Faculty are central to higher education and workforce development. Recent significant disruptions including the pandemic, student demographic shifts, and technology advancements in artificial intelligence are challenging faculty member's status quo in their teaching and research practices. Faculty members will need to actively engage in…

This arts-based narrative research was an inquiry into how embodied dialogic spaces can provide access to dance learning reflections by students after graduating from a pre-professional dance program (DanceWorks, Berlin, and Palucca University, Dresden, in Germany, and Duncan Center, Prague, in the Czech Republic). Dialogic spaces, a term used by…

Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of transformation by studying the transformative experiences of the faculty and graduates of ORU's Doctor of Education Program (Ed.D.). The theoretical framework for this study was Young's (2013a) transformational learning theory reframed (TLTR). An exploratory…

In this dissertation, I investigate the learning of inclusive mathematics teaching as a process of mathematics teacher identity development. Current research on teacher learning in teacher education often uses situated perspectives that have contributed knowledge about the ways that contexts impact preservice teachers' learning of beliefs and…

Racism, racial inequity, and racial violence, including micro-aggressions (slurs and fearful glances) are endemic in modern American society. Finding ways to eliminate or at least mitigate racism and racial violence is important, not only for public safety but also to ensure equality, fairness, and social harmony among every stratum of American…

An ongoing concern in higher education is the disjunction between how faculty teach and how students learn best. A primary objective of higher education is to produce content experts, which does not automatically translate to expert teachers of content. Lacking formal instruction on how to teach their content, faculty often teach in the same…

The Climate Crisis is an urgent and inescapable reality students are thrust into. Learners must be prepared adequately for their futures, not only for their sakes but also because collective and transformative change is required. Transformative sustainability education provides one pathway to this transformation and focuses on radically altering…

This autoethnographic study examined the challenges and difficulties a post-9/11 combat veteran faced as they transitioned and reintegrated into civilian life post-military service. With suicide rates in the veteran community reaching alarming rates, this study explored personal narratives and perspectives on reintegration to counter the deficit…

The University of Georgia is the birthplace of higher education in America. Chartered by the State in 1785, UGA became the nation's first state university. Despite being known for its academic and athletic prestige, tension between the university and the Athens community has existed since its inception. This qualitative study aimed to understand…

Adopting the first five phases of Mezirow's transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1978; 1990; 1994; 1997; 1998; 2009; 2018) as a framework, this study examined the impact of a Midwestern university civil discourse program on participants' transformative learning. The study sample included participants who attended the Talk Together program over…

This qualitative phenomenological study employs a phenomenological approach to investigate the lived experiences of veterans returning to higher education. It aims to explore and understand the experiences and difficulties faced by veterans as they reintegrate into college education. Thematic analysis is used to analyze qualitative data,…

The myriad benefits of globally engaged and intercultural learning are well-documented yet few college students, especially those from traditionally underserved communities, actually engage in these programs. To be more inclusive and make this type of learning more accessible to all students, specifically first-generation, lower socio-economic,…

The research team in a small undergraduate social work education program explored the implementation of antiracist best practices for pedagogy and practice, utilizing transformational learning and critical race theories to guide and inform this action research study. The research team sought to explore the impact on the faculty, students, and…

When we are young, we are often asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question is challenging for many to answer. When we are young, our idea of what we can be is often based on what we know given our short life experiences or occupations held by those close to us or where we grow up, such as a teacher, nurse, farmer,…

The significant benefits to students of working collaboratively with faculty, increasingly conceptualized as Students as Partners (SaP), and focused on aspects of teaching and learning through pedagogical partnerships, are well documented, yet these practices typically occur on a small scale. SaP practitioners and scholars have proposed SaP as a…