Several authors (Bowman & Denson, 2014; Gilbreath et al., 2011) have claimed that measures of fit between a student and the institution they are attending should be useful for institutional decision-making. These student-institution fit instruments were originally developed for research with specific student populations in one institution, but…

Wyoming community colleges provide dynamic lifelong learning environments through higher education, workforce development, innovative partnerships, and civic and global engagement that lead to responsible citizenship and economic, social, and cultural prosperity. Planning for the future of Wyoming's community colleges and fulfilling the mission of…

Chronic absenteeism has been a significant issue facing school districts since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when nearly 30% of students were chronically absent from school (Hays, 2024). A substantial challenge that teachers face is trying to deliver high-quality instruction to students when a significant portion of those students are…

Many first-year, low-income STEM students do not remain in STEM majors past their first year nor do they complete STEM degrees. Our project aimed to support low-income, STEM majors financially and promote their STEM identities by creating a learning community focused on developing positive relationships among students, faculty, and peer mentors.…

Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is a pressing policy concern. Increasing teacher salaries and creating more attractive compensation packages are often proposed as a potential solution. Signed into law in March 2023, the LEARNS Act increased Arkansas's minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000, guaranteed all teachers a minimum…

This longitudinal study of 17,455 students, the majority from underrepresented groups, investigated leaks in the vertical transfer pipeline from associate's-degree program entry to bachelor's-degree receipt. Investigated were both the size of the leaks and some associated variables. Pipeline progress examinations included quantification of early…

The literature on faculty diversity initiatives heavily consists of best practice recommendations that lack empirical support. Consequently, the authors conducted a survey study to better understand the types of faculty diversity initiatives used by colleges of engineering at Research 1 universities, the financial resources that fund them and…

Research often references years of experience specific to participants, yet no compiled report exists for secondary school-based agricultural education (SBAE) to holistically quantify years of teaching experience. In addition, definitions accounting for experience fall short of capturing the myriad ways experience counts in the broader teaching…

Concern about graduation rates in higher education has led universities to offer courses that help students develop success skills. Scientist Life Skills, a new course for freshman at Florida A&M University, focuses on helping students matriculate into majors via development of growth mindset, grit, and critical thinking. Here, we assessed the…

Identity has been proposed as a mechanism to increase persistence within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programs. To assess the impact of identity on STEM persistence, measures that produce valid and reliable data within a given STEM discipline need to be employed. Therefore, this study developed and evaluated…

Achievement goal theory has been a dominant framework guiding research on motivation in physical activity (PA) settings. This study was designed to examine the predictive role of achievement goals and social goals on college students' self-reported persistence toward PA. We also examined gender- and grade-related differences in achievement goals…

There is now a burgeoning of literature that addresses the effects of teacher racial identity on school discipline. Scholars have recently found evidence to support the hypothesis that exposure to Black teachers can significantly reduce suspensions for same-race identity students; this being particularly true for Black students in North Carolina…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which several workplace factors are implicated in school principals' well-being. Two job resources (i.e. participatory climate and collegial climate) and two job demands (i.e. barriers to professional learning and staff shortages) were investigated, along with two well-being outcomes…

African-American and Latinx enrollment in higher education has increased dramatically in recent years at many predominantly White institutions. However, the graduation rates of these students are substantially lower than the general student population at many of these institutions. This study introduces "Success Central," an innovative…

Established in 1992, Ofsted is championed by government ministers as the guardian of educational standards in schools and colleges. Ofsted has never produced any research on the validity of its inspection judgements. Ofsted has no evidence, other than rising percentages of schools being awarded positive Ofsted grades, to support its assertion that…