This dissertation is a case study focused on the question, "What are students' attitudes toward school mathematics and toward nonroutine math problems and mathematical games?" It addresses the definitions of some of those terms and then moves on to a literature review that suggests that some change in the curriculum may be needed. In an attempt to…

This study investigates the cross-cultural realization of request patterns. The goal of the study is to compare the realization of requests produced by adult American English speaking learners of Russian (NNS) to that of native speakers of Russian and native speakers of English to identify the similarities and differences between native and…

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine student-athlete perceptions of the role of summer pre-enrollment in their adjustment and transition to college. The study focused on student-athletes who received athletically-related financial aid at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-AAA institution. The…

Recent educational studies have shown increasing lack of interest and participation of youth (ages 10-14 years old) in various STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields in the U.S. The decline in the number of youth choosing to study STEM fields in higher education and the resulting lack of STEM professionals in the society…

This study assessed the relationship of an Arts Summer Learning Program (Arts Program) to student academic performance and college readiness. A North Texas school district collaborated with a research-based Arts Program in 2010, and a new approach was implemented in the summer school program for low-performing students who had failed courses in…

A college education is, for many in America, part and parcel of the American Dream, and is certainly achievable. For countless reasons, students may enroll at community colleges underprepared, unprepared, anxious, and destined for a high risk of failure. Although community colleges are higher education institutions open and accessible to all who…

This dissertation addresses the rhetoric of deficiency that frames Latina/o students as lacking with regard to education. This dissertation begins by examining the cultural deficit model entrenched in colonial narratives of history that justify unequal access to resources in the US. I argue that the reimagining of the pejorative trope of…

African American history and how it is taught in classroom spaces have been a point of contention with activists, historians, and educators for decades. In it current form, African American history narratives often are ambiguous and truncated, leaving students with a disjointed construction about U.S. history. Additionally, the pedagogical…

Efforts have been made to enhance teachers' understanding and teaching of NOS and/or SI by immersing teachers into the field and lab work of scientists through intensive summer institutes. Results have been mixed and the samples have been small. This may be due to several factors: implicit strategies to learn and teach about NOS and/or SI…

Among the academic challenges faced by students from low socio-economic (SES) homes is the loss of academic skills during the summer months. Unfortunately, the public schools are often unable to provide summer learning opportunities because limited space, funding, and teacher availability. Established community organizations frequently provide…

In the United States education system a large achievement gap between African American and Latino students compared to White American students exists. Various studies have documented the gap, but there has not been much success in closing it. Recognizing that the educational system is growing more, not less, diverse, including due to the rise in…

This dissertation utilized a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of parent development on rising third graders' summer reading losses as measured by the difference in May and August oral reading fluency scores. Title I parents and students from three schools in a rural North Carolina school district participated in a…

Although attention to the effects of child-animal interactions on children's development has increased in the last three decades, developmental psychology has not attended to the importance of the effects of animals on children's development. There is a need to consider the possible impacts of animals as significant social partners for children's…

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience and effect of two post-secondary mathematics remediation programs at a Midwest university. The two mathematics remediation programs were provided as part of a summer bridge program designed to assist entering freshmen students who demonstrated low mathematics proficiency levels based on…

College access programs like Upward Bound have been found to build social capital among a target population, stimulate academic preparedness, and increase a student's knowledge of the college decision process. However, little research is available that establishes the points during the college decision process at which college access programs have…