<p> American high schools must graduate more students who are college-ready. The employment market for adults with only a high school diploma is rapidly shrinking (Parikh, 2013). The United States is facing a shortage of educated adults who will be needed to fill the estimated 60% of jobs that will require a four-year degree by year 2025 (Conley, 2014; Dyce, Albold, &amp; Long, 2013; Schaefer &amp; Rivera, 2012; Varee, 2008). Studies have shown that educational programs exist on the high school level that can increase the academic achievement of underperforming students and effectively prepare them for college (Beer, Le Blanc, &amp; Miller, 2008; Bernhardt, 2013: Bosworth, Convertino, &amp; Hurwitz, 2014; Campbell, 2010; Ghazzawi &amp; Jagannathan, 2011; Mendoza, 2014). But how do these students fare once they get into college? Do they persist? Do they complete a 4-year degree? If yes, how long does it take them to complete their degree and graduate? The purpose of this study was to answer these questions by comparing the college enrollment and degree completion rates of students who participated in AVID, GEAR UP, Upward Bound, or both GEAR UP and Upward Bound, and students who did not participate in a college preparatory program during high school. Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 was used for this study and tracked students up to eight years post-high school graduation. Results from this study show that AVID students attain their 4-year degree eight years post high school graduation at a higher rate than students in all other groups. This finding was statistically significant and contributes to the growing pool of research that suggests that AVID is an effective program for increasing the likelihood that first-generation college-going students, students from lower-socio economic families, and students from subgroups traditionally underrepresented in higher education are better prepared for the rigors of a college education and complete their 4-year college degrees in a timely manner.</p><p>

<p> Although the public school has made great strides in making its vision of education for all a reality, 13.8% of the students continue to stumble in their pursuit of a high school diploma and 4.2% ultimately fail in this pursuit (Dalton, Ingels, &amp; Fritch, 2015; &ldquo;Public high school graduation rates,&rdquo; 2016). This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of students who initially chose to drop out of high school but chose to later re-enroll in a non-traditional setting. The purpose of this study was to find commonalities among the experiences of the participants to shed light on the essence of the phenomenon. This study included interviews with 30 non-traditional high school students and three staff members of a non-traditional high school. Three global themes emerged: 1) students were academically behind and over-age yet began to have feelings of hopefulness after attending the non-traditional high school, 2) students appreciate the supportive environment fostered at the non-traditional high school yet feel they are more independent and in control of their educational journey, and 3) students make more academic progress in the non-traditional setting yet continue to struggle to complete the requirements, specifically in mathematics, for high school graduation. The essence as revealed through this study is that students who choose to leave high school do so for academic, social and emotional, and familial reasons. However, these students also understand the benefits of earning a high school diploma. Therefore, they have chosen to re-enroll in a setting where they can use the knowledge they have gained through life experiences to help them complete their educational journey.</p><p>

<p> As the achievement gap between African American and Latino students and their White counterparts continues to grow, lawmakers are searching for ways to decrease the disparity. As a result, college access programs that focus on improving basic skills and strengthening academic achievement have become essential to fostering student success. With Upward Bound being one of the longest running federally funded college access programs, its success and effectiveness have been the focus of several studies. Surprisingly, very little qualitative phenomenological research exists that is solely devoted to student perceptions. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the impact of Upward Bound, and its relation to postsecondary success, but from the perspective of former program participants. Eight former Upward Bound participants completed the data collection process, which included completing a demographic survey and participating in a 60-minute interview that consisted of sixteen open-ended questions. The study was conducted on the campus of a public community college in a large urban city in Southern California. Key findings of this study indicated that tutoring, summer college classes, workshops, field trips to college campuses, motivation and attention beyond high school from program staff were significant in helping students achieve postsecondary success. The conclusion of the study indicated that the participants did believe that Upward Bound had a positive influence on their decision to go to college and ultimately helped them achieve postsecondary success.</p><p>

