Teacher burnout is a problem that impacts the school community. Students are adversely impacted when teachers experience burnout (Hastings & Bham, 2003). Teachers experiencing burnout have less well-being and less access to psychological capital (PsyCap). Therefore, evidence-informed solutions are needed to address teacher burnout in a…

American students are far more diverse than their teachers. Some 79 percent of U.S. teachers are white compared to 44 percent of students. As a result, students of color are far less likely to have a same-race teacher than are white students, a phenomenon that has attracted the attention of philanthropists and policymakers alike. Foundations have…

This qualitative study explored how LGBTQ+ ally teachers understand their ally identity in the context of teaching high school social studies. Specifically, it examined how teachers enacted their ally identity in the informal and informal curriculum through the production of classroom spaces, classroom relationships, queer representation in the…

Federal and state legislations continue to mandate high-stakes testing for American students. Consequences of high-stakes testing include but are not limited to, low teacher efficacy, narrow teaching strategies, lack of student motivation, and the feeling of insecurity in classrooms by the students. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper…

This study explores queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum students' voices on establishing a sense of belonging in the classroom. This study contributes to a growing body of research on the experience of queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum students in higher education institutions. Using long-form interviews with 25 students and alumni of a public…

Educators and institutions have considered and continue to explore alternatives to measure students' learning and track their performance. An alternative that started to gain popularity due to its effectiveness in promoting learning engagement, equity, and inclusion, and helping mitigate concerns due to mental health was "ungrading."…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant financial impact on land-grant historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, which have historically faced underfunding by their respective state governments. This study examined the issue of low engagement rates and alumni giving among former…

Higher education institutions often provide physical education activity courses designed to meet learning outcomes associated with physical activity. However, these activity courses were shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the impact of an online learning environment on educational outcomes of physical activity…

In this article, we explore the experiences of students at HBCUs as they traverse their STEM courses and STEM majors and demonstrate how their paths in STEM are positively shaped by a "culture of family." Our research questions include: What are the experiences of students attending HBCUs and pursuing degrees in STEM? And how do their…

The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which participants built meaningful culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) relationships with students and to what extent those same participants engaged in cognitively demanding academic discourse with their students. The participatory action research (PAR) study took place in a rural…

As the number of displaced people increases, providing refugee-background students with critically engaging classrooms is essential. Supporting diverse learners, while focusing on issues of social justice and equity, critical literacy facilitates a perspective where texts are analyzed for underlying messages of power and sociopolitical issues.…

While plenty of literature exists that explores faculty-to-student mentorship in higher education, the bulk of this scholarship focuses on graduate students and upper-division undergraduate students, not first-year undergraduates. This is problematic as the first year of college is the one in which mentorship has the largest impact on student…

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which requires the majority of K-16 education to be temporarily taught online. While unfamiliarity with digital technologies may make the transition to online teaching difficult, the world's sudden dependence on distance learning has sparked the pressing need to implement virtual art education that is efficient and…

This dissertation studies several key issues related to teacher turnover, mentorship, and discrimination. The first chapter examines the impact of misbehaving students on the likelihood of novice teachers leaving their positions within the first five years. Utilizing data from North Carolina between 2007 and 2015, the study employs quasi-random…

The purpose of this survey design research study was to understand student perceptions of online interactions with instructors in online courses in the spring, 2020 and determine if any differences exist in perceptions presented when taking into account Pell-eligibility. This study took place at a medium-sized community college within the North…