Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences that contributed to the development of a systems thinking paradigm in instructors in a college of agriculture. Design/Methodology/Approach: A phenomenology design was used to understand the lived experiences of eleven instructors. Findings: Three themes emerged regarding how they…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study is to highlight the characteristics that first-time, first-year students at a small, private, faith-based university in South Florida perceive as part of quality advising, what qualities of advising this group of students perceive as most important for their retention, and whether the advisors…

Intercultural competence reflects higher education institutions' commitment to the internationalization of campus, programs, and curricula and results in attracting/retaining international students. Numerous studies explore international students' challenges adapting to the receiving country; however, limited research investigates their…

Background: College students need the ability to generalize and apply solutions through reflective practice. University faculty need professional development to use authentic cases to prepare students for the future. Purpose: This study was to explore the experiences of faculty through a year-long professional development program that included a…

A quantitative literacy course titled "Computational Geology" has been taught at the University of South Florida for over 20 years at the undergraduate level, largely by the same professor. Due to the extended course tenure, a unique opportunity presented itself to qualitatively study what the perceived broader impacts of the course were…

Many people consider teaching a calling; the profession is predicated on helping others while yielding little personal gain. A teacher's primary goal is to deliver a valuable and engaging educational opportunity. The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 created challenges to reaching this goal for many teachers across the United States…

The qualitative phenomenological investigation utilized a snowball sampling method to research the experiences of undergraduate African American e-learners with networked support while studying medical science online. Recently, concern about the gender imbalance of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) emerged at the forefront…

Special educator attrition is a major problem in the United States (US) and in many countries worldwide. In the present study, we investigated the experiences of 5 highly successful special education teachers serving students with autism spectrum disorder in the central Florida area of the US with particular attention to factors associated with…

As a result of decreasing state and federal aid to colleges and universities, higher education administrators are seeking alternative revenue streams to help support operational expenses. Though commercial influences are not new to the higher education sector, their size and scope within traditional liberal arts and private non-profit universities…

This qualitative study investigated the experience of a cohort of students exposed consecutively to two substantially different environments in their General Chemistry Laboratory programme. To this end, the first semester in a traditional expository programme was followed by a semester in a cooperative, problem-based, multi-week format. The focus…

Public Law 94-142 (PL 94-142), the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, was signed into legislation in 1975. This anchor piece of legislation became one of the most influential in the advocacy of a special needs population that previously had been institutionalized or removed from the public school setting because they were not…

This phenomenological study examined how student affairs professionals learn advocacy skills and what they learn in their education on this topic. Findings based on 22 interviews show participants felt underprepared by their graduate programs for the myriad challenges involved with advocating for students. Findings indicate participants found…

As higher education continues to experience a shift in demographics commiserate with the United States population, colleges and universities are making more concerted efforts to recruit men of color as staff, administrators, and faculty to reflect their diversified student bodies. One way to retain men of color staff members is to provide…

This dissertation examines the complexity involved in teachers' perceptions and experience of time on school-related activities. The Intensification Theory explains that test-based accountability has caused a time crunch for teachers, increasing their stress level and burnout rate. Research literature has shown that teachers experiencing high…

A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the social experiences and perceptions of friendship among three adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) engaged in online videogame play in the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Semi-structured interviews with three participants, diagnosed with…