Education Commons^™

Exploring The Perceived Effects Of Online And Hybrid Learning On The Experiences Of Students In Nigerian Universities, Amaechi Ugwu

Theses and Dissertations

Recent years have seen an apparent increase in the popularity and acceptance of online and hybrid learning as alternative models of learning at universities and other institutions of higher education in Nigeria. However, there is doubt whether the increase in popularity and acceptance of online and hybrid learning has translated to better learning conditions or satisfaction for students and graduates of higher education. These issues among others have made online and hybrid learning models to represent an area of growing academic interest by scholars. The main purpose of this study was to explore the perceived effects of online and hybrid …

Impact Of Supervisors’ Person-Centered Listening On Sense Of Belonging Among Occupationally Minoritized Healthcare Professionals, Nelu Nedelea

Theses and Dissertations

Significant gender and racial disparities are evident when comparing the composition of the U.S. healthcare workforce to the general U.S. population. Latinx individuals are underrepresented across all professions, while non-White individuals and women are occupational minorities in executive roles and in physician, surgeon, and advanced practitioner roles. Lack of diversity poses problems for underrepresented healthcare professionals, their organizations, and their patients. While diverse professionals experience various forms of microaggression, discrimination, prejudice, and diminished sense of belonging in their fields, these conditions can compromise communication among the various healthcare professionals involved with a patient, in turn, potentially threatening patient safety and …

Not At The Expense Of Me: Best Practices For Black Women Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Social Justice Practitioners In Higher Education, Brittney Michelle Elese Fink

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research paper investigated the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year 2020 in sparking a phenomenon of hiring chief diversity officers (CDOs) in higher education. By exploring the interplay between the pandemic, racial justice movements, evolving higher education landscape, and institutional accountability, this study aimed to understand the motivations behind the increased hiring of CDOs during this transformative period. Additionally, this research examined the specific effects of this phenomenon on Black women diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice (DEI&J) professionals in higher education. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by …

Understanding Needs: Facilitating Faculty Support For Formal Assessment Processes In Higher Education, Terrance Cao

Theses and Dissertations

Prior literature discusses how conflicting beliefs regarding assessment, competing workloads, and a lack of formal assessment resources may contribute to faculty reluctance to engage with formal assessment processes. There is a gap in research on exploring assessment leader-faculty relationships through the lens of Leader-Member Exchange Theory and how that may affect participation in formal assessment processes. To address this gap, the researcher implemented a qualitative, phenomenological study to interview faculty about their lived experiences in working with formal assessment processes and interacting with assessment leaders. The goal was to discover emerging thematic categories regarding faculty perceptions of formal assessment processes …

Teaching First-Generation Newcomers In Charter High Schools: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students’ Barriers, Teaching Practices And Strategies, And Teaching Supports, Daniel Loh

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers in the United States are experiencing challenges linked to the increasing number of immigrant students entering schools. Los Angeles County Charter schools are among the country's most diverse, with many immigrant students. Although first-generation and immigrant students’ education barriers and teacher challenges are documented, little is known about teachers' experiences with newcomer students, a particularly vulnerable group. This phenomenological study explored charter high school teachers’ lived experiences concerning their teaching challenges and perspectives on the barriers for first-generation/newcomer immigrant students, their descriptions of the strategies and practices used, and their perceptions of the support they receive. Twelve teachers from …

Learning Technology Professors’ Experiences With National Science Foundation (Nsf) External Grant Funding In Higher Education, Mitchell Gurick

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of learning technology professors with National Science Foundation (NSF) external grant funding focused on education. The study investigated stories related to using NSF grants by learning technology professors across the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It enumerated the need for collaboration between industry, government, and higher education institutions (HEIs). The study aimed to establish how more grants lead to increased opportunities for learning technology professors to pursue academic research and impact society. The research questions were: What outlier stories emerge from learning technology professors by securing NSF grant funding? How …

Examining Women’S Persistence In Stem: A Mixed Methods Study Of Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, And Sociocultural Influences On Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Heather Midori Saigo

Theses and Dissertations

Several decades of effort have improved the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but the gender gap remains. Researchers have found diverse reasons for women’s underrepresentation in STEM, but less is understood about factors supporting persistence. This study’s purpose was to understand how women persist in STEM, through the lens of self-determination theory. Self-determination theory posits that persistence improves when one’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are satisfied. This embedded mixed methods study provides evidence of how autonomy, competence, relatedness, and sociocultural factors influence women’s persistence in STEM. Using network and snowball sampling, the researcher …

Perceptions Of Classroom Technology Use Among Adult English Learners, Mandy Chien

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess adult English Learners’ perceptions of using Microsoft Teams in classes. Specifically, the study aims to explore the strength and direction of the correlation between the elements of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and using Microsoft Teams in English language courses. This study addressed the following research question: What are the strengths and directions of the correlations between the elements of the technology acceptance model and the use of Microsoft Teams among adult ELs?

