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This four-article dissertation is about fostering learning relationships online during the COVID-19 pandemic with undergraduate teaching fellows and adolescent learners enrolled in a summer enrichment program (SummerSpark). I, along with six undergraduate students (teaching fellows), created a "relational learning community" (RLC) to deepen our teaching practice and process the impact of COVID-19 on our lives and the lives of the adolescent students enrolled in the program while developing strategies to improve relational connections with learners. Chapter 1 is an introduction to a pedagogical framework, Holding SPACE, developed to teach the emotional and relational concepts and principles that are known to effectively develop a thriving learning community. Chapter 2 describes how we created our RLC and the relational rituals that grounded and supported our learning. Chapter 3 is a co-authored paper on the teacher action research project that resulted from our RLC and the recommended strategies and action to deepen connections with learners online. Chapter 4 is a portrait that describes how a teaching fellow experienced, navigated, and understood learning relationships online using Lawrence-Lightfoot's portraiture and Mears' poetic narrative methodologies. This research brings to the fore the voices of undergraduate students learning to become teachers in a time that dramatically disrupted the educational field. Their stories and our teacher action research, frameworks, practices, and tools to support learning relationships online are shared, deepening and enriching the literature on relational learning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper examines community-campus partnerships, specifically regarding community partner representatives' lived experience of trust and reciprocity with community-engaged administrators at an institution. This research focused on how trust and reciprocity manifested and was sustained within these relationships, with the goal of supporting administrators in building stronger relations with community organization representatives and bridging the connection between a community and campus. With the creation of community engagement offices that focus on public engagement, administrators have emerged that specifically seek to work with the community. Many best practices have evolved to support the growth of community-campus relationships, including the significance of trust and reciprocity.Using a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach, the researcher interviewed eleven community partner representatives that worked with community-engaged administrators from Washington and Lee University. Four critical concepts and four themes emerged from this research. Critical concepts discovered are Community Partners as Educators, Positive Interpersonal Relationships, Overlapping Goals, and the Role of the Institution. Themes that manifested included Administrators as Liaisons, Mutual Respect, Resource Sharing, and Transparency of Expectations. Based on these critical concepts and themes the researcher recommended actions that community-engaged administrators can enact that supports the manifestation of trust and reciprocity. This includes providing community partners' access to resources, knowledge about the institution and its students, a way to formalize the partnership, increased communication at the beginning, middle, and especially the end of a community partnership project, etc. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Background: This paper poses to discuss and examine the concern of unmonitored and excessive internet use by school-age children, ages eight years to 11 years old, along with the importance of employing a Family Media Use Plan, which is recommended by the American Family of Pediatrics (AAP). This issue, although not often studied, is a common occurrence today and is associated with physical and mental health concerns for this vulnerable population. Method: This quality improvement project was accomplished through educating and surveying the parent population of the Intermediate building of a rural, Southeast Missouri Public School District. The involved parent population completed a pre-education Qualtrics survey, reviewed an education module, then completed an immediate post-education and 3-month post-education Qualtrics survey. Following the completion of the education module and Qualtrics surveys by the parent population survey data was collected and analyzed utilizing paired t-tests which were completed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29.0. Results: The resulting data of comparing the pre-education survey and the immediate post-education survey did offer statistical significance in parental knowledge gain demonstrated by a p value of 0.018 attained through a paired t-test. Further completion of paired t-testing regarding use and awareness of the Family Media Use Plan, as well as parental knowledge retention, also resulted in findings that are statistically significant as noted by p-values. Conclusion: This quality improvement project resulted in findings that support continual and increased involvement of parents in monitoring of their school age child/children's daily internet use. Changes noted in the pre vs. immediate post education survey were found to be statistically significance, and all result findings are clinically significant in the school-age child's overall health and well-being. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation features a set of three sub-studies situated within a larger Critical Participatory Ethnography investigating how participatory science unfolds between youth and scientists to address issues of marine plastic pollution. Collectively the papers provide insights into how to navigate the slippery, but necessary, terrain of teaching for environmental justice and worlds beyond the Anthropocene. Analysis of youth and community member interviews, photographs, audio recordings, and field logs revealed several important findings regarding how youth engaged and responded to learning about marine degradation and tensions and considerations of this type of science education. In the three cases of the focal girl participants, ecogrief and ecological hope are found to work in tandem to author new worlds that extend, repair or reimagine parts of their identities that have been, or are perceived to be at risk of being, severed. The findings reveal that the girls pulled on important and varied supports to author ecological hope. Additionally, iterative reflexive coding and retrospective analysis of data through a critical multilogics lens shaped by ontologies that disrupt "master narratives" also exposed methodological problems or shortcomings of the scientific work. These "conundrums" and "neglected narratives" necessitate pauses in learning and a new science practice I call "socio-ecological minding". To extend these findings toward practicing science educators, I conclude the dissertation by presenting the Critical Community Science tool I had designed to design, evaluate and reflect upon the participatory science work unfolding with youth through the Plastics Project. Building upon experiences with guest science educators learning to apply the tool to their own work, I introduce different ways the tool was taken up and end by identifying areas of support for science educators wanting to attend to environmental justice. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation in practice is a qualitative inquiry investigating the struggle to increase connectivity and usage of a parent portal in a mid-sized urban school district in the Northeast, referred to as "Blank" City School District (BCSD). The local problem discussed in this paper connects to the national problem of lack of parental involvement in urban public schools (ESEA, 1965; NCLB, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Lack of parent involvement hinders the practice of connecting parents to the portal each year. This problem directly impacts African American and Hispanic households, who are the majority parent demographic in BCSD. The following research questions drove this inquiry: What are African American and Hispanic parents' perceptions of using the parent portal in BCSD, and how do African American and Hispanic parents describe the extent to which they utilize the parent portal? To answer these questions, I interviewed six African American and six Hispanic parents that do not use the parent portal and six African American and six Hispanic parents who use the parent portal frequently. I also conducted four follow-up parent interviews to clarify findings in the data. I transcribed all interviews and put each transcription through three cycles of coding and analysis. This process produced several themes and findings, which I categorized by parent involvement type. At the conclusion of data analysis, I applied the findings to the research questions to improve the practice of increasing parent portal connectivity and usage in BCSD. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effects of using high-quality feedback (HQF) to train educators on an ACT-based intervention called cognitive defusion. Since there was limited acquisition using HQF as a training method, the participants were switched to BST to learn the remaining cognitive defusion task. A delayed multiple probe design was used with four participants who were taught two cognitive defusion exercises. In addition to graphical depictions of the results, a non-parametric statistical analysis measure was also used. Non overlapping of all pairs (NAP) was utilized to identify the effect size of intervention and three social validity assessments were given at different intervals to obtain the perspective of the participants throughout the training sequence. The findings of this study suggested that BST was more efficient in training educators on an ACT-based intervention than HQF. This study was significant because it bolstered the evidence for using BST as a training method. The implications, recommendations, future directions, and limitations are all discussed in this paper. