This study investigates the challenge of establishing social presence in professional development webinars, which lack face-to-face interaction and physical presence. Using the Community of Inquiry framework, the research examines factors influencing teacher social presence. Following phonomyography research methodology, research data were…

Instructor support is associated with various positive outcomes for students. Self-care (taking care of one's physical, mental, and emotional health) has become a mainstream concept. Self-care may be one way for students to increase wellness, particularly students enrolled in rigorous science courses. If self-care is facilitated or suggested by an…

This study illuminates community partner perspectives regarding their relationship with a public academic health center (AHC) in a health care shortage area (HCSA). Community-based and statewide leadership invested deeply in the AHC's programs and initiatives to prepare health care providers for practice in the region, to decrease the provider…

In this article, the authors critique the common approach used to study the effectiveness of technological interventions for raising students' sense of belonging. Two studies are reviewed, one used Facebook groups and the other used a makerspace. Both studies primarily failed to include any variable that measures the extent of student involvement…

This reflective essay discusses a course redesigned to enhance student belonging and the important role intentional use of technology plays in creating a belonging context. Before the redesign, some course elements aimed to create a belonging context by centering and valuing student choice, and through choice, respect of identity. However, there…

This paper illustrates the approach of co-creating education where co-creation was an important aspect of the curriculum design. It makes a case for prison-university partnerships through two pedagogical case studies -- one within a prison setting with a focus on soft skills acquisition and another in a Higher Education setting focusing on…

This qualitative study examines open pedagogy as a critical instructional strategy in online community college settings to increase opportunities for authentic interactions that support student persistence. Discourse analysis was used to understand how community college students (n=78) perceive and connect with different aspects of open pedagogy…

This qualitative study aims to understand the experiences of students of color who have completed the transfer-level English class taught utilizing the concurrent model set by AB 705 and whether this model affects their academic success. The problem this study focused on was how equitable access to higher education is for community college…

This dissertation investigated the impact of fee-based individualized academic support programs on the attitudes of college students with disclosed disabilities toward retention and belonging. The study took place at two public, midsize, state universities located in the Midwestern region of the United States. The research was grounded in William…

As the largest youth development organization in the United States, 4-H may be uniquely positioned to meet the needs of rural LGBTQ youth. 4-H has undergone a significant shift towards increasing access, equity, and belonging for youth over the last ten years. However, there is a specific need for research that considers the unique experiences of…

In order to humanize and connect future educators across programs, this case study explains how a Northern California four-year university created a weekly professional development speaker series, Teachers, Eduleaders, Advocates, and Scholars (TEAS). TEAS aims to connect future educators to current practitioners to better meet the needs of PK-12…

This study analyzes attitudes that first-year students from three different learning communities (LCs) and their faculty had about service learning in general and their actual placement with a nongovernmental organization (NGO) serving a West African refugee and immigrant community in particular. Similar to other studies, we found that students…

This dissertation focuses on the relative shortage of female senior leaders in higher education compared to men and the potential effect of gender and personality traits on the timeline to promotion. The primary research question asked was "do gender and personality type predict time to promotion in higher education?" The research…

This study explored the perception of career barriers among low-income and minority students at Urban Community College by using career barrier inventory revised (CBI-R) instrument. Data analysis showed that students have perceived external career barriers, such as racial discrimination, and internal perceived career barriers, such as, inadequate…

This Mixed-Method Action Research study aimed to implement an extended Project-Based Learning professional development series with middle school science teachers. The professional development series took place during the teachers' Communities of Practice, offering them high-quality support, active participation, and content-specific conversations.…