Adults with intellectual disabilities in Connecticut experience more than twice the national average of being subjected to legal guardianship (National Core Indicators, 2022). When plenary guardianship is granted, the individual does not retain their rights to make their own decisions. This phenomenological qualitative study investigates the…

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to higher education institutions, especially for staffing. Internal interim appointments were used to fill gaps in the administrative ranks. Literature emphasizes that interim leaders often serve during periods of uncertainty, crisis, and change. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivation(s)…

This study sought to document the lived experiences of women who teach in rural Iowa secondary schools. It aims to bring light to the ways in which rural women teachers experience power, marginalization, and oppression in their personal and professional lives. Additionally, this project hopes to provide insight for rural school leaders into how…

This dissertation explores the identity development of Muslim American women (N = 25) in higher education, utilizing intersectionality as both a methodological and theoretical framework. First and foremost, it centers the lived experiences, agency, and autonomy of Muslim women throughout the findings. Second, it takes into account the intersecting…

This dissertation presents an interpretative content analysis of the "Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing." A joint publication from major professional organizations in the field of composition studies, the "Framework" articulates the principles of the field in response to assessment standards. Composition scholars,…

This concurrent multi-phase mixed methods study investigated whether indicators of Social Cognitive Theory could be observed in Grades 3-5 classrooms and if these indicators could be used to describe teacher effectiveness in high poverty schools. The conceptual framework drew upon Bandura's (1997) measurement of the individual self-efficacy of…

The purpose of my study is to explore the stories of the ethical tensions K-12 educational administrators navigate when implementing high-stakes assessment policy in a culture of measurement during testing season. Some educational leaders, in particular K-12 school and district administrators, struggle with the tensions existing between their own…

Context: Visualization as a multi-modal process is widely explored in curriculum studies. I examined a facet of how people learn to participate in visualization practices that remains under-studied in preschool and post-secondary settings: moment-to-moment agency while in unfamiliar socio-cultural realms. I conducted a thirteen-month ethnography…

All modes of oppression, including psychological, political, and economic, as well as the kinds of alienation that they generate, serve and maintain a caste system of privilege. The belief systems on which the realities of structural oppression rest are especially relevant for people of color and other subordinated identities (e.g., LGBTQ…

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of female presidents in Arkansas community colleges. This was accomplished by collecting data through one-on-one interviews to examine how these women have navigated the labyrinth of leadership to reach the presidency of a community college. Using the conceptual framework of the…

Previous research has emphasized the importance of a positive identity in the rehabilitation of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and although identity is constructed and negotiated socially, through the use of language, there is little research available on the linguistic tools used by this population in constructing their identities.…

This dissertation presents three interrelated studies examining opportunities for student learning through contributory citizen science (CS), where students collect and contribute data to help generate new scientific knowledge. I draw on sociocultural perspectives of learning to analyze three cases where teachers integrated CS into school science,…

Two children, Dan and Una, sit in the woods and listen to a story of Britain's early history told to them by Sir Richard, a spirit conjured from the past for this instructive purpose. In this tale, Sir Richard gains treasure by defeating the "devils" that terrorize a village of African people. In many ways, this framed narrative sets up…

Power is embedded within all aspects of human experience and has been a fundamental constituent in social systems since the beginning of recorded history. Power exists in every organization and evolves as the culture of the organization exerts its influence. Organizational structures and systems dictate the elements of power, its use, and its…

Purpose: Black history as represented in social studies textbooks often lacks depth demanded by historians and authenticity required for cultural relevance to African American students. However, important Black historical narratives sometimes contain difficult prose and refer to times or circumstances that are far removed from students' life…