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Educational training programs, at times, are criticized for inadequately addressing issues that occur in the field (Brydon-Miller, Greenwood, & Maguire, 2003). This omission in relevancy might possibly be attributed to the fact that teacher education faculty no longer engage with K-12 students on a daily basis. We have decided to fill that relevancy void through our graduate student action research projects. Action research projects, undertaken by graduate students within our program, not only foster reflection upon the needs of the students within their K-12 classrooms, but also inform us, as education faculty, as we prepare our undergraduate students for the world of teaching. In this chapter, we outline action research as a framework of inquiry. We argue in the chapter that engaging students in the individualized action research projects has benefits for multiple stakeholders ranging from the learners in K-12 classrooms to students in pre-service teacher education programs. Using four case studies, we illustrate how the action research process works and the ways it fosters inclusivity in classrooms at numerous levels. We will discuss the benefits and challenges to our approach and will conclude by discussing the lessons that can be learned from our experiences in humanistic education.

The purpose of this study was to understand factors that hinder success of at-risk students and whether blending advising models helps students who are on academic warning or probation. In this chapter, the researchers reflect on the development and implementation of an academic recovery program (ARP) that involved 332 at-risk students during a three-year period, beginning in the Fall of 2016. When conceptualized, the ARP centered on the issue of development of students on all levels – as individuals, as scholars, and as creators and consumers of knowledge.

The results show that 54% of ARP students exited the program with good standing and persisted at the university (graduated or enrolled at the end of the period of the study). Of the 46% that were not retained by the university, 32% left with good standing. Qualitative explorations indicated that students in the program experienced a variety of academic and external challenges that prevented students from reaching success. These challenges resulted in heightened levels of stress and anxiety about their college success.

With the turn of the century, the Earth's natural resources continue to be stretched as nonrenewable resources continue to dwindle and as the population continues to grow. Academia is no exception with human and teaching resources remaining a constraint for all universities including financial resources. Higher education (HE) leadership struggles to contain costs by reducing unnecessary expenditures while trying to ensure that quality remains a top priority. Innovative pedagogy is one way that institutions can help bridge both scarcity and quality and address the growing demand for quality education. New technologies, designing of new curriculum which is relevant and can address the realities of economic demands, have become a high priority in HE. Educators, policymakers and stakeholders have to embrace this transformational change for the progress of their institution. This book addresses such innovative changes that are being initiated by academics around the world. The focus of this book remains on innovative pedagogy, success stories of such interventions, impact on students while reinventing the learner-centered approach and its implication on the future. The authors of this book address the successes and the challenges they have faced.

Research in higher education provides the foundation for the future of education and hence attracts the attention of policymakers who debate the merits and demerits of it in various contexts. Research in higher education is expected to anticipate emerging trends, problems faced by educationists, and to develop concepts that would be reliable to generate the curriculum needed for knowledge-based nations. Universities that are conscious of the future and want to contribute to coping with this rapidly changing world have been engaged in meaningful research agendas. Education now has to deal with issues like globalization, climate change, refugee crisis, new models for education systems, steering the entire system toward internationalization, and manage the institution with a scarcity of resources. These challenges call for extensive research and in-depth analysis of the problems so that a possible solution can be worked out by academics in identifying thematic areas of work and emerging fields of education. Research-based universities occupy a prime position in the 21st-century global knowledge economy. These institutions have multiple roles to play besides teaching–learning and academic achievement of their students. This book demonstrates how research is being viewed in different countries having completely diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. The authors have explored the university’s contribution toward the advancement of global science and scholarship in countries like Turkey, Kosovo, Latin America, and the United States. Authors have also explored new information and processes that are contributing to emerging trends that are significant in understanding the human condition through multiple academic and societal roles. These authors discuss issues related to culture, technology, and society, which are the foundation of intellectual and scientific trends.