This qualitative study aimed to investigate the influences on 32 rural Iranian high school students' adoption of achievement goals. To this end, the high school students took part in individual semi-structured interviews. The outcomes indicated the high school students' goal orientation adoption was impacted by a host of significant individuals in…

Like every student enrolled in a higher education institution, students from refugee backgrounds are not only concerned about how to get into college, but how to connect with the support systems available to them on campus. The purpose of this research was to examine the social support systems available to college students from refugee backgrounds…

By definition, first-generation college (FGC) students share similar levels of parental education, and they often receive support on college campuses as though they represent a homogenous group. However, FGC students come from a wide variety of backgrounds that may necessitate different forms of support. This article takes a step toward exploring…

This single site case study examined influences on student success, as perceived by twelve selected sixth grade students (ages 11-12), at a mid-West U.S. middle school (grades 6-8). Using a strengths-based positivist approach, it examined how and why participants thought they had been academically successful during their first year of secondary…

The purpose of the study was to explore how the use of technology can support parent/caregiver-teacher communications, thus allowing for parent/caregiver-teacher involvement through contemporary approaches. The study looked at how parent/caregivers and teachers define parent/caregiver involvement, what they see as barriers to parent/caregiver…

Drawing partly on publicly accessible commentary on 2015 Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) scores (Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development, [OECD], 2016), this article reminds educators of the need to reflect on past, present, and possible future interventions and strategies to help "all" students be…

A high school education prepares young people to participate positively in the economy and in civic life, among other positive life outcomes. However, nearly one in five American high school students does not graduate from high school on time, if ever. Progress has been made on understanding why students fail to complete high school and on raising…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2011a; 2011b), the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report revealed that African American and Hispanic students with disabilities continue to score well below their White and non-disabled counterparts in all areas tested and across all grade levels. Researchers…

In this analysis of promising practice, we demonstrate how social studies methods instructors can incorporate data analysis of the 2010 United States History National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP-USH) to facilitate pedagogical aims, engage teacher candidates in critical discourse, and investigate the contexts of teaching and learning.…

In this article, Uma Jayakumar, Rican Vue, and Walter Allen present their study of Young Black Scholars (YBS), a community-initiated college preparatory program in Los Angeles. Through in-depth interviews and surveys with twenty-five middle- and higher-income Black college students, they document the positive role of community in facilitating…

Many educators believe that the path to a better future is a college education. Initiatives that promote college-going cultures are quite commonplace in many public high schools with some offering elective college-prep support programs like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Yet, certain groups of students are not taking advantage of…

Many academic and public policies promote rapid immigrant assimilation. Yet, researchers have recently identified an emerging pattern, known as the "immigrant paradox," in which assimilated children of immigrants experience diminishing developmental outcomes and educational achievements. This volume examines these controversial findings by asking…

Education professionals and policy makers have been working to "close the achievement gap" for some time. Differences in school performance for children from diverse and different family backgrounds have been at the core of past and present social, political, and education reform initiatives and practices. Previous research suggests that…

Presented in this paper is a framework to examine environmental influences on learning. The framework identifies factors from several environments--the home, the community, and the larger sociocultural context--and links them with school policy and operations. Methodological considerations important to further investigation of these environmental…

This report presents data concerned with: (1) the feasibility of a home-based instructional program for disadvantaged 4 and 5 year old children in Israel, administered by non-professional aides, and (2) the effectiveness of such a program as reflected in (a) the academic and intellectual gains of children involved, and (b) the spill-over effects…