The authors wrote this article to share a message of hope to change agents working in higher education. Even if change cannot happen right away, assembling a foundation of interested collaborators, waiting for the right time to act, and thinking of past failures as opportunities to build the groundwork can result in productive changes. Acting once…

An extensive body of research exists on the gender gap in higher education, but two gaps exist in this research: (1) examination of the relationship between observable college experiences (external) and students' perceptions of sense of belonging (internal); and (2) the study of male students' perceptions of sense of belonging in the increasingly…

The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth perspective of rural special education teachers' experiences and beliefs regarding the characteristics of mentoring programs that will assist beginning special education teachers to remain in rural districts. A basic qualitative design was used in the study. The following research question guided…

The number of juveniles with disabilities entering the juvenile justice system is growing at a rapid rate. Many juvenile justice facilities are unable to provide adequate special education services due to the nationwide shortage of special education teachers. This dissertation uses the theoretical framework of teacher efficacy to examine the…

This issue of "DataPoints" features data recently released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center highlighting completion and persistence patterns for different racial and ethnic groups. The data show Asian students who started at public two-year institutions have higher persistence and completion rates than any other…

Games in service of learning are uniquely positioned to offer immersive, interactive educational experiences. Well-designed games build challenge through a series of well-ordered problems or activities, in which perseverance is key for working through ingame failure and increasing game difficulty. Indeed, persistence through challenges during…

As early career elementary teachers (ECETs) teachers have a direct impact on student achievement, it is necessary for universities and school districts to implement programs that support the first years of teaching. ECETs express frustration with the significant demands of teaching. Further, ECETs are severely disadvantaged by the lack of…

The purpose of this study was to assess whether Mount Saint Mary College's Persist, Achieve, Connect, and Thrive Program (PACT) was effective in improving student success and decreasing student anxiety. The study used Kirkpatrick's Four-Level Educational Evaluation Program Model to design research questions and a focus group interview protocol.…

This dissertation examines academic advising through the lenses of cultural capital and sociocultural literacy. I reframe advising as a literacy practice that facilitates opportunities for students to access and acquire the navigational and cultural capital required to navigate the complex structures of higher education. I describe an advising as…

Teacher compensation is one of the most divisive issues in public educational policy as all stakeholder groups ponder the cost effectiveness of increasing teacher pay. What this issue presupposes is that our American educational system tends to underpay teachers and thusly the results of our schools reflect this lagged commitment to appropriate…

The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to collect relevant data, analyze it, extend the argument and report on results as it pertains to factors that contribute to nontraditional Black male collegians' matriculation and persistence through postsecondary institutions. This study focused on both undergrad and graduate nontraditional…

Research indicates that beliefs on the locus of the primary source of learning can have negative effects on learning behaviors in school (Mercer & Ryan, 2011). To an increasing extent, young people in Sweden acquire English outside school through different cultural practices (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2012). At the same time, students lack…

"Grit" is described as a unitary construct comprised of two elements, perseverance of effort (PE, or ongoing hard work) and consistency of interest (CI, referred to as "passion"). PE and CI together equate to success or achievement, according to the creator of the construct, Angela Duckworth (2016). Grit, which has supporters…

Grit--the ability to maintain effort and interest for long-term goals--is argued to be an important individual factor for achievement, especially in the face of obstacles. However, little research has examined the possible fluctuations of effort and interest and how challenges may trigger the changes of effort and interest. In this study, we…

Given that teacher shortage is an international problem, teacher job satisfaction merits closer attention. Not only is job satisfaction closely related to teacher retention, but it also contributes to the well-being of teachers and their students, overall school cohesion and enhanced status of the teaching profession. This study investigates the…