Previous research indicates that "The Studies" are helpful to students at both K-12 and higher education levels. Most of these studies focus on K-12 schools, fewer are at the higher education level, and few use quantitative methods to examine students' perceptions of "The Studies." The purpose of this study is to research…

To meet an increasingly complex set of global challenges, undergraduate programs need innovative, well aligned curricula that prepare students to effectively address those challenges. This is especially true in programs such as sustainable food systems education (SFSE) where students learn to think systemically, critically, and reflectively, and…

This research involved investigating descriptions of experiences of undergraduate nursing faculty when incorporating mental health topics into their instruction. Nursing curricula are changing from traditional curricula to evidence-based curricula. With this change, undergraduate nursing faculty who have not previously taught mental health topics…

This convergent parallel mixed methods study explored barriers to teaching disability and accessibility awareness in the early elementary classroom and assessed the impact of an instructional video on educators' current perceptions and future teaching practices. Through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews on Zoom and a pretest, intervention,…

Math anxiety is a problem in the United States which impacts 93% of the population including elementary teachers. Since elementary teachers can pass their math anxiety onto their students, it is important that they reduce their own math anxiety. If time were taken to develop the math identity of elementary school teachers, would it reduce math…

Secondary piano and music theory are typically taught in two parallel and required sequences within the Undergraduate Music Major curriculum. The overlapping concepts presented in these sequences provide frequent opportunities for mutual reinforcement; however, due to a variety of issues, course content is not always aligned across theory and…

Providing engaging, rigorous social studies education at the elementary level is a challenge faced by school districts across the country. In K-12 schools nationwide, social studies education is often neglected so that more time can be devoted to ELA and math, both of which have annual standardized tests associated with them that often carry high…

A study of the Holocaust is a challenging task. Schools often dedicate little time to the study of the subject, and teachers are often largely unprepared in regard to their content mastery of the subject, as well as the appropriate pedagogical tools to help guide students through the study of intellectually and emotionally difficult material.…

This study sought to evaluate school psychologists' perceptions of their graduate training experience in preparing them to work with transgender and other gender minority youth. The quality of graduate training was also examined through a compilation of syllabi. The participants (N = 193) completed a questionnaire regarding their confidence in…

This comparative case study explored the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at two of North Carolina's Global Ready elementary schools. The following research questions guided the study: 1) How do educators and affiliates of Global Ready elementary schools perceive global education, specifically Education for Sustainable…

When the standards reform movement was introduced, researchers postulated the dual methods of rigorous standards and assessment to measure performance on those standards. Through the early part of the 21st century, the standards corpus has grown, and so too have the accompanying testing regimes (Delandshere and Arens, 2001). However, in…

I conducted a set of four studies to catalogue and examine course elements, including active learning strategies and evidence-based teaching practices, and their influence on student experiences and performance in college biology classes. In the first study, I defined the term "active learning" and catalogued the 300[plus] strategies…

The National Council for the Social Studies recommends high-quality access to academic content in the social studies domains (history, government, economics, and civics) to improve in-school performance and postschool civic and community outcomes for students in K-12 schools. To date, limited research information exists to inform social studies…

This project engages in the cultural exegesis of digital technology for the benefit of training men and women for Christian service in a world shaped by the presence of technologies like smart phones and social media. The author developed a course dedicated to teaching students at an undergraduate Bible college to apply the words of Paul in 2…

To capture the essence of the sense of belonging for first-generation students (FGS) within an academic unit of study in higher education, this qualitative inquiry used portraiture to provide answers to four research questions. Q1: How do FGS make meaning of belongingness in an academic unit? Q2: How do FGS describe the academic unit's climate…