The researcher utilized a quantitative methods approach to investigate the relationship between TAM variables and the use of Microsoft …

Utilizing Social Media As An Assistive Technology Tool For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Meaghan Donahue

Theses and Dissertations

The number of children diagnosed with autism has continued to rise since 2000 at startling rates, leading to an increased need for schools to discover innovative ways to meet the unique learning needs of these students. Technology has proven to be adaptable and successful in teaching social skills to children with autism. Assistive technology and the continuing development of online platforms offer unique opportunities for children with special needs to access the general education curriculum. This combined with the increased usage of social media among school-aged children, make it a potential tool for learning. Understanding how social media can be …

Mandated Sexual Violence Prevention In Higher Education: A Quantitative Analysis Of Student Response To Sexual Harassment And Violence Through A Framework Of Organizational Culture, Andrew L. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual violence (SV) is a global public health crisis of pandemic proportions. Sexual harassment (SH) and violence are pervasive on college campuses, negatively impacting students, faculty, and staff. To address this, U.S. universities are required by federal law to implement EBP programs to foster awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and skills/behaviors (competencies) to prevent or mitigate sexual misconduct. Improving these competencies can increase students’ capacity to respond to SH and SV they experience or witness positively impacting retention, health, wellness, and graduation outcomes. Additionally, recent empirical evidence has linked organizational culture (i.e., values, shared beliefs, and artifacts) and competencies to effectively responding …

Blogging Mastery: Analyzing The Key Strategies Behind Successful Blogs, Michael Llamas

Theses and Dissertations

Bloggers in the digital landscape have the power to shape consumer behavior and influence their peers. However, successfully running a blog demands time and commitment, similar to operating a small business. Yet, there is scant literature regarding successful practices and strategies that bloggers use to build their blogs and remain successful. This study explores bloggers' most effective methods and strategies to establish themselves in their respective niches. The qualitative research study uses transcendental phenomenology to examine the lived experiences of successful bloggers, aiming to provide insights into their successful strategies, best practices, challenges, and insights for new bloggers. Twelve bloggers …

Examining The Role Of Cultural Capital In Access And Equity For Female C-Stem Learners Of Color, Tiffany L. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine the impact of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1973; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977) on the access and equity of C-STEM learners of color under the following four tenets of Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model: aspirational, familial, social, and navigational capital. A theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT; Crenshaw, 1988) was utilized to frame the study. Research questions explore the impacts of cultural capital upon the perceived access and equity of female C-STEM learners. Qualitative methodology guided the study under the integrated approach of Quantitative Ethnography (QE) which examines qualitative data with the support of statistical …

Photovoice As A Reflective Pedagogy For Undergraduate Community Psychology Students, Shereé Bielecki

Theses and Dissertations

This descriptive qualitative study was designed to understand the experiences of former Community Psychology (CP) undergraduate students who participated in a degree program at a California university. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how former Community Psychology undergraduate students describe their experiences using reflective Photovoice activities to learn about and become involved in social justice. The theoretical frameworks that informed this study were in social justice theory, pedagogical practices related to teaching social justice using Photovoice, and the practice of self-reflection in college classrooms. Two primary research questions guide the inquiry: 1) How do former Community Psychology …

Psychological Safety During The Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions-A U.S. Healthcare Context, Mary Jean Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The pandemic forced many employees to transition to remote work, leading to concerns about the economic impact and inequities between remote and on-site workers. The shift to remote work has raised psychological safety issues, work-life balance, and employee engagement. The virtual workspace created during the pandemic has highlighted communication challenges, interpersonal dynamics, and maintaining boundaries between work and personal life. Through a quantitative approach, this study explored changes in perceived psychological safety, its relation to the psychosocial impact of COVID-19, and demographic factors, offering the opportunity to gain insights into this unprecedented experience during a global pandemic. Findings showed that …

Exploring Leaders' Sensemaking Of Emergent Global Norms For Open Science: A Mixed Methods Discourse Analysis Of Unesco’S Multistakeholder Initiative, Lisa Cuevas Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

