Although considerable research has focused on equity within policy approaches or policy outcomes, how equity is situated during the development phase of policymaking has received less attention. The purpose of this research was to explore the possible connections between equity and institutional policymaking in higher education through a case…

State governments are regularly reexamining the statewide board governance arrangements over public higher education, enacting governance reforms that change the structure or authority granted to boards by state legislatures. While previous research has studied governance reforms, there is a lack of recent studies on such reforms and what…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to understand how leaders at two community colleges that participated in Guided Pathways used early momentum metrics (EMMs) to change institutional policies or practices to improve student success and degree completion rates. By focusing on EMMs as short-term indicators, leaders could track…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) students have unique needs when attending American community colleges. The purpose of this dissertation is to identify current policies and practices of community colleges when working with transgender students, explore best practices when it comes to serving…

This case study identifies college outcomes data transparency and accountability beliefs held by policy-makers, higher education associations, advocacy groups, think tanks, and other actors in the federal higher education policy domain, as well as how these beliefs have changed since the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 2008.…

Education reform is a contested and complicated terrain where multiple stakeholders with competing visions seek to influence the direction of reform in alignment with their own interests. As a result of these competing visions, education policy is not value free or neutral and favors those who hold the political and economic power to maintain the…

School choice has influenced several educational reforms in the US and across the world in the last decades. These reforms have often promoted school autonomy, parental choice, and competition between schools to improve quality and equity. Whether those reforms work in practice is well examined, but the roles of policy design such as the extent to…

Within the context of the U.S., there has always existed a parasitic dynamic between the white and the Black, where Black is relegated to a structural antagonism by the white. Research within education that has taken up the issue race and racism has resulted in preoccupations with examining the academic achievement gap, and pursuits of racial…

The purpose of this dissertation was to scrutinize the complexities involved in the formulation and implementation of relevant policies. The design of each study mirrored key elements in the legislative life cycle specifically as it pertained to civics education policymaking, including problem identification, policy creation, and policy diffusion.…

This dissertation investigated the development of stereotypes surrounding public school children in Brazil, primarily focusing on poor students of Afro descent. It explored how these stereotypes have influenced education policymaking and examined the efforts of Darcy Ribeiro and Paulo Freire to challenge these prevailing notions. Employing…

An institution of higher education holds certain beliefs about the personal growth of students while they are enrolled. The behavior prohibited within the student misconduct policies reflect the norms within the larger society as well as the expectations specific to the learning environment within the institution. Students adhering to the…

Closing equity gaps in the higher education sector is a long-standing issue. This issue has become exacerbated with the impact of COVID-19 and racial injustices happening across America. Now more than ever it has become imperative to use participatory action research to understand how leaders make meaning of their student success landscape and use…

Quality physical education, pivotal for the development of physical, social, and emotional skills for an active and healthy lifestyle (Society of Health and Physical Educators [SHAPE] America, 2014; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2021), has been globally marginalized, necessitating a heightened focus on…

In many countries, teacher evaluation has been viewed as a policy lever to improve the quality of teaching and student achievement. Recent research suggests that teacher evaluation can also be implemented as a mechanism for professional growth with careful consideration of the organizational context. However, few studies have examined the way in…

This dissertation systematically explores the origins and evolution of the charter school movement in the United States from 1985 to 2015. I begin by analyzing the role of governors in K-12 education policymaking and find that while governors have generally placed greater emphasis on K-12 education policy over time, Republican governors have…