Debate over the "skills gap" and how to address it has consumed considerable space in discussions about U.S. higher education, workforce development, and economic strength. The conventional narrative describes a fundamental mismatch between the skills that employers say they need in their employees and the skills that jobseekers possess,…

Federal regulations require that all students in specified elementary, middle, and high school grade ranges participate in state assessments used for accountability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all children with disabilities are included in all general state and districtwide assessment programs with…

Despite increasing demand in distance education, relatively little is known about the demographic and socio-economic characteristics as well as basic skill levels of adult distance education participants at the national level in the U.S. This study analyzed the U.S. data from 2012/2014 and 2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult…

Math proficiency rates are strikingly low for children from high poverty communities. Therefore, it is urgent to find solutions that help them develop basic math skills. Given theoretical considerations about math learning, a potentially promising option is to target children's cognitive engagement. In this study, I investigate a program that was…

The recent changes in global student mobility on U.S. higher education campuses call for increased attention to international student recruitment and retention. One of the approaches that universities can adopt in response to these changes involves addressing career-related concerns that are among those of most significance to international…

Annually, high school graduates make an important life decision to continue their education and pursue higher learning, with the challenge of where to apply and enroll. Many underrepresented minority (URM) students who have experienced a systematic denial of resources struggle to find the proper institutional fit to meet their educational goals,…

Youth with disabilities continue to show poor in-school and post-school outcomes. Parent engagement remains as one key component to bring about positive outcomes in youth with disabilities. Despite schools' widely adapted strategies on parent engagement, parent perceptions on various parent engagement strategies is largely unknown. The purposes of…

The adult learning theories of andragogy, experiential learning, and self-directed learning were utilized as the framework for this study as these theories guide educators in their work with students to seek experiences that may enhance their opportunities beyond college in adulthood. By understanding adult learning theories, administrators in…

Identity development frameworks provide insight into why and to what extent individuals engage in STEM-related activities. While studies of "STEM identity" often build off previously validated disciplinary and/or science identity frameworks, quantitative analyses of constructs that specifically measure STEM identity and its antecedents…

This study aimed at exploring factors affecting classroom participation among students in the English department of Laghman University, Afghanistan. More precisely, this research discovered factors related to teachers and class-size that hinder students' practice of oral participation in the classroom. In collecting the data, this study employed…

Secondary school agriculture programme is meant among other benefits to prepare youth in attaining self-reliance using vocational skills gained, in the post-schooling period as they transition to adulthood. A study was done to determine reflection of out of school youth on participation in decision-making on implementation of the programme in an…

In this study, we present a new instrument, the Participation and Engagement Scale (PES), for the evaluation of the students' involvement in STEM-oriented activities. The instrument was administered to about 1000 secondary school students who participated in the activities of the Italian "Piano Nazionale Lauree Scientifiche" in Biology,…

This paper reports on a study set in Wales where the Further Mathematics Support Programme Wales supports the provision of an advanced qualification in mathematics for 16- to 18-year-old students with courses delivered in reduced teaching time. The study aimed to understand how the students experienced the Further Mathematics (FM) courses which…

This study examines parental participation in children's schooling. Using a survey of parents of children attending a majority Hispanic school district, we employ exploratory factor analysis and determine that standard forms of participation align along two dimensions: Involvement and Engagement. Analysis reveals a third dimension: Parental…

This paper challenges (inter)national development narratives that propose schooling as a way out of poverty in the global South by interrogating poor children's experience of pedagogic and disciplinary processes in an Indian classroom. It also develops a theoretical framework to interrogate the relationship between urban poverty and classroom…