Despite the greater numbers of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (UREM) students enrolling in college over the last few years, many disparities still exist between UREM students (specifically Black and Latinx) and their White student peers when looking at grade point average, "staying-in-college," and degree attainment. The…

Career development events (CDEs) play an essential role in agricultural education programs and the National FFA Organization. The competitive events are promoted as tools to develop career and college readiness of high school students. This study examined whether participation and performance in agricultural education CDEs in high school can…

This applied dissertation is a mixed-methods study designed to collect student perspectives of an online First-Year Experience (FE) course and to determine the overall value of the FE course. The researcher sought to identify what is the value of the FE course to the students enrolled in this online course. In the study's survey, students will be…

Although the enrollment rates of Latino college students has increased over the last decade, the graduation rate of Latino students has not kept pace. The Latino population is the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, but the college graduation rate of Latino students is among the lowest of all minorities. Despite the…

In an effort to raise graduation rates, the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development directed public institutions to establish policies and create corequisite support structures to allow some underprepared students to take entry-level mathematics courses without first completing non-credit remedial courses. The present…

A Rural Field Experience, in which pre-service teachers are totally immersed in the rural school setting and rural life, has been successful in attracting and retaining mathematics and science teachers in rural schools. The week-long Rural Field Experience is having a lasting effect on recruiting and retaining teachers. Responses from teacher…

Increasing student success and retention rates are top goals for many higher education institutions. Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a widely used academic support program designed to increase students' academic performance and provide students the learning skills they need to persist to graduation. Unfortunately, a lack of time, personnel, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived quality of relationship between first-time freshmen and their instructors at a local HBCU on self-efficacy and a student's intent to remain in school. A mixed-method research design was conducted utilizing surveys and open-ended questions to collect data. The findings were marginally…

The teacher turnover remains to be a pressing problem in the United States. Some teachers move between schools, while others leave the profession altogether. This creates loss, costs, and disruptions in our schools. This loss is even magnified in urban schools, under- performing schools, and schools with more economically disadvantaged students.…

In this poetic autoethnography, exploration of the feeling and the experience of developing persistence as an English Education doctoral student mother is expressed through analysis of artifacts gathered over a 20-year period inclusive of the years of graduate study, becoming and remaining an English teacher and professor, while paralleling the…

Hiring and retaining qualified special education teachers (SETs) in rural areas is an ongoing challenge. We disseminated an electronic national survey to learn about the preservice preparation of current and former rural SETs and their preferences for receiving in-service professional development (PD) and support. A total of 314 current or former…

Efforts to build a well-prepared, stable, and diverse teacher workforce can face many challenges; these include lower compensation than comparable college-degree careers and high costs of credentialing. More than 6 in 10 teachers have taken out student loans to support their education, and close to 4 in 10 are still repaying them. Student loan…

This study investigated special education teachers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, 15 educators shared detailed reports of how efforts to reach students strained their mental health. They felt stressed due to frequently changing expectations and pressure to comply with federal special…

As the field of music education explores ways to mitigate barriers for underrepresented populations along the path to becoming a music teacher, the experiences of first-generation college students (FGCSs) in music teacher education programs warrant exploration. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore the lived experiences and…

One of the main aims of Core Maths qualifications when they were introduced into the post-16 curriculum in 2014 was to help students develop their understanding of maths and its application to different subject areas, particularly in relation to further study (e.g., higher education). In this article, we explore whether Core Maths is fulfilling…