The purpose of this mixed-methods phenomenological study was to investigate the relationship between professional learning community (PLC) implementation and teachers' perceptions of engagement, professional collaboration, professional growth, and ultimately collective teacher efficacy. This research study collected data from elementary school…

Champion Academy teachers in this mixed methods action research case study illuminate the conditions which support or hinder the process of making collective commitments with "cycles for iterative improvement." The results of the study demonstrate how closely connected process is to outcome in the work of school improvement. Since the…

This study explored the practices and experiences of food resource managers at ten community colleges in the southwestern United States, highlighting their use of food resource rooms to assist food-insecure students. Utilizing the CFIR's domains of intervention source, inner setting, and process, the study probed into the food resource managers'…

As the entry point into higher education for over half of the bachelor's degree earners, (Trapani & Hale, 2019), community colleges are positioned to have a positive impact of bringing a more diverse student group into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. However, the vertical transfer function from community…

The problem addressed in this study was that teachers have been challenged to implement effective strategies in recent years at a local community college in the southern region of the United States with a 47 to 49% student failure rate in developmental English. The purpose was to investigate the challenges encountered by developmental English…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students' experiences transferring to four-year…

The undocumented student experience has been a topic of interest for educational institutions since the passing of AB 540 in 2001 and has become an increasingly prevalent phenomenon amid emergent legislation, ever-changing political climates, and the rise of Dream Centers and undocumented student liaisons across higher education systems. However,…

The purpose of this phenomenological narrative study was to explore why many aged-out foster youth from the Texas and Louisiana foster care system do not complete a high school diploma. The researcher conducted eight interviews with participants who had been in the foster care systems of these states for at least five years. The interviews were…

In October 2022, the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) dashboard reported 5,266 full-time White faculty and 714 Black faculty. Only 10% of full-time curriculum instructors were Black, whereas 82% were White (Admin, 2019). Since Black faculty are underrepresented, their voices are often unheard. This qualitative research described the…

Institutional researchers (IRs) at higher education institutions fulfill a crucial role in identifying, processing, and disseminating data to administrators. Identifying effective ways for leaders to make sense of data is essential to advancing the most critical institutional issues, including achieving equitable student outcomes. However, leaders…

A student's sense of belonging can affect many aspects of their achievements, and their academic and social life (Freeman et al., 2007; Hausman et al., 2007; Hoffman et al., 2002; Strayhorn, 2012). Vaccaro and Newman (2022) contended only by understanding the process of belonging development, one can develop a sense of being as students navigate…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate how community college supervisors in Arizona describe their role in promoting feedback-seeking, reflection, and active experimentation. The theoretical frameworks supporting this study were Bandura's social cognitive theory, Marsick and Watkins informal and incidental learning…

The pre-tenure period for faculty members is often a professionally and personally challenging time. Mentorship and professional development programs serve as an important aid, providing needed support in their pursuit of a positive tenure decision. Institutional faculty mentorship programs often provide this important resource, though their…

The Supporting Older Adults & Caregivers: Integrative Service Learning (SOCIAL) partnership trains undergraduate social work students to provide practical home-based support for older adults with chronic illness and their family caregivers, serving as a pipeline for future leaders in older adult care. More than 2 million older adults are…

ChatGPT's ability to realistically mimic human conversation and its high level of ability to handle linguistic ambiguity opens new and exciting avenues in language learning. Building upon the technical affordances of ChatGPT, this study explores the perceptions of educational affordances when incorporating ChatGPT across languages discussed by…