In November 2021, all 193 United Nations Member States adopted the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Recommendation on Open Science (UNESCO, 2021a), which signaled a shared commitment to globally recognized standards for open science. However, as with other normative instruments established by intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such as UNESCO, the ways in which local, national, and regional leaders will implement the recommendation can and will vary (Finnemore, 1993). Top-down and bottom-up coordination across international stakeholders in the research system is critical for the framework to be effective in driving global policy implementation and enabling sustained research culture change. …

How Technology Mediated Social Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Case Study, Rashi Seth-Parmar

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in California were forced to shut their doors to students and staff during spring semester 2020. The school closures forced teachers to migrate their lessons to online platforms and forced students to learn using various online modalities. Students no longer had the traditional access to their teachers, administrators, or peers, which caused an imbalance in their social learning. This phenomenological qualitative study offers administrators and teachers best practices in fostering student social learning while utilizing distance learning or online learning specifically for K-12 students. The best practices are derived from the lived experiences of …

International Students’ Perception Of The Development Of Their Digital Academic Writing Identity Based On Their Participation In An Intensive English Language Program, Francesca L. Nesfield

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. economy receives consistent and increasing benefits from international students in higher education, an estimated $41 billion during the 2018-2019 academic year. However, the existing research literature has failed to determine whether Intensive English Language Programs (IELP) adequately prepare these students for college-level composition in digital mediums. The objective of this study is to distinguish the perceptions of how academic digital composition and identity were developed among international students relative to their experiences in an IELP. This dissertation research sought to understand the cultural perspectives of international students around a) their digital writing identity, b) digital composition in academia, …

An Application Of Lewin In A Trans-Pandemic World: A Narrative Inquiry In A Case Study With A Suggested Model For The Future, Chandler Barksdale Ewell Caldwell

Theses and Dissertations

Change is constant in today’s post-pandemic world. This is truly evident in online business success with entrepreneurs that defy past limitations and rely on future vision. This study purposely attempts to identify and qualify the impact of stylized change focused leadership in response to workplace changes during the variant challenges of the corona virus pandemic. The relevancy of Lewin’s organizational change model in today’s new normal provides the foundation for this research. Data were gathered through interview with a purposive sample of 12 managers executives and team members from a public sector organization. Evolving through an iterative process of evaluation …

Emotional Intelligence And Teachers’ Performance In The Classroom In Cairo, Egypt, Wessam Refat

Theses and Dissertations

Effective teachers continue to be in demand in the workforce. Schools and universities need professional teachers who show passion for their jobs and high work performance. This research will investigate the association among teachers’ age, gender, tenure, emotional intelligence (EI) scores, perception of emotional intelligence application in classroom, and perception of any potential impact on their prior year’s self-reported annual teaching evaluations in Madinaty National School in Egypt. For this study, the researcher will utilize mixed methods for data collection based on concurrent design (Creswell, 2014; Kummar, 2014). For additional data collection of teachers’ perspectives on emotional intelligence (EI), the …

Women Of Color In Higher Education Institutions: Strategies To Attain Administrative Leadership Positions, Oghenemano O. Evero

Theses and Dissertations

Race and gender continue to be contributing factors to the disparity and lack of representation that exists among higher-education leaders. This study examines the lived experience of women of color to identify the strategies they utilized to attain administrative leadership roles at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). Participants included women of color leaders with at least 5 years of experience in higher education and in a leadership role. Participants also had advanced degrees. Using a narrative inquiry design, the study involved semi structured interviews to gather data from the sample population. The seven (7) women of color HEIs administrative leaders …

Vocational Tertiary Education Of Young Adults In Kenya: Model Development, Kristina Marie Lux

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to create a model of tertiary vocational education in Kenya. Despite considerable progress in Kenya over the last 20 years, current education models, low attendance, and low academic proficiency levels preclude many vulnerable learners from becoming employable. Utilizing semi-structured interviews of eight Kenyan participants, this study explores the testable design principles necessary to create such a micro-trade model. Utilizing Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA), a quantitative ethnographic technique, to model the structure of connections in data, this study attempts to systematically identify a set of constructs, as they are recorded in interview codes, connected to …

Childless African American Women Over 50 In The Usa: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Robbie Roshyl Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

In modern society, some African American women are choosing a career before accepting the traditional role of birthing a child or children at an early age and marriage is not always part of the equation. Women’s freedoms (i.e., equality, personal choice, sexuality) have increased since their early struggles for their rights as citizens and as women. Some are viewed as agents against the norm by some conservative-minded people by not having a child or children well into their adulthood, especially if they are over the age of 50. Research suggests that women without children are perceived negatively by others and …