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper examines the critical decision-making that occurred within community college IT leadership within the commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the first year of the COVID pandemic. The research utilized semi-structured interviews with IT leadership within 10 of the 13 qualifying community colleges. The study, through qualitative thematical analysis and while looking through the lens of the Iron Triangle project management approach, set out to learn from the decisions and leadership styles that were developed in the first year of the pandemic to help prepare for future emergency situations. Through the research, the study found that IT leadership was successful during the pandemic when utilizing an adaptive leadership approach, and leadership maintained the primary focus on student success. By keeping students' needs as the primary priority, Pennsylvania community college IT leadership was able to successfully adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and provide much-needed technology and support to their institutions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Nationwide, community college administrators are attempting to maintain financial stability amid extreme budget challenges. The problem that was addressed through this study is that some community college administrators at a large Northeastern state lack strategies to sustain financial stability, which threatens the 14 institutions' ability to continue to operate as a viable educational choice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies that community college administrators at multiple institutions of varying financial stability use. The conceptual framework that grounded the study was Porter's five forces framework. Research questions focused on what strategies are used, why these strategies are used, and in what way they support financial stability currently and in the future. For this case study, purposive sampling was used and semi structured interviews with 10 community college administrators were conducted. Data was analyzed by transcribing interviews, participant member checking, and the use of an online tool to identify codes and themes. The themes that emerged are budget control, marketing strategy, industry attractiveness, and competitive environment. These findings led to the development of a policy paper with the following recommendations: develop committees to share best practices on cultivating auxiliary revenue and competitive advantage strategies, adopt new marketing and outreach strategies, and invest in professional development for college administrators related to business strategies. These recommendations provide the potential of positive social change by supporting continued operations of the community colleges not only allowing the faculty and staff to continue their employment but also serving students that depend on community colleges. Educated students, in turn, serve their communities and society. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Though social comparison behaviors have been widely studied in both occupational and academic contexts, no empirical study has investigated how social comparison presents in counselor education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between social comparison orientation, counseling self-efficacy, sources of counseling self-efficacy, and program satisfaction. The researcher distributed paper and online surveys to capture self-report data from 242 counselors-in-training (CITs) from CACREP-accredited programs in the United States on the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM), the Sources of Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale (SCSES), an adapted version of the Counselor Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES-A), two subscales of the Psychology Program Satisfaction Survey (PPSS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The researcher tested the hypothesized causal model using Structural Equation Modeling in which social comparison orientation significantly moderated the relationship between sources of counseling self-efficacy and counselor self-efficacy which then predicted levels of program satisfaction. Results indicated that CIT comparison orientation significantly moderated the relationship between sources of self-efficacy and self-efficacy in multiple ways, the most significant being that high comparison orientation of ability strengthened mastery experiences' contribution to overall counseling self-efficacy. Self-efficacy in turn significantly predicted program satisfaction. This study carries many implications for supervisors and instructors of CITs, including new perspectives on how to navigate barriers to self-efficacy development and satisfaction as well as rationale for integrating psychoeducation on the ways social comparisons can help or hinder their students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Child Language Brokering is a very common phenomenon for Latinx/a/o children of immigrants, who usually begin language serving as translators and interpreters at a young age and carry these roles into adulthood. Yet, despite the prevalence of Child Language Brokering, the findings of existing research still do not agree on the impact of this phenomenon on the Child Language Brokers (CLBs) themselves and society in general. This study aimed to gain a clear understanding of CLBs' lived experiences and examine where power is allocated and the effect of these power dynamics. This paper reports the lived experiences of six former CLBs who have all enrolled in at least three Translation and Interpreting classes in the same college in the state of California. The data collected from semi-structured interviews are analyzed using a poststructural phenomenological approach, Focault's Theory of Power/Knowledge (1990). Implications of these findings are discussed in order to obtain a clear picture of Child Language Brokering and contextualize it in society in the hopes of improving the conditions of CLBs themselves and language access in general. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper studied the college-to-career transitions of African American undergraduate students who are studying in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). African American men have had to fight for their inherent rights because historically, they had been denied the chance to pursue their own personal choices because of their skin color. Their social marginalization has resulted in economic disadvantages. Access to education has also been less than the dominant race. Gaps continue to exist between African Americans and Whites in terms of graduation rates and other post-graduate outcomes and labor market outcomes. The college-to-career transition of African American men has also been fraught with challenges. This was not very well studied because transitions from college to the workplace were usually conducted from the point of view of the dominant race. Notably, theorists have primarily based their assumptions on the experiences of middle-class White men. There were studies of African American students and how they transition from college to the workplace but the setting is different. They were attending predominantly Black colleges. This means that there is a need to understand the topic from the point of view of students who study in PWI. African American men face a different set of challenges altogether, including a much smaller network compared to their White peers. Since jobs are found through networking and based on whom you know, African American men are increasingly put at a disadvantage as disparities in college enrollment and completion continue to grow. Currently, there are discernible gaps in literature pertaining to the career development experiences of African American college students as well as how they transition from college to career. There is also little empirical knowledge about their career development process as influenced by racial identity and racialized experiences within the context of a predominantly White institution (PWI). Underpinned by critical race theory, this qualitative study used a narrative inquiry methodology to address research question of how racialized identity and racialized experiences influence the career development of African American men undergraduate students at a PWI. Twelve participants were recruited for this study that revealed five themes that address the research question. Strong themes point to the importance of parental support and career center support, as well as experiences of discrimination and microaggressions on the part of the study participants. Support is important in making them more ready to shift to their chosen careers. Their resilience amidst adversities is also strongly noted. