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This dissertation addresses three separate questions in human capital and development economics. In the first chapter, I study how college admission concerns drive students' field choices in a field-specific college admission system. To study this question, I leverage a college admission policy reform in Ethiopia that sharply increased the proportion of college seats in public universities allocated to college STEM fields. The reform significantly decreased the admission selectivity of STEM fields in the short run. Using cohort analysis and a regression discontinuity design, I show that students are significantly more likely to choose the STEM fields after the reform. More importantly, I find significant heterogeneity in the field choice response, with the marginal students responding more strongly compared to the infra-marginal students. In addition, using a complier characteristics analysis, I show that the reform led to a significant sorting on field-specific skills. In particular, those induced to choose the STEM fields have a comparative advantage in skills valued more in the STEM fields. These overall and field-specific sorting significantly changed the peer quality in STEM and non-STEM fields. These findings imply that admission concerns play a significant role in students' field choices. However, students do not naively sort into less selective college fields. Instead, their choices are consistent with their relative position in the distribution of multi-dimensional skills. The latter suggests that students make more informed and rational choices than the existing literature suggests. In the second chapter, I investigate the effect of the fast expansion of the Second Generation (2G) and Third Generation (3G) mobile technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on health literacy in the region. Using Demographic and Health Surveys data from 25 countries in SSA and a historical mobile network coverage map, I estimate an Instrumental Variable (IV) specification. I show that the widespread use of these technologies has significantly improved health literacy in the region. Specifically, access to either technology significantly decreases misconceptions and wrong beliefs about diseases and health. The benefits are substantial in regions where the technologies have been available longer. Consistent with the range of services its provides, 3G technology results in a larger gain in health literacy. These findings imply that mobile technologies have considerable potential to improve health and quality of life in many developing countries. In the final chapter, I study the relationship between birth spacing and children's outcomes, focusing on the mechanisms that underlie the relationship. Using linked mother-child data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), I explore two mechanisms: the maternal health and physiology channel and the material and parental time input channel. The result shows that a short pre-birth inter-pregnancy interval negatively affects the birth endowments of children, highlighting the importance of the birth spacing effect that works through the maternal health and physiology channel. The study also provides evidence in support of the material and parental time input channel. In particular, I show that closely spaced siblings score significantly lower on the standardized Peabody International Achievement Test (PIAT), a wide-range measure of academic achievement for children aged five and above. On the other hand, I find limited evidence of the birth spacing effect on long-term outcomes such as schooling and labor market outcomes. These findings have implications for parental leave and other labor market policies affecting the birth spacing choices of parents. [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.]

Principals are the change agents within their buildings when it comes to improving student achievement (Grissom et al., 2021). However, the role of the principal is increasingly complex and continues to become more complicated as new demands are placed on the role. These complexities, alongside a lack of resources, contribute to principal turnover: "Each year, about 20 percent of the nation's 90,000 public school principals leave their jobs, leaving over 18,000 schools with a new principal each fall" (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011, p7). This turnover has consequences for student achievement, staff morale, and teacher turnover (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). The job demands of the school principal need to be addressed, but even with intentional support added, principal turnover will continue to be a problem due to the propensity for burnout. District-level personnel can mitigate the negative impacts of principal turnover through a comprehensive succession plan. Currently, most districts utilize more reactive approaches to principal replacements, but using a comprehensive succession plan creates more prepared leaders (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Succession planning is a systematic and purposeful effort to anticipate leadership vacancies and has qualified individuals prepared to fill the role. This comprehensive approach includes identifying potential individuals from within the organization and providing intentional training, enabling them to be prepared to lead from day one (Parfitt, 2017). The goal of succession planning is to align human capital with the strategic goals of the company (Cieminski, 2018). Succession planning includes the elements of talent identification, talent development, selection and placement, and onboarding. Additionally, certain organizational and cultural systems must be in place before these elements are implemented with success. Finally, quality succession planning requires objective and consistent program evaluation to determine if the institution's needs are being met. Very few states have instituted public education policies or requirements for comprehensive succession planning (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Using a product development methodology, the team created a web-based portal to store documents that assist districts in creating a comprehensive principal succession plan. The aim of this product is to aid districts in supporting succession planning as a comprehensive talent development process and as an alternative to mere replacement planning. Using the web-based portal tool will help districts identify the steps in the succession planning process and also where the district has strengths and weaknesses. The team used the Delphi methodology to refine the product using input from current district superintendents and human resource managers. This product will aid district leaders in managing a comprehensive succession planning process to identify and prepare aspiring leaders, place them successfully, and support their resiliency to make the transition successful for teacher and student 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.]

