This study examines the ways that school policies are understood and taken up by teachers. A review of the relevant literature suggests that much school policy, even that which is explicitly designed to ameliorate inequities that exist within schools and school systems, often have an inverse effect. It is also established that teachers, for many…

The purpose of this study was to describe the essence of the acculturation experiences of post-9/11 student veterans as they navigated within the dominant higher education culture of civilian postsecondary educational institutions (PEIs). Specifically, this study aimed to conceptualize the acculturation experiences of post-9/11 student veterans by…

First-year teachers encounter many challenges throughout the beginning stages of their careers. One of those challenges relates to the navigation and implementation of district-mandated commercial literacy programs. When first-year teachers are expected to teach commercial literacy programs with fidelity, decisions about how to best implement the…

This phenomenological research study explores the lived experiences of full-time faculty experiencing both organizational and instructional changes within their institution. Higher education organizations are facing increased challenges to sustainability, forcing them to make structural changes within the organization. When organizations adopt new…

Advising students on college admissions and financial aid is an important pillar of most high school counseling programs. This work has become more challenging for many school counselors since the pandemic, so it is imperative to find new ways to explore how counselors approach college advising today. This novel research utilized Hansen's (1995)…

Navigating indoors without a map can be challenging, especially for visually impaired individuals in unfamiliar settings. Many existing indoor navigation methods rely on building maps, pre-deployed infrastructure (like BLE beacons or RFID), or visual-based systems that require a clear line of sight to a camera. These requirements can make…

Navigation of the state and federal child welfare and special education systems in the U.S. presents significant challenges for caregivers, particularly those of children with disabilities. This dissertation explores the experiences of caregivers who were involved in these two systems, discussing the challenges they faced and analyzing the…

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a leading role in supporting educational equity, enrolling two-thirds of all U.S. Latino students despite representing less than a fifth of all American higher education institutions. These colleges and universities manage to provide substantial support and prioritize student-centered organizational…

Special education administration faces a myriad of challenges in regular times, exacerbated during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This dissertation investigates how special education administrators navigate and resolve problems amid significant institutional constraints and unprecedented global disruptions. The research focuses on the…

This qualitative study investigated the success strategies of Lebanese women leaders in higher education, a sector where they have historically faced underrepresentation. It examined the evolution of women's roles in this field, highlighting the progress and ongoing challenges related to gender biases and societal constraints in Lebanon. The…

This empirical study explores how international school directors find novel ways to develop and lead through ambiguity. The research examines whether and how international school leaders' abilities to perceive, experience, and navigate ambiguity are linked to their stage of ego development. It investigates what kinds of internal and external…

Voice assistants (VAs) (e.g., Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, etc.) offer considerable potential to users. The hands-free nature of these technologies, enables users to perform tasks which would otherwise be difficult to accomplish. As individuals who are blind are already familiar with spoken output through the use of screen readers,…

Navigating departmental and organizational conflict is an essential function and responsibility of an academic unit leader (dean, associate dean, director, or chair) in higher education institutions (HEIs). During periods of organizational change, conflict tends to increase in complexity and difficulty--in part due to resistance to change--making…

This study examined the differential effects of a GPS based navigational app displayed on a smartwatch and a paper map on the ability of individuals with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) to independently navigate unfamiliar walking routes. A single case alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of these…

This dissertation explored the experiences of fat undergraduate students within higher education institutions, focusing on how these students navigate, negotiate, and contest the structures, norms, and practices of their academic environments with a specific focus on their experiences in the classroom. The study was grounded in the understanding…