Teacher turnover has a significant effect on the overall success of schools. The use of comprehensive turnaround strategies such as the conservatorship process created a problem for a small Southeastern high school by affecting teacher retention rate. A qualitative approach was used to investigate how aspects of turnaround strategies influenced…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), from 2000-2010, in higher education there was a 73% increase in the enrollment of African American students in college and universities nationwide, however, the tragedy is that African American students have the lowest nationwide graduation and retention rates, and from 2010-2015…

Online community college students are among the fastest growing population in postsecondary education and make up the greatest dropout demographic (Hongwei, 2015). Understanding the causes can arrest and reverse the process, thereby demonstrating the overall of a community college education. Building upon theories of andragogy (Knowles, 1980),…

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of low-income single-mothers attending two community colleges in Pennsylvania recognized by the Institute for Women's Policy Research as being supportive of student parents. Specifically, this study sought a deeper understanding of the experiences and perceptions of…

Positive Psychology has gained a lot of momentum in the empirical study of personality traits in the field of education. Cognitive and non-cognitive traits may also influence behavior leading to positive or negative outcomes when achieving a goal. The field of positive psychology contains many constructs such as grit and mindset to explain certain…

A decrease in West Virginia in-state college-going and graduation rates and a need for additional postsecondary degrees in the workforce in the state by 2020 require the support and implementation of an evidence-based intervention to ameliorate the pressing issue. This study considers the outcomes in regard to persistence and completion of West…

Underrepresented student populations are faced with numerous barriers and are often overlooked on many college campuses. The aim of this research was to better understand academic cohorts and if they help reduce some of the barriers faced by African American and first-generation students which can ultimately affect retention and persistence to…

In this study the researcher investigated the impact of the merit-based Diversity Leadership Scholarship on the persistence rates of ethnically diverse students. The study used archival data provided by a member institution of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The researcher conducted an aggregated analysis of 939 ethnically…

The public school systems in the United States are facing a major teacher shortage in the near future due to the fact that teachers are leaving the profession by the thousands each year. It is imperative that this trend is stopped and reversed to ensure that quality teachers remain in schools. The current study employed a causal-comparative design…

Many students who start at the community college with the intention of transferring and earning a baccalaureate degree fail to accomplish this goal. This study, using IPA methodology, explored the experiences of seven community college transfer students currently enrolled at a public 4-year institution to identify how community college transfer…

Early childhood science and engineering education offer a prime context to foster approaches-to-learning (ATL) and executive functioning (EF) by eliciting children's natural curiosity about the world, providing a unique opportunity to engage children in hands-on learning experiences that promote critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration,…

At post-secondary institutions in the United States, the frequent topics of discussion are undergraduate retention, persistence, and graduation rates. Researchers have identified specific factors that promote student retention, engagement, and degree completion; these factors involve a combination of academic and cognitive development and social…

African American persistence in STEM has consumed minds of politicians, college administrators and researchers for the past decade (Adams, Dancz, & Landis, 2015). Although several practices have been implemented and improvements have been made, African American persistence remains a national focus. According to Dika and D'Amico (2016)…

Colleges and universities frequently find that students cite financial pressures as a significant obstacle in their progress toward college completion. This can particularly be a challenge for first-time-in-college (FTIC) students, students from traditionally underserved populations, and students of color. To help address this issue, many…

Perseverance, or initiating and sustaining productive struggle in the face of obstacles, promotes making sense of mathematics. Yet, engaging in struggle can be grueling and is avoided for some students. I investigate the effect of scaffolding mathematics tasks on student perseverance. The results show how prompting secondary students to…