Since at least the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (1983), the United States has used competition and top-down approaches in seeking student achievement in the country. Twenty years ago, to create a pathway for the lowest achieving schools in the country to have a clear path for improvement, the turnaround school movement was…

Currently, in traditional higher education courses, the design of failure and its perceived and applied consequences have created an atmosphere of learning where students are often afraid to explore, try, and engage. Furthermore, when the same students do attempt goals and are met with failure, they are often dejected and demotivated. Yet, the…

Nationally, teacher candidates struggle to pass the Praxis examination, which they need to be licensed. Little research has been done to examine the characteristics and learning strategies of teacher candidates who pass and who do not pass the Praxis examination. Studies have shown benefits in the use of self-regulation and achievement in courses…

This dissertation seeks to investigate how digital gestures connect to students' mathematical understanding when playing "From Here to There!" (FH2T). This investigation explores the intersection of three fields, game-based learning, embodied cognition, and mathematics education. I used three studies which break down the different…

Mathematics is traditionally taught using direct instruction, which has been found to engender negative affective responses towards the subject, including anxiety and low self-efficacy (Borko et al., 1992; Mischo & Maas, 2013). Direct instruction places authority on the instructor and involves teaching students about mathematics instead of…

Failure seems to have various meanings and manifestations in diverse contexts. Students hope to avoid failure because of the potential consequences towards their aspirations, yet scientists speak of failure as a typical part of the scientific experience. Because of its consequential impact for students, particularly for undergraduate STEM…

This dissertation explores the intersections of neoliberalism, learning analytics, and middle management within academic libraries. Utilizing a qualitative collective case study methodology, it examines how nine women-identified academic librarian middle managers at U.S. public research institutions interpreted and responded to the integration of…

Background: The experience of supervising an underperforming student (UPS) in clinical education and failure to fail (FTF) are described in health professions such as nursing and medicine but there is little description of it in Physical Therapist (PT) clinical education. Purpose: To explore the PT clinical instructors' (CIs) perceptions,…

The sentiment that creativity is the most important skill needed to solve the problems that we face is repeated by different business and industry leaders around the world (Bronson & Merryman, 2010; NEA, n.d.; Nussbaum et al., 2005; Sammio, 2017). The call for creativity has been amplified in response to the problems and obstacles caused by…

This dissertation examines how the recent rise in college going for young people from low-income families in the United States has shaped processes that reproduce poverty. Drawing on 2,400 hours of ethnographic fieldwork conducted over 25 months with eight young Black men in New Orleans, the study provides an in-depth look at the experience of…

Neoliberal policies such as the Fisher Credential, Ryan Act, Senate Bill 2042, and federally No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and Race to the Top, have influenced and brought substantial change to the landscape of education. These policies are also impacting prospective teachers within teacher preparation programs (TPP) in higher education.…

The findings of this study suggest that while the FRR score provides a reasonable indication of financial fragility over a subsequent five-year period, the FRR score is little better than a coin flip in predicting whether a religiously affiliated higher education institution will be financially troubled enough to close within the subsequent five…

Struggle is a behavior that is often perceived in a negative light in education. Students respond to struggle by avoiding them. Likewise, educators respond by removing obstacles (e.g., heavily scaffolded instruction) or providing assistance prematurely. The ability and opportunity to engage in struggle, specifically productive struggle, is…

Children often discuss science and nature topics in their everyday conversations with their parents; however, these conversations are not always scientifically accurate. Some researchers argue that these scientifically incorrect conversations interfere with children's learning by reinforcing children's misconceptions (Shtulman, 2017). Others argue…

Clinical nursing faculties struggle to assign failing grades to underperforming students in the clinical setting; this is known as failure to fail. Qualitative literature has revealed common factors for failure to fail; however, quantitative studies are required to determine the extent to which those factors affect the faculty's decision-making…