<p> The local high school and school district have failed to achieve adequate yearly progress in reading due to the poor performance of 9th-grade and special education students on the annual state reading assessment. There may be numerous factors leading to the low scores, but researchers have suggested that students whose parents are engaged in their education have more academic success than students whose parents have minimal participation. An explanatory survey design was used in this quantitative study to identify the involvement activities of parents of 9th-grade students and determine if there was a relationship between their involvement and their child&rsquo;s reading achievement. The theoretical framework was Epstein&rsquo;s theory on parental involvement. Archival data from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness-end of course English I/reading test of 65 9th-grade students were coded for anonymity and matched with their parents&rsquo; total scores on the Parent Choice of Involvement Activities survey. Data analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis yielded no significant relationship between parent involvement and students&rsquo; reading scores. Descriptive analysis identified that parents were more involved with educational activities in the home, rather than participating at school. Therefore, a school-based parent development program was designed. Additional research is needed to explore other reasons for the poor reading outcome of the 9th-grade and special education students. Providing parents with strategies that empower them to become fully involved in the secondary education of their children can bring about positive social change by building strong relationships between the school, family, and community to support the academic achievement of high school students.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which secondary students, aged 14-21 with intellectual disabilities in North Dakota (ND) engage in community-based work experience (CBWE). Perceived barriers to implementing CBWE were examined and a comparison was made between rural and urban communities. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was used to survey professionals responsible for implementing CBWE in ND secondary schools. Data obtained from the study showed that 60.01% of students with ID are engaged in CBWE and there was no difference between rural and urban communities in percentage of students engaged in this practice. There was no significant difference between these communities in types of jobs in which students were engaged. Professionals were asked to agree or disagree to a list of perceived barriers to implementing CBWE and, there was little difference between rural and urban communities. Professionals identified child labor laws, parental concerns, and requirements to align instruction to academic standards as common barriers to implementing CBWE.</p><p>

Although there are many how-to manuals on forming business/school partnerships, there is little valuative information on what actually takes place within them. This dissertation, a case study of a school-to-work partnership between an urban high school's business education department and the local business community, affords a practical insight into the dynamics of such a cooperative. A series of in-depth, phenomenological interviews were conducted with student workers and their workplace mentors. Their candid, powerful testimonies reflect the backgrounds, attitudes, and concerns that each brought to the workplace. Their personal voices express the relationships and interactions that defined their work experiences. Additional interviews with key figures in several similar contemporary programs confirmed that business/school partnerships are as complex and sensitive as the personalities of the individuals and the characters of the institutions that form them. Although all of the participants in this study attest to the value and importance of such partnerships, it is also evident that the demands of sustaining a successful program are daunting. This study suggests that implementing the business/school mandates as proposed in school reform legislation will be difficult, if not impossible. The evidence in this study illustrates that predominantly minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds can succeed in an initial work experience, can grow through that exposure, and can then create new personal visions for themselves. Of the twenty-five business students who participated in this cooperative program, over half entered a two or four year college upon graduation; six were offered a permanent position with a business partner. The director of the partnership that is at the core of this study, a committed teacher and a business owner, was available on a daily basis to provide students with personal guidance as they assimilated new experiences, faced unexpected challenges, or redefined new understandings. The overall findings substantiate the value of such consistent individual support for students in their first adventure into the world-of-work.

The purpose of this study was to examine how college freshmen make meaning of their secondary school physical education experiences. The study was also designed to explore the events, individuals or factors associated with their physical education experiences that influenced the ways in which students construct their meanings. Using concepts first identified in Kelly's (1955) "personal construct psychology", the study was designed to understand how college students describe their experiences in high school physical education and their current beliefs about the value and meaning of those experiences. A semi-structured, open-ended interview format was used to engage 27 college freshmen from a small private, two year college in New England in a discussion about their high school physical education experiences. This methodology allowed the students/participants to ascribe their own meaning to the experiences they had in physical education. Each audiotaped interview session lasted approximately sixty minutes and was later transcribed for analysis. Two overriding themes emerged from the data. Students recognized and have come to understand that athleticism means power and physical education has little value as a subject matter offering. Several factors contributed to these understandings. The most influential factor was student skill level. Skill level influenced interactions with and treatment by teachers and other students. In many schools it created an adolescent society where personal status and underlying self worth were accorded solely on an individual's physical ability. Curriculum content and teaching behaviors were also identified as strongly influencing student experience. Programs which had a strong team sport foundation disenfranchised many students whose talents and interests did not find avenues of expression in the activities offered. Closely aligned with participants' remarks about curriculum choices were comments regarding the lack of instruction. Participants indicated that little teaching was occurring and low-skilled students believed this put them at an even greater disadvantage. Participants believed physical education had little value as a subject matter offering. These beliefs were most directly influenced by their association with parents and peers, while indirectly influenced by grading schemes and contrasts with other more "academic" subjects.

