This dissertation is an invitation into our beloved biology classroom. Weaving hermeneutic phenomenology and critical participatory teacher action research, this study investigated self as teacher and two cohorts of student participants in a high school biology experience utilizing an 'Aina Aloha praxis. Articulating my ongoing 'Aina Aloha praxis,…

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore the conceptual knowledge of engineering faculty regarding STEM identity and how they promote undergraduate women's STEM identity in the classroom. Interviews with faculty were grounded in Collins' contextual model of Black student STEM identity and were analyzed inductively and deductively.…

Professional advocacy is central to the counselor's professional identity and is essential for counselors to maintain the privilege of serving clients. Despite CACREP requirements for programs to provide training in professional advocacy, counseling students may need more training in this area. This quantitative study examined professional…

This paper describes a community based learning project organized to improve students' understanding of the structural components of homelessness, reduce stereotypes, and encourage students to engage in social justice activism on behalf of the homeless. This paper explains the goals of this project, student outcomes, research findings, and the…

This research explores the acquisition of soft skills in a service learning project in the Complutense University of Madrid's library and information science undergraduate program. Reaching its fifth edition in 2021-22, the project aimed to integrate older persons into the social fabric of a residential enclave of Madrid known as "Parque…

Preservice teachers often have low post-school expectations for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), although the stated goal of special education is to increase those very outcomes. However, setting high expectations and learning the accompanying soft skills is a complex skill set to include in special education…

National efforts to reform undergraduate education have highlighted the need to relate abstract concepts in biology to real-world examples, especially for non-majors who may undervalue scientific processes. We therefore decided to introduce a module titled "Climate Change, Sustainable Practices and Plastic Pollution," utilizing such…

A four-week global interdisciplinary service-learning project to Botswana, was developed to increase cultural humility and cross-cultural communication skills in 12 current and future educators of children with autism and developmental disabilities. Participants worked alongside peer educators in eight different special education units across…

This study examines whether human-centered design may be a useful approach for training interdisciplinary teams to innovatively address homelessness. This case study examines the implementation of a 10-week graduate seminar in which students worked with youths experiencing homelessness to develop solutions to building social connections. The study…

The purpose of this study was to determine what factors really matter to faculty at a teaching institution in deciding whether or not to use community-based learning (CBL) in their classrooms. The Web-based Faculty Service Learning Beliefs Inventory (wFSLBI), developed and used with faculty at a research university, was administered to faculty at…

This new report from the Center for Educational Equity offers insights into the resources and practices necessary to prepare students for civic participation in accordance with students' constitutional rights. The pilot study on which the report is based documented major disparities in learning opportunities among the study schools, including in…

Reflection is an increasingly essential component of experience-based learning in higher education to encourage students to draw connections between theoretical and practical knowledge and experiences. This qualitative study examines the reflections of undergraduate students in a service-learning course for secondary English teacher candidates.…

For a university service learning educational research project addressing Legionnaires' disease (LD), a Yes/No questionnaire on community awareness of LD was developed and distributed in an urban community in North Carolina, USA. The 456 questionnaires completed by the participants were sorted into yes and no sets based on responses obtained to…

To investigate whether the structured and applied nature of a service learning method results in changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding working with underserved populations, the Service Learning Instrument-Health Professional (SLI-HP) was designed. This instrument measures both student experiences and changes in attitudes, skills,…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to investigate the perceived state of civics education as viewed by practicing teachers in three large high schools (each with a student enrollment of at least 2,200) in the midwestern and southeastern United States, in an effort to discover what teachers in different geographical regions deem…