This dissertation in practice (DiP) seeks to influence two main issues, first parents have a limited knowledge about play and second play is on the decline in homes and schools. It has been suggested that parental beliefs, education, and income levels have some influence on a parents' ability to engage in purposeful play (Ivrendi & Isikoglu,…

Researchers agree that there is an increase of international college students who are pursuing education in the United States of America. The adjustment to a new cultural environment can lead to the development of acculturative stress. The body of existing literature has explored supportive treatment interventions that can act as preventative…

The unique healing and coping perspectives of Black women that have been silenced and traditionally left out of education and mental health offer diverse, unique, and critical understanding of healing and mental health that has not been considered in the past. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of Black women's mental…

Schools, school teachers, and school administration are a system of supports and first responders that can help mitigate the effects of ACEs and other stressors on school-aged children. Within the context of the current pandemic, children may experience greater exposure to ACEs and any COVID-19 related economic and health problems. The strain on…

Researchers have been looking into the stressful nature of teaching for quite some time. Kyriacou (2001) maintains that teaching is one of the top five most stressful careers, while Stoeber and Rennert (2018) indicate that teachers exhibit a higher level of stress than any other profession (Bowen, 2016, p. 1205). Much educational and psychological…

Understanding the link between financial aid and college attainment is particularly important for the Federal Pell Grant program, the nation's largest financial aid program. Many studies have shown that the Pell Grant program increases retention, persistence, and graduation rates for undergraduate students (Castleman & Long, 2016; Evans &…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of school counselors currently practicing yoga during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was an examination of yoga as a self-care strategy to mitigate the stressors of school counselors' professional roles and responsibilities. A phenomenological research design was…

As the global economy continues to advance, cultural competence has become a buzzword in education, professional development, and research. Despite this, little research has been devoted to understanding cultural competence in agriculture. Thus, a need emerged to describe the cultural competence of young agricultural leaders in Louisiana. Through…

The Autism Voices study draws on novel inclusive methods to obtain the first-person experiences of autistic youth with a range of cognitive and verbal abilities. Thirty-one autistic youth were interviewed with a strength-based protocol, enabling them to provide responses in the modality of their choice. Dynamics between youth and their…

The mandatory closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health, and, by extension, the personal and professional life of teachers. This study explored their level of resilience during the pandemic and its association with attitudes towards emergency remote teaching and perceived stress. Data were collected through the…

In recent years, student-centered learning has undergone significant changes influenced by the introduction of the competency-based approach to the digital learning environment. The new approach places a teacher at the center of the educational process taking into account professional competencies and personal interests of educators to foster the…

Utilizing Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), we investigated the importance of identity-based factors such as personal inputs and contextual affordances (e.g., having children, being married or employed, school-family conflict, stress, participating in Native American cultural activities) in understanding Native American undergraduates'…

Black youth traverse beyond their immediate familial environment to understand different social identities, such as ethnicity, race, gender, and sexual orientation. In this article, we draw on the integrative model for the study of stress in Black American families and intersectionality as guides in comprehending the role of religiosity and…

Background: International literature has underlined the complex interplay between genetic and environmental variables in shaping children's emotional-behavioral functioning. Objective: This study aimed to explore the dynamic relationship between children's Dopamine Transporter (DAT1) genotype and methylation, and maternal and paternal affective…

Children facing adversity are at greater risk of experiencing language difficulties than their peers. This study aims to examine the association between specific maternal responsive behaviours at 24 months and language outcomes at the age of 5 years in a cohort of mothers and children facing adversity. Mother-child dyads (n = 138) facing adversity…