Education Commons^™

Perspectives Of Suburban Public School Teachers On The Characteristics Of Students At-Risk For Dropping Out Of School, Michael Sollitto, Robert Gable

NERA Conference Proceedings 2011

This study focuses on a major problem facing today’s educators: high school dropouts. Numerous studies have been conducted to identify the reasons that students drop out of school and programs that may address the needs of students at-risk for dropping out of school. Literature in this area was reviewed to identify what can be learned from these studies.

Research questions addressed differences in teacher perspectives of the characteristics of elementary, middle, and high school struggling students. Differences in teachers’ perspectives based on tenure and type of teaching assignment were examined. A sequential, mixed methods approach was taken. The researchers began …

Fitting-In: Sociocultural Adaptation Of International Graduate Students, Georgette P. Wilson

NERA Conference Proceedings 2011

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between sociocultural adaptation of international graduate students and selected demographic characteristics, and to explore the students’ perceptions of institutional support with regard to their adaptation. A three-phased, mixed methods approach was used to study international graduate students at a private, urban, mid-sized, Northeastern university. Preliminary discussion groups (N = 42), followed by a questionnaire (N = 129), and then follow-up focus groups (N = 11), resulted in 28 statistically significant findings and five major themes. These findings resulted in recommendations for: improving university communication …