The completion agenda seeks significant increases in educational attainment, and its goals are quite laudable. The United States is lagging behind other industrialized nations in terms of the proportion of adults holding postsecondary degrees, and states have been challenged to implement policies that ensure improvements in degree completion…

This article documents the results of an exploratory qualitative study of parents of first-year college students at a doctoral-extensive institution in the Midwest. The qualitative survey instrument asked parents to respond to questions about transition and involvement issues during the first college year of their students. Findings suggest that…

This study adopts a dialectical perspective to explore how students transitioning to college communicatively negotiate the web of old and new relationships in the age of Facebook. Interpretive thematic analysis of 30 interviews revealed three discursive struggles: preservation and (re)invention, uniqueness and conformity, and openness and…

In this article, the authors argue that teachers and researchers must expand current verbo- and logo-centric definitions of critical literacy to recognize how texts and responses are embodied. Ethnographic data illustrate the ways that youth perform critical literacy in ways that educators might not always be prepared to see, hear, or acknowledge.…

In 2005, the Hildago (Texas) Independent School District, in partnership with the University of Texas-Pan American, the University of Texas System, the Communities Foundation of Texas/Texas High School Project, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promised that all of its students would earn college credits before graduating from high…

The aim of this study is to establish expectations of 5th grade students from Marmara University's Department of Geography Teaching on geographical field study in Western Anatolia. For this reason, a field study trip was organized to Western Anatolia. A survey, which was consisted of open-ended questions, was prepared by experts and it was…

This paper reports on a small-scale qualitative study of students' experience of their Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) degrees with particular regard to the relationship between language and content learning. It is framed by the identification in the recent Worton Report on MFL studies in UK higher education and elsewhere of a dualism between…

Objective: To assess the measurement properties of several scales modified or created to assess factors related to fruit and vegetable intake within a young adolescent population. Design: Cross-sectional with data collected via self-report. Setting: Data were collected in regularly scheduled classes in the school setting. Participants: African…

Although much has been written on the first-year experience of students at higher education institutions, less attention has been directed to the expectations of students when they enter an institution for the first time. This paper provides additional insights into the expectations of students at an Australian university and highlights areas in…

This dissertation proposes a new factor-analytic technique for detecting cheating on exams. Person-fit statistics have been developed to assess the extent to which examinees' response patterns are consistent with expectation, with expectation defined in the context of some model. Response patterns that are inconsistent with expectation are said to…

Parental involvement has different interpretations and applications within the school and home settings. Traditional parental involvement involves such activities as an Open House, parent-teacher conferences, extracurricular activities, and teacher requests regarding academic, attendance, and discipline issues. Parental involvement also occurs…

The purpose of this study was to determine teacher perceptions of the impact on instructional practice when using a complex, standards-based performance evaluation system. The study used expectancy theory to investigate teacher expectancy (did they believe they could enhance their practice to the identified program standards?), instrumentality…

Why do affective forecasting errors persist in the face of repeated disconfirming evidence? Five studies demonstrate that people misremember their forecasts as consistent with their experience and thus fail to perceive the extent of their forecasting error. As a result, people do not learn from past forecasting errors and fail to adjust subsequent…

This article explores the contribution that can be made by philosophy of hope as a theoretical tool for youth studies. The language of hope is powerful--not only in people's everyday discourses but also in education, counselling and youth work. When working with youth who are marginalized or disadvantaged, hope can be a crucial resource. For…

Every university and nonprofit in the country is interested in raising more money. Many universities spend millions of dollars to hire experienced staff, build databases, and pay for prospect travel. The question becomes, What is the return on investment? With significant and sometimes drastic budget cuts, university programs are increasingly…