College student activists catalyze reform on campus and beyond--yet, we know little about how these students perceive mattering on campus. Given that mattering is linked to positive student outcomes, educator commitment to caring for student activists is critical. This work, grounded in semistructured interviews and a constructivist lens, explored…

Situating residential colleges on a common map can provide important information about the community and its residents. Residential colleges (RCs), a subset of living-learning communities, are like the houses in Hogwarts from the Harry Potter book series, where students live together, share meals in a common space, and learn with and among each…

This study draws on interviews and classroom observations with Latinx, English Learners (ELs) at a high school in Southeastern Virginia to analyze how this group of students builds social connections and constructs "belonging" at school. Findings indicate that these EL students' school experiences are framed by underdeveloped and ad hoc…

High-ability and gifted students are well-served by a focus on the development of community. The Academic Year Governor's Schools of Virginia were created with a formalized emphasis on the network of relationships built among the students, faculty, and the larger community. The power of these communities of learners was evident in a study of the…

Implementation of blended teaching (BT) practices is in- creasing rapidly in K-12 classrooms. This trend creates an urgent need for professional development to support BT. An understanding of how experienced teachers implement BT can inform teacher educators and professional development leaders as they develop training to support this practice. We…

Adult learners have different needs than traditional college-aged students. We present the first-year results of a targeted learning community for high-achieving, low-income engineering and engineering technology adult students. Students in this project received academic support and mentorship to prepare them for entering the engineering…

This action research investigated Chinese international students' motivational/demotivational factors and their perspectives on Virginia Tech's non-mandatory events. The theoretical framework guided the research questions, literature reviews, and data design collection/analysis process. The self-determination theory provided the primary…

The purpose of this case study was to analyze the school culture of an arts-integrated, urban middle school in Richmond, Virginia. Four teacher interview questions and classroom and school observations were conducted based on two contributing factors in shaping school culture (visions and values and physical environment). The findings of this…

Attrition among educators is a continuing concern in the area of special education. Job satisfaction has been associated with teacher burnout and teacher attrition. Many times, multiple educators work in a close environment creating a need for community in special education. The purpose of this study is to identify differences in job satisfaction…

Undergraduate experiences can have a profound impact on a student's emotional connection and affinity for their alma mater. For many graduates, involvement experiences like student organizations, membership in fraternities and sororities, and on-campus jobs can become an ingrained part of the individual's social identity. This phenomenological…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of alumni of color in two graduate programs at a predominantly white institution (PWI) in rural Virginia. Through an electronic survey, alumni from a communication sciences and disorders (CSD) program and an educational leadership program reflected on their perceptions of their program's…

In 2017, Longwood University launched the LIFE STEM Program, a holistic program girded by best practices in STEM teaching: cohorts of students, summer bridge program, genuine community building, intentional faculty-student mentoring, focused academic support and professional development, early research experiences, engagement with challenging…

Research pertaining to institutions of public education reveals that curricular structures often function to produce and reproduce systemic inequalities. The following personal statement outlines a middle school teacher's attempt to address social reproduction in public education. By situating issues of inequity within a local context of…

A causal comparative research design was utilized in this study to examine the relationship between international students' perceptions of teacher presence in the online learning environment and students' achievement as measured by end of course grades. Spearman's analysis indicated no statistically significant correlation between the composite…

Assessment is a cyclical process within which educators construct outcomes, implement programs, assess constructs such as learning, evaluate results, and utilize results to craft stronger programs and services. Within educational and faculty development, assessment measures program impact on faculty, students, and/or institutional culture.…