This dissertation explores how four pre-service teachers (PSTs) came to define and understand intercultural competence (ICC) during a short-term student teaching abroad program. In this exploratory, collective case study I highlight the participants' voice by analyzing their definitions of ICC before, during, and after their experience in Germany…

Participation in study abroad programs has more than tripled over the last quarter century. As more college students opt to study cross culturally, understanding this impact on student development is relevant. Disorientation through culture shock is a recognized common experience in study abroad programs; however, limited research is available on…

Through an action research approach, this dissertation focuses on the central role of interpersonal warmth in the teacher and student relationship. The heart of its inquiry is based on data gathered by a set of teachers working collaboratively as co-researchers in their own classrooms. These individuals inquired into the potential of the teacher…

Despite state mandated early childhood education (ECE) teacher competencies, many children are removed from preschool settings for behaviors related to socioemotional problems. This study's rationale was the propensity of expulsions among children exhibiting challenging behaviors in preschool programs. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological model…

The training and preparation of prospective teachers includes an important phase where the future teachers begin to make a transition from learner to teacher. During this time, prospective teachers begin to utilize the knowledge they have gained through coursework and life experience to begin teaching students of their own. During this time,…

With increasing numbers of first-generation college students enrolling in colleges and universities across the US, so too is the need to begin preparing such underrepresented students for graduate school and a career in academia. As a phenomenological case study of student transformation, this dissertation examines the experience of nine…

Evidence suggests that a disconnect is growing between the information provided in Christian sermons and the life challenges faced by those church attendees. To bridge that divide, the purpose of this study was to better understand the characteristics of a sermon that enhance learning for churchgoers in Christian churches. The guiding question…

The purpose of this study was to engage middle school science teachers in collaborative dialogue to understand the implications of partnership values and principles in the classroom to transform their educational practice. Participants investigated issues which prevent partnership relationships in schools and ways to help transform education and…

The professional educators of Matt Garcia Learning Center (MGLC) have undertaken a monumental task of providing education to students considered to be significantly at-risk in a public school of choice. These educators are focusing on quelling the "negative success trajectory" prevalent for each of the students of MGLC. Understanding the…

Teacher education programs across the United States must prepare teachers who have the content area knowledge, pedagogical expertise, and cultural competence needed to teach an increasingly diverse student population. One consistent suggestion for programs committed to preparing culturally responsive teachers is to incorporate investigations of…

This study investigated how three instructors developed their professional learning of beliefs, knowledge, and practice by examining their professional learning processes using constructive, social constructive, and transformative theoretical perspectives on learning. It also focused on their challenges and supports in developing their…

Urban youth in the United States often experience daily human rights violations such as racism and violence. Therefore, Human Rights Education (HRE) can strengthen their understanding of these issues and unleash their power to act toward positive change. This qualitative study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the use of performance arts…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine if training mentors in the use of the Cognitive Coaching process could effectively facilitate their own critical self-reflection and improve their pedagogy. This study consisted of a criterion-based sample of four teachers in a metropolitan Chicago school district and followed the…

Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a…

The following dissertation explores how higher education faculty members' memories of learning content and learning to write influence their pedagogical practices and examines how disciplinary and departmental contexts intersect with those pedagogical practices. The research was designed as a nested case study that draws on interview data,…