Student success is an integral part of systemic change research. However, students' lived experiences and voices are often subdued in this programme, leaving the change that occurs to be evaluated upon measures that do not capture a holistic view of the experiences students and their shifting identities during the roll-out of those changes. These…

This qualitative research study addressed a notable gap in existing literature by examining the perceptions and relationship between experiential learning and college and career readiness within the homeschooling context. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 13 homeschooled students from northwestern Florida. To gather data, indepth,…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover, from the First-Year Experience student perspective, how the course might be improved to better meet their needs in the post-pandemic environment. The transitional experiences of first-year college students and best practices for the First-Year Experience course curriculum have…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the implementation of Personality Theory in an upper-elementary classroom would impact the sense of community felt by the students in that class. Both purposive and voluntary sampling were used to identify two teachers willing to undertake the study with their classes. Students were assessed…

Collegiate athletics are vital to higher education. However, student-athletes face the challenge of balancing their dual roles, with their academic identities becoming less salient over time. Despite this, research indicates the benefits of participation in sport, including physiological, psychological, and educational. Additionally, the skills…

Purpose and Method of Study: Using a phenomenological approach, this study explored in-depth the lived experience of United States Military Academy (USMA) cadets participating in a semester abroad program (SAP) to increase knowledge of how such experiences impacted their intercultural effectiveness development. This study added to the knowledge…

The problem addressed in this study was that teachers do not continuously develop self-efficacy as they progress through their preparation programs. One long-standing challenge in teacher preparation is providing adequate opportunities for self-efficacy development. There is a causal correlation between teacher self-efficacy, teacher preparation…

This dissertation explored how 11 college students who self-identified with disabilities made meaning of college experience and how they negotiated dis/abilities in their learning. Their narratives performed counter-narrative of disability in higher education. As scholars and practitioners work to increase educational opportunities for…

This exploratory sequential mixed-methods case study explores the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and faculty mentorship with biomedical sciences graduate students. The intent of the study was to understand the extent at which faculty mentorship contributes to self-efficacy development in the population of biomedical sciences doctoral…

This qualitative research study used an interpretivist approach to examine the following research questions: (a) Do Black students experience intersectionality between their racial and academic identities in Catholic institutions of higher education? (b) Do student academic pathways promote their racial identity? (c) For Black students, do racial…

Scholars like Foa and Mounk (2016) have demonstrated that democracy is feared to be in decline in the United States, especially amongst younger generations. This research study identified lessons learned about building democratic values from community engaged and politically engaged U.S. college students and detected differences in perceptions of…

With the quick rise of social media's popularity among the young, colleges and universities have found ways to use social media to recruit prospective students, engage current students, and connect with former ones. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social media use for varied purposes among a student population often…

This study focuses on better understanding students and their internal worlds through conceptual metaphor theory and sensory language. Using a phenomenological and arts-based approach, I examined students' metaphorical constructions of their college experiences and the sensory language and information informing those constructions. By engaging…

This dissertation explores how varied delivery strategies may influence college student affective learning in a mediated setting. I employed a hybrid-grounded approach to the exploration of student-participant interviews wherein student-participants engaged with one of two online media literacy learning modules. The results of this study…

In this study, I used feminist identity development as a theoretical framework to explore the experiences of 12 college sorority women. Participants shared stories from their college and early life, including the experiences they identified as the most influential to their growth and development. Five main themes of what influenced their feminist…