Knowledge diversity describes group members' differences in terms of prior knowledge in a domain. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether knowledge diversity would impact students' engagement in small-group learning in a science classroom. A total of 45 seventh-grade students were recruited to participate in the study in which two…

This study examines the association between high school teachers' collegial networks and their own familiarity with, and practices related to, supporting students' admission to college. Using survey data collected at two time points from 163 teachers in four mid-Michigan high schools in 2011-2012, this study (a) employs cluster analysis to map…

This longitudinal study addresses the role of support given by parents and peers during the transition from university to work life. A sample of 64 German university students in their last year at the university completed scales from the Network of Relationships Inventory regarding general support, namely, instrumental aid and intimacy with…

School-average achievement is often reported to have positive effects on individual achievement (peer spillover effect). However, it is well established that school-average achievement has negative effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect [BFLPE]) and that academic self-concept and achievement are positively correlated and…

The Austin Independent School District's (AISD's) My Brother's Keeper program provided mentors for students experiencing chronic absenteeism at six campuses in the 2016-2017 school year. This report summarizes program outcomes.

This study, in the context of peer-facilitated asynchronous online discussion, explored the characteristics and patterns of students' cognitive presence, and examined the practices that aim to enhance cognitive presence development. Participants were 53 students from a graduate-level online course that focused on the integration of educational…

Career academies are small learning communities that allow high school students to learn their core content in the context of the career field they may be interested in pursuing. This type of learning environment incorporates business and industry and postsecondary institutions so academy students receive academic curricula that prepares them for…

There is growing concern among policy makers over the quality of the teacher workforce in general, and the distribution of effective teachers across schools. The impact of teacher attrition on overall teacher quality will depend on the effectiveness of teachers who leave the profession. Likewise, teacher turnover may alleviate or worsen inequities…

This paper provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of an educational program in a Tasmanian regional community that has experienced ongoing industrial restructuring. In response to these changes, community and civic leaders adopted a multifaceted strategic plan to address employment needs and opportunities. Part of this plan involved…

The retention of nursing students remains a challenge in higher education, and the need for nurses in the United States is projected to increase. The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing student persistence in an associate degree program by examining differences in the presence of key social, environmental, and academic factors across…

Equal focus needs be placed on teaching all four basic skills of language learning: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. However, it is observed that due attention is not devoted to developing speaking skills in Saudi EFL learners; this task is especially challenging as English is not widely used or spoken in their day-to-day communication.…

This paper examines the factors that impact Japanese students' decisions to study abroad from the perspectives of Japanese study abroad administrators. In-depth interviews of five study abroad administrators at Japanese universities were qualitatively analysed. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory was used to identify various immediate and…

In China, there exists many factors such as girls' socialized gender norms and the values and pedagogy incorporated in the science curriculum that may discourage female students from choosing science courses. In order to ensure that female students have the same opportunities to reach their potential in STEM areas, it is important to understand…

The paper explores how postgraduate students make course selection decisions in the digital era. An exploratory study with seven postgraduate student focus groups (UK, EU and International) gained a detailed insight into this important change. The availability of information, from an increased use of digital media had a significant impact on…

Transferring to another school or leaving the educational system altogether has considerable consequences not only for the student who makes the decision to leave, but also for the students who stay behind. This paper aims to investigate the effects of secondary schools' mobility and dropout rates on the levels of school engagement in the…