It is essential that all students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have the motivational supports to persist in their STEM career trajectories. "STEM role models," or successful individuals in STEM, can be powerful tools to motivate college students towards STEM careers, particularly if students…

Lacking a union and having a lower salary rating than most of the nation's states, North Carolina has had an increased number of teacher vacancies over the past decade. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of retention of qualified K-6 teachers across the state of North Carolina. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study…

This descriptive qualitative study explored the perceptions of central office administrators regarding the benefits and challenges experienced supporting teacher professional learning since the COVID-19 pandemic. Through semi-structured interviews with eight administrators, the study uncovered two themes regarding benefits and three themes…

There is a lack of information regarding the motivational experiences of Arab women undergraduate students in STEM fields in the US and the factors that contribute to their engagement and persistence in this field. This is because of their categorization as white on census documents, which renders them invisible. Research has shown that…

Given a myriad of recent contemporary challenges graduate students are facing as well as long-standing issues with student attrition, there is a pressing need to reexamine models of doctoral student progress. While existing research commonly examines departure or failure to meet milestones as the outcome of interest, by the time students leave…

Science learning takes place not only in the context of science class but also after class. Students' internal forms of motivation, such as curiosity and interest, affect the entire science learning process in both in-class and after-class contexts. In addition, both stable existing learner characteristics, such as science curiosity and interest…

Many researchers have tried to understand why some learners engage in and others disengage from mathematics by exploring learners' mathematical identities. Significant others (i.e., teachers, peers and family members) offer learners' different opportunities for mathematical identity support, but no study has explored their collective role in…

Purpose: The research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex social, psychological and organizational factors that serve as the foundation driving academics' knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB) within an academic enclave. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional research design using the partial least squares structural equation…

This dissertation examined the relationship between elementary school science teachers' epistemic orientation and classroom learning environment type--generative or replicative--they established for science knowledge development. Drawing on the theory of epistemological development and understanding, the influence of teacher epistemic beliefs on…

Millions of undergraduate students have been identified as parents across the United States. Of those millions, a majority have been identified as undergraduate students of Color who are pregnant, parenting, frequently underrepresented, and often not equitably supported toward degree completion. The purpose of the qualitative single-site case…

With an increasingly diverse student body, the retention of Teachers of Color continues to be an area of high interest within education research. In the context of in-service experiences, existing literature identified relationships as a key sustaining factor for teachers and source of social capital, although many Teachers of Color look outside…

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) continues to experience a teacher shortage. Previous research indicated that over half of all states struggle to hire qualified FCS teachers. For schools with FCS teachers, retention remains a challenge. Administrators and college-preparatory programs can address teacher retention by providing resources and…

The Building and Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (BASE) project aims to increase knowledge and understanding in child care and early education (CCEE) by documenting factors that drive workforce turnover and by building evidence on current initiatives to recruit, advance, and retain a stable and qualified CCEE workforce. As…

Developmental Education reform has been a vital topic in the field of higher education for decades. There have been several initiatives to further engage under-prepared college students and move them through gateway courses like freshman-level English and Math. One of the more emergent instructional models is referred to as co-requisite…

This qualitative phenomenological study was done with 13 adult women with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who had graduated from university or college. These women encountered many challenges throughout their lifetime. In response to those challenges, they developed strengths and virtues and used effective strategies to successfully…