Principals are the change agents within their buildings when it comes to improving student achievement (Grissom et al., 2021). However, the role of the principal is increasingly complex and continues to become more complicated as new demands are placed on the role. These complexities, alongside a lack of resources, contribute to principal turnover: "Each year, about 20 percent of the nation's 90,000 public school principals leave their jobs, leaving over 18,000 schools with a new principal each fall" (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011, p7). This turnover has consequences for student achievement, staff morale, and teacher turnover (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). The job demands of the school principal need to be addressed, but even with intentional support added, principal turnover will continue to be a problem due to the propensity for burnout. District-level personnel can mitigate the negative impacts of principal turnover through a comprehensive succession plan. Currently, most districts utilize more reactive approaches to principal replacements, but using a comprehensive succession plan creates more prepared leaders (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Succession planning is a systematic and purposeful effort to anticipate leadership vacancies and has qualified individuals prepared to fill the role. This comprehensive approach includes identifying potential individuals from within the organization and providing intentional training, enabling them to be prepared to lead from day one (Parfitt, 2017). The goal of succession planning is to align human capital with the strategic goals of the company (Cieminski, 2018). Succession planning includes the elements of talent identification, talent development, selection and placement, and onboarding. Additionally, certain organizational and cultural systems must be in place before these elements are implemented with success. Finally, quality succession planning requires objective and consistent program evaluation to determine if the institution's needs are being met. Very few states have instituted public education policies or requirements for comprehensive succession planning (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Using a product development methodology, the team created a web-based portal to store documents that assist districts in creating a comprehensive principal succession plan. The aim of this product is to aid districts in supporting succession planning as a comprehensive talent development process and as an alternative to mere replacement planning. Using the web-based portal tool will help districts identify the steps in the succession planning process and also where the district has strengths and weaknesses. The team used the Delphi methodology to refine the product using input from current district superintendents and human resource managers. This product will aid district leaders in managing a comprehensive succession planning process to identify and prepare aspiring leaders, place them successfully, and support their resiliency to make the transition successful for teacher and student 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.]

Principals are the change agents within their buildings when it comes to improving student achievement (Grissom et al., 2021). However, the role of the principal is increasingly complex and continues to become more complicated as new demands are placed on the role. These complexities, alongside a lack of resources, contribute to principal turnover: "Each year, about 20 percent of the nation's 90,000 public school principals leave their jobs, leaving over 18,000 schools with a new principal each fall" (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011, p7). This turnover has consequences for student achievement, staff morale, and teacher turnover (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). The job demands of the school principal need to be addressed, but even with intentional support added, principal turnover will continue to be a problem due to the propensity for burnout. District-level personnel can mitigate the negative impacts of principal turnover through a comprehensive succession plan. Currently, most districts utilize more reactive approaches to principal replacements, but using a comprehensive succession plan creates more prepared leaders (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Succession planning is a systematic and purposeful effort to anticipate leadership vacancies and has qualified individuals prepared to fill the role. This comprehensive approach includes identifying potential individuals from within the organization and providing intentional training, enabling them to be prepared to lead from day one (Parfitt, 2017). The goal of succession planning is to align human capital with the strategic goals of the company (Cieminski, 2018). Succession planning includes the elements of talent identification, talent development, selection and placement, and onboarding. Additionally, certain organizational and cultural systems must be in place before these elements are implemented with success. Finally, quality succession planning requires objective and consistent program evaluation to determine if the institution's needs are being met. Very few states have instituted public education policies or requirements for comprehensive succession planning (Schmidt-Davis & Bottoms, 2011). Using a product development methodology, the team created a web-based portal to store documents that assist districts in creating a comprehensive principal succession plan. The aim of this product is to aid districts in supporting succession planning as a comprehensive talent development process and as an alternative to mere replacement planning. Using the web-based portal tool will help districts identify the steps in the succession planning process and also where the district has strengths and weaknesses. The team used the Delphi methodology to refine the product using input from current district superintendents and human resource managers. This product will aid district leaders in managing a comprehensive