Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which differences existed in the attainment of Texas Education Agency approved industry-based certifications of Texas high school graduates by their ethnicity/race, gender, and economic status. In the first study, the degree to which the attainment of Texas…

Graduating from high school is an important step toward becoming a successful adult. It is evidence that one has met the standards set by the public school system. Standards-Based Reform has been pursued since the 1980s and culminated in the development of the Common Core State Standards that were implemented by most states between 2011 and 2015.…

Using descriptive statistics and logistic regressions, this study compared U.S. Census data from 22-24-year-old women in 1980 and 2020 to determine the individual and contextual variables most predictive of bachelor's degree attainment. The regressions were conducted for women overall, women who have ever enrolled in college, mothers, and mothers…

As the United States demographics continue to shift, it is projected that the population of people who identify as nonwhite will be more than 50% by 2045. This major change will require a more diverse medical professional workforce, which encompasses individuals who can provide medical care to patients with various racial and ethnic backgrounds.…

This study examined the relationship between selected demographic, academic and family related factors on the persistence rate among college students attending an urban university in the southern region of the United States. Although there is no conclusive explanation for what affects persistence of first-year students nationally; increasing…

Word finding difficulty is a frequently reported subjective cognitive concern among persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). Word-finding relies on several information retrieval processes, including search and retrieval from the conceptual store, the phonological store, the syllabary, as well as other stores of information. Neuropsychological…

College and universities have seen a shift in parent and family involvement in their traditional-aged college student's experience. Generation Z members, born between 1995-2012, were born into a world with the Internet, smartphones, and social media (Twenge, 2017). As defined by Wartman & Savage (2008), parent involvement includes parents and…

The relationship between a teacher and a student is directly related to both teacher and student satisfaction and success. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable Teacher--Student Relational Efficacy Scale (TSRES)--an instrument to provide measurable and research-based reflective opportunity to identify and potentially…

This dissertation further investigates predominant issues in the educational pipeline, that is, both the higher education and K-12 context. In particular, I first attempt to answer why post-secondary enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities has increased among all students, but racial/ethnic and gender inequalities persist in the college…

Special education provides an accessible route for children with intellectual disabilities (ID) to be evaluated and to access services. Understanding the factors that influence special education eligibility can provide valuable insight into the school evaluation and eligibility process. This study used structural equation modeling to examine the…

Special training is often needed for counseling professionals to meet the unique cultural needs of their clients. Previous researchers have suggested that larger samples of professional counselors are needed to better understand the presence of these multicultural skills and noted a dearth of research regarding the effects of training in…

This dissertation was designed to examine and assess teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) during virtual instruction resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examined whether teachers' race/ethnicity, years of teaching experience, level of education, and gender separately and…

The purpose of this study was to explore academic self-efficacy and utility value for college coursework for college undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the present study employed qualitative analysis to explore challenges students faced and what strategies they are using to promote their sense of well-being during…

The issue of first-year college students academic performance and persistence rate has recently become a focal point for policy discussions because researchers, administrators, counselors, and policymakers are increasingly interested in understanding why some students succeed while others fail. To help incoming freshmen accomplish their academic…

Student-to-teacher bullying occurs in higher education, including community colleges. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine whether community college instructors' self-reported experiences of student incivility/bullying, aggression, and unwanted sexual attention varied based on their gender and ethnicity while…