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Though researchers have demonstrated that adaptive practice software is an effective tool to use with primary grade students, they have not fully established the impact blended eLearning tools have on upper elementary students in a suburban school setting. The problem facing one southeastern state district was that their schools had selected different approaches to address declining reading scores, but the district had no systematic analysis of the chosen blended eLearning tools to determine an improvement in reading growth scores among all students. The purpose of this comparative quantitative project study was to determine the influence different blended eLearning tools, Reading Plus and IXL, had on Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) TNReady English Language Arts scores of Title I fourth grade students. Siemens's connectivism provided the theoretical framework for this study. Archival data from a southeastern school district were used to examine the influence Reading Plus, IXL, and a control group had on fourth grade TCAP TNReady reading scores. The convenience and purposeful sampling included 143 fourth grade students from three Title I schools. Analysis of a one-way ANCOVA indicated that Reading Plus had greater influence on reading scores of fourth grade students. A policy recommendation paper was created as a tool to guide stakeholders in making informed decisions about selecting adaptive software tools based on evidence-based practices. The results may add to the knowledge in the field of educational technology and may be used by elementary administrators, instructional coaches, and upper elementary teachers when selecting blended learning programs to support their literacy curriculum. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

According to the 2019 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, 65.7% of college students experienced "overwhelming anxiety" within the last 12 months, up from 49.1% in 2008. In an attempt to address this critical increase in student anxiety with viable and cost-effective interventions, many college mental health centers have begun offering alternative treatment modalities, including student mindfulness groups. To date, research on mindfulness groups has largely relied upon quantitative survey measures, which offer limited insight into student practitioners' lived experiences. Therefore, despite the growing popularity of mindfulness groups, college mental health professionals may not yet have a clear understanding of how college mindfulness groups function to ameliorate student anxiety. In order to address this gap in understanding, this qualitative case study explores the experiences of student mindfulness group practitioners in a small, liberal arts college during the 2019-2020 academic year. Through in-depth interviews, student reflection papers, and primary investigator observations, this study seeks to understand the characteristics and shared practices that exist within a college mindfulness group, including an exploration of how students describe their experiences of participation within a shared community of practice. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Traditionally, the texts that students produce in first-year composition (FYC) settings have served as the predominant sites for faculty to perceive students' writerly ethos. It is primarily in these texts where faculty tend to assess the variety of available credibility cultivation practices that students employ as they attempt to increase their discursive authority. Given the breadth of scholarship in writing studies detailing contemporary students' struggle to engage in the language of the academy and the parallel calls to challenge the kinds of dominant discourses that are privileged in institutions of higher education, in this study, I explore other potential faculty pathways to perceiving ethos. To do so, this dissertation draws on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of discourse that calls attention to the sociological conditions that grant authority to words as well as contemporary feminist rhetorical scholarship that seeks to disrupt classical and contemporary frameworks of ethos through a renewed interest in notions of location, dwelling, and inhabitance. By eliciting six community college faculty perceptions of FYC students, findings from this qualitative study suggest that community college FYC faculty hold tacit perceptions of students that are closely related to past reputation and virtue--two characteristics of ethos. These perceptions reflect what I refer to as students' prediscursive ethos, which is constituted of the student's social position that is predominantly shaped by the audience's prior image of the student. Moreover, reflecting on their perceptions of students, participants often indexed an array of interactions with students, which suggest that student's prediscursive ethos is partly informed and shaped by certain faculty-student interactions that often precede students' textual linguistic performances. Thus, I contend that such interactions between faculty and students represent alternative pathways for faculty to perceive students' writerly ethos. Ultimately, I offer a relational model of ethos that more accurately describes the contexts within which community college writers create texts; one that accounts for the textual features that appear on paper (discursive ethos), the sociological conditions (prediscursive ethos) under which those textual features are assessed, and perhaps most important, the alternative pathways (interactions) where both ethotic realities may be reimagined. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The research and literature behind teaching mindfulness practices to support self-regulation are overwhelmingly favorable--many journals currently available report positive outcomes when using mindfulness practice interventions with research subjects. However, the majority of research now focuses on adult practitioners. This study proposed that elementary special education students would have similar benefits when engaging in the practices, and through learned self-regulation, perceived stress rates would decrease. Students participated in a six-week cycle of mindfulness practice (meditation, positive affirmations, and gratitude journaling), and perceived stress levels were measured prior to and upon the completion of the cycle. The results were favorable as many participants reported positive outcomes in perceived student stress decreasing, and an ability to control one's thoughts and slow them down increasing. The initial PDSA cycle steps have been outlined in this paper; the outcomes have been delineated. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

I have developed a Feminist-Humanities model for social justice education that demonstrates pedagogical potency for building students' capacity for transformative social change. This dissertation presents the model, describes its theoretical framework, assesses its impact on student learning, and considers what the findings can offer to social justice educators at this critical historic moment. The Feminist-Humanities model is an epistemic project built through the confluence of feminist theory, feminist pedagogy, and the humanities ways of knowing. To move students beyond consciousness-raising and prepare them to act, the model teaches tools of analysis--knowledge, identity, intersectionality, power, structure, and affect--that connect individuals to the larger social landscape and guide students toward more expansive and more accurate knowledge about themselves, others, and the social world. My findings suggest these tools shift students' attention (Fisher, 2001) in ways that build their capacity for change. I taught the model in a one-semester general education diversity course with twenty-four student-participants. I used feminist narrative analysis to analyze four data sources: each student's first and final papers, transcripts of an end-of-semester focus group, and my teacher/researcher journal. I identified three shifts in attention related to the model's curricular goals. In shift one, students take up the epistemic project and enter a critically reflective learning mode (Fricker, 2007) to interrogate their knowledge and assumptions. In shift two, students use their new knowledge to connect the individual and the social through analyses of structure and power to recognize why people with different social identities view and experience the world differently (Gordon, 1997). And in shift three, students engage an affective analysis (Ahmed, 2004b; Gordon, 1997) that connects the head and the heart in a thrust of empathetic understanding that demands action. My analysis suggests these shifts are key to the success of the Feminist-Humanities model because they surprise students, help them look more closely at what they think they know well, and invoke their imaginations to consider what the world could be with their effort (Ahmed, 2004b). Particularly potent is the model's use of affective analysis, which critically examines the ways emotions inform our social interactions to reveal the lived impacts of social structures and their relations of power. Findings indicate affective analysis may be the bridge between consciousness-raising and action because it allows students to consider what emotions can tell us about how our society operates and what we could do differently. Findings demonstrate that social identities deeply inform the learning process, and further investigation of the complex ways students experience a social justice course could lead to more effective curricula. At this historic moment when educators are asking how best to teach the skills and tools of change, this dissertation contributes new techniques for institutions of higher education for educational pathways that prepare students to act. Findings suggest essential components of these pathways are cultivating the ability to talk across difference, a deeper recognition of the ways social identities and affects impact our attempts to change, and a better understanding of how change is made. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

