There remains a gap in college completion rates for Black and Hispanic students. Universities have focused on creating a diverse student body (peer effects), a diverse faculty (role model effects) and on providing resources to boost completion rates. This paper tests these effects in a panel data set of 9800 observations from 1493 universities…

This research examines the professional development needs of physical education teachers in vocational education institutions in the digital age. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, we identified five core competency domains essential for effective teaching in contemporary vocational contexts. Data from 172 teachers revealed significant…

Recent technology advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for educators to transition from in-person to virtual and blended learning experiences, requiring instructors to take on multiple roles, including acting as instructional designers in many cases. To address this challenge, the Cross-Modalities Instructional Design Model…

A play-based approach to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) that centers joy and imagination is fundamental to teaching young students about environmental civic engagement. In turn, diverse young learners of underrepresented backgrounds also need bilingual and bicultural mentors and role models to demonstrate that the…

This paper outlines a novel model of community-engaged learning: "Building Bridges, Not Walls: The Democracy and Diversity Project." Inspired by the pedagogical horizontality of Paulo Freire and the applied disciplinary approach of "service sociology," Building Bridges pursues sustainable university-community partnerships with…

Cognitive-achievement relations research suggests that cognitive abilities are instrumental for academic skill development. This study examined cognitive-achievement relations with the newly revised Woodcock-Johnson V (WJ V) standardization sample across the lifespan (ages 6-90+) for reading, writing, and mathematics using multi-group structural…

Testing organizations are faced with increasing demand to provide subscores in addition to the total test score. However, psychometricians argue that most subscores do not have added value to be worth reporting. To have added value, subscores need to meet a number of criteria: they should be reliable, distinctive, and distinct from each other and…

Spirituality is a phenomenon which continues to attract much interest in the Western culture. Throughout the years, it has changed in form and developed in understanding. It has become unprecedentedly broad and embraced by many people, even those who do not consider themselves to be religious. Indeed, spirituality is a subject of debate within…

The intention of this paper is to present the concept of knowledge sharing practices among faculty members in academic institutions through the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This paper examines survey results collected on academician's knowledge sharing. A theory of planned behavior is used as a source model to develop two models: one with the…

Institutions have invested considerably in resources and staff to increase student success and persistence. However, retention rates have remained fairly steady over time. The purpose of this study was to synthesize undergraduate student persistence models into a singular parsimonious model using meta-analytic structural equation modeling to test…

The physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty charged with oversight and delivery of initial teacher licensure programs confront several challenges. Some necessitate responses to revised and new standards, while others can be reframed as timely opportunities for improvement and innovation, whether in response to or in anticipation of…

Interactions across campus have long been documented as an important component of understanding the college student experience. This is especially salient in relation to interactions with faculty and peers during a student's first year, when susceptibility for departure is high. However, it is likewise critical to understand how distinctive types…

Policy leadership infiltrates the lives of citizens everywhere. Though this type of leadership is implicit and ubiquitous, a theoretically-based model specifically intended for policy leaders is not readily available in academic literature. This article serves to address this gap by proposing a conceptual model of the policy leadership framework.…

This article is a call to rebalance and broaden contemporary education to include a focus on both conformity and transformation. It includes an overview of three different models of education, relating to different educational purposes. Two emphasise conformity in knowledge acquisition - 'mastering knowledge' and 'discovering knowledge' - as well…

Students encounter difficulties in understanding integral because the concept of integral requires the usage of theorems, formulas, daily life practices, and interdisciplinary approaches. From this point of view, in this study we examine the effects of a teaching process consisting of modelling activities on understanding the definite integral…