The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the administrative law that governs special education services and how students with disabilities should be educated. When students are found eligible for special education and related services, the law states that the general education classroom should be the first placement considered where…

A mixed methods study was conducted to create pedagogical practices to help teachers identify ways of better accommodating students who have been impacted with trauma. Findings suggest that both veteran, as well as entry leveled teachers had insufficient training when it came to trauma informed care, social-emotional learning, and knowledge of the…

"Statement of the Problem": Almost half of children in the United States have been exposed to childhood trauma (McIntosh, 2019). Discipline practices in many schools are often ineffective with and inappropriate for students who have experienced trauma. For example, students who are disciplined in traditional ways often continue to…

Modern higher education institutions must contend with a litany of cyber threats, regulations, and environmental dynamics. These institutions are increasingly being targeted due to the value of the data they possess and their historically permissive configurations that are intended to support academic freedom. Many universities are implementing…

This qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of disabled student activists involved in the creation of disability cultural centers (DCCs) on college and university campuses in the United States. The main purpose is to advance recognition of disability as a marginalized student identity on college campuses in need of safe spaces…

At the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, commuter students make up the majority of the currently enrolled student population. The majority population has expressed their dissatisfaction about co-curricular and social activities and a diminished sense of belonging and inclusion. The focus of this dissertation is on the Greensburg Experiences…

Moral decision-making models in game environments have been increasingly reported in research. These models, however, focus on identifying affordances and goals of games and educational interventions rather than tracing the process of moral decision-making in game worlds. This dissertation study addresses this gap in the literature by presenting…

Rape myths are cultural narratives that are deeply entrenched in societal beliefs about sexual assault (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995). Rape myths with female victims typically suggest the victim "asked for it" while rape myths regarding the sexual assault of men typically deny the existence of male rape. Furthermore, male rape myths…

This study focused on understanding the circumstances that led to students being placed on academic probation and the effect of a support program on their academic recovery. Understanding students lived experiences that lead to academic underperformance is vital to the development and implementation of academic support programs. Ensuring that the…

This dissertation explores the development and implementation of a community-based educational program, iDREAM, aimed at teaching minoritized youth about Artificial Intelligence (AI) with an emphasis on ethics and social justice. Partnering with two NGOs, this study integrates Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) and Critical Computational…

For this study, I used a quantitative design to examine Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers' perceptions of coaching within the State of Tennessee during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. The purpose of the study was to describe whether coaching sessions in the state of Tennessee altered CTE teachers' instructional practices, CTE…

The intent of this study was to address a problem of practice in an elementary school setting in order to provide opportunities for students with significant impairments to be educated in the least restrictive environment. Three research questions guided the study: How effectively has Be Your Best Elementary School (BYBES) developed and…

This research examined school personnel's strategies and practices responsible for increasing student science proficiency at a certified rural high school STEM program. In the United States, difficulties have developed in adequately preparing students for careers in STEM sectors, especially in secondary education. This trend has led to increased…

Writing centers and writing programs, as well as the role of their administrators, are shaped by historical and disciplinary factors that have been closely examined by scholars over the last half century. However, the role of institutionality in writing center and writing program administration (WPA) studies has been ignored in much of the…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe how one interdisciplinary program that used an authentic learning approach may have developed global competence in students. This study explored how teachers planned and implemented a global competence program and how students perceived their acquisition of global competence. I used an…