The design and facilitation of asynchronous online courses can have notable impacts on students related to persistence, performance, and perspectives. This case study presents current conditions for cognitive load and Community of Inquiry (CoI) presences in an asynchronous online introductory undergraduate STEM course. Researchers present the…

Recent studies of charter school effectiveness have questioned whether charter school networks can produce a lasting impact on students' long-term outcomes. Our study is the first to examine this issue at the network of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools, which primarily serve disadvantaged students of color and constitute the nation's…

Placement policies are intended to match students with appropriate courses in order to improve student success, but how do you evaluate these policies? In this article, we evaluate four placement policies at Towson University by considering three categories of outcomes: long-term outcomes such as graduation and retention rates, short-term or…

This study examines whether self-efficacy predicted academic success (via self-regulation) for first-generation and continuing-generation college students (Model 1) and among various racial/ethnic groups (Model 2). The 3,316 ethnically diverse incoming freshmen from a large, urban, public university (53% first-generation) participated in this…

Teachers' preference to remain close to where they grew up is recognized as a defining feature of the teacher labor market. Using a unique data set from a large school district in the southeastern United States, I apply a series of within-school and within-student comparisons to assess the effectiveness of homegrown teachers who returned to teach…

Research on Nature of Science (NOS) conceptions and identity development for NOS contains a gap in the realm of examining doctoral students aiming to be science teacher educators. This research examines the NOS identity development of participants in a course focused on the philosophy of science and research about NOS education. The data analyzed…

This study highlights program retention among Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students in a STEM Intervention Program (SIP) aimed at increasing the representation of underrepresented students in STEM fields. We applied London et al.'s STEM Engagement Framework to determine factors that distinguish who stays in a SIP and…

Black males encounter significant microaggressions and race related challenges as students in Predominantly White Institutions. These encounters negatively impact their college learning and social experiences. In the face of these challenges, college retention rate of Black males falls behind those of other racial and gender groups (Toldson,…

When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act in 2015, it intended to send a strong signal: any further encroachment of federal authority on the nation's K-12 schools needed to end. Compared to its more prescriptive predecessor in 2000, known as No Child Left Behind, the new law, dubbed "ESSA" for the Every Student…

The purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to examine the extent to which there is a correlation between specific components of perceived self-regulated learning (PSRL) and academic achievement for students participating in asynchronous online community college courses that utilize a staggered content delivery method in the Northeast…

As the economy struggles to recover amidst ongoing uncertainty, adults across the country could benefit from earning a degree and opening the door to new careers. Colleges and universities recognize the importance--but also the challenge--of getting "some college no degree" (SCND) students back on track and supporting them, along with…

In this descriptive study, we use longitudinal student-level administrative records from 4 cohorts of high school graduates in Kentucky to examine the extent to which students persist and attain post-secondary credentials in the CTE fields of concentration they choose in high school. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to use student-level…

For years, parents and policymakers have raised concerns about teacher shortages. These concerns escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid reports of teachers leaving the profession, fewer new teachers entering, and schools struggling to hire teachers. The Explanatory Statement accompanying the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020…

First-generation students comprise nearly half of the college going population, but are also disproportionately more likely to drop out of college before their third year (RTI International, 2019). Scholars tend to argue that first-generation college students lack the social capital, or access to resource rich networks that can provide information…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how protective factors, specifically sense of belonging and self-efficacy, impacted persistence of low-income first-generation college students from rural communities (LIFGRS). Furthermore, analysis from these data were compared to previous research studies to examine how institutional…