When a cultural disconnect became antagonistic between me and my students of color, I found myself at a crossroads as a White teacher educator: use coercion and force students to follow my directions, or care and base my responses on students' needs. I chose the latter. Findings suggest that this choice benefitted the class and changed how I see…

This dissertation explores how four pre-service teachers (PSTs) came to define and understand intercultural competence (ICC) during a short-term student teaching abroad program. In this exploratory, collective case study I highlight the participants' voice by analyzing their definitions of ICC before, during, and after their experience in Germany…

Extensive literature on study abroad outcomes documents the benefits of study abroad for all undergraduate students, regardless of academic major. However, engineering majors, at 5% of all undergraduate students nationally who study abroad, are substantially less likely to study abroad than their social science peers, at 17.3% participation (IIE,…

This paper critically engages observations from a school that was aligned with a resistance movement in Lebanon during a post-war period of sustained political violence (2006-2007). Focusing on the pedagogical practices at one community-centered and community-led Shi'a Islamic urban school, the paper draws on extensive ethnographic data to…

The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which students majoring in a design discipline make meaning of their study abroad experiences in relation to their creativity and creative design work. Students and recent alumni from the College of Design (CDes) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMTC) who had studied abroad formed the…

The limited research on adult learners and spiritual formation has created a knowledge gap regarding whether bachelor's degree-completion students value the faith aspects of their education at Christian colleges. As this population grows, so does the need to better understand if the spiritual components of adult programs are having an impact and…

Adults who have a change in perspective of their view of life and use this new meaning to question prior beliefs and assumptions are said to have experienced perspective transformation. This study examined survey results from participants to investigate whether perspective transformation changes occurred through influences from college courses,…

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that promote the transformative learning experiences of international graduate-level learners. This study was conducted to analyze how international graduate students experience transformative learning through educational and non-educational experiences. Identification of factors unique to…

With growing disconnection from the natural world, educators who work in the outdoors need to philosophically rethink their "modus operandi". Past efforts by adventure and outdoor educators to promote connection with nature have often centred upon risk-centric approaches incorporating adventure-fuelled and high-adrenalin activities. This…

Filipino people's association with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population contributes to why they are overlooked in social sciences research. Particularly, academic literature on Filipino women living in the United States and Guam is lacking; therefore, programs, supports, and practices geared toward understanding and addressing…

This study examined the impact of an assignment involving intergroup contact (The Voices Project [TVP]) on student racism toward Muslims, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics in Introduction to Psychology. TVP students interviewed members from racial groups and wrote autobiographical memoirs of their lives. A faculty-writing team integrated…

There is little in the professional literature about how school leaders or other professionals committed to promoting social justice deal with and manage their emotional responses to the challenges that await them in educational arenas. Even less has been written about how art making can be utilized as a means of developing new understandings and…

This document contains the Phase III report from the "What Works in Oklahoma Schools" study. As opposed to describing the findings from the study that was conducted, it provides a tool-kit that can be used by Oklahoma principals and teachers to determine the best courses of action for their schools and classrooms. The tools provided in…

Today, a person can find a variety of travel and study programs as diverse as that person's imagination and pocketbook. This paper considers today's study abroad programs in developing countries, particularly study abroad in Africa. The paper discusses the educational value of study abroad in Africa. It focuses on perspective transformation, that…

Learners' views on their progress and achievement in literacy and numeracy were examined in a study during which practitioners from eight further education colleges in England interviewed 70 adults (ages 16 to over 60 years) enrolled in literacy, numeracy, or English-for-speakers-of-other-languages programs. The metaphor of traveling on a learning…