The purpose of this research study was to assess levels of mindfulness-based skills in counselors-in-training at the masters and doctoral level. By examining mindfulness levels within the counselor-in-training population, a reference point was established among counseling students with predictors of mindfulness-based skill levels. The research…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if the outcome of two different types of referendums, operating fund and construction, could be more accurately predicted by using certain predictor variables. Furthermore, if the outcome could be more accurately predicted, which predictor variables were statistically significant in that…

Narrative skill is included in emergent literacy frameworks and believed to be important for children's early reading development. Yet, empirical evidence concerning associations with other emergent literacy skills and later word reading skills is limited. We comprehensively assessed the emergent literacy skills of 3- to 5.5-year old children (n =…

Latent change score models (LCS) are conceptually powerful tools for analyzing longitudinal data (McArdle & Hamagami, 2001). However, applications of these models typically include constraints on key parameters over time. Although practically useful, strict invariance over time in these parameters is unlikely in real data. This study…

This empirical study of "American Exceptionalism: Psychological Capital and Psychological Ownership as predictors of university professors' leadership style," explores the question of the professors leadership style with three hypotheses in one focused research area of interest: "Is there a relationship between Professors'…

In recent decades, open, online learning environments have become progressively more popular and well-funded. An integral aspect of this open learning movement is the transition of a substantial amount of control of the learning process from designers and instructors to the users engaging with the environment. With heavy investments coming from…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether factors of social comparison theory influence public school choice in Indiana. There were two arms in the study. One arm used three district-level variables (parent education level, socioeconomic status, and homogeneity of race) associated with social comparison theory (SCT) and five…

Pre-service teacher preparedness is a measurement of a teacher candidate's ability to become an effective teacher (Clark, Byrnes, & Sudweeks, 2015). A growing number of Educator Preparation Providers' (EPPs') accrediting agencies are insisting that to improve pre-service teacher preparedness, EPPs must increase the rigor of their admission…

This study sought to identify factors that predict positive STEM-related postsecondary outcomes for Hispanic students in Texas. The research team linked K-12 student academic data to college enrollment data for public high school students who enrolled in colleges and universities in Texas from the 2004/05 to 2010/11 (seven cohorts). Regression…

Education abroad is a collection of international learning experiences designed for students to increase their global competence and intercultural communication skills. Short-term study abroad courses, or experiences, are the most popular options for students wishing to gain such. Though empirical evidence supports the benefits of studying abroad,…

The objective of the survey was to examine the relationship between perceived teacher competencies in the era of Education 4.0 (TCEdu4.0) and teacher attitudes toward change (TATC) in Malaysian secondary schools. A total of 1,293 teachers from 80 secondary schools that were chosen using disproportionate stratified sampling method completed the…

Although Malaysia is moving towards a universal system of higher education, the issue of participation and access is complex. Related research has tended to focus mainly on socio-demographic aspects and less on the personal and social variables preventing people from participating. The study presented here was an attempt to learn more about the…

In this study, we work towards a strategy to measure and enhance the quality of interactions in discussion forums at scale. We present a machine learning (ML) model which identifies the phase of cognitive presence exhibited by a student's post and suggest future applications of such a model to help online students develop higher-order thinking. We…

Writing is a complex task that requires the activation and coordination of several processes. In addition to the research on the domain-specific factors that contribute to school achievement, there is an increasing interest on general variables, such as mindfulness. Here, we aimed to test the contribution of middle-grade students' trait…

Research suggests that youth with more financial and social resources are more likely to have access to mentorship. Conversely, the rising star hypothesis posits that youth who show promise through their individual successes are more likely to be mentored. Utilizing a nationally representative sample (N = 4,882), we tested whether demographic…