This dissertation aims to define the connection between one's perceptions of self and how one conceptualizes leadership. This study first conceptualized my own identity, seeking to connect my past experiences and interactions with others utilizing a term borrowed from Eastern philosophy, samskara, to see how they impact my current practice within…

Pennsylvania's implementation of the Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education (CR-SE) Program Framework Guidelines aimed at eliminating the barriers which prohibit student achievement. These competencies are required to be a part of the preservice teacher training as well as induction programs and continued professional development for…

The purpose of this dissertation is to reflect on and make sense of my practice as a teacher educator. As a response to the growing field of self-study research in the field of teacher education, my study answers the following question: What is my lived experience as a White teacher educator? This research took place during the student teaching…

Homelessness is a global social justice concern. Social work staff at homeless shelters have high turnover and burnout rates, and have little to no experience with the homeless population. In this study, a professional development training on self-awareness was given to social work staff using social justice theory, a disaster resilience education…

Increased global migration and a myriad of other social and political factors has made today's universities more diverse than ever. As a result, teachers in higher education regularly find multilingual learners from a variety of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their classrooms and must consider this diversity in their teaching.…

For many learning differences, such as dyslexia, ADHD, and autism, there is a growing understanding of the benefits of those diverse brain wirings; however, research into dyscalculia is lagging behind, and there is limited knowledge that supports a strength-based view and recognition of its potential positive characteristics. Twice-exceptional…

Drawing from queer perspectives, critical and abolitionist teaching and practices, and somatic embodiment, my dissertation calls attention to historically embedded practices of the invisible and every practice of the lived experience. My dissertation explores the development and rendering of learning design encompassing cognition and intellect as…

Much public discourse surrounds the intractable problem for some community college students in attaining a bachelor's degree through vertical transfer. Scholars have found 80% of entering community college students plan to transfer, yet this intent to transfer is somehow diverted for most (Jenkins & Fink, 2016). Although a new report showed an…

International students are a significant yet often misapprehended segment of the American undergraduate student population. While recent literature has become more inclusive of international student voices, the lived experiences and identities of international undergraduate students have not been holistically explored in academe. This qualitative…

High school students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) are more likely than their non-LGBTQ+ peers to experience victimization, bullying, and are at a high rate for experiencing suicidal thoughts. The purpose of this study is to better understand positive and affirming experiences related to a…

This empirical study explores how international school directors find novel ways to develop and lead through ambiguity. The research examines whether and how international school leaders' abilities to perceive, experience, and navigate ambiguity are linked to their stage of ego development. It investigates what kinds of internal and external…

Design schools represent a unique context for the study of creativity. Design school students are expected to master creativity by developing individualized processes. Student development in the design classroom has traditionally focused on cultivating professional skills and aptitudes. However, design school students may have long-held beliefs…

This study assesses the effectiveness of the curriculum for an online professional development training designed to support people working in the helping professions gain greater self-awareness about how they respond to stress and trauma in the midst of emotionally charged interactions. The training utilizes an existential, developmental, and…

Positive classroom climates set a foundation for equitable educational opportunities and, ultimately, social change (Whipp, 2013). This multi-modal two-phase study examined teacher candidate orientation of knowledge authority in creating a classroom environment marked by respectful relationships and genuine rapport at differing thresholds of field…

There is a growing interest in socially engaged engineering, which emphasizes the consideration of social, cultural, environmental, and economic factors to broadly benefit society. However, current workforce training and engineering education programs do not adequately support skill sets needed to link complex societal needs and contexts to design…