The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of student-faculty interactions, student-staff interactions, and student-peer interactions of Latino students to their intent to persist toward graduation in community colleges in Texas. Parental educational level (for both mother and father), first generation status, gender, and English as a second language served as additional predictor variables. The existing data used for this investigation were collected by the Center for Community College Student Engagement and included longitudinal data from the years 2012, 2011, and 2010. Data from 12,488 randomly selected Latino students enrolled in Texas community colleges were obtained and used for the study. The research design method was non-experimental using extant data. To assess the relationships between student engagement variables and Latino student intent to persist, correlations and logistic regression were used. Though no relationship was found between intent to persist and student-faculty interactions (r = -.017, p = .066, n= 11,824) or student peer interactions, (r = -.012, p = .208, n = 11,766), a positive relationship was found between intent to persist and student-staff interaction (r = .048, p = .000, n = 10,794) with an extremely small effect size (r2 = .002). Among the variables of parental level of education, first generation college student status, gender, and English as a second language status, only mother's educational level emerged as a significant predictor for intent to persist, R2 = .048, ?2 (8, N = 7,862) = 62.606, p < .0001. The findings suggest the possibility that staff availability and accessibility is important for Latino student persistence. In order to retain Latino community college students, knowledgeable staff able to facilitate students' successful navigation of the educational system is recommended to be a part of the community college's student success strategies. In addition the findings regarding parental education indicate that community colleges would be well advised to offer programs that engage and include parents as students proceed toward achieving their academic goals.

This case study of two combined grade 7 and 8 classrooms investigated the qualities of student engagement during a modified Four Blocks (Cunningham, Hall & Defee, 1998) literacy blocks intervention. The teachers’ experiences with implementing and engaging their students in literacy blocks were also examined. Qualities of student engagement were described across four domains: affective, behavioural, cognitive and social. Participant interviews, professional development meetings and classroom observations were analyzed to describe instructional context and teacher experiences during the implementation of literacy blocks. Teacher involvement and opportunities for choice seemed to positively impact student engagement. Findings suggest that student engagement may be increased through the effective use of collaborative learning strategies and the explicit teaching of strategies and skills leading to the gradual release of responsibility. Data provided insight into the teacher experiences of implementing literacy blocks and suggests that further research into teacher professional development to support implementation is needed.

This case study of two combined grade 7 and 8 classrooms investigated the qualities of student engagement during a modified Four Blocks (Cunningham, Hall & Defee, 1998) literacy blocks intervention. The teachers’ experiences with implementing and engaging their students in literacy blocks were also examined. Qualities of student engagement were described across four domains: affective, behavioural, cognitive and social. Participant interviews, professional development meetings and classroom observations were analyzed to describe instructional context and teacher experiences during the implementation of literacy blocks. Teacher involvement and opportunities for choice seemed to positively impact student engagement. Findings suggest that student engagement may be increased through the effective use of collaborative learning strategies and the explicit teaching of strategies and skills leading to the gradual release of responsibility. Data provided insight into the teacher experiences of implementing literacy blocks and suggests that further research into teacher professional development to support implementation is needed.

The problem under investigation in this mixed-methods study is the relationship between a morning physical activity intervention and subsequent student engagement in academic activities in an elementary school. The physical activity intervention was a fifteen minute period of hall walking and gym running for the entire school population at 9:05 a.m. The study participants included four randomly selected students in each of seven classrooms. Teachers and an educational assistant observed and recorded the students' levels of engagement at the same time period for eight consecutive school days without the morning physical activity followed by ten days with the physical activity. Interviews were also conducted with the teacher and educational assistant to provide more detailed information from their observations. Quantitative data analysis using a one-tailed paired t-test resulted in a finding of statistical significance. Qualitative data analysis also demonstrated increases in observed engaged behaviours after the activity condition. The merged data suggested that morning physical activity may result in increased engagement in subsequent academic activities.

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have provided academic and social support to Black students; however, with an increase in White students attending HBCUs, HBCU leaders have been challenged to acquire a better understanding of the White student population to increase their retention and graduation rates. This phenomenological project study addressed how White undergraduate students' participation in curricular and extracurricular activities influenced their academic success. The conceptual framework included elements from Astin's involvement theory and Helms's White racial identity development model. Eight White undergraduate students at a mid-size public HBCU were interviewed over 2 weeks. Exploratory analysis of one-one interviews and documents indicated minimal problems with peer-to-peer interaction or participation in extracurricular activities, but a slight disconnect between White students and faculty. Findings were used to develop a mentor program to improve relations between White students and faculty, which may increase White students' retention and graduation rates at the HBCU.

