In this dissertation, I seek to understand whether and how values affirmation could have an impact on the academic performance and psychological well-being of deaf students in secondary deaf schools in Nepal. In Paper 1, I reported findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the impact of values affirmation on the academic performance and…

The purpose of this quantitative action research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an organization-wide book study in the K-12 environment. A growing charter school network was working towards an improved organizational culture to meet its mission. This study examined whether an organization-wide book study can make a difference in…

Students' experiences transitioning from high school to university during their first year are fundamental to their integration and academic progress in higher education; it can determine their success, including completing their degree. This study examined university students' perceptions regarding their experience in a first-year experience…

The work of instructional design in community college settings is woefully understudied. This study documents that work in three community colleges in the southeastern United States while placing it in the theoretical context of neoliberalism, and in line with that theoretical context, takes a post-structuralist stance in its methodological…

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruption across the world. These two studies provide a mixed methods approach to understanding how undergraduate college students at one university were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first, a quantitative study, examines changes in mean, median, and standard deviation of GPAs in the semesters…

Despite the need for a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, Women, Black, Latinx, and Native Americans have been historically excluded and continue to be underrepresented in STEM in the United States (National Center for Science & Engineering Statistics, 2023; National Science Board, 2021). While there…

The Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) program is a welfare-to-work program in Pennsylvania meant to promote financial independence through education. Across the community colleges in the state of Pennsylvania, the KEYS program has often allowed financially disadvantaged students to succeed on par with - and often surpass - their non-KEYS…

"Mattering" is a key component of success for students (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981). For community college students, the classroom plays a critical role in their college experience because community college students spend most of their time on campus (Lundberg, 2014). Among college courses, first-year writing classes hold…

Americans pursue college degrees with hopes that this achievement will open doors and create opportunities for life- and family-sustaining, professional employment. But due to systemic barriers, institutionalized racism and intentional denial and exclusion of women of color, many would-be graduates are still denied access to a college degree…

This qualitative research used Strayhorn's (2019) theoretical framework to explore the lived experiences of selected Black students at a predominately White institution (PWI). This study sought out to understand the race-related experiences of selected Black students at a PWI, then to understand if those experiences have affected their sense of…

This ethnographic study explores the crucial role of family engagement in educational systems and the impact a human-centered design team has on students' success at an elementary school. The research addresses the historical impact of racism and colonization on student outcomes alongside the ongoing challenge of narrowing the opportunity gap.…

First-generation college students are a prominent higher education student population and are well-represented at the community college. Unfortunately, many first-generation community college students do not persist for degree completion. These students face many academic and social challenges that impact their persistence. However, research has…

"Lesson study" has garnered considerable attention from educational researchers and practitioners as a promising method for improving instruction. At its core, lesson study reflects a collaborative inquiry process, grounded in cycles of planning, enacting, and reflecting, that promotes teacher learning through active engagement in lesson…

This article assesses the evolving dimensions of sympathy education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It focuses on the League of Pity, the juvenile branch organisation of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). In its early years the League sought to emphasise Christian service and self-denial,…

Personalized learning (PL) is not new, but it has morphed and re-emerged as an approach that might re-engage today's students in the classroom and better prepare them for college and careers in the 21st century. Amid this re-emergence of personalization is the implementation of new technologies in the classroom. While technology may offer…