Teachers must be retained in the profession to meet the ever-growing demand for SBAE teachers across the United States. Although the literature has identified several factors which influence SBAE teacher retention, previous research has not examined the psychological needs satisfaction of Minnesota SBAE teachers. While critical to retention,…

This quantitative study examined grit and hope scores with a population of first-year Science, Technology and Engineering (STEM) students. The researcher strived to understand if higher grit and hope scores correlate with higher grade point averages (GPA) and persistence in STEM among first-year STEM students enrolled in a mid-sized, suburban,…

Neuromyths, or misconceptions about the brain and learning that are rooted in scientific fact, have been documented among educators across various subject areas and educational levels throughout the world. The endorsement of neuromyths may affect the ability of educators to support the psychological needs of their students. The present study…

This dissertation implements self-determination theory to examine learning environments conducive to student motivation in higher education. Specifically, this work is concerned with measuring the satisfaction and frustration of students' three basic psychological needs (BPNs), the need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC). To do so,…

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between the expression of critical thinking and motivational orientation (i.e. autonomy, controlled and impersonal) and the relationship between expressed critical thinking and self-theories of intelligence mindsets (i.e. entity vs. incremental). Correlation and…

Higher education retention research has taken on renewed importance in recent years with support for standardized entrance exams waning and student loan debts commanding social and political attention. Economic pressures have further exasperated college attrition and pushed researchers to better identify at-risk students before they experience…

Given breakthroughs in information and communication technologies (ICTs), language learners are increasingly presented with opportunities to advance their proficiency in a target language (herein English as a foreign language or EFL). The attitudes of learners toward the use of ICTs (ICT attitudes) can be predictive of their adoption of ICTs for…

This study was performed as the result of gaps in the literature in the area of transition to independent living (IL) using secondary data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS-2). Its findings identify individual, skills, family, and school factors that predict postsecondary living status and moderators of the relationships…

Vision and Change states that one of the major changes in the way we design biology courses should be a switch in approach from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning and identifies active learning as a recommended methods. Studies show performance benefits for students taking courses that use active learning. What is unknown is…

Autonomy is the sense that one has control over one's actions within an environment or that one has some degree of choice over his or her own life. Autonomy support involves an individual who is in a position of authority, (e.g., parent, teacher, coach), taking the perspective of another (e.g. student, child), acknowledging their feelings, and…

Purpose: The first purpose of this study was to identify and describe teachers' perceptions of intrinsic motivation in classrooms among at-risk adolescent students in 3 model continuation high schools. The second purpose of this study was to identify and describe teacher practices that promote intrinsic motivation among at-risk adolescent students…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among college age student's experiences in close friendship, emotional autonomy and reasons to live. This study was grounded in Attachment Theory and College Student Development. A sample of undergraduate students was drawn from one Southeastern U.S. university. A total of 441 participants…

The number of online education courses available to those seeking higher education have been increasing exponentially, offering opportunities to students who would not otherwise have been able to do so, as well as offering options for those who may have been able to attend classes on campus, but would prefer to pursue their course of study at…