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,…

For social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives to have the greatest positive impact on students, they must be implemented schoolwide. There is an urgent need for schools to shift away from traditional SEL frameworks toward transformative SEL (TSEL). TSEL program implementation cannot be done in isolation; rather, it must be fueled by a shared…

This study examined how coaching by a professional development provider assuaged math anxiety in elementary teachers. Studies have shown that elementary teachers have high levels of math anxiety which can lead them to avoid teaching mathematics in productive ways and ultimately pass their math anxiety on to students. This study furthers the…

Grounded in empathic education and the concept of rightful presence, this study moved beyond dominant inclusion paradigms, such as the inequitable host-guest 'hospitality' relationship; crucially, the study design prioritized equitable communication access, ensuring that all participants' stories were treated with equal reverence. This qualitative…

Students' successes in first-year writing courses at the university level are critical to academic success and degree completion. Fostering students' engagement in first-year writing courses has proved challenging for institutions of higher education (IHE). Utility value interventions (UV) employing social psychological intervention (SPI) methods…

Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses are undergraduate biology prerequisite courses that cover many topics about human biology, including anatomy, histology, organ systems, and homeostasis. The purpose of the course is to equip students aiming to enter nursing and allied health education programs with an understanding of basic biological…

There is a purported shortage of employable labor in the tech workforce, yet Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) in urban centers struggle to find and sustain roles in "high-tech." The tech ecosystem is a CIS-gendered, white male heterosexual space that perpetuates and "ideal worker norm" (Kachchaf et al., 2015), which…

This mixed-methods action research study examined how implementing a Professional Learning Community (PLC) supports the development of metacognitive teaching. Participants were ten technical college science instructors. While PLCs are common in K-12 education, they are less employed at the postsecondary level. There is a gap in the literature…

This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) among multinational enterprise employees (MNE) in the homogenous Republic of Armenia. Addressing a literature gap in non-Western perspectives, the research emphasized the importance of local context in crafting effective EDI interventions for this…

As English has become a global lingua franca used by a greater number of nonnative speakers than native speakers, a focus on native speaker norms in English language teaching (ELT) has become obsolete. There has been a call to incorporate different varieties of Englishes (native, nonnative, and nativized) and related cultures in both teacher…

This dissertation begins by examining certain underlying causes and factors impacting the performance of English Learners (ELs) in a Mid-Atlantic urban district through a comprehensive review of the literature. This analysis employs the PELP Coherence Framework, specifically arranging the underlying causes and factors by environment and framework…

In the United States, adults 65 and older represent a significant and growing cultural minority (Cohn & Taylor, 2011). Ageist stereotypes, whether directed at older adults or internalized by elders themselves, can cause real harm to elders' mental and physical health (Nelson, 2016a). Mezirow's transformative learning theory (TLT; 1991)…

Students attending schools in poor and historically marginalized communities lack access to curricula that combines both relevant science content and investigative practices--components the National Research Council (2012) has identified as necessary for effective learning. This lack of curricular access is also problematic in that it: (1)…

The objective of this dissertation was to design and study a transformative model of climate change education that foregrounded sociopolitical processes and was socially relevant to Black and Latinx urban high school students. The intervention was implemented at the Mann-UCLA Community School in South Los Angeles while distance learning was…

This is an exploration of the perceptions and perspectives of early childhood leaders and practitioners with regards to preschool learners with autism engaged in inclusive educational settings. At a time when inclusive education is acknowledged as best practice, there is still a concern that many preschool learners with disabilities are receiving…