succession planning process to identify and prepare aspiring leaders, place them successfully, and support their resiliency to make the transition successful for teacher and student 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 convergence of a digital transformation and a growing youth population in Africa represents an opportunity to harness digital and demographic dividends to boost human capital development. Higher education institutions play a central role in this process as the demographic dividend is accrued from the rise in the proportion of educated individuals rather than simply from an increase in population. Moreover, digital transformation has significant implications for education and the workplace, presenting higher education institutions with the challenge of increasing enrollment and integrating digital training while contending with infrastructure and personnel constraints. Leveraging online learning offers a mechanism for overcoming physical limitations and staffing shortages to meet the challenge of providing educational opportunities to a growing pool of eligible applicants. However, whether online learning can deliver higher or equivalent learning outcomes than face-to-face instruction is a factor in determining its practicality as a supplement to campus-based instruction. Therefore, evaluating the suitability of online learning requires an empirical assessment of its efficacy and a study of the factors that influence its deployment in established higher education institutions. The sequential mixed-method study examined the efficacy of online learning at the University of Ghana (UG) and Addis Ababa University (AAU). The quantitative method examined whether online instruction had a causal effect on learning outcomes as measured by Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). A propensity score matching analysis shows online learning had outperformed face-to-face instruction in UG by 9.28% (p=0.045) and AAU by 20.7% (p=0.001). The qualitative case study of AAU and UG documented the evolution, location, and implementation of online learning and the institutional and individual challenges in its deployment. UG and AAU have developed complementary strengths in the deployment of online learning. AAU's strength lies in providing sophisticated technical infrastructure and support for effective technical deployment, whereas UG has developed a process and mechanism to monitor the quality of online courses. The study found UG and AAU demonstrate an asset-based strategy for deploying online learning by leveraging strengths and developing solutions unique to their context, illustrating the importance of adaptation and indigenization in the deployment of online 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.]

Problem: In Colombia, higher education plays a relevant role in developing human capital and equity, giving everyone the opportunity to access higher education. In particular, the government has been supporting public and private universities to open campuses in rural areas where guerrillas, the mafia, and paramilitary groups were fighting the government to dominate the territories. In 1995, the government of the State of Antioquia officially established the regionalization of higher education as a strategy to promote higher education in disadvantaged regions. The Universidad de Antioquia (Universidad de Antioquia) adopted that strategy as part of its development plans during the last 28 years. The region of Uraba is one of the areas where the war left thousands of deaths, people displaced by the violence, farmers' loss of land, and poverty across the region. It was in the University's best interest to measure the results of the regionalization of higher education in the regions, particularly in the region of Uraba. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find whether the regionalization of higher education contributed to human capital development and improvement of equity in the region of Uraba. Method: A multiple correspondence analysis and a VAR model were conducted to support the possible relationships between the variables to answer the research question: Is there a relationship between the regionalization strategy of the Universidad de Antioquia and the development of human capital and the improvement of equity of the region of Uraba? In addition, structural equations modeling was used to analyze the correlation of the variables. The data analyzed was secondary data obtained from the Universidad de Antioquia alumni database with information from 1996 to 2016. Results: The findings of this study supported the assumption that the model of the regionalization of Universidad de Antioquia has contributed to human capital development and the improvement of equity in the region. The model shows a direct relationship between the regionalization of higher education and equity and an indirect relationship with salary increases for alumni. Enrollment and access to higher education for men and women did not show a significant difference. The regionalization project of the University has contributed to equity through the increase in access to higher education in the regions. Students from low social income families still struggled to find a place in public or private universities. This is evidence that there is a need to continue with this strategy and also that the national and local government must invest additional resources to expand the coverage of tertiary education in the regions. Conclusion: In conclusion, based on the results of this study, the Universidad de Antioquia and its project of regionalization of higher education has been a factor of development for the region of Uraba. The relationships between human capital development and equity improvement with regionalization are evidence of the contribution of the project to a region that requested help after decades of war. I propose the implementation of the regionalization model of the Universidad de Antioquia in other states and regions of the country in order to minimize differences in human capital development and equity. [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.]