In the Western Pacific Islands School District (WPISD), technology standards were last developed and adopted in 2008. These standards have not been revisited or revised. The problem is that teachers are expected to use the latest educational technology, but technology standards are not current for preparing students for the 21st century workforce. The purpose of this basic qualitative inquiry was to explore how elementary teachers use current classroom technologies to address 21st century skills as mandated by the WPISD, despite having outdated technology standards. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework guided the study in order to integrate pedagogy, content, and technology that targets 21st century skills. Twelve elementary teachers in grades K to 5 were interviewed via semi-structured questions using the basic inquiry method to analyze experiences regarding how they used educational technology. Data were open coded to determine the following themes: disconnect between standards and instructional practices, teacher awareness of future development needs, and preparation and timing. In response to findings, a white paper was developed to inform the district of findings and recommend that teachers would benefit from updated technology standards and consistent support in terms of adopting and implementing updated technology standards. This study contributes to positive social change by providing documentation to support the need to update standards that can guide teachers as they plan lessons that will ultimately prepare students for the 21st century workforce. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Ethical decision-making and ethical behavior are an essential focus of training for students who wish to pursue careers in behavior analysis. In addition to education and training mandates by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, universities that offer a Verified Course Sequence are required to teach and maintain ethical behavior in students. Core ethical obligations state that the client's interests are always considered, that clinicians operate in their scope of competence and that others are treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. However, ethical violations and Code enforcement continue to be an issue in Applied Behavior Analysis. These studies explored the instruction in ethical decision-making skills. In the first study, a pre-post group design was conducted to assess students' ethical decision-making based on competency-based learning versus typical class structure (e.g., lecture, interteach, study guides). If Verified Course Sequence programs can help students to identify ethical problems early and rectify concerns before they further develop, students and BCBAs can mitigate the risk of engaging in ethical violations. Teaching students to identify and problem-solve ethical dilemmas may decrease the likelihood of the student having to go through Code Enforcement or Professional Coaching, and, potentially, being sanctioned by the Board. Using a pre-post group design, five participants were in the experimental group and five participants were in control group. Experimental and control participants did not meet criteria for mastery on quizzes and writing assignments. Study 2 was developed to further refine instructional procedures and outcomes. A pre-post group design replicated across modules was used to evaluate the ethical behavior and decision-making for two participants. Both participants acquired, maintained, and generalized the target skills. This paper compares the use of traditional teaching methods to competency-based assessments in teaching ethics and analyzed the utility of instructional procedures that require a demonstration of competency. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

A large percentage of women veteran students at a local 4-year university are transitioning from active duty to the role of adult learner on a college campus, and some have overcome barriers, such as inadequate childcare, lack of transportation, and financial aid issues and completed their educational goals. Unfortunately, some women veterans are not successful. The purpose of this study was to identify methods that self-identified women veteran students at the local study site use to successfully meet their educational goals. Adult transition and transformative learning theory are the conceptual frameworks for this study. A qualitative study collecting semistructured interview data was conducted, targeting 10 participants from a local site. Data were collected through the interview process and transcribed; major themes and categories were developed by exploring majority common responses to the interview questions. The study findings revealed several recurring themes: (a) facing challenges during transition from active duty, (b) believing in self-success, (c) having pride in serving one's country, (d) self-identifying as a veteran, (e) meeting the needs of women veterans, (f) adjusting as an adult learner, and (g) gaining access to services through Student Veterans of America. The project was a position paper that addressed why women veterans successfully transitioned to adult learner based on the research. The findings may sway social change by showing women veterans the support that is necessary for a successful transition and enable them to reap some of the the benefits of getting their degree, such as increased employment opportunities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This multiple paper dissertation addressed several issues revolving around the estimation of effect sizes for computer-based scaffolding in problem-centered STEM education. STEM jobs are outpacing all other jobs and STEM workers are expected to solve complex problems. However, students often struggle with complex problem activities. Research on computer-based scaffolding has been shown to produce large learning gains in STEM fields. Yet, previous meta-analyses have not been able to pinpoint which scaffolding characteristics impact learning gains the most. This lack of insight impedes researchers and learning designers from developing more effective computer-based scaffolds. This dissertation (a) provides insights on the gaps in computer-based scaffolding syntheses, (b) reveals the conflation of terminology that has been used to characterize scaffolding, (c) details a taxonomy for the various forms of computer-based scaffolding, and (d) conducts a meta-analysis to estimate which scaffolding forms and combinations of computer-based scaffolding forms produce the largest learning gains in collegiate engineering education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Objective. The objective of this work was to apply the capabilities of augmented reality (AR) to improve how general aviation student pilots learn about weather and learn to make weather-related decisions. Background. A pilot's level of weather experience is a strong indicator of their ability to make safe weather-related decisions. However, the current general aviation weather training curriculum lacks opportunities for student pilots to safely gain learning experiences with weather. Approach. Learner-centered instructional design was used to design and evaluate students' immersive learning experiences with a smartphone-based 3D AR thunderstorm model visualization. Learner-centered design helped create AR-based learning experiences that were appropriate for students and achieved the desired learning outcomes. The learning experiences included factual learning activities about thunderstorms and scenario-based activities about responding to thunderstorms in flight. These learning activities were integrated into print-based learning materials to create a learner-centered interactive print learning module. The interactive print module provided familiar paper-based activities overlayed with the immersive thunderstorm learning experiences. Methods. The immersive learning experiences were evaluated through three connected studies: 1) a formative expert review and usability study of the thunderstorm model visualization, 2) a user evaluation of the factual learning activities about thunderstorms, and 3) a summative user evaluation that compared traditional print with the interactive print learning module. Results: In study 1, the formative evaluation of the model visualization found that the model contained the needed content but could include additional content for aviation training such as thunderstorm avoidance. In this first study, students found the interface usable for completing learning tasks. In study 2, the user evaluation of the factual learning activities found that students had a significant improvement in knowledge after completing the learning activities. In study 3, the user evaluation of the learning modules found that the students' interactions with the interactive print module improved their factual knowledge of weather compared to a traditional print learning module, but the difference was not significant. Students said that the thunderstorm model visualization and factual learning activities helped them visualize and comprehend the weather phenomena. However, the interactive print and print modules had similar positive results on students' decision making and application of avoidance procedures in the scenario-based activities. Conclusions: The smartphone-based AR thunderstorm model visualization and factual learning activities were usable and effective in GA weather education. Students' completion of AR learning activities increased their factual knowledge and visual knowledge. When the AR content was integrated into the exiting print curriculum, the content resulted in marginal improvements in factual knowledge and supported students' motivation to learn. Students preferred being provided the AR content as they studied weather compared to not being provided the content because the content helped them visualize and comprehend weather phenomena. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation examines relations between education-related self-beliefs and socioeconomic (SES)-based disparities in education. SES academic achievement gaps are a serious problem in the United States; however, they are not fully accounted for by objective family resources alone. I build from the premise that there is a subjective, psychological component as well; that young people's beliefs about themselves and their opportunities as students are differentially shaped by experiences of SES in school settings. Using a social comparison lens to integrate current psychological theories of self and identity with extant educational psychology, the two quantitative studies of this dissertation explore math self-beliefs direct and indirect role in SES-based academic achievement gaps. Study 1 explored how math self-concept and math self-efficacy interrelate with socioeconomic status (parental education and family income) and academic achievement (high school math GPA and college attendance). A series of seemingly unrelated generalized least squares regressions showed that, after adjusting for measures of ability and achievement, young people whose parents did not graduate college had significantly higher math self-beliefs. Family income mirrored this relationship when parental education was not included. Furthermore, Sobel-Goodman tests showed both math self-beliefs may work to indirectly uplift high school performance for young people without college educated parents. Study 2 complemented study 1 by focusing on socioeconomic inequality. With an overarching goal to capture SEI in a manner methodologically congruent with how it is discussed in current psychological theory, it examined objective measures of neighborhood inequality alongside young peoples' relative socioeconomic position. Seemingly unrelated regressions revealed significant higher family RSEP -- for both education and income -- predicted better math GPA above and beyond all measures of SES, SEI. Furthermore, mirroring the same pattern found in paper 1, some of the relationship between RSEP and math GPA was partially explained by young people's math self-concept such that lower relative position's negative association with GPA was significantly, albeit slightly, attenuated by higher math self-concept. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper describes the construct of fascination in science, a non-cognitive trait combining interest, curiosity, and mastery skills, and the particular relevance of fascination in science for students during middle school. Grounded in the theory of "Science Learning Activation" and employing data from the longitudinal Activated Learning Enables Success study of 2014 (ALES:14), cohorts of sixth and eighth graders were measured on fascination five times over two school years, allowing for an investigation of change over time. Multilevel models were constructed for each grade-level cohort in an effort to determine patterns of change, while also testing for relationships with several student-level characteristics and class-level instructional variables. Results suggest discontinuous patterns of change in fascination, with declining fascination scores in grade 6 boosted over the summer break and declining fascination scores in grade 8 rising the following school year. While the impact of instructional variables was negligible, relationships with several individual covariates were observed, primarily indicating the importance of family support for science. Future research should focus on context-specific elements of in-school activities, along with additional out-of-school factors that may influence fascination. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

While there is an accelerating demand for professionals in Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers, African-American females (AAF) continue to remain disproportionately represented. Increasing the representation of AAF in STEM is vital to the U.S. workforce. Considerations of both external and internal barriers that impede on AAF persistence in STEM majors continues to be discussed in research. However, research shows that while persistence in STEM majors for AAF students continues to be a challenge, mentorships have proven to be viable intervention for many students. Although AAF student persisting in STEM majors with that assistance of mentorships has attracted enormous attention in university settings, it less often been explored in the community college setting. This descriptive qualitative study draws attention to how AAF students describe mentorships that influence to persistence in STEM majors in community colleges. The theoretical framework used in this study is The Triple Quandary Theory of Boykin and Toms and serves as a thematical foundation, which highlights the Black socialization experiences and the impact of these experiences in STEM on AAF community college students. The suggestions of this paper may be of interest to policymakers and community college administrators emphasizing of the importance of institutional support and investment in mentorships that leads to increased and sustained participation of AAF in STEM majors, as well as preparation for STEM related fields. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a personalized narrative of one science teacher's use of reflexive teaching as an agent of change. This dissertation is about a journey of change in instruction fostered by a change of identity as a science teacher, using the butterfly cycle as a metaphor. This dissertation narrates the identity evolution of the teacher. This study has relevance because the process utilized by the teacher provides a method of self-examination and identity construction for other elementary science classroom teachers who want to improve their science practices. This study also has relevance because it describes the process of how a classroom teacher takes ownership of self-improvement that leads to science teacher agency. Science teacher identity and agency research has been mostly unexplored in science education, especially at the elementary level. A greater understanding of science teacher identity and agency development learned from this dissertation will provide the knowledge needed to better support novice and pre-service teachers, ultimately leading to better science educators. The nature of reflexive practice in science teaching and the development of science teacher identity and agency is the focus of this research. This paper is grounded in three main ideas: (a) self-reflexivity, drawing from the initial understanding of reflexivity (Archer, 2007; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992; Mora, 2011, 2012) as reflection with social and scientific foundations that leads to social change (Mora, 2014), (b) self-study of teacher practices (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001; Loughran, 2007; Pinnegar & Hamilton, 2009), as a rigorous way to understand the evolution of personal practice over time; and ( c ) metaphors to examine phenomena from a unique and creative perspective, provide structure to the data, to understand a familiar process in a new light, and to evoke emotion (Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M., 1980). In my findings I discovered that my teaching identity is not fixed and that the journey in transforming my teaching identity from linear to authentic is endless, and the findings could be used as a starting point to introduce changes into the curricula of elementary teacher education programs for novice and pre-service teachers. This doctoral research was an empowering journey that enriched my professional life as an elementary science teacher by enabling me to examine my practices that formed my teaching identity. I hope that my newly transformed teaching identity enables me to further develop my professional practice as an assistant professor of practice, to empower the agency of my student teachers and empower readers to reflect on their own teaching identities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this study was to identify and explore how curricula in queer studies at Community College of the Bay (CCB) reflect and ignore the lived experiences of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC) by engaging queer studies students as co-researchers in virtual participatory action research (VPAR). This research utilized the frameworks of Queer of Color Analysis (QOCA) (Ferguson, 2004; McCready, 2013), critical whiteness (Baldwin, 1984; Du Bois, 1903), anti-oppressive education (Kumashiro, 2001), and intersectional theory (Crenshaw, 1989), to examine the experiences of QTBIPOC within queer studies in community college classrooms. The following meta-question guided this research: "How do students describe their experiences in queer courses at CCB?" The data sources included self-reflective VPAR journals by each of the 12 co-researchers, 15 interviewee transcripts, demographic surveys, assignments, and the Final: VPAR Paper and Reflection. A significant finding in this VPAR study was identifying examples of whiteness in queer studies along with ways to disrupt white privilege. Even when race is not explicitly addressed, it is still being reinforced (Kumashiro, 2002). We see this through the interrogation of white privilege and whiteness assessed in our study. For example, Myung-Soon critiqued that the institution of education is still "a white system," he named the need to have fewer white cismale readings in curricula and therefore stated the need for more QTBIPOC authors in the curricula. Caius appreciated how her queer studies courses at CCB went beyond the "queer white perspective." Another vital finding was the explicit requests for more inclusion of QTBIPOC histories and experiences in queer studies showcasing an example of how queer studies can improve. Myung-Soon, Caius, Edilberto, and Gohan provided examples of colonial erasure connected to their racial identity. Our VPAR study assessed the need for engaging in the rediscovery of histories thought to be lost entirely. Lastly, another important finding of this study was the importance of centering intersectional theory in queer studies, and that race cannot be separated from intersectional theory. To surmise, after collecting and analyzing all the data to answer the question posed in the title of this dissertation, "What's race got to do it?" simply put, the answer is everything. