Researchers have known for several years that when a child is reading below proficiency by the end of third grade, it is likely the child will continue to struggle learning to read through the child's academic career (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; Wasik & Hindman, 2011). Yet, the problem of children falling below third grade reading…

This dissertation describes a qualitative research study that grows our understanding of the career development experiences, supports, and barriers of social entrepreneurs who are gifted adults (SEGA) so that we may nurture the career development of future SEGA. Research questions for this study probed the career development experiences, supports,…

This dissertation is about a particular style of research. The philosophy of this style is that in order to scientifically understand deep learning, it is fruitful to investigate what happens when neural networks are trained on simple, mathematically well-defined tasks. Even though the training data is simple, the training algorithm can end up…

Engineering education research can benefit from comprehensive tools for assessing student self-concept and its relationship to identity development. This research addresses this gap by introducing a novel framework for evaluating engineering self-concept and exploring its influence on identity status transitions among first-year students. Key…

This study sought to examine the state of media literacy in higher education across the United States. More specifically, this study aimed to describe various working models of media literacy within college and university minors, specialization/concentrations, and certificate offerings at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education…

College choice models have been used since the 1980s to try and explain the processes and influences high school students use to decide if and which college to attend after graduation. These models focused solely on college attendance and lacked attention to the nuanced needs and resources found in rural communities. In this three-paper…

Approximately 25% of United States mental health practitioners are employed in private practice settings (BLS Data Viewer, 2021). However, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, which sets standards for graduate level counseling programs, neither specifies private practice settings as a specialization nor an…

In the United States, elementary social studies instruction has significantly declined in recent decades, yet it holds valuable potential in allowing for spaces where the cultures and identities of our students can be centered and celebrated. Our educational systems are too often grounded in hegemonic ways of doing that are based around a dominant…

Measurement of latent constructs is one of the most challenging tasks in psychological research. Unlike physical variables, latent constructs are not directly observable but are inferred through individuals' responses to a set of items often referred to as measurement instruments, tests, surveys, or assessments. For decades, exploratory factor…

Research has shown that cross-sectional mediation analysis cannot accurately reflect a true longitudinal mediated effect. To investigate longitudinal mediated effects, different longitudinal mediation models have been proposed and these models focus on different research questions related to longitudinal mediation. When fitting mediation models to…

Low performing schools remain an issue within Louisiana. The problem addressed by this study was low student performance in underperforming schools due to lack of understanding in pedagogy by teachers. The use of master teachers as instructional coaches is one way this school district sought to improve student achievement. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation case study on the impact of standards-based grading in a North Carolina school district. The implementation procedures and end products of grading reform were assessed using the CIPP model. Data from teacher questionnaires, principal implementation checklists, interviews, and…

This dissertation includes three individual articles that explore the relationship between witnessing bullying and defending behavior among students who are bystanders of bullying. Chapter One provides the rationale and purpose of this dissertation and an overview of the three articles that comprise it. Chapter Two employed a cross-sectional…

New teachers have been trained by mentor teachers for hundreds of years. While Kolb's theory of experiential learning (Fry & Kolb, 1979) provides a framework supporting the long-held traditional model of clinical practice, more recent models have emerged including the co-teaching model of clinical practice. In 2010, a report commissioned by…

College students complete end-of-term surveys during their undergraduate education to report on their experiences of curriculum, faculty, and overall course satisfaction. Significant decisions are based on these surveys' results, despite limited and potentially unrepresentative results. Low student response rates on digital, electronic course…