While residents of Los Angeles County appear to have access to seemingly endless postsecondary opportunities within their proximity, the geography of opportunity for accessible options of higher education leading to bachelor's degrees in the area requires further exploration. This case study explores the spatial contexts and 3-year transfer…

The last two decades has seen a growing dedication to the digitalization of education, with numerous reports and classroom innovations arising and traveling across national lines. Much contemporary research on digitalization, however, identifies the same kind of problems that were raised twenty years ago: the careless migration to new technology…

Many college teachers have a required textbook(s) for their courses, yet textbooks often misrepresent facts both directly and indirectly -- through both the perspective and possible bias of the author(s) and/or the omission of information and events. As textbooks are primary sources of knowledge, and students believe the information to be true, it…

Recent trends and education research focused on teacher shortages and why teachers were leaving the profession. Music educators and specifically band directors faced heightened stressors because of their jobs. The many hats a high school band director wore included numerous tasks such as organizing, teaching, and coaching innumerable students in…

Elementary social studies resources have faced criticism for well over 30 years. Text that is too complex (Beck et al., 1989; Beck & McKeown, 1991), contains questionable content (Chu, 2017; Wade, 2012), and is boring to students (Kelley, 2021; Schug, 1982) and teachers (Zhao & Hoge, 2010). More recent studies have found that teachers are…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of high school students' perceptions of their Geography course in a Southeast Texas high school. Five focus groups of students were assembled (seventeen students in two groups of four and three groups of three participants) and asked a series of six questions relating to the different…

In the modern era, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have revolutionized diverse fields yet a deficiency in geographical education lingers in the U.S. educational system. This dissertation offers a thorough analysis of this gap, focusing on the potential of the GIS as an innovative solution for enriching geographical education. The Geospatial…

Geography education research has identified several concerns in geography education and recognizes several systemic and cyclical issues which serve to impede effective implementation of geography education. A pattern to be recognized in the review of literature is the consistent communicated concerns of ill-prepared geography teachers.…

In response to speculations about the impending obsolescence of higher education's most emblematic sites, I explore how campuses thrive by fostering civically vibrant and not-strictly-curricular forms of writing and rhetoric. I draw from the spatial turn in rhetoric/composition, as well as from scholarship on the field's civic aims, to reframe…

Social studies educators often find that creating relevant lessons that will engage students both intellectually and personally is challenging (National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 2013; Yilmaz, 2007). By exploring the lived experiences, educators might better understand the nuances of the period being investigated that can benefit…

The purpose of this mixed methods action research was to determine if increased interactive Schoology-based modules could alter learner perceptions concerning the lack of meaningful learning (learner-instructor, learner-learner, learner-content) in the culture unit of instruction in an Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) classroom. A series…

In this dissertation, "Animate Literacies," I argue that conventional notions of literacy sponsorship (Brandt) fail to account for all the complexities of meaning making and power relations in queer lives, especially in othered places like Appalachia. I conduct queer literacy research in Appalachia in order to expand the scope of…

Partnership for 21st Century Skills has continuously identified critical and metacognitive thinking skills to be essential for life and career in post-secondary education and workforce settings. As a response to the Race to the Top (2010) initiative and Common Core State Standards (2009), New York State Board of Regents began an overhaul for all…

The purpose of this study was to create a culturally relevant, inquiry-based science lesson plan and examine how I can become a more culturally relevant educator. This was done first through the use of seminal frameworks in both pedagogies to examine similarities and differences. Secondly, eight experts in the fields were interviewed to gather…

This phenomenological case study examined the link between teacher practice within the classroom and a newly implemented middle school social studies Professional Learning Community (PLC). More specifically, the use of mandates, theories, and activities were investigated through a series of teacher interviews, classroom observations,…