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Strategic instructional resourcing has become an important topic in public education, the most lucrative and expensive business in the United States. It is estimated which the United States spends about $612.7 billion annually on public education. This study will analyze and synthesize data from Title I schools in South Carolina, specifically in the area of resource allocation and its relationship to student academic success. Historically, public education has provided all citizens with an equal and equitable opportunity to receive an adequate education. Over time, access to strong public education can impact the lives of students with regard to social mobility. Instructional leadership is a term which appeared during the 1970s through the research conducted by Ronald Edmonds. In his publications Edmonds found which school leaders who focused on learning in their actions and conversations throughout the school year had a deeper impact on student learning. This was a significant discovery because school leaders during this time focused more on inspiring students and stakeholders to work together towards a common goal. These leaders had qualities of what is referred to as being a "transformational leader", which meant a leader devoted to reflecting on student data and what/how teachers teach. Prior to this point, teachers were regarded as the experts and the reason why students learned or did not learn. After this research was published, school leaders were determined to have the biggest impact on student learning. School leaders who were most effective had a strong focus on areas including: collective efficacy, evidence, implementation, learning, student engagement, and instructional strategies. This research study is designed to examine how Title I high schools in the state of South Carolina are resourcing their Title I funds. Studies have shown which schools which practice effective and efficient specific instructional resourcing improve their students' academic success. This paper will also explore what steps schools execute before making strategic instructional resourcing decisions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Asynchronous Online Discussions (AODs) are often used to encourage online learner participation as they are believed to approximate the verbal interactions of face-to-face (F2F) learning environments while facilitating learners' metacognitive and critical thinking skills (Deng and Tavares, 2013). Despite mixed and somewhat context dependent research on the relationship between AOD participation and achievement, there appears to be a tendency among teachers and instructional designers to encourage greater participation as it is believed that greater participation promotes greater achievement. Additionally, the act of online "participation" itself is often measured using visible artifacts like discussion and assignment posts submitted by students and evaluated by instructors and/or peers. This can lead educators to infer that the learners who participate more will earn higher grades than those who participate less. To explore this tendency, this quantitative descriptive study examined students enrolled in an introductory college English course (n = 76) using Learning Management System (LMS) activity reports and survey results. This was done to better understand the relationship between (what may appear to be limited) participation and course achievement. Similarly, the study sought to better understand the relationship between the learners' "reasons" for participation and their actual achievement. The primary results contribute to a wide range of studies that examine the relationship between participation and achievement. The results share a finding with two other studies in particular; Graff, (2005) and Wikle and West (2019), namely that this study showed no statistically significant correlation between participation and achievement for students who finished the course. Meaning that students who completed the course saw "no statistically significant" change in achievement for "over" or "under" participating. An unexpected finding of this study was that reasons for not participating contributed more to student behavior than reasons "for" posting. This study also showed that learners' primary self-identified reasons for participating favored "performance," "information seeking," "UX and interest;" however, empirical performance data suggests that the relationship between learners' reasons for participation and their actual level of achievement is strongest when those reasons revolve around "topic complexity," "UX," "time management" and "social risk." The gap between learners' metacognitive perception of participation reasons and their data-driven demonstrable reasons is explored in this paper. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The last decades have seen an unprecedented growth in the availability and accessibility of data, highly influenced by the ubiquity of digital media and the internet. As society contends with data's increasing impact on the nature of knowledge, communication, and privacy, it faces a pressing need for citizens who are intelligent producers and cautious consumers of this data. This in turn requires situating data literacy at the center of lifelong learning, developing more consistent approaches for helping novices learn the language of data, and equipping the public to think critically and ethically about how and why data are being used (Deahl, 2014; Pangrazio & Selwyn, 2019). An important first step is defining data literacy. This work is grounded in a definition of data literacy as comprising the skills, attitudes, and beliefs needed as "critical and reflective citizens" in the 21st century (Francois, Monteiro, & Allo, 2020). Noting a discrepancy between a research focus on data as social justice and individual experience of data literacy as a set of skills, I argue for a need to approach data literacy education from both a competency perspective AND an empowerment perspective (Gebre, 2018), as well as from a resource perspective. I outline a mixed-method study exploring how conceptions of data literacy manifest across middle school students, high school students, undergraduates, and adults, and detail the creation and validation of an instrument designed to measure data literacy in adults. The instrument was designed to explore the unidimensionality of the data literacy construct. Data collected from a total of 700 participants was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and fit to an Item Response Theory model. The analysis suggested that, rather than a single unidimensional construct, data literacy is multidimensional and composed of facets that are related to one another yet remain distinct. The instrument identified four factors of data literacy: Skills, Awareness of Data and its Limitations, Appreciation of Data, and Data Self-Efficacy. A confirmatory factor analysis supports this structure with a CFI of 0.990. Chronbach's Alpha for the skills factor was 0.71 and the omega coefficient for the attitudes and beliefs factors was 0.96.A key contribution of this work is the development of a Data Literacy Awareness-Action Typology mapping the relationship between an individual's awareness of data and their actions relating to personal data management. The typology highlights that awareness and action don't increase in tandem and offers a new perspective on how students might progress in their development of data literacy, suggesting the design of data literacy interventions that support students in aligning data awareness and action. The paper concludes with recommendations for researchers and practitioners to strengthen data literacy educational pathways. In particular, the findings point to the importance of bringing awareness to a broader definition of data, helping students recognize the wide role that data plays in their lives, and amplifying data literacy as empowerment to cultivate a sense of agency in when and how individuals can choose to act in engaging with their personal data. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

