Students who are gifted are often pulled in a variety of career directions because of their tendency to have many interests and passions. This study was designed to better understand the experience of adults who are gifted and their career choice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what career paths adults who are gifted follow,…

The symbolic reference to being in the "beyond" captures how individuals occupying the hybrid space create identities and cultures that extend beyond the dominant pathways recognized in engineering. The fundamental understanding of the cultural theory suggests that hybridity emerges when two cultural identities overlap that were…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Florida's Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship on the retention rates of "High-Quality" Teachers. In 2015, the state provided $44 million for recruitment and retention bonuses of $10,000. In subsequent years, the program was reduced in size of award until ultimately canceled in…

This two-article dissertation explores and exploits the heterogeneity of the social world that becomes visible at times of crisis--in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic created a portal to study the dynamics of race and capitalism. In this dissertation, I conduct critical analyses of systems of oppression at the institutional…

Despite its increasing importance in today's society, STEM learning opportunities in rural areas are limited. Factors such as limited learning resources and experiences may negatively impact students in rural areas in developing interest for STEM subjects, and eventually STEM careers. In this qualitative study, our purpose was to understand how…

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affect youth value of mindful living, namely, selected demographic variables, awareness of mental events, awareness of physical sensations, and nonjudgment of emotional experience. This quantitative study utilized a paper and pencil survey method to address the study objective. Study…

This paper takes a relatively new concept in discussions of race and racial identity -- that of "contested whiteness" -- and expands upon it substantially. I first review literature on racial incongruence and mismatch and then provide a theoretical amplification of contested whiteness by situating it in theories of racial formation and…

Purpose: All-women's higher education institutions serve the goal of offering a highly marginalized population a safe space to learn, mature, grow and develop physically, emotionally and intellectually. What might seem to be an obvious criticism is that a woman can, theoretically, achieve the same in a co-ed institution. Arguably, the scale of…

College-choice research typically analyzed students based on a single perspective of their identity rather than from an intersecting perspective. However, such research fails to account for the experience of people with intersecting identities determining their college options. This study explores (a) the factors that contributed to the…

Over the past 20 years, a growing body of work examines why women are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields and careers. However, research is lacking on work focused on how young girls form an identity in the disciplines of technology and engineering or the "T&E" of STEM. The purpose of…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of Latina educational administrators. This study sought to uncover and understand the relationship between biculturalism and effective educational leadership in the personal and professional lives of second-generation Latina educational administrators. For this…

The African American population has faced adversity in the United States in many ways since the arrival of their first known ancestors in Jamestown in 1619. This narrative of systemic oppression creates obstacles and challenges for this people group even today. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, the researcher, who has a long…

Background: Many youth are not meaningfully engaged in their school-based transition process. Understanding youth's perceptions of their engagement and factors influencing engagement is important to increase engagement. Design: A search of six databases produced 975 studies; 11 which were included. Inclusion criteria: Qualitative research on…

In the competitive U.S. higher education market, institutions differentiate themselves to attract both students and tuition dollars. One understudied example of this differentiation is the increasing trend of "colleges" becoming "universities" by changing their names. Leveraging variation in the timing of such conversions in an…

Each year, the Maine Education Policy Research Institute conducts policy research in select topic areas for the Maine Legislature's Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. Ideas for studies are proposed in winter by a steering committee of education stakeholders, and final selections are made in late spring by the legislators. The issues that…