The argument that instructors with marketable skills are likely to exit the teaching profession leads many to believe that public schools are populated by teachers of mediocre talent. Yet, teachers with skills attractive to non-education employment may not be the best individuals in the classroom. A two-stage regression technique first estimates a…

There is increasing divergence in the academic outcomes of African American males and females. By most accounts, males are falling behind their female peers educationally as African American females are graduating from high schools at higher rates and are going on to college and graduate school in greater numbers. Some have suggested that school…

As beginning teachers continue to leave the profession within the first several years of entering, educators must identify factors which cause teachers to remain in the profession, as well as factors related to attrition if the current teacher shortage is to be remedied. The purpose of this study was to examine the reported attitudes of beginning…

This article draws attention to local and global attendance monitoring in higher education. The paper outlines benefits of attendance monitoring for both the individual learner and university, and compares traditional paper-based attendance monitoring systems with an electronic system piloted in the Business School and School of Technology at the…

Experienced teachers are, on average, more effective at raising student performance than those in their early years of teaching. This gives rise to the concern that too many teachers leave the profession after less than a full career and that too many leave troubled inner-city schools for suburban ones. Until now, the roots of these problems have…

The research in this article examined an often neglected, but nevertheless equally important, factor in the burnout and attrition rate of special education teachers. This factor was a lack of school supplies, materials and resources. This shortage was largely due to a constant "tug-of-war" with regular education personnel for the same…

The number of students of color transferring to and completing degrees at four-year, non research-extensive universities continues to increase. However, research-extensive universities struggle with recruiting and retaining students of color. This chapter discusses one initiative developed by a research-extensive university focused on increasing…

In order to design effective interventions for working with graduate and professional students, educators must first assess students' needs and experiences. This chapter highlights the importance of assessment in graduate and professional education and offers insights gained from three studies.

Research shows, for African American adolescents, issues of school belonging, identification, and engagement are critical to academic performance and successful completion of high school. In the existing literature, school belonging has been significantly linked with teacher support, peer relations, motivation, engagement, and academic…

Children often perseverate, repeating prior behaviors when inappropriate. This work tested the roles of verbal labels and stimulus novelty in such perseveration. Three-year-old children sorted cards by one rule and were then instructed to switch to a second rule. In a basic condition, cards had familiar shapes and colors and both rules were stated…

The purpose of this study was to test theoretical propositions advanced by Meyer and Herscovitch (2001) concerning the interactive effects of affective, normative, and continuance commitment on focal (staying intentions) and discretionary (citizenship) behavior. Study measures were gathered from a sample of 545 hospital employees. Several a priori…

The relation of interest-major congruence to indicators of college success was examined in an initial sample of 80, 574 individuals enrolled in 87 colleges. Both college achievement (GPA after 1 year, after 2 years and at graduation) as well as persistence (enrollment status after 1 year, after 2 years and graduation after 5 years) were used as…

Meaningfully integrating multidimensional approaches with learner-centered, workshop-style second language (L2) literature instruction at intermediate-level proficiency can help students increase their linguistic competence and further both their cultural understanding and analytical thinking skills. Moreover, the utilization of drama techniques…

Action research studies in the United Kingdom with Open University students have shown that students come to distance education courses with variable expectations of the levels of service and support they will receive from their tutors. It has been further suggested that a specific expectations-led quality assurance process that enables the…

The strong association between student-adult relationships and student retention, achievement and aspirations goes largely unrecognized and such relationships are seen as secondary to test scores, policy and budgets. However, it is not the case at Community Academy, an alternative public high school in Boston, where teachers endeavor to build…