New academic demands and challenges in schools require increased capacity to support instructional improvement. Capacity comes in many forms: technical, organizational, and political. In addition, there are different sources of capacity, such as the state government and networks. This report examines: (1) What sources of capacity to support…

Small City School Districts across New York State are becoming increasingly fearful of losing newly hired, highly talented teachers. In the United States, 8% of teachers leave the profession annually and greater than 50% quit teaching before reaching retirement age (Sutcher, 2016). A study done on teacher retention decisions in New York City…

OrchKids has been offering free, year-round music-based programming to students across Baltimore for 10 years. In school year (SY) 2017-18, its out-of-school-time (OST) program was based in six schools and served over 1,000 children in pre-K through 10th grade. The primary goal of OrchKids is to expose students and their family members to music…

One way to encourage performance and persistence in STEM fields is to have students write about the utility value (UV) or personal relevance of course topics to their life. This intervention has been shown to increase engagement and performance in introductory courses. However, questions remain about the longevity of the effects and how best to…

This article provides a review of current and future demographic trends for Texas and the nation including the ongoing discrepancy between enrollment and retention/completion. Students entering postsecondary education embody America's growing diversity in language, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic…

The programs Minority Access in Research Careers (MARC) and Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) are funded by the National Institutes of Health to increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds earning degrees in the biomedical sciences. This article estimates the impact of participation in MARC and RISE on…

We investigate Grade 10 learners' mathematical identities, with a focus on influences on the learners' identities. A mathematical identity questionnaire was given to learners and their test scores accessed. Four learners were purposively selected for interviews on the basis of interesting relationships between their questionnaire responses and…

Student persistence has long been a major challenge for open universities. Despite the evolution of open education, an overall high student attrition rate remains. This paper examines the changes and trends in factors related to student persistence in open universities. It reviews the empirical studies from the 1970s to the 2010s which reported…

The current neoliberal policy regime that has dictated school reform policies such as standardized testing and performance accountability challenges the professional values of teachers. As a result, they become policy subjects who either accept or resist the neoliberal agenda. Given the high turnover of novice teachers in schools governed by…

The purpose of this study was to identify the potential factors that could predict college students' success in a large-size undergraduate hybrid learning course. Predictive values of students' demographic and academic background variables were examined to establish standardized models of contribution toward final grades. Next, patterns of student…

The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative study of the lived experiences of low-income college freshmen (as they relate to their needs and decisions about continuing their enrollment in college) addresses the problem college administrators and faculty members have with determining how best to help high-achieving, low-income students meet their…

Tackling early leaving from education and training (ELET) is one of the main education policy targets of the European Union and many of its member states. This paper offers new insights on this issue by studying how so-called at-risk students develop their educational trajectory by embedding their attitudes towards and engagement in schooling…

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce, describe, and document the methods involved in the preparation of a mindset intervention built into a freshmen development course, and established after years of longitudinal research, that is designed to have a positive impact on the outlook, achievement, and persistence of first generation…

We used longitudinal data from Washington State to investigate the relationships among career and technical education (CTE) enrollment, inclusion in general education, and high school and postsecondary outcomes for students with learning disabilities. We replicated earlier findings that students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in a…

Motivation has formed a core strand of research in music education, reflecting its importance in educational psychology and other skill-based performance domains. Understanding motivation is crucial for explaining students' achievement, performance, well-being, and intentions to continue participation in (or drop out of) music learning throughout…