The effects of mental health challenges in the United States are growing and affect both Grades P-12 special education teachers and faculty at institutions of higher education (IHE). Educators struggle with compassion fatigue and associated burnout. With educators leaving the field for a plethora of reasons, it is vital to examine factors that…

This dissertation comprises three chapters. The first two address issues within the education system, focusing on strategies to attract and retain high-quality teachers in the public sector. The third chapter, a collaborative effort with Martin Martinez and Miguel Saldarriaga, explores the application of machine learning tools for nowcasting…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the impact and perceptions of professional learning and the new teacher training opportunities offered at Bay Area Christian High School (BACHS) on teacher and student outcomes. Using Guskey's (1986) theory of teacher change as a guiding framework with support from Fuller's (1969) theory of…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the impact and perceptions of professional learning and the new teacher training opportunities offered at Bay Area Christian High School (BACHS) on teacher and student outcomes. Using Guskey's (1986) theory of teacher change as a guiding framework with support from Fuller's (1969) theory of…

A critical area of debate in an era of evolving university support systems is how best to offer support to students in challenging disciplines. This study examines the effectiveness of current frameworks in addressing the needs of engineering students. This research employs a mixed-methods approach to identify the experiences of final-year…

The purpose of this report is to analyze the differences between timely completers and students who did not complete in either a timely manner or complete at all, on several key early success indicators that are outlined below. Timely completion has been shown to mitigate financial burdens associated with prolonged enrollment, optimize…

Educator retention is closely connected to working conditions, including educators' working environment, compensation and benefits, and opportunities for professional development. For example, access to classroom resources impacts teacher morale and engagement and is important for establishing a working environment conducive to learning.…

The goal of this study was to understand the impact of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on increasing wages and retention of the early childhood education workforce. The report includes: (1) a description of how Minnesota invested ARPA funds into the early childhood workforce and potential contributions to wages and retention of the workforce…

High-quality, stable child care and early education (CCEE) can have lasting, positive impacts on children. However, the challenges of recruiting, strengthening, and retaining the CCEE workforce are well documented. CCEE educators typically have low levels of formal education and compensation; limited opportunities for education, training, and…

The main goal of this paper is to illustrate recruitment efforts, strategies, and challenges in the process of training bilingual school psychologists to serve diverse schools. First, we address the acute and chronic shortage of bilingual school psychologists in the United States, particularly in urban schools where student populations are…

In 2015, 81% of counties in Texas were designated as full or partial Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas. To address this problem, we worked with a community-based association of mental health practitioners, using the social theory of career selection, to explore factors that influence students to join the mental health field. Our goal was…

This study investigated the impact of a New Jersey middle school principal's length of service and a middle school's socioeconomic classification on teacher retention rates for the 2016-2017 school year. Surprisingly, the results of a two-way factorial ANOVA indicated that NJ middle schools with a socioeconomic status classification of middle to…

Past research shows Psychological Capital (PsyCap) to be associated with behaviors and performance at work, but few studies link PsyCap to the job seeking process. This project highlights how PsyCap might support persistence and success among job seekers. In study 1, using a two-wave design (N = 447), findings indicate that PsyCap might help…

Teacher morale affects a school district on many levels. This study seeks to explore areas why teacher morale lacks, while reviewing practices that may create an increase in teacher morale in Oklahoma public school districts. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is…

This report provides insights into the challenges and factors affecting first-year students' motivation and success as they enter college, including the significant mental toll from the pandemic and economic uncertainty. The findings in this report are taken from data collected in 2022 from nearly 80,000 student records of first- and second-year…