In this article we report on a study that explored educators' past and current use of reflective journals and if and how these practices influence their pedagogical use of such journals with their own students. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 8 educators who had kept reflective journals in the past but were no longer doing so;…

This study employs the 2007-2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study and the National Research Center's survey data, "A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States," to investigate the (1) the effects of debt in relation to tuition and fees paid and (2) the effects of teaching assistantships,…

Recently a number of studies have focused on states' adoptions of postsecondary-specific policies. Cutting across much of this research is the presence and influence of interstate diffusion of policy adoptions, a phenomenon for which support is scant. This paper seeks to address this through broadening the categorization of policies beyond…

The idea that female faculty might serve as role models for female students has led to studies of the effect of female faculty on female student performance. Due to varying levels of aggregation of the measure of student exposure to female faculty--percentage of female faculty at an institution or department, percentage of classes taught by…

College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research and public policy devotes significant attention to race, income, and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet, wealth's role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. This paper examines the differences between wealth and income in the…

Over the past 20 years, there have been numerous calls to reform the practices of school counselors. Some have situated these calls for school counseling reform within the context of urban schooling. This study examined the practices of school counselors in one urban school district, and how those practices aligned with the school district's…

Identifying sources of variation has been used extensively in educational research as a tool to identify potential drives of variances in student achievement. However, prior research predominantly relied on findings from national- or international-level data, and thus their conclusions remain very broad-based. This study contributes new insight by…

Growing up in an inner city environment can inhibit healthy development and have detrimental consequences for children and adolescents such as increased risks for many social and psychological problems. This article explores the role of community arts centers in fostering resilience among youth living in the inner city. A review of the literature…

This article looks at the issue of gifted and talented education from the perspective of public policy. It asserts that the underachievement of gifted children is a national concern, as these children may someday benefit society in ways that are disproportionate to their share of the population. Perhaps more importantly, it concludes that gifted…

With the adoption of the Common Core Standards and a renewed emphasis on critical and higher-order thinking skills, exploring the relationship among writing development, self-efficacy beliefs, perseverance, and effort has become essential. The nature of writing workshop not only lends itself to differentiation among students but also provides…

The current study used a pretest-posttest randomized control group design with 73 Head Start students, ages 3-5 years. The researcher served as the interactive writing teacher for the treatment group, rotating to five different classrooms in one Head Start center 3-4 days a week for 13 weeks. Children in the treatment group received a 10-15 min…

Visual arts, such as drawings, are attractive to most young children. Marks left on paper by young children contain meaning. Although it is known that children's oral language could be enhanced through communication with adults, rarely is there a series of dialogues between adults and young children about their drawings. Often heard instead…

This study reports on results from the Early Mathematics Beliefs and Confidence Survey, administered to 346 preschool teachers in a large public school system in the Midwest. Survey results depict a much more positive view of teachers' beliefs and confidence in early math teaching than previously reported. Results also suggest that teacher…

This article explores the dynamics of parenting while being in a homeless context. The mosaic of stressors involved in this homeless parenting process are explicated and discussed. In addition, resources and strategies that may support parenting are presented and discussed.

Although a plethora of research focuses on economically at-risk preschool children in general across the United States, little can be found that investigates methods for improving rural children's academic outcomes. This review of research is intended to provide a contextual understanding of the background and current conditions that exist…