This research-to-practice brief examines the key outcomes of eight empirical studies that focus explicitly on Latin American and/or Hispanic students during study abroad programs. The study abroad programs predominantly occurred in Central America. Critical to this brief are how heritage learners navigate Latinx cultures as Latinx or Hispanic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of academically successful Foster Care Alumni (FCAs) in Tennessee who enrolled in postsecondary education, either a trade school, a two-year college, or a four-year university, and graduated from that postsecondary institution. Youth in foster care faced barriers to their education in K-12…

Emergency online learning policies were created and implemented at higher education institutions across the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a transition to fully online learning modalities to mitigate the dangers of the virus late in 2019. A new paradigm of education emerged as emergency online learning became the standard method…

Graduates who have disabilities experience difficulty finding their first job after completing college. The transition-age period of 18 to 30 is a stage of life when receiving vocational rehabilitation (VR) support is critical to increase chances of graduates with disabilities towards competitive employment and earnings. Current literature suggest…

On September 10, 2020 after two days of synchronously teaching Zoom classes, I posted the following message on my personal Facebook page: "I've learned that I am more excited to 'see' students than any sane person should be, somehow I now wave all the time, and students showing off their pet pig is a thing in my classes now." This…

Education reform has been at the forefront of educational research for decades, depicted by government initiatives and policy, research, and pedagogical changes and recommendations. When considering elements of educational change, policy, best practices, and individual merit and retention have also been heavily in the spotlight, such as "A…

The purpose of this study was to understand the professional and personal experiences of female-identifying elementary music specialists within higher education. Specifically, this study sought to understand: (1) How do personal changes such as marriage and parenthood affect personal and professional lives, goals, and career trajectories for these…

The computer science industry and college degree programs for computer science throughout the country suffer from the "pipeline shrinkage problem", which describes the declining number of qualified people in various industries (Kordaki & Berdousis, 2014). For computer science, the specific population decline relates to a shortage of…

This mixed-methods study examined educators' perceptions of obstacles that prevent instructional coaches from increasing teacher efficacy and developing relationships with teachers. Data were gathered from instructional coaches in a focus group, interviews with administrators, and teachers using a survey. Transcripts from the focus group and…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to describe the experiences of professionals of color in SkillsUSA. In this study, four professionals of color shared their experiences in SkillsUSA. A focus group was conducted, along with a document analysis. The study explored the following research questions: How do professionals of color in SkillsUSA…

The purpose of this study was to understand faculty perspectives of institutional change. The context for the institutional change was a shift from a largely traditional student population with a focus on the liberal arts to a range of adult and non-traditional students seeking professional degrees. The three research questions which guided the…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of special education teachers as they relate to teacher preparation programs and how they prepared teachers to work with and lead paraprofessionals. Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership approach and Adult Leadership Theory are the theoretical basis…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore how recent nursing graduates understand and describe their online clinical experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine perceptions of the impact on their preparedness for transitioning into professional practice. The problem addressed was the closure of clinical sites to…

The COVID-19 global pandemic has surfaced glaring racial disparities and multiple epidemics. The exacerbated anti-Asian racism and the reemergence of "yellow peril" and "perpetual foreigner" stereotypes has resulted in many Asian international students' increased awareness of race and racism. However, for far too long,…

Native men in higher education experience among the lowest persistence and graduation rates in the United States (Condition of Education, 2020). Native men are subjected to systemic barriers brought by settler colonialism such as racism and patriarchal hegemony which negatively impact their perceptions of masculinity and forces them to move away…