This qualitative study delves into understanding how filial piety and bicultural identity factors contribute to why Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students transition in and out of a limited enrollment (or selective) major choice in Nursing. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that more than 80% of students at 4-year…

Documents pervade modern life, and the nature of these documents influences the way we understand and engage with reality. Among these documents are ones we create about ourselves, as evidence of some aspect of the self--such self-documentation is increasingly salient. This dissertation is a phenomenology-of-practice study of one form of…

This multiple case study investigates the professional identities of three dual language immersion (DLI) teachers after they graduate from a teacher education program (TEP) that emphasizes DLI pedagogies. I use the communities of practice framework (Wenger, 1998), the portraiture methodology (Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1983, 1994; Lawrence-Lightfoot…

In this dissertation study, the researcher explored how pedagogy affects the creative process of visual artists who are also higher education art teachers. In order to understand and conceptualize the relationship between pedagogy and art making through the artist-teacher lens, the method and the methodology of Portraiture (Lawrence-Lightfoot…

The following self-study examines the role of creativity, the creative process, and aesthetic awareness among the life of an artist. The study further examines the relationship between creativity generation and drawing. This self-study is motivated by three fundamental questions: How is creativity developed within an individual? How is creativity…

This Three Article Dissertation investigates the phenomenon of Spanish language attrition and explores Spanish language teachers' perspectives and pedagogical practices that influence the language instruction needed to meet the linguistic needs of many Hispanic students learning Spanish as their heritage language. Article I, Heritage Language…

Tomorrow's STEM workforce consists of today's students. While it is imperative for students to gain a wider perspective of STEM careers, there are various ways in which this can be accomplished in the classroom. Classroom STEM exposure, field trip experiences, and opportunities to interview those in STEM occupations have all proven effective but…

Employing the research approach known as portraiture, this study investigated the varying ways in which three secondary English language arts teachers at a visual and performing arts high school conceptualized and designed multimodal literacy learning. Also studied were the ways in which their students responded to these designs; and in keeping…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine "pockets of success" through the voices of participant stakeholders in low socio-economic status urban high schools and communities to identify opportunities and structures that can improve post-secondary outcomes for students. Examining those pockets of success to rise above the…

This dissertation is a history of David Eugene Smith's collection of historical books, manuscripts, portraits, and instruments related to mathematics. The study analyzes surviving documents, images, objects, college announcements and catalogs, and secondary sources related to Smith's collection. David Eugene Smith (1860-1944) travelled…

This study explored how the experiences of four white, undergraduate, self-identified social justice advocates influenced their on campus participation in racially and ethnically diverse settings. Acknowledging the existence and persistence of white privilege, ontological expansiveness, and epistemological ignorance, the research was grounded in…

The purpose of this portraiture study is to describe four African-American principals' experiences, in the context of their principal's role, with the interventions they championed in meeting the needs of their struggling students. This research attempts to answer questions concerning: What role did the four principals play in the targeted school…

This portrait captured a journey of 13 individuals that participated in an educational leadership course. The subjects were members of a Cohort and the course was the last course in the program. The portraiture methodology was utilized so that the nuances in relationships, feelings and the portraitist's voice could create a layered,…

Impetus to study how leaders of academic institutions navigate change is a contemporary challenge and opportunity. Understanding a case study of one institution's experience of change strategies through two significant events offers the opportunity to understand leadership and change in light of theoretical perspectives about change in higher…

Public schools in the United States have a legal mandate to provide families with an opportunity to be actively involved in the decision making process regarding the education of their children with disabilities. However the majority of parents remain passive participants in the special education process. Culturally and linguistically diverse…