A local community college was experiencing poor retention rates among African American students, an issue that has challenged community colleges across the United States. To improve this group's retention, college administrators instituted a mentoring program; however, they later indicated a need to better understand which mentoring strategies…

This research study explores the impact that school district provided professional development has on teacher buy-in for social and emotional learning (SEL). At the time of this study, the literature on social and emotional learning focuses on the impact it has on students and on the impact, it has on academic programming. Literature examining the…

Therapy dogs are a valuable tool for students in the school system. The literature indicates therapy dogs are a supportive tool, from the perspective of teachers, students, parents, counselors, and the community, for mental health, social and emotional and academic needs. Research has provided evidence that principals and superintendents have the…

Student teaching can be one of the most important experiences pre-service teachers have during their teacher preparation program. This study sought to examine and enhance how mentor teachers impact student teacher development during the final clinical teaching experience. Its purpose was to improve the clinical teaching practice for both mentors…

This study explored how a poverty simulation experience influenced educators' social empathy levels and educational practices. More specifically, twenty-nine educators' levels of social empathy were measured using the Social Empathy Index (Segal, Wagaman, & Gerdes, 2012) in a pre/posttest design. Influences on educational practices were…

School counselors are change agents, leaders, supporters, and advocates who address the social-- emotional, academic, and career needs of their students. School counselors must be multiculturally competent to meet the needs of all their students. Developing multicultural competence is a complex and ongoing process that includes gaining awareness,…

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) programs have proliferated significantly in recent years and they are finding their way into different educational and therapeutic purposes. This systematic review aims at analyzing the virtual reality and augmented reality programs designed to promote the development of social skills in individuals…

Background: Group singing for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) is an established intervention not only to improve voice and speech difficulties but also for emotional and social benefit. Less is known about the experiences of group singing on the couple--the person with PD and their spouse or partner together--and studies have not specifically…

Even in the age of spellcheck and other assistive tools, spelling remains an important skill. Learning how to spell can be challenging, especially for students with high-incidence disabilities. Fortunately, tools such as graphic organizers may assist students with spelling. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a novel flowchart tool on…

The present study examined the effectiveness of a cooperative skill intervention program using theme-based joint block play for young children. Thirty-two 4--5 years old preschoolers from Shanghai, China, were assigned to the experimental group while thirty-two children comprised the comparison group. The experimental group was engaged in an…

Current literature reveals the importance of expanding the educational toolchest to include teaching through games. Game-based learning has been extensively studied, underscoring a human need to have fun while learning. This research project focused on the development of "Paved Paradise: A Tiny House Ecovillage Board Game," that could…

Public charter schools lack research that determines what makes them successful. Charter schools are relatively new, existing for around 30 years in the United States. The depth and breadth of research focusing on public education rarely includes charter schools. The research focusing on charter schools specifically is quite limited. Like…

This study assessed the impact of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) on the mood profile, anxiety, mental well-being, and stress of university students. Stress has always been a widespread issue for university students, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the problem. The need for stress alleviation therapies to be further investigated within…

Objective: Examine the effects of a relaxation course with a mindfulness meditation component in a two-group pre-test and post-test non-randomized study design. Participants: Participants included 219 undergraduate students (experimental group: n = 103; control group: n = 116), 18-43 years old. Methods: Completion of measures of stress,…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to analyze the effect of a literacy program on general music students in the fourth grade within an urban public school district in Northeastern Illinois. Two fourth grade classes, instructed by two different licensed music teachers, received the treatment program of one Lyrics2Learn…