Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a framework that incorporates assessments and interventions to reduce behavior issues and increase student achievement. Schools utilize Response-to-Intervention (RTI), a multi-tiered approach, to support students with academic and behavioral needs. School and district leaders in rural contexts face…

Creative Youth Development (CYD) is a holistic approach to engaging young people through the arts and creativity to support them in thriving in all aspects of their lives. Young people consistently rank culminating events -- performances, exhibitions, youth summits, screenings of their films -- as a powerful motivator and key aspect of their…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education is being widely studied. However, research on its effect on tutoring is relatively sparse. Furthermore, no study places existing studies in dialogue with each other. This study synthesizes ten international articles on higher education tutoring during the pandemic. This review found changes…

The Division of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services at Old Dominion University (ODU) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine the challenges sophomore students face that can lead to attrition. A doctoral research team conducted an exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study consisting of a literature review, focus groups and…

Background: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) are prevalent among American college students, yet only a small percentage of suicidal college students receive mental health treatment. Many avoid seeking help due to help-negation or the refusal to seek available mental health help when needed. To better understand why suicidal college students…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how female veterans who have successfully graduated from a higher education institution describe the challenges encountered and the factors which helped them complete their college degrees across the United States. For this study, the theoretical framework was Schlossberg's adult…

This dissertation answers the following research question: How does Christian hegemony influence sense of belonging for students of minoritized religions on a college campus? Institutions of higher education claim to be secular and inclusive spaces for their students (Jacobsen & Jacobsen, 2012; Joshi, 2020; Jun et al., 2018; Lang &…

While women may occupy the majority of administrative roles on college campuses, the glass ceiling persists as an obstacle for female leaders aspiring to the presidency (Warner et al., 2018). The American Council on Education (ACE, 2017a) reports that as of 2016, women represented 30% of college presidents in the United States. Although the number…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented disruptions in education, as schools were forced to make a rapid transition to virtual learning in March 2020. Students' motivation seemed to decline significantly during and after this virtual learning period, which ranged from months to over a year in various areas of the United States. This…

This descriptive, mixed methods research study examined how elementary teachers describe their writing instruction. One hundred and sixty-eight elementary teachers from across the Commonwealth of Virginia completed a survey about their writing instruction. Additionally, I interviewed 16 teachers, two teachers from each of the eight superintendent…

Tennessee educational leaders initially implemented Response to Instruction and Intervention for the same reason other states across the nation adopted the framework; to identify students with specific learning disability. In 2014, Tennessee restructured the Response to Instruction and Intervention model to move from the traditional three-tiered…

The purpose of my study was to understand the perceptions of first-generation female doctoral students (FGFDS) and what factors may impact first-generation female doctoral students' completion of their doctoral program. As the researcher, I collected data through: (a) interviews; (b) participant generated photographs; (c) the group meeting; and…

Gifted Education (GE) stands as an area with clear underrepresentation and disproportionality of Black and/or African American students (Erwin & Worrell, 2012; Ford et al., 2016, 2020; Grissom & Redding, 2016; Hodges et al., 2018). Underrepresentation and disproportionality of Black students indicate that the racial demographics of GE…

In 2014, the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) released the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) to encourage excellence in fine arts education and to support educators in implementing best practices. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and explore elementary music teachers' lived experiences regarding…

In this study, the experiences of Black-African international college students (BAIS) in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the experiences of BAIS in Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs) in the United States was explored. This study reveals the narratives of BAIS regarding their racial acculturation…