Quantitative research on education and training attainment involving wage data using "Human Capital" theoretical constructs provides insights based on monetary returns. However, similarly determining quantifiable values for the education and training attainment of individual governmental organization employees relative to their respective work performance has proven an elusive prospect. Given that individual employee performance at governmental organizations is not directly tied to marketplace success, this research endeavor explored establishing a non-monetary value linking an individual's education and training attainment to their work performance as service providers. This undertaking used service user survey comment card response data in an attempt to compare governmental organization employee higher education and training attainment levels. Herein, it was hypothesized that archival survey data could be used to determine the effect higher education and training have on the service user survey satisfaction scores applicable to individual government workers. It was further hypothesized that the higher a governmental organization employee's educational and training attainment, the greater the level of user satisfaction will be recorded for the service provided. Based on the results of this study, no significance was associated with the subject governmental employees' higher education and training attainment attributes to applicable service user satisfaction scores. However, these results do not preclude future research endeavors in this area of study. Moreover, it is acknowledged that future statistical research in this area may be better served by the evolution of technological advancements in government queuing processes, including the latest implementation of advanced survey research designs. Finally, it is recognized the information gleaned from this research venture serves to benefit governmental organizations, their employees, higher educational institutions, other entities, and the public about the potential predicated by this line of inquiry. [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 spring of 2022, Learning Forward released an updated version of their professional learning standards. The concepts and research highlighted in the 2022 version of the standards are not necessarily new to the field of education. However, orchestrating the standards to create conditions for success and enact transformational processes for teacher learning and student achievement can be challenging. Combine that challenge with the stress of a global pandemic and rapid changes in public education, and the impact on teachers is significant. This interview study explored the results of applying the concepts underscored in the 2022 Standards for Professional Learning on the professional capital and collective efficacy of mid-career teachers. This study engaged four mid-career teachers, two administrators, and two professional learning trainers in interviews and focus groups. Each participant was instrumental in a Midwestern elementary school's professional learning and development process for becoming the first Quantum Learning Distinguished School in the United States. The participants shared their perspectives on their professional learning experiences guided by leadership. The interviews and focus groups were coded for intersecting themes. The mid-career teachers and leaders involved in the study confirmed the concepts included in the 2022 Standards for Professional Learning. The emerging themes were ongoing, connected professional learning with consistent positive feedback and collaboration, as well as showcasing the need for leaders to maintain quality communication, a shared vision, and a focus on change. It was evident that mid-career teachers need to feel a strong sense of belonging in the school culture to continue to blossom in professional capital. This study highlights what mid-career teachers value when undergoing high levels of stress, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic while thriving in professional learning settings. Leaders can reference this study to better understand how to create a culture to support the growth of mid-career teachers. [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 high school diploma is no longer the path to financial stability; a person needs at least a postsecondary degree or credential to earn a median income (Carnavale, et al. 2019). Community colleges need to work to create opportunities for all students, including those that may enter school as an adult, and not straight from high school, to attain a certificate or degree. This study examines two public community colleges in the United States that have both noncredit and credit programs that are in different stages of advancement of clear, articulable pathways. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the process that stakeholders in two community colleges describe to design and implement clearly articulated pathways for students to move from noncredit to credit programs that will allow them to attain a certificate or degree. The findings will contribute to the field of higher education and policy by assisting institutions with a tool to create a framework to design and implement noncredit to credit pathways. If community colleges create opportunities for students to bridge between noncredit to credit programs by articulating credit for the time invested and competencies learned, more adult students will be able to attain certificates and degrees, thus increasing their human capital and their ability to seek higher-paying jobs. [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.]

