The attention to students' noncognitive attributes has recently flourished within academic research and public discourse. This paper adds to the literature by examining the interrelationships among several key noncognitive attributes as well as exploring direct and indirect relationships between noncognitive attributes and second-year retention.…

The purpose of this article is to provide strategies for music teacher mentors and mentees to use to proactively develop and strengthen their relationships--whether they are assigned by an administrator or begin organically--to enhance the overall mentoring experience, making it mutually beneficial for mentor and mentee. Strategies include using…

Using data from 2002 to 2013 collections of the National Survey of Family Growth, we explored how exposure and timing of sex education were associated with sexual health outcomes of 5,141 women between the ages of 15 and 20 years. Consistent with previous literature, sexual minority (e.g., lesbian and bisexual) women reported engaging in sexual…

The authors wrote this article to share a message of hope to change agents working in higher education. Even if change cannot happen right away, assembling a foundation of interested collaborators, waiting for the right time to act, and thinking of past failures as opportunities to build the groundwork can result in productive changes. Acting once…

While textbooks serve as a primary source of content material and problem-solving practice for undergraduates in engineering, studies that investigate how engineering students prepare assignments based on textbook problems are limited. To examine how engineering students complete textbook-based assignments outside of class, this exploratory…

This article investigates how 86 first-semester African-American college freshmen perceive their time management, study, and test-preparation habits. The research questions sought if the freshman students reported study, note taking, and test preparation habits were different from what we would expect if no preferences existed. Participants…

This study considered the influence of National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sorority membership on graduation rate and time-to-degree. Data from women at 18 four-year postsecondary institutions comprised the dataset (n = 2,104 members, 2,139 nonmembers). Findings showed members had a higher graduation rate and were more likely than non-members to…

Community colleges report opening spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2019 semester--usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2019…

My research investigated how assistant principals in the suburbs of Chicago perceive the Illinois teacher evaluation model. Specifically, my study explored the amount of time assistant principals spend on an individual teacher's evaluation cycle, how they were trained to evaluate, their perception of the ratings used, and their perception of the…

The current high school schedule is more of an advanced version of middle school than it is a preparation for college/university life. The general structure of the high school day is introduced by the time a student reaches sixth (6th) grade. The continued pattern of dipping back into previous levels of school leaves high school students with…

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of adaptive learner models that seek to predict student correctness. Improvements on earlier models have shown that separate predictors for prior successes, failures, and recent performance further improve fit while remaining interpretable. However, students who engage in "gaming" or other…

School leaders invest time and money in the professional development (PD) of their teachers. A characteristic of PD found to improve teacher practice and student learning is teacher self-directedness. Self-directed learning (SDL) is a process in which learners take the initiative, with or without the assistance of others, to diagnose the need to…

This 50-State Comparison assesses the capacity of all 50 states and the District of Columbia to aggregate and report on arts education data already housed in statewide education data systems. This interactive resource focuses on key arts education questions identified in "Using State Data Systems to Report Information on Arts Education"…

Dissertations present significant challenges to all doctoral students but these challenges are often greater for online students. Research shows that as many as 50% of all doctoral students do not complete their degrees, and this number is likely even higher for online students. One reason for this may be that online doctoral students do not have…

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education is committed to providing a clearer and more comprehensive picture of college completion in order to advance Indiana's collective efforts to boost education attainment. In partnership with Indiana public colleges and the National Student Clearinghouse, the Commission has collected completion data for…