More research on information and communications technology (ICT) use for teaching and learning is needed, particularly since the almost global transition from traditional face-to-face to virtual classrooms forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem addressed in this current qualitative project study was the reported challenges experienced by teachers integrating ICT into the delivery of the biology curriculum in Bahamian public high school classrooms. The purpose of the study was to explore the biology teachers' ICT integration into their virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was grounded in the technological pedagogical and content knowledge conceptual framework. Three research questions focused on the teachers' decisions to use ICT in their biology classrooms, their challenges with ICT integration and their mitigation of challenges, and their needs for improving ICT use. A purposeful sampling procedure yielded eight participants, and data were collected using semistructured virtual interviews on Zoom. Coding analysis of interview data revealed several emergent themes and four key findings: (a) ICT selection hinged on logistics and teachers' technological and pedagogical knowledge; (b) teachers experienced infrastructural, technical, and pedagogical challenges but found solutions; (c) the ICT integration was valuable; and, (d) teachers wanted to improve their ICT use to enhance their teaching and students' learning in remote classrooms. A position paper was developed to be a positive social change catalyst by informing local education policymakers and stakeholders about biology teachers' suggestions for needed modifications to better support teachers in remote instructional delivery. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

First-generation, freshmen students struggle to complete the financial aid process at a 4-year private university in Louisiana, impacting their financial and academic well-being. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore first-generation, freshmen student perceptions of how they construct knowledge about the financial aid process and resources needed to help them complete the process. The conceptual framework of the study was comprised of Piaget's theory of constructivism, which is grounded in the idea of learners constructing their own knowledge based on experience. The first research question addressed how first-generation, freshmen students constructed knowledge about the financial aid process. The second research question addressed what resources students need to help them complete the financial aid process. Purposeful sampling of homogeneous cases was used to select participants with whom 10 semi-structured interviews were held with enrolled students who had completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Participants' interview responses were thematically analyzed. Results indicated that students perceived the financial aid process and terminology as unclear. Findings from the study revealed that more targeted financial aid resources and workshops were necessary to equip first-generation, freshmen students for better college outcomes. Findings and recommendations for workshops and programs were compiled in a position paper to present to university administrators to inform future policies and programs. Positive social change may result from first-generation students being provided resources that assist them with completing the financial aid process, consequently impacting their financial literacy, and decreasing excess student loan debt. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Nontraditional students in Nebraska colleges have lower graduation rates than traditional students. Approximately 40% of nontraditional students at a private college withdraw before completing a degree. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover barriers preventing nontraditional students from completing a degree. The conceptual frameworks were Tinto's student integration model and Bean's student attrition model, which involve financial, social, and academic completion resources. Research questions involve financial, social, and academic challenges preventing nontraditional students from completing a degree. The sample consisted of eight nontraditional undergraduate students between the ages of 25 to 65, an undergraduate administrator, and a focus group with seven academic advisors. Data analysis included conventional qualitative content analysis to examine data. Findings indicated students were experiencing financial, social, and academic barriers. The major themes that emerged were, a) financial needs, b) costs of education, c) managing personal life, school, and work, d) personalized services, community, and school support, e) academic knowledge and skills, and f) lacking e-learning. A position paper was created to help leaders and educators contribute to social change by developing programs and services to assist nontraditional students in terms of achieving their bachelor's degrees and contributing to the growth of the US economy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Dropping out of school before completing secondary education for special children is a significant problem in the world and particularly in America. Although high school dropout in America has been a major problem for more than two decades, it was not among the priorities of the policies of the 90s probably because it was thought that they would be solved automatically as an effect of the improvement of the educational system in general. Many countries along with America have not paid attention to the prevention strategies for special education children. For the current paper, the interpretivist approach is much more suitable as compared to positivism. The Interpretivist research philosophy is based on the principle which states that the researcher performs a specific role in observing the social world. Positivism is the theory that laws are to be understood as social rules, valid because they are enacted by authority or derive logically from existing decisions and that ideal. Moreover, strategies have been provided for school drop out for special needs students. The conclusion suggests that education is paramount for special needs children to help them through school, thereby boosting their adaptation to life. Additionally, the US taxpayers are giving a significant amount of money to support special education students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation consists of three essays in the economics of education. The first essay estimates the impact on women's educational outcomes from having a higher percentage of female peers. Leveraging quasi-random variation on the gender peer composition of STEM majors in a higher education vocational institution, I show that women benefit from having higher percentages of female peers. Specifically, a ten percentage point increase in the proportion of women in a STEM major cohort has a statistically significant positive effect on female students. It decreases female dropout rates by 9.6% and increases GPA by 0.05 standard deviations. The evidence suggests peer effects are mediated by the gender of the instructors. As female students have fewer female instructors, the effect of having more female peers intensifies. The second essay evaluates a randomized control trial intervention that gave information to high-performing students on their performance relative to other students. The results show that women and men were affected differently by the intervention: effects for women with high self-confidence are higher than the effects for men in the same group. For high-performing women who have low self-confidence in their math ability, the probability that they apply to any major increases and the selectivity of their choice of major-university also increases. The increase in application probability comes from an increase in applications for health majors. The third essay describes and explores the STEM gender gap in higher education enrollment and application. The paper focuses on how the STEM gender gap varies depending on students' socioeconomic status (SES). We show that the gender gap in STEM enrollment among top-performing Chilean students is larger for low-SES students than high-SES students. Low-SES men enroll in STEM majors 3.7 times more than low-SES women, while high-SES men enroll in STEM majors 2.4 times more than high-SES women. