This dissertation investigates the implementation of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs in Illinois community colleges, focusing on Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) faculty perceptions. Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first conducted a survey among full-time ADN faculty across Illinois community…

A popular alternative disciplinary framework from zero-tolerance school policies is restorative justice, which refers to a set of ideologies and practices that emphasize healing relationships in lieu of community exclusion. This work investigates the differences between ideological support for restorative approaches compared to program…

The journey to support people with disabilities began nearly 70 years ago when federal laws began to inform educational practices and ensured accountability that people with disabilities should be able to live a full life. Transportation is one skill that people with disabilities need in order to reach their goals. Transportation impacts nearly…

This study is a phenomenological inquiry into the experiences of female high school principals who participated in leadership coaching during the first years of their principalships. Understanding how female principals found value in their leadership coaching, discovering the experiences between leadership coaches and the participants that yielded…

It is not known how teachers describe parental involvement as an influence on Mexican immigrant student achievement is the problem of this study. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how teachers describe parental involvement as an influence on Mexican immigrant student achievement in Northern Illinois. The six types of…

Objective: To learn about the challenges, policies, and needed resources to serve people with intellectual disability and protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the perspective of intellectual disability service providers. Methods: We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 16 intellectual disability organization administrators…

Leading school communities during the pandemic impacted elementary and middle school principals and brought about reflection of their leadership practices. School principals were forced to reassess leadership priorities like those set forth by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) in 2015. This study looks at information…

Many people struggle to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy life (United States Department of Agriculture, 2020). Research has shown that college students experience food insecurity at rates higher than the general population while also facing negative academic, mental, physical, and social consequences (Baker-Smith et al.,…

The statewide program review process for Illinois community colleges required by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is scheduled on a five-year cycle, however, the value of program review is lost without regular opportunities for engagement and reflection on what has been learned through the process (Eggleston, 2020). Furthermore, one of…

Most supervisors lack training in best practices in clinical supervision (Newman et al., 2019). However, supervisees report more positive supervision experiences from supervisors who have received training (Brott et al., 2016). To address this need, a group of university educators and an experienced field supervisor collaborated with the Illinois…

Men continue to dominate the superintendency in the United States, even though more than half of the specialized degrees needed to be a superintendent are earned by women (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019; Warner & Corley, 2017). Nationwide, 26.7% of the superintendents are women, while 27.75% of the superintendents in Illinois…

As academic librarians become aware of the challenges textbook expenses pose to student success, they have increased efforts to provide free access to required course materials. Librarians at Illinois State University initiated a program to license course-assigned e-books, surveying participating students and faculty regarding their perspectives…

The United States along with the rest of the world has experienced an unprecedented disruption in daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost everyone has experienced some sort of stay at home order resulting in an economic catastrophe greater than the Great Recession of 2008 and on par with the Great Depression almost a century ago.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of female superintendents and their educational career experiences and personal life experiences prior to the attainment of the school superintendency. In order to achieve this overall objective, the following research questions framed this qualitative methods study: 1. How have previous…

Early childhood teachers had to restructure instruction when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and instruction was completed online. The problem was that early childhood teachers faced challenges using developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to…