Undergraduate applied saxophone study revolves around the conservatory model. This inflexible model, often referred to as a master-apprentice relationship, can create an instructor-centric power dynamic which does not address the needs of the modern student. A classroom where the power lies so heavily with the instructor can stifle student…

This paper examines the communication patterns of an academic program and the power dynamics between faculty, staff, and student workers. This study utilized participatory action research and consisted of two cycles of data collection. Additionally, this study relied heavily on current research and findings for nonacademic programs like libraries…

This executive summary presents the findings and recommendations of a study on the cultural proficiency and culturally responsive pedagogy of educators. While teachers demonstrate a strong commitment to cultural proficiency and equity, it is implied that there is still room for improvement in areas such as conflict resolution and acknowledging…

Historically marginalized students, especially urban students attending under-resourced schools, experience lower levels of belongingness than their white peers in suburban, well-resourced schools. Much research highlights that student belongingness increases student outcomes such as on-time graduation, standardized test achievement, and lifetime…

This study applies critical theory to examine the relationship that exists between teachers and students in the classroom and whether the classroom is a microcosm of social injustice, replicating the inequities between those in a position of power and those that are subject to them. The purpose of the study was to expose gaps in current practices…

This dissertation explores new possibilities for researching and representing community-engaged curriculum and pedagogical practices among faculty and their doctoral students. Community-engagement is (re)imagined within nonfiction-fiction writing to provide a line of inquiry that integrates data and theory (Jackson & Mazzei, 2017). I probe,…

This single-case case study explores the experiences of eight public school educators in the St. Louis area who support English Learners (ELs) and participate in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The public school system was not designed to support the diversity it is currently experiencing, and educators want to be able to support…

The purpose of learning analytics is to improve and optimize learning using student data (Siemens, 2013). An early alert warning is learning analytics designed to promote student success (Baneres et al., 2019; Foung, 2019; Lawson et al., 2016; Villano et al., 2018). An early alert has an intervention component that includes, at minimum, an email…

Oppressive social systems are structures and institutions within society that systematically and unjustly restrict the rights, opportunities, and overall well-being of certain groups (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Feagin, 2013). The current program of research aims to investigate how oppressive social systems impact individuals and explore strategies to…

This qualitative case study explores Ghanaian graduate students' social and cultural experiences in a technology-mediated learning environment at a southwestern university. Whereas most studies predominantly focus holistically on international students' experiences in the US, and researchers give little attention to nationals from sub-Saharan…

In an increasingly diverse nation, rife with racial unrest and systemic inequities, it is the responsibility of educators to ensure the academic equity of all students. This participatory action research (PAR) sought to incorporate student voice into a culturally responsive coaching cycle in order to create equity and shared power between students…

This qualitative phenomenological study looked at how female faculty in higher education who teach high-stakes courses may experience a role of academic momism (AM) and how they negotiate their roles and responses within a patriarchal system. Gender bias and prescriptive stereotyping of women as communal may lead female STEM instructors to be…

The study used an arts-informed narrative inquiry design to better understand the perspectives and experiences of a former K-12 public school student (Haley) with a 504 plan and an emotional disability when navigating structures of authority in schools, in order to uncover factors that may facilitate or prevent stigmatization toward the population…

The purpose of this study was to understand how Puente Project community college faculty experience and conceptualize carino in the Puente Summer Institute training context and how carino is enacted with students. In this research, I used a grounded theory approach informed by culturally relevant and carino pedagogies as conceptual frameworks to…

Today, teachers around the world are facing tremendous challenges in not only being responsive to their students' learning needs and strengths, but also in preparing them for an increasingly globalized world (Byker & Ezelle, 2021). Language teachers are often in a pivotal position to address such issues about equity because of the subject they…