The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand the formative import of the relationships between adults and the young in their corresponding roles as teachers and students between the first year of kindergarten and the last grade of high school (K-12 education). My approach to this issue is twofold: First, I argue that it is imperative…

The role of a school district superintendent demands a balance of professional leadership and political astuteness. Individuals in this role possess distinct skills, values, and beliefs essential for navigating its complexities. This mixed-method phenomenological study employs self-reported values, decision-making styles, and interviews to explore…

Design schools represent a unique context for the study of creativity. Design school students are expected to master creativity by developing individualized processes. Student development in the design classroom has traditionally focused on cultivating professional skills and aptitudes. However, design school students may have long-held beliefs…

The purpose of this study was to explore through the Value Creation Framework (VCF) how selected school leaders socially constructed value in the TeleED professional learning environment. Merriam and Tisdell's (2016) case study methodology guided the research design as it encompassed a qualitative case study. Social constructivism was used as the…

Despite a general belief that students pursue higher education to advance their knowledge and plan for a career, there is limited research dedicated to how student-athletes view their lives following graduation. Furthermore, the existing career related research provides mixed evidence regarding overall workforce preparation, a focus on revenue…

This qualitative inquiry uses the methodology of portraiture to investigate the relationship between founding holistic school leaders and the schools they lead. The guiding question of this investigation is, how do founding holistic school leaders embody their pedagogy through their approach to leadership within holistic schools? Through an…

Qualitative research exploring undergraduate student wellness during a pandemic was scarce prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and is still lacking. Studies investigating student wellness during pandemics often fracture the concept by quantitatively researching specific wellness dimensions (Cao et al., 2020; Galea et al., 2020; Tang et al., 2020) as…

The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of teacher educators and school principals on the value and importance they place on social emotional competencies (SEC) in new teachers currently entering PK-12 school systems; and to investigate the strategies these educators and administrators use to assess the SEC levels of new teachers…

Civil discourse is our most basic form of civic engagement. In a democracy, it is our best tool for collectively answering a society's most fundamental question: "What shall we do?" While most of us have no doubt participated in political discussions, engaging in civil discourse that is productive (i.e., dialogue that "fosters…

This research addresses the management problem identified as a lack of knowledge amongst many higher education leaders on how to properly embed core values into organizational culture. Internal and external stakeholders learn what an institution stands for from the core values, and core values are the foundation on which the mission, strategic…

The real-world problem concerning the question of leadership preparedness of international students attending private, Jesuit Catholic universities was studied using a constructivist narrative inquiry method. From the rich stories of five participants, six experiential themes emerged from the data analysis done by hand coding. The themes were…

The continuous influx of international students to the United States brings a diverse set of needs that colleges and universities should continuously attempt to satisfy with appropriate services and instructional practices. Issues affecting globally mobile students need to be addressed for institutions to attract and retain talented and…

This research study's goal was to understand the factors that influence the perceptions of professional identity (PI) in athletic trainers across a variety of employment settings. Years' experience, mentorship behaviors, social influences and experiences were also investigated to see how they impact professional identity formation (PIF) in…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to 'come alongside' women educators who value and therefore spend extended periods of time outdoors to consider how they story those experiences and events, and, in doing so, to illuminate what their stories reveal about the influences of those experiences their worldviews, views of self, and…

This problem solution narrative inquiry explored how expectancy-value theory impacts teachers' decisions during dialogic discussions. This paper delved into challenging moments teachers faced during dialogic discussion implementation. The purpose was to use this data to better inform the development of teacher-centered and more supportive…