Service-learning (SL) integrates academic curricula and practical experiences to deliver social services to communities. By participating in a SL program, students' prosocial behavior can be nurtured once they are appropriately motivated and supported. This study investigates students' different motivations to join SL programs, the enjoyableness…

India is the second-largest tribal population in the world. However, after the seven decades of independence, the tribal groups are disadvantaged and socially backward from the cycle of growth in many areas such as health, education, employment, and empowerment, and more. Among these, for tribal society, education is an essential requirement. The…

We draw on a focus group discussion amongst four Indigenous northern Ontario early childhood educators (ECEs) from an Indigenous postsecondary institution's ECE diploma program, to show the important contributions of programs offered by Indigenous postsecondary education institutes to Indigenous cultural revitalization. We are the Indigenous…

Few empirical studies describe the interior world of alternative school settings. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 11 alternative school students, discussing factors that contribute to absenteeism as well as the circumstances that led them to enroll in an alternative setting. We find that students' regular attendance is…

This book presents and theorises research findings into why and how school principals play a critical role in engaging parents and their school communities to enhance student learning and wellbeing. It highlights the imperative of parent engagement as evidenced by clear, consistent findings from research over the last fifty years and government…

Secondary math teachers faced new experiences and struggles this past virtual school year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nine secondary math teachers from a school division in southeastern Virginia participated in this qualitative single case study. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews and technology integration…

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to explore a possible relationship between the number of students in grades 9-12 classified as chronically absent and the inclusion of the Chronically Out of School indicator in Tennessee's accountability model for schools and school districts. Using publicly available data from the…

Despite the increase in enrollment of first-generation college students at four-year institutions, this student population was more than twice as likely to drop out before their sophomore year compared to their non-first-generation peers. Specifically, a subgroup of first-generation college students that has been identified as greatly…

The purpose for this study was to examine student reading data at one high-poverty, low-performing Title I school in the State of Tennessee over 2 consecutive years when reading instruction, teacher expectations, and administration changed. This study examined student growth in third and fourth grade on the county benchmark assessment (Study…

Research highlights various barriers within the U.S educational system for underserved populations, more specifically for low-income families, which create gaps in students learning and achievement. Differential ability, susceptibility, or differential in opportunity are some causes of inequity in access. Additionally, research leads to unfairness…

Teachers are some of the most powerful people in a child's life. These professionals spend a significant amount of time educating students not only academically, but socially and emotionally. Yet, effective teachers do not stay in the profession long. A significant number of teachers leave the profession in less than five years. Retaining teachers…

In the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, youth unemployment in the United States reached its highest level since the Second World War. Only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2013, and recent estimates suggest that about one in five people in this age range were neither working nor in school. This paper draws from…

Extra-curricular physical activity (ECPA) may have an important role to play in the health and well-being of adolescents, but the actual benefits are relatively unknown. This study examined ECPA participation amongst adolescent males (age 12-15 years) from disadvantaged backgrounds, and evaluated its impact on overall physical activity (PA)…

The underachievement of students in the US is a growing and significant problem. When guided by the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice, research has shown service-learning results in increased academic achievement among middle and high school students. This study focused on identifying the impact of service learning interventions…

We argue that the dominance of an empiricist epistemology in social work research steers much of the research away from studying and explaining the structural forces that cause the conditions of oppression, exploitation, and social exclusion that are at the roots of the social problems addressed by the profession. It does so because it assumes…