The purpose of this action research study was to examine the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational culture at a small institution of higher education. Various forms of data were collected using semi-structured interviews, surveys, collaborative work sessions, written feedback, and document analysis. Collaborative…

Misinformation is one society's most pressing issues, spreading division and chaos across the globe. Videogames have become one of the more promising mediums for misinformation interventions, teaching players common falsehood indicators and helping them develop their discernment abilities. This thesis details the design, playtesting, and…

All in-service teachers in PK-12 public school systems must participate in professional development sessions. Professional development can negatively affect many teachers but serves an essential purpose in improving education. Social learning theories can help shape practical professional development sessions. This quantitative study focused on…

The Professional Marketing Association was experiencing decreased engagement in its Chartered Marketer professional program. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine stakeholders' expectations of online engagement and determine actionable recommendations that can be used to increase engagement in the Chartered Marketer program. The…

Becoming a counselor educator is a complex and rigorous process wherein students grow both personally and professionally (Dollarhide et al., 2013). Throughout this process, students develop in accordance with doctoral competency standards (CACREP, 2021) which help socialize them into the role of professor. For international learners, their…

This dissertation explores the experiences of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program. ABE/ESL learners are a unique but integral population within the language learning community and are largely excluded from the scholarly discourse. Research in the context of language learning and instruction…

This dissertation focuses on the racialization of graduate international Black African collegians (IBAC) and the effects it has on their racial identity development. The intercentricity of race maintains that race is a defining factor for how one is situated in US society. However, many international students do not come from communities…

This capstone investigates the integration experiences of new faculty at Somerset Community College (SCC) through Organizational Socialization Theory (OST). Acknowledging the multifaceted challenges that new faculty encounter, ranging from adapting to an unfamiliar academic culture to navigating institutional policies and building relationships…

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and educate, enhancing and supplementing the traditional learning experience by providing new ways to interact with information and people. However, its full potential in education has yet to be fully realized, as work in this space requires resolving cutting-edge technical…

This phenomenological dissertation study aimed to explore how agency is exerted beyond hegemonic masculinities in engineering and illuminated the influences of a discipline's culture on masculine thinking and being. Moreover, this study, guided by Black feminism, epistemologically and theoretically, moves Black masculinities scholarship and…

This dissertation explores the impact of racism, the campus racial climate, and the racial climate of graduate programs on the lived socialization experiences of Black students in doctoral programs. This dissertation utilizes a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of Black doctoral students, discusses the historical…

Language teachers in China often use picturebooks as complimentary teaching materials to standard textbooks for language instruction. However, research shows that current applications of picturebooks in Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms mainly focus on helping students develop linguistic competence, with little attention on…

Many school districts in the United States struggle to retain assistant principals (APs), thus losing the opportunity to prepare and promote quality internal candidates for the principalship. The purpose of the critical participatory action research study was to add to the limited research on AP experiences and how to support their professional…

The United States (U.S.) is in the midst of a paradigm shift in who creates news. It is widely known that the internet has in the past few decades displaced television and print newspapers as the primary medium where news is consumed. However, the past two decades have also seen a shift in "who" is communicating the news. People…

Low financial literacy is a growing problem in young adults, which has effects throughout adulthood (Amagir et al., 2018). Record low personal savings rates, a shift toward increased personal responsibility for retirement, and increasing student loan balances put financial decision-making demands on young adults that have lifelong impacts (Lusardi…