Many Black educators and principals led the nation's schools in the early-to-mid-1900's, when American public education was racially segregated. Black male principals leading predominantly Black schools was commonplace before the United States Supreme Court's decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" that ruled that the practice of separate was no longer equal. The number of Black male principals serving in North Carolina schools today is disproportionately low. Research on rural schools is scant and there is even less research about Black male principals leading these schools. This study focused on the motivational factors affecting Black male principals working in rural North Carolina school districts. The purpose of this basic, interpretive qualitative case-study was to explore the lived experiences of these principals. As part of this exploration, the researcher examined factors that motivated Black male principals to work in rural North Carolina counties. All five participants in the study expressed that they embraced their profession and work as a major component of their identity; four were native to their rural communities. They believed they had a moral obligation to serve as a mirror, a window, and an advocate for rural North Carolina students and prove that Black male principals were educational leaders and more than disciplinarians. Job dissatisfaction factors included the low expectations and deficit perceptions of schools and students from rural counties in North Carolina, as well as the inequitable distribution and access to human capital and resources. The researcher's hope is that insight gained from this investigation would positively impact recruiting, mentoring, coaching of Black male principals, and aid in their retention not only in rural districts, but potentially all districts. [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.]

Teaching science involves designing learning experiences that attend to a complex set of relationships between students, the discipline of science, and the places where science experiences are carried out. Unfortunately, with traditional approaches to K-12 science instruction, contributions to learning from students and places are often overlooked as educators seek to create disciplinary experiences that increase science learning outcomes that are measurable, repeatable, and standardized. Place-based science education seeks to push back on traditional science education approaches, and create opportunities for children, places, and disciplines to equitably take up their agency and influence the learning experiences. However, the way these agents interact in place-based science education experiences in K-12 settings is still largely unknown. Therefore, to gain a greater understanding of how these agents interact, this work explores the design, implementation, and outcomes of a Place-Based Science Education (PBSE) learning experience that equitably positions children, a place, and the discipline of science. To do this, I completed a design-based research project where I developed two science investigations that engaged 6th grade science students in the exploration of "variation" in their schoolyard ecosystem. I analyzed a variety of data from these two investigations to characterize children's knowledge, experiences during the instructional design, and subsequent learning outcomes. I also characterized the nature of interactions amongst children, the material world, and the discipline of science. In Chapter One, this dissertation sets out the case for reconceptualizing PBSE as a Dance of Agency (DoA) that more equitably positions human, material, and disciplinary agency. This position paper sets up the rationale for Chapter Two. This dissertation is in an alternative format structure, where Chapters Two through Four are independent manuscripts prepared for publication. Chapter Two is a theoretical paper that describes the DoA framework in detail. The goal of this paper is to map out tensions inherent in place-based education (PBE) and PBSE as they are currently conceptualized, and to address these tensions in the DoA framework. This paper dives deep into the theoretical and conceptual work that undergirds the development of the DoA framework, and presents early implications used in the instructional design presented in Chapters Three and Four. Chapter Three presents the first empirical exploration into the DoA framework's application in an educational setting. This paper characterizes (1) the baseline knowledge participating children have of a place (place knowledge) when they come into a PBSE experience and (2) the nature of children's relationship with the place where they take part in a future science investigation. Findings showcase how children's place knowledge is functional, and that this functional knowledge is associated with supportive and submissive dances with agency with the schoolyard setting. In Chapter Four, I present episodes where the DoA manifested throughout the two investigations, and connect the development of children's place knowledge throughout the investigation to these episodes. This study found that the introduction of disciplinary agency, in the form of specific phenomena and activities, focused children as they accessed their place knowledge and took up their agency to make decisions in the investigation. Disciplinary agency also exposed material agency from the schoolyard. [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 this dissertation, I argue that the entrepreneurship education literature might be undersocialized in its understanding of how entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) impact entrepreneurial outcomes. I contend that this organizational context and the pedagogical approaches undertaken can arguably facilitate not only the development of founders' human capital--as research has emphasized--but also their social capital. I introduce into the entrepreneurship education literature, a social capital perspective to answer the questions (1) how do EEPs facilitate the development of founders' social capital and (2) how do founders' initial social capital influence their firm founding activities in the EEP? To address these questions, I conducted a mixed method, embedded case study of three EEPs. I drew upon interviews, observations, social network surveys, and documentation to test preliminary propositions and induct theory on potential mechanisms that facilitate founders' social capital development. The findings show that the chosen pedagogical models utilized in the training sessions may play a role in the structural social capital founders generate within the programs. Furthermore, I propose and offer description of three additional mechanisms by which EEPs facilitate founders' networking--namely: facilitating the acquisition of relational knowledge, brokering access to players, and social cost reduction. Moreover, I find that founders leverage their existing network while engaging in the program's directed activities. I explain that this may in part explain some of the reasons for mixed findings in research that examine the impact of entrepreneurship education. Taken together, I contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship education an embedded perspective on EEPs. I also offer to the literature on social networks and entrepreneurship insight into how organizations can facilitate the development of founders' social capital. [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.]

