This phenomenological study of cross-cultural mentoring is set in an online health workforce development program for youth from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URIM). The purpose of this study is to understand how personal and contextual factors influence the experiences of medical student mentors. This study provides insights into how…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of identity negotiation and capital in the context of first-generation college students' use of supports in community college and four-year institutions. The study followed Merriam's and Tisdell's (2016) basic interpretive design as the methodological approach. A sample of 17 participants were…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how academics in the United States described their social media self-presentations (SMSPs) in the context of imagined surveillance. Moral Reasoning Theory drove two RQs: (1) How do academics describe construction of SMSPs in the context of imagined surveillance? (2) How do academics…

Asian American women who choose a career in student affairs within the field of higher education are severely underrepresented in both staff positions and top officer/administrator positions compared to White women and other women of color. As the Asian American college student population continues to rise and women make up the majority of…

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are increasingly selecting to participate in postsecondary education. These individuals often face a number of challenges and barriers to success resulting in poor persistence and completion rates. For institutions of higher education, it is imperative that appropriate supports be put in place and…

Starting in the early 1980's, the environmental justice (EJ) movement was critical in drawing much needed attention to how communities of color, low-income groups, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups have experienced a disproportionate burden of environmental and ecological harms. The EJ movement sparked the birth of the EJ field of…

Experience influences one's beliefs, and ultimately, the way in which one views the world (Dugan, 2017). Due to the nature of school counselors' intimate interactions with students, self-awareness can be paramount in guiding school counselors in recognizing how their personal experiences may unwittingly influence their professional practices (Foxx…

Students with Learning disabilities and at risk for reading difficulties often face challenges in reading fluency and comprehension that impact negatively on academic success. Repeated reading (RR) is an intervention designed to increase reading fluency and comprehension skills among students at risk and diagnosed with disabilities. The purpose of…

While many education researchers have characterized the impromptu nature of classroom teaching as "improvisation," few studies of teacher education or professional development (PD) have examined the potential of improvisation workshops for equipping teachers to face unforeseen classroom moments productively. In this dissertation, I…

Despite the fact that high-quality preschool education is empirically acknowledged to facilitate short- and long-term personal, social, cognitive, and economic benefits, the professionals who teach preschool experience overwhelmingly poor working conditions that have historically been present as the role of childcare worker persisted throughout…

In our current socio-ecological and political realities, educational systems must be transformed to align with ongoing social, environmental, and climate justice movements. In particular, these movement spaces offer guiding principles regarding the interconnectedness of oppressive structures and the possibilities of moving toward more just and…

According to data from U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2018, it is estimated that there are 1,308,100 paraeducators employed in public schools in the United States. Despite the prevalence of paraeducators, these employees receive limited opportunity for training. In addition, there is little guidance from the Department of Education or…

First-year students enrolling into higher education institutions experience multiple transitions requiring the support of student success programs. Students who enter college undecided about a major face additional hurdles to their success and may experience low academic self-efficacy as a result. A strengths-based approach to assisting these…

In this qualitative case study of a district-led, school leader preparation program in Tennessee during the 2021-2022 school year, I sought to reveal district stakeholder perceptions using an open-ended questionnaire, on the design, possible benefits, and possible challenges of the district's Associate Principal Program. For this study,…

Instructional coaching has been implemented in schools to improve student achievement; however, literature shows a lack of evidence of the efficacy of improving student reading achievement. The problem addressed in this study was that school districts have implemented instructional coaching to improve student reading achievement, but the…