This dissertation investigates the complex phenomenon of high school dropouts and the social factors that contributed to them making that decision. The research included interviewing six high school dropouts, whose ages ranged from 35-45, all of whom were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. Each interview was conducted in…

With the growth of the older population due to longer life spans and a decline in birth rates, older adults will soon outnumber the younger population worldwide. One out of five workers in the United States reaches retirement age each day. This phenomenon has begun to cause a strain on Social Security funding and healthcare funding for those over…

A qualitative phenomenological study examining the learning activities that take place at a college radio station. The research objective is to understand the social practices that make possible or hinder the construction of learning experiences at KCSS, the campus radio station at California State University, Stanislaus. Document analysis,…

This qualitative phenomenological research study dives into the varying experiences of Latinas who have earned an advanced degree in the United States, searching to understand the different elements that influence their degree attainment and challenges they faced during their academic journey. The researcher engaged in interviews with five Latinas…

Contemporary social issues, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change, exceed the capacity of a single sector to solve and require the collaboration of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In this context, universities play a unique and increasingly comprehensive role in educating students, generating new knowledge, and advancing the…

This exploratory qualitative study examines teacher candidate and student interactions in response to verbal threats of harm. This study uses existing data: a single set of 16 clinical simulations and four post-simulation debriefing sessions. Participants include eight female and eight male teacher candidates (n = 16) who interact with one of six…

The purpose of this study was to assist learner and problem-centered education advocates and practitioners in increasing the number of these educational paradigms within US public schools. Lin's theoretical framework for social capital and a thematic review of school governance and curricular policies in the literature for each US educational…

This mixed-methods study examined the moderating role of resilience in the relationship between personal, social, and academic factors and academic success, as measured by grade point average (GPA) among Doctor of Physical Therapy students. It aimed to identify the strongest predictor of GPA among self-efficacy, friends and family support, and the…

This study links the teaching practice of productive struggle, a psychological perspective of classroom activities, and the classroom microculture, an interactionist perspective that combines sociocultural and psychological considerations (Cobb & Yackel, 1996). The research question for this study is: "In what ways does a teacher…

Teachers use digital activities for student collaboration; however, it is not known what digital collaboration strategies teachers implement, nor how they perceive students' ability to apply collaboration skills in a digital environment. It is necessary to understand strategies needed by students to be able to collaborate in a digital environment.…

Due to the diversification of school systems, schools are being challenged to engage in more culturally responsive practices to meet the needs of diverse students. Therefore, this study utilized Gay's (2002) model of culturally responsive teaching to assess the relationship between sociocultural factors and the academic competence and mental…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black male first-generation college graduates who successfully completed at least their bachelor's degree. Two research questions guided the study: Research Question 1: How did the Black first-generation college graduate describe their lived experience…

Twenty-five first-year preservice teachers attending a university in the Midwest of the United States of America participated in a whole-class-setting study aimed at investigating their knowledge of how they made sense of fraction concepts and operations, and how the development of this knowledge was facilitated during a mathematics education…

Although there have been calls for secondary mathematics education in the U.S. to incorporate problem-solving and creativity, the lion's share of instruction is designed to train students to accurately use procedures or understand concepts made by mathematicians in the past (National Research Council, 1999; Watson, 2008). This disconnect…

Preparing early childhood providers (ECP) to effectively meet the needs of socioculturally and linguistically diverse children and families is necessary in early childhood personnel preparation and professional development programs (Rueda & Stillman, 2012). However, research shows that many providers continue to have difficulty engaging…