Research indicated that the workforce would require significant upskilling and reskilling over the next several years for organizations and their people to remain competitive in changing markets. This qualitative case study explored how human resources development (HRD), a mechanism leveraged to develop an organization's human capital through training, education, coaching, or mentoring, has transitioned from HRD practitioners to placing first-line leaders at the forefront of employee development. This study gathered first-line leader insight from leaders with one year or less of leadership experience through surveys, interviews, and observation. Relationship building was a prominent theme and motivational source for employee development throughout participants' perspectives. Future research may assess the effects of COVID-19 on the dynamics of building relationships. [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.]

Higher education culture is steeped in institutional identity and ties to history. But what happens when that history is challenged, and an institution must change its name? While a merger was not initially intended for Kearney State College, merging into the University of Nebraska system was the only way to reflect the change and growth that emulated the type of institution it had become. By interviewing sixteen participants that lived the experience of the merge, a concise and collective history of the events that lead to the creation of the University of Nebraska at Kearney was obtained and studied. Through phenomenological methodology, the important story of the institution gave way to the institution's identity before, during and after the merge, solidifying not only who Kearney State was, but also who UNK is. Future research implicates the importance of studying the increasing commonality of higher education institutions merging, be it strategic or for survival, and opens higher education to be researched further not only into the importance of documented histories but also for studying the effect of change in identity, particularly on the human capital component. [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 determine if implementing student response technology (SRT) and case studies into a largely populated university undergraduate course would influence student engagement. When student engagement is influenced the potential for positive learning outcomes occurs leading to a higher likelihood of student success (Swap & Walter, 2015). Four research questions guided this study: How and to what extent does incorporating SRT and case studies in a largely populated undergraduate course at MSU influence: (1) student motivation; (2) cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement; (3) feedback; and (4) What are the effects of SRT and case studies on student learning with applications of leadership, strategic planning, partnership, and the importance of human capital?Participants (n = 56) were students enrolled in a course at Michigan State University. The data for this study were collected from a pre-and-post quantitative survey and learning assessment, participant interviews, and a written reflective artifact. An SRT digital tool called Acadly was utilized to influence discussion during a four-week innovation. Participants were surveyed, interviewed (n = 8), and required to provide awritten reflection regarding their perceptions of Acadly and its influence on their motivation, engagement, feedback, and learning. Results from paired-samples t-tests showed no significant difference statistically from presurvey to postsurvey on engagement. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were performed on constructs of the learning assessment, and again, no statistical significance was found. However, participant interviews and artifacts identified perceptions of influence on motivation, engagement, and feedback. [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.]

Registered apprenticeship (RA) programs have emerged in recent years in response to the nation's critical workforce needs. Since 2015, there has been a resurgence of federal and state investments to modernize and diversify the RA system to attract new entrants and new high-demand industries. This study uses human capital theory (HCT) as a lens for exploring the lived experiences and training investment decisions of seven Black women who participated in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) RAs. The study participants experienced a combination of on-the-job learning and classroom instruction in a range of STEM RA programs. These programs ranged from being highly structured and competency based, with degree-level credentials, to being less structured; all provided industry-recognized credentials from a community college, university, or training program. The study yielded five primary findings: apprentices needed certain characteristics to enter, participate, and succeed in STEM RAs; apprentices capitalized on rotational opportunities and mentors to adapt to the demands of STEM RAs; the dual structure of STEM RAs helped apprentices feel prepared for success in the workplace; STEM RAs provided financial and nonfinancial benefits, including improvements to interpersonal skills and professional networks; and feelings of recognition and inclusion resulted in a sense of belonging in participants. This study confirmed, in part, that Black women's completion of STEM RA programs should result in increased competencies, wages, employment opportunities, and productivity. In addition, this research confirmed the limitations of HCT by revealing the emotional turmoil that comes from being underrepresented. [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.]