courses. The study population consisted of 7,002 graduate students who had attempted 25 or more quarter hours as…

What percent of Americans have been exposed to arts education? Has it changed over time? How do demographic characteristics correlate with arts education? What is the state of arts education in U.S. schools? These research questions are the focus of this report, which is presented in two parts. Using data from the Surveys of Public Participation…

The uses of data on siblings for educational and psychological research purposes are explained. Examples are based on empirical data. Five types of research problems, using sibling data, are explored: (1) statistical control of family background variance in psychological or educational studies which use analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) or multiple…