Scholars have long urged teacher educators to engage in policy advocacy and to respond to mounting attacks on the teacher education field. Prior research has shown that teacher educators feel largely unprepared to participate in policy debates. This observation raises the question of how those who do engage in advocacy learn to navigate the…

The journey of Black women into senior leadership roles within higher education institutions is characterized by a complex interplay of personal and professional realms shaped by the intersecting forces of racism and sexism. This dissertation examined the lived experiences of these trailblazing leaders, revealing the systemic barriers they…

This qualitative, descriptive study explored the experiences of college students with Deaf, deaf, and Hard of Hearing (D/d/HH) hearing difficulties within online learning environments (OLEs). This study used an inclusive and equitable theoretical framework of connectivism to address audism and the marginalization of college students with D/d/HH.…

Background: K-12 students have experienced increases in the amount of hate crimes and prejudice they encounter. School counselors are well-positioned to reduce oppression in schools, but often lack the means to develop advocacy skills that would do so. Objectives: We implemented the School Counselor Equity Fellowship (SCEF), a yearlong…

Using Moustakas's modification of Van Kaam's systematic procedures for conducting transcendental phenomenological research, we explored ballet culture and identity and their impact on ballet dancers' mental health. Participants included four current professional ballet dancers and four previous professionals. Four main themes emerged: (a) ballet…

Accessible and inclusive participation in sport can provide significant physical, psychological, and social benefits to Deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) athletes. To understand how to facilitate these benefits, the researchers explored the lived physical education and sport experiences of D/HH collegiate athletes. Six athletes representing six…

While there is an urgency to offer graduate students' inter-professional education (IPE) in child advocacy, there are no templates for educators to utilize. Participants (n=34), inclusive of students, community stakeholders, and faculty from a northeastern university, participated in focus groups to describe what IPE should entail. Grounded theory…

Latiné migrant youth are a unique population of students with complex academic and social-emotional experiences. Those experiences are enhanced by several factors including strong family connections, commitment to educational success, and overall resilience. There are also systemic issues that may cause instability to migrant youth due to limited…

It is known that Florida school employees known as Migrant Advocates facilitate or broker MSF health care access for migrant and seasonal farmworker (MSF) families, but it is not known how states without a Migrant Education Program might also broker MSF health care access. To address this, present study examines the role of school employees in…

Purpose: This study measured between-groups differences in perceived speech skills and personality characteristics of a 12-year-old male child who stutters (CWS) as a function of a written factual stuttering disclosure statement, delivered by the CWS, his "mother," or his "teacher." Method: Four hundred twenty-four college-age…

In the context of ongoing antagonism on college campuses, attacks on Critical Race Theory, and widespread backlash against racial justice initiatives, this paper underscores the growing need to recognize co-optation and other counterinsurgent strategies used against racial justice to make room for transformative scholarship. By presenting…

Regardless of entry point, nearly all potential speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States (US) share the experience of navigating the arduous application process for graduate school. For students of color, especially first-generation students, this application process can serve to cause them to question whether they belong in the…

Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study explored the unique experiences, needs, challenges, and coping mechanisms of six Muslim-American students attending public high schools in the Midwestern United States. Three distinct themes emerged from the participants' interviews and artifacts: (a) climate: experiences of school…

Given that teachers are critical to creating safe and supportive learning environments, it is essential to better understand how K-12 educators are being prepared in their teacher education programs to address LGBTQ issues and topics in curriculum and instruction, and the needs of LGBTQ students. Thus, the current study examines the state of…

Calls to improve relationships between research and practice abound, among them efforts to help researchers to work in partnership with and communicate more effectively with policy and practice audiences, informing those that govern and design educational policies and those charged with implementation in schools and classrooms, respectively. These…