This study investigated the impact that co-curricular programming delivered by the University Honors Program (UHP) at North Carolina State University through the Honors Forum course had on first-year students' self-reported knowledge of civil discourse, their assessment of its importance and impact, and their evaluation of their commitment to the…

For centuries, the Bajau people sailed the seas between what we now refer to as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines on houseboats of their own construction. Adept sustenance divers, they forage the sea floor for sea cucumber, fish, black coral and more, often spending over 60% of their working day underwater. On a single breath, the best of…

This healing feminist autoethnography examines my gendered experiences as a school principal during the 2021-2022 school year, centering upon two research questions: How can personal accounts of sexist experiences disrupt gendered norms in educational leadership? And how can I, as a feminist leader, exist authentically and truthfully in…

Academic libraries are largely comprised of white, middle-aged females, and as part of the overall diversity crisis within higher education, grapple with issues of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and ableism. This mixed-methods study uses an original theoretical framework of critical transcendence, based upon the philosophies of Carl Jung…

When we are young, we are often asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question is challenging for many to answer. When we are young, our idea of what we can be is often based on what we know given our short life experiences or occupations held by those close to us or where we grow up, such as a teacher, nurse, farmer,…

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to explore HIV risk perception, the meaning of HIV testing, and HIV risk behavior among college students following a negative HIV test. An extended version of the theoretical framework of the health belief model (HBM) aided in the exploration of college students' perceptions of…

This qualitative case study sought to better understand the complexity of developing executives to lead in a landscape of disruption and uncertainty, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of the development intervention in a world that is constantly changing. The purpose of this study was to explore how executives make meaning from what they…

Belief in the concept of free will may be a salient feature of teachers' core belief systems. Specifically, teacher beliefs in free will may mediate their attributions of moral responsibility to student actions. Attribution of moral responsibility may result in differential treatment of students and enactment of consequences. Conversely, student…

With the roll-out of the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education framework (2018) for New York State schools, teachers have been given guidelines for creating a welcoming and affirming classroom environment. Therefore, it is critical to focus on how teachers envision and redesign culturally responsive physical classroom spaces. This grounded…

This dissertation examines the possibilities and anxieties that attend a notion haunting Western thought since at least Kant--that reality itself is a revisable construct, a kind of collective game with social and physical rules that simultaneously delimit and solicit radical interactivity. Investigating experiments in the gamification of reality…

Compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF) are well-documented phenomena within healthcare, representing the positive emotions derived from aiding others and the emotional strain of caring for those in distress (Figley, 1995; Stamm, 2010). This research addresses a gap literature regarding CS and CF in higher education, particularly…

Everything is designed. From the fork you hold in your hand, to the car you drive, to the public transportation you use, to the mechanisms for justice within a society, to the process of designing itself. Embedded in these designs are the assumptions that underlie the design methods and toolkits used in the design process. In practice, design…

This non-experimental, quantitative study aimed to examine the factors that influence the self-perceived well-being of teachers in K-12 Christian schools. The sample for this study was convenient, non-probable, and purposive and comprised of 81 teachers from one Christian school system in Florida. The measurement tool used in this study is based…

Within secondary education, there has been an increase in online enrollment of students who are at risk of dropping out of high school and being economically disadvantaged. This qualitative study analyzed ten participants' interviews based on what motivates them in the educational setting. Within the findings, themes of engagement in the…

Although evangelicals have long been skeptical about non-sectarian higher education, the current climate in the United States necessitates a fresh look at possible sources of their beliefs. This is relevant since many of the current culture wars center on education. For instance, book bans in Texas public schools, funded by evangelicals, take aim…