There has been much interest in how to develop a sense of belonging to an academic institution over the last twenty years, given the evidence that this improves student retention, satisfaction and attainment. Fostering a sense of belonging involves both psychological and sociological aspects; students need to feel like they belong and are valued…

The purpose of my mixed-methods approach with an explanatory sequential design study was to explore what role extreme poverty backgrounds play in social skills development and the academic performance of children in a rural central region of Angola, in southern Africa. Therefore, triangulation of interview data was achieved by a quantitative…

This qualitative study explores how five Jesuit universities in the United States maintain their mission and identity when partnering with online program managers (OPMs) to develop and support online degree programs. Focusing on the history of online learning and Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy, and using cultural reproduction theory as a lens,…

The purpose of this dissertation was to provide teachers, principals, district administrators, and local, state, and national legislators with an understanding of what the perception is of Hispanic American Immigrant parents regarding their access to parental engagement and agency through the American public school system, specifically elementary…

Food insecurity is widespread among college students in the United States. Food benefits delivered through the CalFresh program, California's version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), can reduce hunger by helping students pay for groceries, but may not reach all eligible students. To date, higher education systems…

This study examined the roles of future time perspective and affective commitment on the work engagement of a select group of aging Filipino professoriate. A total of 208 respondents aged 40-60 years old, teaching at the largest Catholic University in the Philippines, were requested to accomplish a multi-aspect questionnaire covering the variables…

This study aims to reveal features of student talk over a sequence of consecutive mathematics lessons in a large-size class in mainland China. By examining the time allocation for student talk and the number of Chinese characters spoken by the students, this study finds that, in some of the lessons observed, student talk added up to a longer…

In Africa, advancements in education will be more likely if barriers that limit participation by small grassroots organizations can be brought down. Increased participation and diverse inclusion in conversations about early childhood development will enhance the understanding of quality early childhood programs and what can be done to promote…

Teachers should possess a set of professional commitments, which includes active participation in professional development that leads to student learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between professional development engagement and career satisfaction. This study used a quantitative descriptive correlational research…

When observing in the high school as well as higher education classrooms, the way adolescents and young people study, the idea of knowing if they have strategies for autonomous learning and if this variable explained to some extent a critical problem in Peru arose: reading comprehension. That is why it was proposed as a purpose of the study, to…

This study examined the effects of school climate (open classroom and positive student relationships) and personality dispositions (shyness and need for cognition) on adolescents' political self-efficacy. Data were collected in 2014 from 1,954 Czech ninth- and tenth-graders (mean age = 15.60). A multilevel analysis showed that school-level…

Asynchronous online discussions are broadly used to support social learning. This paper reports on an undergraduate class's online discussion activities over one semester. Applying social network analysis, this study revealed a participation gap among students reflected by their varied levels of network prestige. The low-prestige group initiated…

Institutions of higher education increasingly have adopted high-impact practices (HIPs) as a means to increase student retention and engagement. Yet, the growth and assessment of these practices have primarily focused on a student's first and final years, which can contribute to a second-year slump. Administrative data from a small, 4-year liberal…

The question of whether the potential short-term advantages of vocational qualifications are offset by disadvantages in later life is an important issue for policy debates. This paper analyses how the choice of vocational or general upper-secondary education affects future prospects of participation in non-formal education (NFE). It presents a…

Finding opportunities to incorporate global awareness into gifted youth's day-to-day lives can be a valuable endeavor. Martial arts training, or components of martial arts training, may provide part of the solution to a multi-tiered global awareness problem in American youth. In Fall 2018, the author conducted a survey study with 137 families to…