A modified, bilingual Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) instrument was administered to 1,258 high school students in South Texas in an NSF-funded project on informal learning of mathematics and near peer mentoring. We explore students' survey response behaviors and examine the existence of careless and insufficient effort (CIE)…

Student retention has not changed in almost 40 years despite the plethora of attention. Maybe it is time to look at it differently. The study examines the relationships of parental education level, educational aspirations, and engagement. The National Survey of Student Engagement data were used in the analyses, but it raised questions about the…

In this study a survey was developed to investigate students' engagement during general chemistry laboratory sessions. Aspects of engagement surveyed included cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement, and the survey items were focused on activities during the pre-laboratory introduction, laboratory procedures, and data collection.…

For Christian colleges and universities, students' spiritual formation and character development are important outcomes. However, unlike academic outcomes of retention and graduation, systematic efforts to measure outcomes of faith and character are far from ubiquitous. The purpose of this article is to report the efforts of Baylor University to…

Following two previous studies in 2010 and 2013, this study intends to identify current trends of Sam Houston State University students' technology and communication needs and preferences regarding library services and resources. Drawing comparisons to two previous local studies and national data sets, such as those from Pew Internet Research and…

Universities and colleges are consistently being held accountable for measurable outcomes from internal and external stakeholders. Outcomes such as the development of critical thinking skills have been tied to funding from state and federal governments and employers believe that graduates should be able to think critically and produce results…

Bolstering transfer pathways to a 4-year degree can help fill the country's increasing need for innovative, diverse, skilled workers within engineering. Drawing on survey data from a sample comprised of a disproportionately large percentage of Hispanic/Latino students, this study focuses on understanding engineering transfer students' reasons for…

This document provides the technical appendix that accompanies the study, "Student Experiences in English Corequisite Remediation versus a Standalone Developmental Education Course: Findings from an Experimental Study in Texas Community Colleges. Research Report. RR-A810-1" (ED612531). Between fall 2016 and fall 2018, the authors…

Objective: To identify preferences for and use of short-acting hormonal (e.g., oral contraceptives, injectable contraception) or long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) among community college students in Texas. Participants: Female community college students, ages 18 to 24, at risk of pregnancy, sampled in Fall 2014 or Spring 2015 (N = 966).…

Background: College students are susceptible to cigarette smoking initiation, and those who smoke are at risk for a lifetime addiction. Purpose: This study examined the differences in college student smoker and nonsmoker perceptions about cigarette smoking in relation to emotional benefits, health hazards, self-confidence, and body image. Methods:…

Six years ago, Front Range Community College President Andy Dorsey sat down with his team and looked at the college's completion and graduation rates. Like a lot of colleges, they were in for a shock. It is not that they had expected to see 80 percent completion rates. But they certainly were not expecting to see only 43 percent of their students…

Aim/Purpose: The dynamic nature of the information systems (IS) field presents educators with the perpetual challenge of keeping course offerings current and relevant. This paper describes the process at a College of Business (COB) to redesign the introductory IS course to better prepare students for advanced business classes and equip them with…

Inherent challenges affect first-generation students' persistence from as early as the first college year. Using cultural capital as a guide, this study is unique in that it investigates the contribution of first-year policies and programs to the success of first-generation students in 57 bachelor's degree-granting institutions across five states…

The importance of the research related to the existence of collaborative learning in higher education for Latinos, specifically pre-service teachers, has been substantiated. It has been defined that while teacher retention rates for Latinos are lower than for whites, using teamwork in the classroom might make Latinos teaching more rewarding. Most…

Many attendees of live classical music concerts are experiencing programmed music for the first time and some are unfamiliar with the performance genre itself, particularly if their backgrounds do not include formal music training. Because listeners are less likely to enjoy music they are hearing for the first time, it could be beneficial for…