Increase in the recognition of racial and gender disparities has raised the accountability stakes for educational leaders and their contribution in influencing improved educational outcomes and closing the achievement gaps for racially minoritized groups. Evidence suggests that these institutions are inadequately equipped to assist students from…

Students classified as English learners (EL) are a protected class of students with core legal rights. There are clear opportunities to strengthen education policies and practices to improve opportunities and outcomes for EL-classified students. This dissertation is comprised of three studies examining key issues in EL education with the goal of…

Community college transfer students often experience "transfer shock" at receiving four-year institutions, which includes a variety of academic, social, and institutional challenges associated with the first-year transfer experience. Research has demonstrated that first-year program interventions can facilitate the transition of…

The community college baccalaureate and the university-center baccalaureate models are gaining traction in the state of California as alternatives to addressing the need for greater access to baccalaureate degree programs and to increase the baccalaureate-educated workforce. Little is known about the characteristics and factors associated with the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) legislation on professional development, instructional practices, differentiated professional development and teacher efficacy. Additionally, teacher perceptions regarding the impact of APPR standards and Response to Intervention (RTI) on the…

This study examined the digital and social media communication practices of nine urban universities including UMSL and compared those to known corporate best practices. The purpose of this study was to (1) research how these universities are using social/digital communications to engage with students and prospective students; (2) compare the…

Increasing pressure to transform teaching and learning of engineering is supported by mounting research evidence for the value of learner-centered pedagogies. Despite this evidence, engineering faculty are often unsuccessful in applying such teaching approaches often because they lack the necessary knowledge to customize these pedagogies for their…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the importance and priority of practices for directors of career and technical education in the state of Indiana. An analysis was prepared to determine the rankings and correlations of importance and priorities of 50 leadership practices as well as 11 categories of practices for the career…

This dissertation seeks to rearticulate racial formations in the United States and expand the discourse on race in higher education by placing Asian Americans at the center of the discussion. Through the use of genealogy and discourse analysis, this research presents a broader description of the Asian American racial experience in higher education…

The purpose of this study was to investigate digital citizenship in Pennsylvania public schools based on the responses of school leaders including superintendents, curriculum coordinators, and technology coordinators. This study examined the relationship between Pennsylvania school leader's beliefs and the implementation of digital citizenship…

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine how knowledgeable teachers are in utilizing brain-researched instructional strategies. The research focused on determining which brain-researched strategies are implemented, the accuracy with which they are employed, and the degree to which they are utilized. A literature review revealed the most…

This single-case study addresses the lack of qualitative research describing the instructional role of the superintendent. Guiding this study are two research questions, "How does the goal implementation process as an element of the superintendent's organizational approach impact student success?" and "How does defined autonomy as…