There is a need for school leaders to be able to address barriers that prevent historically marginalized students from being successful in school while also preparing them to be democratic citizens. There is evidence that many school leaders enter the profession underprepared to be able to provide the needed support for equity. This qualitative…

This study employs an integrative review methodology to investigate institutional support mechanisms for students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs), aiming to enhance their educational and career prospects. Extensive analysis of primary sources from databases including Dimension, ERIC, Scopus, Scilit, PubMed, Reference Citation Analysis,…

Recognizing the need to center equity-oriented practices within professional learning--and the challenges of doing so in traditional approaches to professional development--this study traced the experiences of teacher participants in a reimagined design of a teacher learning space. Drawing from narrative inquiry and case study methodologies, this…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the decision-making of executives in higher education institutions with an emphasis on information technology (IT) issues. The study explored decision-making through the lens of Descriptive Decision Theory. The three research questions guiding this study were: (1) How do executive skills…

Research has shown that most STEM doctoral students are not prepared for their future careers. To address this gap, this dissertation explored and made sense of engineering doctoral student experiences related to their development as early career professionals with a variety of future career interests. One consideration embedded throughout the…

This mixed-methods study was conducted at a single urban high school using the Funds of Knowledge Framework. The goal was to understand the feelings of teachers of elective courses regarding instructing multilingual learners in their classroom. The six departments included in this study were art, physical education, music, technology, business,…

Fundraising for higher education institutions continues to increase in importance. Relatedly, turnover among major gift officers may negatively impact institutional fundraising performance. This study investigated if burnout, perceived investment in employee development, employee alumni status of their employing institution, the current receipt of…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to build embedded reflective practices with qualitative data in alignment with existing continuous improvement (CI) for equity processes; and (2) provide professional development (PD) to support educators in using qualitative data sharing processes with the expectation of collective teacher efficacy (CTE)…

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) explored the Dominance Influence Steadiness Conscientiousness (DISC) assessment's reported impact on self-awareness in Ohio National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III (DIII) athletic directors (ADs). Leadership development should be a priority of a leader because it helps ensure…

Within the public school setting, campus administrators are not only expected to serve as instructional leaders for special education teachers but also to provide dedicated support and guidance to those teachers to foster an inclusive and enriching learning environment for students with diverse needs all while fulfilling the legal requirements…

This qualitative study described the lived experiences of twelve Black female principals who currently work in Title I schools. This study set out to determine how they managed their challenges and barriers while leading. Data included one-on-one interviews with participants. The work lives of the participants were situated in Title I schools,…

The problem to be addressed by this study is that Maine's workforce is facing a significant shortage of skilled labor which is impacting the sustainability and growth of Maine's economy. The shortage of skilled workers extends from trades to medical professionals and is worsened by Maine's unique demographical and geographical factors. In response…

In higher education, significant efforts have been made to improve student success outcomes. In this dissertation, two important problems related to student academic success are considered. The curriculum plays a crucial role in shaping student success. Curricular complexity has been shown to be inversely related to the graduation rate of…

The level of supervision an intern receives during an internship has been shown to impact the quality of the student learning experience. However, there is evidence that unpaid undergraduate interns receive less supervision due to a variety of factors. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to understand the relationship that university funds…

Life skills are personal resources that can be trained and applied in a specific situation and transferred to other contexts. The growing body of research has shown that intervention programs produce positive results in learning and transferring life skills. Nonetheless, there is a need to clarify the efficacy of life skills training, namely the…