This qualitative phenomenological research study explores the lived experiences of mentors as they share their perceptions of mentoring practices to better understand how participatory experiences affect the professional growth of new teachers. Using a phenomenological research design helps to better understand the participants' perceptions and…

This qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) explored the experiences of teachers who a) participated in a multiyear, multisite professional development (PD) program on formative assessment practices and who b) are identified by their supervising administrators as positive-outliers by virtue of their extraordinary improvement…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of professional counselors embedded in NCAA Division I athletic departments. Specifically, what are the pre-professional, educational, and professional experiences of licensed or license-eligible professional counselors who are/have been employed by or…

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of African American women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) technology and how they persist in the field. The study uses semi-structured interview questions to understand if the Strong Black Woman concept is a factor in the persistence of six…

While research on career paths has been studied for years, the impacts of identity rarely make it into the discussion. Leung et al. (1994) looked specifically at the factors that influence career aspirations in Asian Americans, but no South Asians were included in this work. To fill this gap, this research focused on the experience of South Asian…

This study, grounded in a phenomenological exploration, investigates whether current teacher evaluation methods account for subjectivism in teaching, learning, and evaluation within the context of Georgia's Teacher Keys Effectiveness System TKES. Through focus groups with instructional evaluators IEs, the study reveals the significant impact of…

This dissertation research delved into the lived experiences of primary care nurses who have completed a one-year formal nursing fellowship program. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to better understand the lived experiences of primary care nurses in leadership or practice after completing a one-year fellowship program…

Equity in education has become increasingly prioritized, due to the growing mainstream recognition of the inequitable practices that historically have and presently continue to exist in K-12 education. With the K-12 student population diversity continuously increasing in areas such as abilities, race/ethnicities, socioeconomic status, languages,…

Resident assistants are at the front line of crisis management within college campus residence halls. As such, it is imperative that student affairs professionals consider the specific needs of this paraprofessional group and build networks to guide these student leaders through the traumatic occurrences to which they respond through their roles.…

This qualitative study explored the way in which LGBTQ+ college students experienced mentorship. Despite improvements in LGBTQ+ rights over the last 50+ years, recent scholarship has shown that queer students still face unique challenges, including discrimination and harassment based on their queer identity. Mentorship has been found to be an…

The issue of gender bias has been studied in many facets of society, including business, education, and leadership in general. Researchers and professionals working in the field have long had concerns over the issue of gender bias: if it is occurring, what does the rate and impact have on overall success in leadership? Women in upper-level…

Children in foster care are disproportionately represented in the special education system. Despite this, foster parents are largely unfamiliar with special education processes and rights and there is no uniform requirement or provision of training for them on this topic. There is a gap in the research gathering the input of foster parents on the…

In the U.S. public educational system, the superintendent role is crucial for shaping student outcomes, yet it is predominantly occupied by White males (73%), with African American females making up less than 1% of these positions. Historical research on superintendents often overlooked gender and racial diversity, contributing to the…

This study addressed the lack of empirical research that exists on the experiences of counselors in training who identify as trans or gender nonconforming (GNC). The literature that does exist paints a troubling picture of systemic oppression and othering (Blumer & Barbachano, 2008; Bryan, 2018; Carroll & Gilroy, 2002; Chan et al., 2018;…

Students with an intellectual disability encounter challenges throughout their educational journey and as they transition to adulthood. Securing and maintaining competitive employment for individuals with an intellectual disability is harder for them than for their non-disabled peers. The problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological…