Mathematical literacy and numeracy are critical for students during school and post-graduation, however, many U.S. students do not develop the mathematical skillset needed for college or the workplace, despite curricular importance placed on solving problems encountered in mathematics classrooms and spaces. Part of this skillset for critical…

Since the inception of the guided pathways model in 2015, most related research has focused on the interconnecting processes and practices that lead to student persistence and completion. While the processes and practices are the basis of the model, scholars acknowledge that the model's human capital and change management components are just as…

This constructivist grounded theory study explored how Black women studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs) demonstrate persistence. Utilizing a strengths-based approach, the current study involved semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation to better understand the…

A significant population of higher education students are first generation students; students who come from a home where neither parent has completed a bachelor's degree (Vasil & McCall, 2018). These first generation students experience a gap of education, knowledge, and support which creates a persistent problem of unequal access to higher…

Colleges and universities must continually change and adapt to serve more diverse student populations. Latinx students are among the fastest-growing college demographic, and colleges should understand how they can best support their persistence and degree completion. Numerous authors have noted the importance of both spirituality and validation to…

Cybersecurity faculty do not have the time to respond to the rapid and pervasive cybersecurity academic landscape. For faculty to respond to this challenge, they are expected to continuously adapt to remain competitive. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the cybersecurity faculty's perceptions of their need to…

This study focused on the perceived impact of middle school teachers' job satisfaction on principal leadership. The problem addressed by this study was that middle school teachers were leaving the profession because of perceived poor leadership. After three years, one-third of teachers quit the profession, and after five years, nearly half of…

College student attrition can cause a multitude of issues for students and universities. When a student leaves a program, the student may have to take additional credits and thus spend more on tuition, and the program may lose funding due to reduced enrollment. At a small private university in New Jersey, science, technology, engineering,…

This study examines the motivating factors for Black female, first-generation doctoral students. The critical problem I found was that little is known how Black female doctoral students persevere to completing their doctoral degrees. Therefore, this study sought to identify factors that influence first-generation Black females to pursue and…

Teacher attrition rates are on the rise during a time that fewer individuals are entering the teaching profession. In an effort to increase the rate of teacher retention, I conducted an improvement science study aimed at identifying the factors that impact teacher satisfaction in order to positively impact teacher retention rates. The purpose of…

Students who have transferred from either a community college or other four-year institution comprise about 38% of the undergraduate student population (Shapiro et al., 2018). However, only 42% of transfer students complete a degree in six years compared to 58% of those students who begin and end their educational career in the same institution…

Earning poor grades in early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses decreases the likelihood that a student will major in STEM. However, grades in first-year STEM courses do not impact students evenly, making it hard to know if early "gatekeeping" courses selectively push some students out of STEM. This…

Earning poor grades in early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college courses decreases the likelihood that a student will major in STEM. However, grades in first-year STEM courses do not impact students evenly, making it hard to know if early "gatekeeping" courses selectively push some students out of STEM. This…

Helping principals improve their leadership practices is a common use of federal funds and one way to improve instruction and student achievement. This study sought to better understand the effectiveness of an intensive principal professional development program focused primarily on helping principals conduct structured observations of teachers'…

We examined the association between the percentage of students with disabilities (SWD) in general education teachers' classes and their likelihood of turnover, investigating potential internal and external resources (certification, experience, preparation, classroom management, and working conditions) as moderators and disaggregating types of…