Although teacher-child interaction has been recognized as an important indicator of quality in early care and education as well as a crucial predictor of children's development, limited studies have explored the pathways of teachers' job-related stress to interaction with young children. This study aimed to investigate the sequential mediating…

Faculty trust and student bullying are two salient properties known to affect school environments. Indeed, the presence of organizational trust bolsters student achievement and promotes school safety, thus making schools more effective, although bullying behaviors abate the effectiveness of schools. Therefore, understanding potential relationships…

This paper explores the use of a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), growth mindset infused, student partnership approach to language learning in a primary school context. Early success is important in language learning. Students may doubt their ability to learn a language, especially if they have had a non-positive experience of learning…

Over the past 10 years, Black student-athletes at Division I institutions have seen their graduation rates grow from 52% in 2010 to 59% in 2020 (NCAA, 2020b). However, even with this growth, Black student-athletes still fall behind their non-Black peers and below the average student-athlete graduation rate of 69% (NCAA, 2020b), with some schools…

Background: Student academic behavioral engagement (BE) contributes to learning and school success. Student-teacher relationships (STRs) may promote BE, although previous findings regarding how these constructs are associated over time are mixed. For young autistic students who face barriers to early school success, a high-quality STR may serve as…

Recent literature has described how the level of one's own social emotional (SE) competence affects areas including academic success, interpersonal relationships, and future development of psychopathology (Denham, Bassett, Mincic, et al., 2012; Schonert-Reichl, 2017). Given that the time young children spend in early learning programs continues to…

The demographics related to diverse cultures within the classroom are continually changing in the United States. Because of these changes, educators need multiple courses at the university level and continual professional development at the school site level to prepare them for teaching immigrant students. The problem addressed is educators are…

It is well established that a high number of children experience a significant traumatic event by the time that they attend school. Teachers, therefore, work with trauma-impacted students on a regular basis as they execute the duties required of their occupation. Although ongoing and frequent exposure to students experiencing trauma is a known…

Teachers can be a source of support and connection for children and adolescents, especially during difficult times such as experiencing the death of a loved one. The current study set to gather insight into the experiences of teachers (N=166) who have supported their students through such a difficult life experience and through a worldwide…

Twenty-first-century students require support beyond the traditional confines of public K-12 education. Students are arriving at the doors of schools with challenges outside of the learning environment that impact their ability to achieve academic success. This dissertation conducts a program evaluation of a multimodal intervention program at a…

The purpose of this study was to contextualize how the communication modes I used, and my presence shape the experiences of students within a single online course. I conducted a qualitative case study in which I collected data from three sources: in-depth qualitative interviews with nine former students of the online course GBA 300, fifteen…

Reformed Experimental Activities (REActivities) is an innovative approach to the delivery of the traditional material in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. To better understand the fidelity of implementing this pedagogy and what effects the framework of REActivities has on student-instructor interactions, an observational protocol…

Understanding what contributes to teacher well-being and self-efficacy holds promise in addressing burnout and attrition affecting school systems. Four late-career rural middle school teachers were interviewed using narrative inquiry to give their perceptions about what contributed to their self-efficacy. Semi-structured interview questions based…

I embarked upon this study with an interest in how one teacher educator supports pre-service teachers to recontextualize their literacy learning as they enacted the roles of both learner and future teacher in their education coursework. My research extends the current literature on modeling and feedback by examining the modeling and feedback given…

Since the late 1960s, the enrollment of African American students in higher education has steadily increased. Furthermore, the community college system and specifically the California community college system has seen the highest rise in the enrollment of African American students. Despite the rise in their numbers, African American male students…