Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the assessment models school psychologists use to identify African American students with SLDs in three of the K-12 school districts in Riverside County. A second purpose of this study was to determine how school psychologists within three districts of Riverside County…

Educators continue to examine how to increase Black student representation in STEM fields in higher education and there are increased calls to implement collaborative learning in STEM classrooms. However, current implementations do not discuss how collaborative learning can be culturally relevant for Black STEM students, and STEM environments have…

The present study sought to understand teachers' beliefs and perceptions during Second Step implementation. The leading central question was stated: How do kindergarten through fifth grade teachers describe implementation of the Second Step Social Emotional Learning Program? The following research questions guided this qualitative study: R1: How…

The dual purpose of this qualitative narrative-phenomenological study was, first, to understand the lived experiences of school leader's decision-making during the spring 2020, COVID-19 school shut down and how the experience shaped the re-entry plan creation, implementation, and adjustment during the 2020-2021 school year. The second purpose of…

General education physical education (GPE) teachers currently face difficulties in providing for the special needs of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusion GPE classes. In addition, there is currently no best practice in how to present information on adapted physical education (APE ) strategies to GPE teachers effectively. This…

This research study investigated student-athletes' perspective of how faculty members in face-to-face courses utilized the learning management system (LMS). The focus was on the use of the LMS, accessibility to the LMS, and connectivity capabilities to the LMS on charter buses during travel for competitions. Twenty-three NCAA Division II…

In this study, Lent's (2004) social cognitive model of well-being (SCWB) was employed to examine the academic and social domain of satisfaction and life satisfaction with 121 Native American college students. They completed measures of positive affect, Native American identity, internalized racial oppression, and life satisfaction along with…

This Dissertation in Practice (DIP) was a group dissertation as required by the Doctorate in Educational Leadership program and created a new form of educator development called the Virtual Educator Network (VEN). This DIP examined the VENs' impact on educators' attitudes towards inclusion, feelings of support, and incorporation of new strategies…

Though the United States maintains a great presence in our global economy, our country is still lagging behind many others in terms of achievement in mathematics. Developing the ability to think creatively and communicate effectively is paramount to ensuring our students are prepared for the competitiveness of the 21st century world. Rich…

As fascination with "el Día de los Muertos" has grown in the U.S., the number of arts organizations and museums organizing public events for it increases every year, and in many cases, organizations are more committed to providing an entertainment experience rather than educating audiences about a traditional ritual. Amid these…

In the United States the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) workforce is in high demand. To meet this demand, students graduating from high school must have the necessary 21st century skills and interest to pursue a STEM career. Unfortunately, student interest in STEM has been shown to decline starting in the upper grades of…

With little research as guidance, it is difficult for educators to know how to prepare to lead systems of professional learning at the district level. In this phenomenological study, the sensemaking framework was used to understand the experiences, knowledge, and beliefs of those who hold district-level leadership roles with responsibility for…

The purpose of this Dissertation in Practice (DiP) is to discover how educators serving students with significant learning challenges describe the impact of participation in an appreciative leadership development program on their work and professional growth as leaders. This scholar-practitioner DiP achieves this goal through the scholarly pursuit…

Professional development (hereafter: PD) has been regarded as one of the keys to improving teacher quality in the US, and a growing number of empirical studies have investigated how PD is operated in education field. However, the problem is, most literature focuses on the operation of PD investigated in specific cases, single subjects, and…

This review of literature examines a compilation of research focused on migrant and refugee youth in pre-flight and post resettlement experiences which require specific and evidence based approaches by the host community and subsequent institutions (schools) to support and develop interventions in school based settings to advance success in both…