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The COVID-19 pandemic changed life on the planet in many different ways. It altered how we interacted with other individuals and disrupted how countless industries conducted business. Included in this disruption was the field of education. During the pandemic, many schools closed the doors to their physical buildings and began teaching students virtually. The results of virtual school included a loss in student academic achievement and an increase in the technology skills of both students and teachers. The proposed innovation contained in this executive position paper intends to capitalize on the gains in technological skills to mitigate the academic losses in student achievement. For years, the School District of Philadelphia has successfully been utilizing its reading specialists to enhance the literacy skills of district students. Reading specialists use evidence-based strategies to obtain favorable results in student learning; however, the students' access to these specialists has been greatly limited. If the district uses the best practices of distance learning to have reading specialists deliver reading interventions online, more students will be exposed to these proven beneficial approaches. Thus, this will increase the reading specialists' ability to impact student learning and increase student academic achievement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The ability to communicate well through writing has never been more critical. Writing is a necessary skill to make a living and a "life." Even before beginning school, children try to make themselves known by writing. Graves (1983) writes that a child's marks on paper-or a wall-say to the world, "I am" (p. 3). Children are aware of the value of writing, yet only 14% of them have writing that is considered "competent" (NCES, 2012). Lackluster results on national tests have spurred an increase in high-stakes testing. For students who experience fear and discomfort associated with writing, known as "writing apprehension" (Daly & Miller, 1975), practice for these tests and most other evaluative writing can cause an already negative disposition toward writing to become worse. Avoidance of situations that involve writing can lead to long-term consequences beyond school failure. This convergent-parallel mixed methods study explored the effects of an intervention that combines bibliotherapy and dialogue journaling on the writing attitudes of eight fourth-grade student participants. This purposive sample was chosen because these fourth-grade students were preparing to take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) writing test in the spring of the 2019-2020 school year. Drawing upon social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978), and Graham's Writer(s)-Within-Community model (2018), this study is rooted in the belief that learning is a social activity. In keeping with this belief, the eight fourth-grade participants met with me for twelve weekly meetings after school in the school library of a south Texas Title I school. This study was social activity by design, so it was imperative that the student participants feel a sense of togetherness and camaraderie. For this reason, I chose to call our group a "club" from the beginning. Webster's New World Collegiate Dictionary defines the word "club" as a group of people associated for a common purpose or mutual advantage, usually in an organization that meets regularly (Webster's, 2002). "Club" in this context applies well to the group that the student participants and I created. After reading a book in which a character overcomes adversity, we discussed connections to the book before the student participants wrote a response in a dialogue journal that I responded to after the meeting. In addition to transcripts of these journal entries, other qualitative data included survey responses from the fourth-grade language arts teachers, my field notes, and a post-intervention focus group interview. Quantitative data was gathered in the form of two surveys administered pre- and post-intervention. The qualitative data set was transcribed, coded, and analyzed for emergent themes, and quantitative data was analyzed statistically. Both data sets were compared side-by-side to discover congruent and discrepant findings. Findings from the quantitative analyses revealed no statistical significance between pre-and post-intervention administrations of the surveys. Qualitative findings suggested that the student participants demonstrated increased confidence and were in the process of developing more positive attitudes toward writing. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

An information literate population is a fundamental component of modern society, but the definition of what it means to be information literate has changed over time, resulting in debates within the information literacy community. Through the lens of Thomas Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions and Shneider's four stages of a discipline framework, this dissertation examines the progress of the information literacy research domain using both scientometric and content analysis methods. Three research questions are addressed in this study. First, the structural and temporal features of the information literacy knowledge domain are identified using document co-citation analysis to identify major research areas, landmark and hub documents, and active research topics. Second, pivotal papers connecting major research areas are explored using pathfinder network scaling algorithms to identify critical paths of transition in the domain. Finally, full-text pivotal documents are examined using qualitative content analysis to trace the progression of information literacy construct definitions in seminal research documents. Findings support a paradigm shift occurred in the domain when the skills-based information literacy definition was rejected in favor of a metaliteracy model. Technological advancement emerged as an influencing factor on paradigms, playing a major role in the domain's evolution over the past half-century. Information literacy research and instruction is built upon the framework used to define what it means to be information literate. Therefore, this study has practical implications for information literacy researchers, librarians, and students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This dissertation researches the barriers encountered and resiliency learned for Black administrators on their path to becoming superintendents in California. Using critical race theory as the lens of the conceptual framework, this research used a qualitative method. The research questions inquired about how the barriers of mentorship, career pathways, and anti-Blackness affected their career trajectories. The study used interviews with Black California superintendents. This research shed light on how the barriers impacted the journey to the seat of superintendent. The paper concludes with evidence-based recommendations to reduce barriers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper describes a problem of practice that arose from a lack of consistent, systematic phonics instruction within a small rural school with a large percentage of students not mastering skills in a way that builds the needed foundation for reading. To address this problem, action research was conducted through a mixed methods approach to determine the impact of multisensory Orton-Gillingham based reading instruction on a small population of students' phonetic development and how this specific type of instruction affected their attitudes about reading. In an attempt to collect quantitative data, this study was guided by two research questions: How and to what extent does Orton-Gillingham based instruction impact phonetic development in students in first and second grade who are also in Tier 2 and Tier 3 RTI? It was also guided by one qualitative research question that sought to ascertain how Orton-Gillingham based instruction impacted those students' attitudes about reading. The results of the study indicated an increase in students' reading achievement and attitudes about reading when Orton-Gillingham based instruction is implemented consistently. An action plan, which is to continue to implement "Phonics First" through the next school year with my sample group, a new group of third graders, and in kindergarten through third grade classrooms was developed. Implications for further research are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The concept of computational thinking (CT) has become more prevalent across the engineering education research and teaching landscape. Yet much of the research to date has been more definitional and has not offered many ways to convert CT theory to practice. One prominent set of tools used across engineering disciplines is modeling and simulation, which allows students to create a representation of the outside world as they understand it. This three-paper dissertation connects modeling and simulation skills with eliciting CT by leveraging model-based reasoning as a theoretical framework. A learning design was created and delivered here via design-based research that includes educational frameworks such as productive failure and model-eliciting activities (MEAs) to structure the modeling activity within a classroom setting. The designed learning intervention used a four-part sequence to scaffold the modeling activity in the classroom: (1) planning the model, (2) building the model, (3) evaluating the model, and (4) reflecting on the model. A case study of a final-year capstone course in biological engineering implemented the four-week designed learning intervention as part of the course. The guiding research question for the study was "how do modeling and simulation activities elicit computational thinking practices in the context of undergraduate engineering education?" To approach this question, data were collected in audio transcripts and student-generated artifacts to identify areas where the modeling activity elicited different forms of CT in the student work. The first study examined how CT was elicited within the model-building phase and developed an initial codebook for CT practices and outcomes using thematic analysis. The second and third studies built upon that codebook and further the outcomes by analyzing the modeling activity's planning and evaluating/reflecting phases. The results indicate that CT is used throughout the entire modeling and simulation process as students engage in model-based reasoning. The identified CT practices of abstraction, algorithmic thinking, evaluation, generalization, and decomposition emerged from a thematic analysis, and each practice was further characterized and refined into a set of outcomes. Furthermore, each phase of the modeling activity emphasized unique CT outcomes suggesting that students would benefit from enacting the entire modeling and simulation process to acquire and practice a diverse range of CT outcomes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]