The need to improve school instruction quality has led the education stakeholders to discover practical approaches to achieving that goal. This research aimed at establishing the impact of single-sex classrooms on K-12 female academic achievement. The objectives include establishing the perceptions of teachers on how single-sex female classrooms…

This qualitative case study explores how the LGBTQ+ community is included in informal STEM learning environments (ISLEs) such as museums and science centers. One science center was chosen as a case study to identify how ISLEs may broaden participation to the LGBTQ+ community, how institutional stance impacts LGBTQ+ community members, and how the…

This dissertation presents three separate studies related to the experiences of university professional staff, including their work stress and relationship to undergraduate students. Findings from these studies show that professional staff are well-positioned to act as institutional and empowerment agents (Stanton-Salazar, 2011) on behalf of…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational systems around the world. In this study, I sought to understand how two preservice teacher and mentor teacher pairs navigated planning and teaching during the global pandemic. Specifically, I investigated the ways in which co-planning and co-teaching practices were or were not adopted. Additionally, this…

The COVID-19 pandemic had lasting detrimental effects on the teaching profession (Milman, 2020). Teachers faced multiple transitions from classroom teaching to emergency remote teaching during a stay-at-home order confining them to their homes while instructing students virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic (Kim & Asbury, 2020; Milman, 2020).…

Although 70% of Americans accept the reality of climate change (Leiserowitz et al., 2021), a lack of concerted societal action has not yet moved the issue to the top tier of the political agenda. This apparent "value-action gap" has been ascribed to, among other factors, maladaptive emotions in response to climate change's threat that…

School bullying is a complex social phenomenon in need of further exploration regarding its connections to contextual aspects, group norms, and societal structures. This calls for research approaches that can get closer to participants' experiences and the different social processes involved in school bullying. One such approach is the…

The field of bullying research deals with methodological issues and concerns affecting the comprehension of bullying and how it should be defined. For the purpose of designing relevant and powerful bullying prevention strategies, this article argues that instead of pursuing a universal definition of what constitutes bullying, it may be of greater…

The learning environment in K-12 education has been a topic in education for many years, especially in the United States. The problem that was addressed in this mixed methods study is that students' standardized test scores may be affected by the learning environment--whether a traditional classroom or a virtual setting. The purpose of this…

The current study aimed to uncover how the quality of specific course features within the overall classroom environment leads to impacts in student interactions and student motivation within online classrooms. The impacts of internet self-efficacy were also considered. Past research has shown that the classroom environment is important in its…

Research that examines the educational experiences of boys and men of color (BMOC) has often illustrated many challenges encountered throughout their pathways. Common areas of concern in higher education research are BMOC educational and career trajectories. An area that has been identified as a cause for concern are the gendered environments and…

Adult students with dyslexia have academic challenges with reading, writing, and phonological skills. The problem addressed by this study was adult students with dyslexia in universities have lower success rates in e-learning courses than students without dyslexia. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore the lived…

This sequential mixed method aimed to understand students' perspectives of their instructor's capability of humanizing the synchrotron online learning format. Recognizing the impact of humanizing the synchrotron online learning format will aid EL teachers, administrators, and students in considering a holistic plan for improving the synchrotron…

The impact of participation in sports on the academic performance of student-athletes has been studied extensively. However, few studies have focused on the factors that impact the performance of high school student-athletes. The problem addressed in this study was factors that impact the academic performance of student-athletes. The purpose of…

With federal gender equity mandates in place, some may assume that schools are now havens were children are protected from discrimination based on failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity. Yet, research suggests that the school literacy curriculum serves as a site that privileges gender performances consistent with…