This doctoral study collected and analyzed the narratives of four adult professionals who work to reduce truancy in school-age children grades K-12. Truancy is a complex issue that has far-reaching consequences for all stakeholders from the single student up through the collective society at large. While truancy studies can be found in the…

This project aimed to understand the relationship between theoretical interpretations of multiple values and ideas of the universities from within and across different disciplines and their influence on higher education and its internationalisation within the real international organisation (IO) policy context. With this foundation, I derived a…

White individuals can play a key role in the realization of an education policy and can drastically impact how a policy is implemented because of their resources and the status that come with associating with the privileged racial group in the current racial hierarchy that exists in the United States. Several education policies, such as school…

Despite increasing interest in broadening diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in engineering, its student population remains relatively homogenous. Across higher education, disabled people continue to be a largely ignored and marginalized population. The experiences of the disabled community are notably absent from DEI efforts in…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to examine the power differentials that manifest within Kansas public higher education due to policies surrounding territory assignments and degree offerings for Kansas two-year community and technical colleges. The study provides insight into the differential effects of these policies among different…

Little scholarship exists on administrators' perceptions of censorship in specific districts and schools. I studied secondary administrators' perceptions of censorship in one, Midwestern suburban school district and how their perceptions and experiences affect their policy-making practices. Grounded in an anti-censorship stance, I conducted a…

A qualitative case study approach was employed to explore the perspectives of stakeholders affiliated with an inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) program for students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) in the pacific northwestern United States. Utilizing Artiles' (2009) cultural-historical paradigm, three research…

This dissertation critically examines the Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act (READ Act) through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis, focusing on the discursive construction of the Act and its impact on educational opportunities for multilingual learners. The study explores the role of power and knowledge in shaping the READ…

Native Hawaiians have long been underrepresented among Hawai?i's university graduates, yet there is a dearth of studies that explore factors that have contributed to these disparities. My dissertation investigated how multiple factors: prejudices among education administrators, erasures of early advocates from dominant narratives, and failures to…

Schools are recognized as sites where raciolinguistic ideologies operate, impacting Spanish- and African American Vernacular English-speaking students' education. However, it is often assumed that Indian American students are unaffected by these ideologies. This is fueled by headlines about Indian Americans excelling at spelling bee competitions,…

This study identifies that student disciplinary policies at tax-supported universities are connected to legal frameworks that reinforce white racial privilege and seeks to identify how these frameworks (re)create performative whiteness in such policies. Using a Critical Race Theory framework and a hybrid Critical whiteness Methodology/Critical…

At present, California community colleges serve a large proportion of Black students, but these students are not adequately supported to reach their educational goals (The Campaign for College Opportunity, 2019; National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2022; Cross & Carman, 2022 Simpson, J., & Bista, K., 2021). Extensive research…

This qualitative narrative inquiry study examined the narratives and experiences of White women admissions officers at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and explored how they engaged with the development of their white racial identity throughout their professional careers. Using Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) and Helms' (1990) white racial…

Myanmar has been undertaking education reforms since 2012. Tensions have arisen between central-level policymakers and teachers' union leaders regarding the implementation of some reforms. While this give-and-take between policymakers and teacher activists has been reported somewhat in the news media, the academic literature on these developments…

The current study explored the relationship between test-based accountability and teachers' involvement in school-level decision-making and classroom autonomy, examining how this varied by country, specifically in the United States, Australia, South Korea, and Japan. Additionally, the study investigated whether this relationship differs based on…