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Thesis advisor: Henry Braun / Informed by Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model and Pascarella's general model, this study explored the nature of student-athletes' engagement in educationally purposeful activities, described their engagement patterns, and revealed the relationships between student engagement factors and college outcomes by class and gender for 2596 student-athletes from 30 Division-I institutions. This research demonstrated that the NSEE Five Benchmarks constructed for the general population did not fit student-athletes. Therefore, engagement factors for student-athletes were constructed based on a subset of component items from the Five Benchmarks. Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) were then applied to National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) 2006 and the aggregated school level data from the NCAA. The research results reveal that the association patterns between engagement factors and college outcome variables Satisfaction (SA), General Education and Personal Competence (GEPC), and Personal and Social Development (PSD) across all class and gender subgroups are very similar, but differ from those for GPA. This research concludes that engagement in educationally purposeful activities is the best predictor for student-athletes' college outcomes (except GPA). The analyses also reveal that what students do on campus contributes more to their college outcomes than who they were at matriculation and which school they attend. In particular, for all outcomes, the fraction of the total variance due to between-school differences was very small and the relationships between the coefficients of school-level equations and school-level characteristics were inconsistent. The results of this study, along with other related studies, can help colleges devise strategies to better fulfill their primary obligation to create genuine educational opportunities for their student-athletes through fostering their holistic development. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

Research indicates that college students who engage in proven educational practices associated with high levels of learning and achievement gain more from their educational experiences and have higher rates of degree completion than those who do not. Studies also indicate that community college students who transfer to senior colleges are less likely to engage in these proven educational practices than non-transfer students attending senior colleges. Participants in this research study were administered a survey developed by the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) to compare levels of engagement in five benchmark categories. All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with a general population of community college transfers students attending senior colleges and All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with non-transfer students attending senior colleges. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Independent samples t-tests were run to determine if significant differences existed in the levels of engagement between the groups. The findings of this study showed that the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winner‘s levels of engagement in each of the five benchmarks categories were higher and significantly different when compared to the other two groups. Further, the personal characteristics of the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners were analyzed to determine if there were significant differences which led to higher levels of engagement while attending senior colleges. The findings revealed that only one personal characteristic, gender, contributed to a significant difference in the level of engagement for a benchmark. Female respondents‘ level of engagement in the academic challenge benchmark was higher and significantly different compared to male respondents.

This study will explore student engagement as a multidimensional construct through a systematic comparative study from the views of students and teachers. While the construct of engagement holds promise for addressing declining motivation and achievement of adolescent students, the challenges associated with measuring a multi-faceted construct suggest the need for integrative research methodologies. This study will utilize concept mapping methods in two urban secondary schools. This methodology holds the potential to provide the tools for structured ‘meaning making’ between participants (students and teachers). This capacity to ‘think together’ is promoted through intentionally structured (i.e., concept mapping processes) practice of discourse. As a direct result of this approach, data revealed the degree of convergence and divergence in student and teacher definitions of student engagement. Areas of student/teacher convergence included themes addressing ‘diversity/belonging’, ‘student-teacher interaction’, and ‘variety in school policy/structure’. Areas of divergence included, ‘aspects of pedagogy’, ‘students at the centre’, and ‘professional educators’. In framing student engagement as a multidimensional construct, this study was able to uncover complex nuances. For example, closer examination of the student data revealed a nested and multi-faceted relationship to their sense of engagement. Students most strongly associated engagement to their sense of belonging at school. In turn, this sense of belonging was directly impacted by their relationships with peers, and this connection was viewed to directly affect on motivation (and subsequent achievement). Future research is needed so as to delve deeper into the nature of social connections among teachers-students, and students-students as an approach to untangle and better understand the multidimensionality of factors at play.

This study will explore student engagement as a multidimensional construct through a systematic comparative study from the views of students and teachers. While the construct of engagement holds promise for addressing declining motivation and achievement of adolescent students, the challenges associated with measuring a multi-faceted construct suggest the need for integrative research methodologies. This study will utilize concept mapping methods in two urban secondary schools. This methodology holds the potential to provide the tools for structured ‘meaning making’ between participants (students and teachers). This capacity to ‘think together’ is promoted through intentionally structured (i.e., concept mapping processes) practice of discourse. As a direct result of this approach, data revealed the degree of convergence and divergence in student and teacher definitions of student engagement. Areas of student/teacher convergence included themes addressing ‘diversity/belonging’, ‘student-teacher interaction’, and ‘variety in school policy/structure’. Areas of divergence included, ‘aspects of pedagogy’, ‘students at the centre’, and ‘professional educators’. In framing student engagement as a multidimensional construct, this study was able to uncover complex nuances. For example, closer examination of the student data revealed a nested and multi-faceted relationship to their sense of engagement. Students most strongly associated engagement to their sense of belonging at school. In turn, this sense of belonging was directly impacted by their relationships with peers, and this connection was viewed to directly affect on motivation (and subsequent achievement). Future research is needed so as to delve deeper into the nature of social connections among teachers-students, and students-students as an approach to untangle and better understand the multidimensionality of factors at play.