Students face many difficulties when attempting to complete a 4-year college degree. Without a college degree, upward mobility is less likely for members of disadvantaged communities. There is little understanding among post-secondary educators about the role of certifications as an alternative to a bachelor's degree in obtaining upward economic…

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the study abroad experiences of minoritized first-generation, low-income students who are largely absent in literature, and whose lives are shaped by historical, institutional, systematic, and societal dynamics that require unpacking. In this study I acknowledge that historically, minoritized…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the factors that influenced the career decisions of school leaders who chose to serve as international missionaries. Specifically, the study focused around what led the school administrators to accept a position at a school on the mission field and why they decided to remain or to leave. The…

This quantitative causal-comparative study examined the impact of formal leadership training programs on educators possessing an administrator license within the public school systems of Tennessee. The investigation explored potential associations between program participation and elevated self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and retention rates. Data…

Women are the majority population in Texas that participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and public housing assistance programs. TANF focuses on mandatory work requirements with a time-limit on assistance and lack of education opportunities. This dissertation documents post-secondary education opportunities for Texas women…

It is estimated that about 1.8 million undocumented young adults are eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). With DACA, undocumented young adults can work legally in the U.S. with a two-year work authorization subject to renewal and are considered low priority for deportation. In addition, with an external application (advanced…

Latinas/os are one of the immigrant and ethnic groups with the lowest percentages of educational attainment (Lopez & Fry, 2013) and financial mobility (Erisman & Looney, 2007) in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to develop a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of Latina/o parents who…

Throughout Appalachian Ohio, residents in small post-industrial cities grapple with redefining themselves as a place and a people in order to compete in the global economy. Young people caught in the middle of this economic transition--those born after the major factory closings in the early 1980s--struggle to negotiate their relationships with…

The concurrent deployment of high-quality wireless networks and large-scale cloud services offers the promise of secure ubiquitous access to seemingly limitless amount of content. However, as users' expectations have grown more demanding, the performance and connectivity failures endemic to the existing networking infrastructure have become more…

Location-based social networks (LBSNs) have recently attracted the interest of millions of users who can now not only connect and interact with their friends--as it also happens in traditional online social networks--but can also voluntarily share their whereabouts in real time. A location database is the backbone of a location-based social…

Learning occurs when content is accessed in a recursive process of awareness, exploration, reflection and resolution within one's social context. With the rapid adoption of mobile technologies, mobile learning (m-Learning) researchers should incorporate aspects of mobile human-computer interaction research into the instructional design process.…

This research explores the relationship between place and the career experiences of STEM-educated recent college graduates in the U.S. over the 2000-2010 decade. Specifically, it seeks to understand how these graduates' early career outcomes (earnings, odds of unemployment and underemployment) are contingent on the location where they received…

Many of the devices we interact with on a daily basis are currently equipped with wireless connectivity. Soon this will be extended to the vehicles we drive/ride every day. Wirelessly connected vehicles will form a new kind of network that will enable a wide set of innovative applications ranging from enhanced safety to entertainment. To…

While women have made significant inroads and gains in the twentieth century, there remain challenges and barriers in regard to their satisfaction with career advancement opportunities. This mixed-method research study investigated perceptions of challenges and barriers to career advancement by women administrators at Group 2 institutions in the…

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of…