Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Principal Leadership and includes: (1) The Power of Partnerships in the Pursuit of Leadership Development to Transform Schools (Nilka…

Understanding how university medical school faculty and staff perceive the institution's mission statement, in conjunction with their person-environment fit, can provide administration with useful insight into: employee's match to the institution's mission statement, employee level of organizational commitment, and reasons for retention. This…

This new ACT publication is an annual report offering meaningful research insights for some of the most pressing questions impacting admissions and enrollment practice. In the first release of this report, ACT research sheds light on the following topics: (1) the practice of super-scoring; (2) STEM major choice; (3) factors impacting retention and…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and to tell the stories of low socioeconomic status (SES) men in college who persisted beyond the halfway point of college at a Midwestern metropolitan university. Prior research suggested men from low socioeconomic status backgrounds matriculated and persisted in college at the lowest…

This study attempted to measure the impact of mentorship on at-risk African American male's undergraduates' persistence, perception of achievement, and their post-graduate job placement. The results based on a sample size of 70 indicated that a statistically significant relationship does exist between the persistence rate of the control and…

In higher education, students who withdraw from college before graduating face and trigger a number of undesirable consequences, such as difficulty finding professional employment, risking default on student loans, causing loss of potential revenue to academic institutions, and yielding a negative return on society's expenditures for college…

With the start of every school year, new teachers enter classrooms across our country filled with excitement surrounding the impact they hope to have on students. Some teachers discover that teaching at the elementary level can often times involve more than teaching and loving children. The expectations, demands, and time constraints put on new…

Many studies show a strong link between earning a college degree and receiving higher wages (for example, Carnevale, Jayasundera, & Gulish, 2015). Consequently, a large body of research is published each year analyzing indicators of progress toward increased college enrollment and completion (for example, National Student Clearinghouse…

Recruitment and retention of high-quality educators remains problematic throughout our public school systems. This is particularly so for teachers of minority-identifications and in high-poverty, high-minority urban schools and districts. Recent research concerning teacher longevity has typically focused on large-scale investigations of factors of…

Developmental education courses are typically defined as courses offered at postsecondary institutions below college level instruction. More than 60% of community college students are deemed non-college ready and required to enroll in non-credit bearing developmental education courses. Research shows that developmental education can be either a…

The Smithsonian Science Education Center in partnership with Shell Oil Company convened a group of leading education organizations in Washington, D.C. on September 19-20, 2016, to share and discuss proven strategies that have improved the recruitment, retention and promotion of a diverse STEM teaching workforce. Specifically, the meeting was…

The purpose of the qualitative exploratory study was to explore the perceptions of successful first-generation (FG) community college graduates to further understand their lived experiences. Community colleges are able to serve the general public yet achieve great status in helping FG students attain their degree. The specific problem was the high…

Transfer is the movement of students and their earned credits from one institution to another. This process includes how students' work from the sending institution is applied toward degree requirements at the receiving institution. The Washington Legislature has tasked the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) with "improving student…

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is leading an effort to explore how competency-based education (CBE) can be adapted to meet the needs of underprepared adult learners, in order to help members of this large and economically vulnerable group earn college credentials and advance in the U.S. workforce. With support from the ECMC Foundation, JFF is reaching…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore African American tenured teachers' decision-making process related to remaining in public education in Western New York in 2015-2016. Teachers' remaining in the United States public schools has been a problem. It has been, especially, difficult to retain African American…