The internet has considerably changed the landscape of communication in the 21st century. People no longer have to leave their homes to engage in meaningful interpersonal communication. More importantly, individuals who have an inherent fear of human interaction seek solace and comfort in communication technologies. This study investigated how…

Background: In Spain, as in many other countries, educational administrators are calling for schools and teachers to engage with research-informed teaching (RIT) to improve the quality of teaching and student outcomes. Despite this interest, schools' and teachers' engagement with research evidence is inconsistent, and studies exploring the factors…

Early attempts to help children experiencing academic or behavorial problems were based on an eclectic mix of inconsistent and sometimes harsh and punitive strategies. Drawing from Indigenous cultures, the "Circle of Courage" embodies four key growth needs that are essential to human wellbeing in any culture: Belonging, Mastery,…

This dissertation is comprised of three essays, each examining a different topic in labor economics. In Chapter 1, I examine the productivity and selection effects of K-12 teacher tenure by leveraging variation from New Jersey's TEACHNJ Act. This law extended the pre-tenure period from three to four years and allowed districts to dismiss…

Empirical literature indicates that current mental health practices with Mexican American college students are lacking. Mexican American undergraduates have unique challenges that need to be addressed by counselors within the university context and in community settings. This study addressed the dearth of empirical literature on stressors and…

This study examines types and characteristics of data collection tasks used in studies on scope ambiguity in English involving a universally quantified noun phrase and negation, and investigates any differences in comprehension patterns across studies using different tasks. Since Musolino's seminal 1998 study using a truth value judgment task,…

In this article, we share preliminary data of our small pilot study utilizing Democratic Queer Theory framework (Camicia, 2016) and mixed methods data collection sought to understand if teachers are implementing LGBTQ+ curriculum in elementary schools. When evaluating the data collected, we found that California credential candidates are not…

Purpose: This study aims to explore the stories of two young refugee women, Sue Mar and Amora, and how their adolescent identities, experiences, and beliefs, partially shaped by their English teacher, helped pave their paths to higher education. Design/methodology/approach: This study is guided by the lens of critical literacy as "a way of…

This paper explores the complexities behind the educational decisions of Tibetan parents on sending their children to the interior cities for dislocated secondary education. Drawing on qualitative data through multiple methods, we find that their educational decisions are driven both by a rational calculation of the benefits and costs and by a…

The deficiency of educational resources is typically held as one of the major impediments to the educational development of Tibetans in China. Even though the Chinese state has committed to supportive policies and providing resources to the region, the academic performance of Tibetan students remains low. The current study examines how students'…

The purpose of the study was to examine students' learning experience with Google Meet, a virtual learning tool in tertiary contexts in Vietnam. The explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used with the participation of 188 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Vietnamese students at a private university in Vietnam. Findings from both the…

This paper reconsiders the concept of "inclusion" by examining conceptions of "totality/wholeness," while exploring conflicts and dilemmas among various actors across the boundaries between the formal and non-formal in the Japanese public education system. Referencing the process surrounding the enactment of the new law on…

The current study investigates the impact of using an Instructional Model of Historical Empathy to teach the Holocaust on students' ability to contextualize historical events, recognize perspectives, and affectively connect to victims of the Holocaust. A three-day instructional unit was designed that incorporates primary sources from a variety of…

As the commercialization of American higher education accelerates, more and more students are coming to college with the narrow aim of obtaining a preprofessional credential. The traditional four-year college experience--an exploratory time for students to discover their passions and test ideas and values with the help of teachers and peers--is in…

With the rapid advances in technology (e.g., the internet, hardware, and software), technology-supported learning environments have widely emerged in K-16 learning and instruction. A survey found that 73% of teachers had their students use smartphones to conduct internet searches, and almost half of students reported using e-readers and tablets to…