This thesis consists of two projects I worked on simultaneously throughout my PhD. Although neither project builds on the other, both investigate social systems as networks, and draw on a common set of statistical tools and methods.In the first project, I analyse the academic employment and doctoral education of tenure- track faculty at all…

This study employs social network analysis (SNA) to identify influential individuals and their communication patterns within Chinese schools in Wenzhou. The research also aims to reveal communication and advice-seeking patterns that significantly impact the overall distributed leadership structure and practices within the schools. The study…

Strong evidence suggests that U.S. high schools are falling short of graduating college- and career-ready students, giving rise to calls for more focus on the factors that impact students' success in college and career. The main purpose of this research was to identify the impact of social support networks on college readiness across genders in…

Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has investigated college students' friendships and how these relationships can both enable and constrain students' success. I review this body of literature, describing the characteristics and processes of college students' friendships. First, I review work that describes characteristics of…

Agricultural Education relies heavily on national and state professional associations to serve School Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) teachers. Because there is not 100% membership in these organizations across the country, it is vital to learn what is holding teachers back from joining and identify the needs of current members to encourage…

This study investigated the perception of pre-service science teachers on the effect of the ban on Twitter- use in Nigeria in building learning communities, linkages, and accessing information. While the ban was predicated on allegations of hijack of the microblogging site for negative activities, there were outcries of its impact on learners who…

This study aimed to determine the difference in students' level of understanding before and after using synchronous and asynchronous network learning modes. This quantitative study employed a quasi-experimental research design. Data were obtained from 87 students who were divided into two experimental groups. The results show a higher level of…

Purpose: The Women in Leadership Development (WLD) Initiative is a year-long, multifaceted co-curricular leadership development opportunity created to support the unique developmental needs of emerging women leaders. WLD was intentionally designed around the context of second-generation gender bias with a firm grounding of research and theory on…

Demand for cybersecurity professionals from industry and institutions is high, driven by an increasing digitization of society and the growing range of potential targets for cyber attacks. However, despite this pressing need a significant shortfall in the number of cybersecurity experts remains and a discrepancy has emerged between the skills…

Promoting progressive discourse and sustained inquiry is a focus area of knowledge building research. Although different approaches for scaffolding productive discourse have been documented, the experimental investigation into the impact of teacher scaffolding on students' knowledge building processes and outcomes in technology-supported…

Chinese international students' well-being is an important part to notice with the rapid number of Chinese international students (CIS) in the U.S. and the increasing number of depressions in college. A systematic review of articles using analytical methods was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. 1600 studies were initially reviewed from…

The ability of individuals to excel in one's careers is termed as career adaptability. People with a high level of career adaptability score tend to showcase better overall control over their careers. In this study, we have explored the precedents that predict career adaptability. We collected data from 330 students of graduation, post-graduation,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between school-based racial discrimination by teachers and peers and academic outcomes (i.e., classroom misconduct, absenteeism, academic performance, school readiness, and school behavioral problems) over one year (Time 2) through the moderation of perceived social support from…

Purpose: This article examines the role the Australian Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) played in international education through the provision of trade union courses and exchanges. We consider how an investigation of trade union networks contributes to a richer understanding of international education linkages. Design/methodology/approach:…

Although there has been much research on second language learning, minimal literature reports how language learners learn multiple foreign languages through immersion. Further, a majority of these previous studies have been conducted using exclusively quantitative methods. In response to these empirical and methodological gaps, the current study…