Participatory research--the inclusion in research of members of a group being studied--is based on the idea that advanced degrees are not a requirement for conducting research, and that the people closest to a problem have knowledge that can lead to better, more accurate results. MDRC researchers worked with a group of youth fellows in Learn and…

Forty percent of all Texas public college students start at a community college and 75 percent earn at least some community college credits. Yet there is very little evidence about how students make transfer decisions and whether the policies meant to avoid credit loss, like the core curriculum, actually improve transfer success and degree…

Accelerating the Boys and Girls Clubs to continued learning and growing in their practices is one key to transforming the young boys and girls which they serve. The purpose of this study was to examine the affects that the Boys and Girls Clubs have had on the membership and to utilize the information learned to endorse the Clubs work going…

Many school districts across the United States struggle to fill positions with qualified teaching candidates. This is especially true in schools with at least 25% or more minority students. Although some teachers are retiring, many teachers leave the profession because of job dissatisfaction (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). Herzberg's…

The UIC Center for Urban Education Leadership (CUEL) brief builds from recent CUEL analysis of schools that have proven most challenging to improve in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In this research brief, CUEL researchers make the case for "high churn" schools to adopt an evidence-based stance as they seek to address the issue of chronic…

College completion is an important discussion in today's world with only about 30% of community college students completing their degrees within three years of starting their programs. Especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, students are changing their majors or not completing their degrees for a variety of…

This convergent parallel mixed-methods study examined the factors affecting teacher recruitment and retention, and explored teachers' and administrators' perceptions about the obstacles and opportunities they encounter during the hiring process. The researcher used a purposeful convenience sampling method in recruiting participants; a total of 49…

Empirical research addressing factors impacting veterans' postsecondary completion is limited. This study examines the impact of civilian acculturation stress, college belongingness, vocational identity, and practical education satisfaction on the college commitment of undergraduate military veterans. Foundational theories, the Student Integration…

The increasing rate of teacher turnover is a significant concern for most schools in the country. Several factors influence teachers' decisions to leave their profession. The problem addressed in this study was the high turnover rates among novice teachers. The purpose was to discuss, study, and explore the factors influencing novice teachers'…

First-generation college students face many challenges transitioning into school. The obstacles are overwhelming and the learners often drop out. The research included details relating to the difficulties facing the scholars and how college educators can address the needs. Understanding the concerns of first-generation college students is critical…

The education field is experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers, especially in high-poverty schools. All school districts struggle to find ways to prevent the increasing turnover rates in their schools; however, school districts serving impoverished populations have to deal with the impact of teacher turnover more frequently. This qualitative…

Biological engineering includes a higher representation of women (Yoder, 2015) than most science, technology, engineering, mathematics and information technology fields, while computer science has seen a precipitous decline in women's representation. However, disciplines like biological engineering are becoming more computationally intensive…

The review of the literature indicated that a notably smaller number of nontraditional students persist to graduation than do traditional students. There is a significant body of scholarship regarding the experiences of nontraditional students; however, only a few studies have specifically examined persistence. Sparse research exists on the…

Quality bilingual teachers are needed to close achievement gaps for students who are English Learners (ELs). The problem addressed in this study focused on finding strategies through teachers' experiences for effectively recruiting and retaining elementary bilingual teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study with a phenomenological research…

Doctoral candidates' persistence or completion of the degree is influenced by several factors, including relationships with their peers and faculty. Relationships are part of connectedness, defined as "the feeling of belonging and the creation of bonding relationships" (Rovai, 2002a, p. 232). Limited literature exists on doctoral…