The pipeline of college students seeking teaching positions is shrinking. The teacher shortage makes finding and retaining new teachers even more challenging. The cost of replacing existing teachers who leave is tremendous, and new teachers leave the profession at an alarming rate. This dissertation explored the lived experiences of new teachers…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine how the implementation of a near-peer leadership framework for student employee leaders, referred to as Operations Leads (OLs) in my practice as the manager of the Operations area at a university student recreation center, influences the supervisory and leadership ability of the student…

The higher education problem addressed in this study was racial inequity in student outcomes in California Community Colleges. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore the feelings White administrators had about race and describe the emotional management White administrators engaged in to uphold and/or transform racist structures.…

Providing visual instructional aids, such as maps and visual orientation cues, in Hypermedia Learning Systems (HLS) has been argued to reduce the disorientation experienced by learners with specific individual differences. In turn, it has been suggested that providing such aids may lead to improvements in learning performance and learner attitude.…

In this qualitative case study, I examined how teacher instructional practices and beliefs around teaching literature were impacted after self-selecting into a sustained professional development opportunity called Bard Core. Specifically, I ask, 1. What are the perspectives of secondary ELA teachers as to how a self-selected, year-long,…

Latin@ undocumented students confront unique and significant barriers in accessing and obtaining postsecondary certificates and degrees within community colleges. This study explored 4 current and 1 former community college part-time (6-8 credits) undocumented students, specifically how they described their help-seeking experiences within a…

The shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in the way education is delivered. The online environment provides a new avenue for physical therapy education. With a majority of undergraduate students taking at least one course online, their perceptions of online learning are critical in the…

Throughout history, higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States (U.S.) have espoused the goal of developing an educated citizenry with the capacity to engage across difference and contribute to solving the major issues in society (Association of American Colleges & Universities [AACU], 2019; Kezar, 2004). Although significant…

The American Association of Community Colleges has identified diversity, equity, and inclusion as important initiatives in redesigning American community colleges. One area of focus is having accessible resources for students with identified disabilities. However, intellectual disabilities are not as readily observable and often go unnoticed. This…

One of the most persistent barriers within the education system preventing students of color from accessing and persisting in higher education is the deficit lens that the education system uses to judge college-worthy students. To combat this deficit lens, strengths-based programming has shown promise in validating the strengths and students bring…

Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these…

International students are a significant yet often misapprehended segment of the American undergraduate student population. While recent literature has become more inclusive of international student voices, the lived experiences and identities of international undergraduate students have not been holistically explored in academe. This qualitative…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to better understand the spiritual care experience and describe perceptions about how spiritual care received via a campus minister impacts spiritual well-being for undergraduates at an urban, Midwestern Catholic university. To explore this question, five undergraduate students…

Even though there has been a narrowing of the gender gap in STEM, there is still a pronounced gap in the physical sciences, engineering, and computer science. Females who persist in these fields have a strong STEM identity, including developing specific STEM interests. Females can develop STEM identity through long-term, active involvement in…

There is an underrepresentation of South Asian American K-12 teachers in the United States compared to those employed in the science and technology fields. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the stories of K-12 South Asian American teachers to understand what impacted their career path and gain an understanding of the…