This dissertation explores the lived experience of transformation in mentor-coaches trained and certified through the Center for Mentoring, Coaching, and Leadership Development (CMCLD). The CMCLD describes its training as a transformational process in which mentor-coaches adopt a listening mindset that becomes a lifestyle change. This dissertation…

This dissertation uses an anti-deficit perspective to explore the academic experiences of Black men who have completed their bachelor's degrees at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Despite the reality that only 34% of Black men achieve their undergraduate degrees within six years, this study shifts the narrative from focusing on obstacles…

Research in mathematics education has described learning and identity development as dynamic, negotiated, and cultural. However, disciplined ways of engaging in school mathematics remain most valued, resulting in positioning only some learners as successful. Research that investigates mathematics learning and identity has predominantly occurred in…

A lack of understanding of how women perceive their learning continues to hinder efforts to design educational experiences that prepare women for STEM disciplines. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore women's perceptions of their learning from a middle school STEM program a decade earlier and other learning experiences they…

In this study, I sought to discover factors that contributed to candidate success in gaining admission to the San Jose State University Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) Training Program. Social Cognitive Career Theory suggests that the interplay between an individual's personal characteristics and life experiences lead to self-efficacy…

The purpose of this study is to investigate and chart the qualitatively different ways Christian faith-based women make meaning of and understand the learning intervention of The Enlighten Foundation's Learning Program. Research supports the use of an interactive, experienced-based learning program as conducive to developmental change for women.…

Formal mentoring programs focus on the probationary period of new teachers. Providing teachers with mentoring support during the initial years of teaching requires significant commitment and investment from school districts, mentors, and new teachers. Numerous studies argue the merits of mentoring programs, yet the research has been less clear…

When service-learning began to gain prominence as a legitimate academic pedagogy in the early 1990's, it was believed that through intensive service experiences, students developed a greater understanding of themselves, felt empowered to make a difference in their community, made a connection to course material, and made a commitment to continue…

Foreign Missions Preparation (FMP) has been in operation at The Master's College (TMC) since 1989, employing experiential education to train and facilitate cross-cultural summer Short-Term Mission (STM) trips for over a thousand undergraduate students. The question driving the case study was: "What influence does an analysis of the experiences of…