The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) at Cal Poly Pomona explored factors contributing to student enrollment and engagement, especially for MilleniGenZ students. The research was built on the latest evidence that college students who engaged in research along with faculty mentoring and team collaboration were more able to persist in their…

In a time when natural disasters and health crisis afflict the world, understanding the relationship between flow and fear provides an opportunity to better shape learner experiences in difficult times. The use of film as a pedagogical approach provides a unique perspective to better understand flow and fear in learners. Previous research…

We investigated the development of students' sociopolitical consciousness via engagement in a mathematical activity purposefully designed around understanding the unemployment rate in the US. Qualitative data was collected from 12 university seniors participating in an online capstone class. Results showed that students: (1) further developed…

Most schools have a code of conduct that guides their expectations for student behaviors. While schools' policies around discipline are believed to help deter further negative behavioral incidents, restorative practices is a field of study that strives to proactively build community and social coherence rather than exclusionary consequences…

This doctoral dissertation documents the experiences of women (student and faculty) in computer science programs. The research emerges from the literature on the gender gap in computing and video gaming. Thus, the author seeks to find the meaning that participants have granted to their experiences as undergraduate students and faculty, in a…

The purpose of the Dissertation in Practice was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of middle school teachers and administrators that were implementing a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. The setting for this case study was an urban, Title I middle school located in Florida. Interviews were conducted…

This qualitative study combined critical youth participatory research and ethnographic methods to investigate rural youth relationships to race and racism, which are currently undertheorized. The research question guiding this inquiry was: How do rural youth describe the salience of race and racism in the United States (U.S.) for themselves…

The identity of college students continues to shift, requiring the availability of staff dedicated to student development. Black women represent the largest population of minority student affairs administrators (West, 2019). Black women endure a unique within the United States of America, historically enduring violence and societal vitriol due to…

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of belonging from the perspective of Cora, a school-aged child with an intellectual disability and significant support needs. Multiple data sources, including interviews, observations, field notes, and visual aids were coded and analyzed. Findings from the study illuminated how Cora's…

Although single student mothers are the largest and fastest-growing student demographic in higher education institutions, the experiences of single mothers in academia remain under-explored, as the increase in literature addresses the experiences of women in higher education. Obtaining graduate level education is an ongoing challenge for single…

A quantitative nonexperimental ex post facto approach studied the relationship between student characteristics and online course retention over three different periods. The research reviewed online student characteristics like gender, ethnicity, Pell eligibility, previous online experience, GPA, total credit hours, and age to test for pre, intra,…

A child language broker is an individual who is interpreting between two parties due to a language difference. Previous research has focused on the parentification, undue burden, and stress on the child who is engaging in this practice. While these concerns are well researched and valid, there is a positive lens to the system in which this child…

Today, with the extension of learning management systems (LMSs) and the diversity of learners' needs for online learning, instructors have to be assisted to adapt their syllabus to meet learners' needs. Therefore, it is necessary to tailor course instruction to meet individual needs and determine how well they serve the learners using these online…

Social network analysis involves delicate and sophisticated mathematical concepts which are abstract and challenging to acquire by traditional methods. Many studies show that female students perform poorly in computer science-related courses compared to male students. To address these issues, this research investigates the impact of employing a…

In a rapidly changing global environment, Initial Teacher Educators (ITE) have a responsibility to role-model contemporary teaching approaches, which develop graduates who think creatively and flexibly in educational workplaces. An important aspect of this work is supporting pre-service teachers (PSTs) to understand how to design assessments which…