The lives and careers of teachers have been studied from several perspectives (e.g., teacher career stage development, adult development, and the organizational context of teachers). Teacher career stages have been the focus of much educational research since Fuller (1969) first outlined her stages of teacher concern. Over the course of the next three decades multiple models of teacher career development were proposed and tested. Teacher career development, as conceptualized by Burke and colleagues, emphasizes the influence of teachers' organizational (i.e., work) and personal (i.e., adult development) contexts on their development as teachers (Burke, Christensen, & Fessler, 1984; Burke, Christensen, Fessler, McDonell, & Price, 1987). Taking into account contexts in which teacher career development occurs provides a dynamic lens through which to view teacher development. Therefore, the teacher career cycle model served as the theoretical framework for this qualitative study of the lives and careers of urban physical education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold. First, it was designed to understand how veteran urban physical education teachers experience their lives and careers. Second, it explored ways in which the factors influencing the lives and careers of these physical education teachers affected their career longevity in urban schools. Participants included 9 (4F, 5M) urban physical education teachers who had between four and 31 years of teaching experience in urban schools (mean = 10yrs.). Data were collected through observation and in depth interviews. Data analysis consisted of open and axial coding to identify themes and categories across participants. Results indicated that for this group of teachers, organizational context, personal context, and their development as teachers influenced their work lives and careers. In addition, as this group of teachers gained experience in urban schools, they developed skills necessary to maintain order to facilitate learning in their dynamic work environments. This study has implications for teacher education and professional development. As we learn more about the teachers who stay in urban schools we will be better able to prepare them to meet the needs of working in urban school contexts.

This study examined teacher and student beliefs about physical education by addressing the following questions (a) what beliefs about physical education do the teacher and students bring with them to class? (b) are there differences between the beliefs held by the teacher and those held by the students? and (c) what role does context play in facilitating or inhibiting the translation of these beliefs into action? Participants in this case study were one high school physical education teacher and twelve students from the same physical education class. Methodology included qualitative field notes taken during observations of two activity units (volleyball and team handball), five interviews with the teacher, four interviews with each student, and administration of the repertory grid. Data were analyzed concurrently using constant comparison to identify common themes. Throughout the study data were returned to the participants for their responses. The teacher's beliefs formed an intricate, multi-dimensional system with the core belief that, "physical education should provide an equitable environment for all students." Secondary level beliefs included for example, "the teacher is responsible for creating a safe atmosphere," and, "physical education should be recreational." The two student belief systems were, "gym class is not important now or in the future," and "it's really important to have friends in gym class." There were five key differences between teacher and student beliefs focused on the following issues, (a) the importance of physical education, (b) whether it should be mandatory, (c) the definition of learning, (d) the importance of equity, and (e) the role of the teacher. Although the teacher and students held very different beliefs about physical education, they co-existed in the same class by manipulating the context to facilitate the translation of their beliefs into action. While the teacher acted on her beliefs, she never explained them in class and the students left this program with no understanding of how the teacher viewed physical education or why she believed it to be important. Instead, students' beliefs were strongly influenced by other contextual factors and they embraced the marginal status of physical education promoted by parents, administrators, and teachers.

This study collected information from 100 student teachers participating in programs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst between 2001–2004. The data was gathered by using a combination of surveys, interviews, and notes from seminar discussions. The information about the experiences of these new teacher candidates in the schools was used to determine the critical decisions that student teachers must make each day. The responses have been separated into five areas or spheres of influence. These five spheres are teacher education, school setting, educational policy, teen culture, and individual experience/personality . Each critical decision or choice made by these new teacher candidates was influenced by one or more of these spheres of influence. Based on the study's findings, five critical choices have been determined, the consideration of which may help student teachers prepare for their experience. Five critical choices. (1) How to successfully implement classroom management strategies and teaching methods together in the classroom. (2) How to address “high stakes” tests and other standardized testing concerns. (3) How to build productive working relationships with a cooperating teacher and other school colleagues. (4) How to motivate and relate to adolescents. (5) How to manage the stress and uncertainty of the student teaching experience. Listed below are some additional findings from this study that could impact teacher education. (A) Combining classroom management and lesson planning proved to be crucial to successful lessons and to a successful student teaching experience. (B) Understanding one's lesson planning role as it applies to assessment and preparation for standardized tests has become an important component to successful teaching. (C) Nearly all new teacher candidates stated that establishing relationships with students was the most rewarding aspect of their student teaching experience. (D) The majority of new teacher candidates reported that managing stress (combining teaching, college obligations, and a job search) was one of the most difficult aspects of student teaching. It is hoped that with additional research, teacher education programs can continue to determine how to best prepare new teacher candidates to make the best decisions when faced with these critical choices.