Academics And Athletics: A Phenomenological Study Of Self-Advocacy And Student Involvement In Black Student-Athletes With Disabilities, Trené L. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

Studies on Black male athletes and their educational experiences have been conducted for quite some time, whereas research on Black female athletes, despite its emergence, remains limited. Recent research on student-athletes focuses on the rise in socioeconomic status in relation to their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Hence, the focus on education while it continues to exist, NIL deals and its impact on the NCAA have become a topic of interest. The tenets of critical race theory will be examined to comprehend the relationship between these principles and the impact of NCAA and college policies on Black student athletes, and …

Resilience In Early Second Career Stem Teachers Employed In Public Secondary Schools, Donald Selway

Theses and Dissertations

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers’ retention and persistence in the field. This study explored individual and programmatic factors that increase early career and early second career K-12 STEM teachers’ resilience. Moreover, this research examined how strategic initiatives and programs assisted STEM professionals to build resilience as they transitioned into K-12 STEM educators.

This study utilized mixed-methods design to …

Exploring Digital Portfolios And Their Effects On Test Scores, Dithmar Kenneth Rualo

Theses and Dissertations

Many educators in the field are looking for ways to grade their students. Many of our youth can learn new concepts and attain academic growth but have difficulties in the traditional lecture-based classroom. Digital portfolio incorporation in our secondary classrooms may be a solution to engaging learners through various interactions using online learning tools, interaction with peers, and their teachers. This exploratory study investigated the current value of digital portfolios in improving academic performance in today’s classroom. Much of the trend was popular ten years ago. The research explored how current educators in the secondary school setting feel about the …

Examining K-12 School Leadership Through A Complexity Theory Lens, Mandi Lehnherr

Theses and Dissertations

Observing the connection between complexity theory and the K-12 education field, I conducted an extensive literature review to discover much research had already been undertaken. However, given the pervasive, wicked problems that still exist, there may be gaps in the operationalization of the findings. The purpose of this research is to determine how school leaders understand the complexity of their school system and if examining school leadership from a complexity lens may uncover practices that could create more effective school operations in dynamic environments. Ten school principals and leaders were interviewed. Five major themes were derived from the data: a) …

Marketization Without Marginalization? Approaches To Integration In A Dual Enrollment Magnet School, Shannon Mumolo

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the well-documented benefits of integration and Southern California’s racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic diversity, California and U.S. efforts to promote integrated magnet schools have been minimal and primarily driven by local districts. Attempts to evaluate magnet programs primarily focus on student outcomes, yet surprisingly few studies examine approaches used by school leaders to establish and achieve program outcomes. This study contributes to the knowledge and practice of magnet implementation by exploring one California high school’s efforts to establish a dual enrollment magnet program. An explanatory mixed methods case study design was used to understand how school leaders promoted student integration …

Women Of Color In Higher Education Institutions: Strategies To Attain Administrative Leadership Positions, Oghenemano O. Evero

Theses and Dissertations

Race and gender continue to be contributing factors to the disparity and lack of representation that exists among higher-education leaders. This study examines the lived experience of women of color to identify the strategies they utilized to attain administrative leadership roles at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). Participants included women of color leaders with at least 5 years of experience in higher education and in a leadership role. Participants also had advanced degrees. Using a narrative inquiry design, the study involved semi structured interviews to gather data from the sample population. The seven (7) women of color HEIs administrative leaders …

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: Fair Evaluation And The Role Of Decision Makers, Mona Hawkins

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine fair evaluations and the role of the decision-makers in the reasonable accommodation process. In many instances, fair evaluations in the reasonable accommodation process which disabled employees experienced, were challenging and looked upon as perceived discrimination in decision-making process. A review of the literature identified further clarification and insight into educating decision-makers about the disability laws, and then altering their behavior in granting reasonable accommodations. The literature progressed with discussions surrounding why every qualified disabled employee should be accommodated as long as the reasonable accommodation is not an undue hardship to the …

Is Online Course-Taking Helping Or Hindering Students With Disabilities In U.S. Community Colleges?, Francisco Expression Narciso Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Students with disabilities in U.S. community colleges continue to disproportionately experience lower degree attainment compared to students without disabilities. Furthermore, students with disabilities are twice as likely to choose community colleges for postsecondary education compared to four-year colleges. Students with disabilities in postsecondary education endure learning barriers including inflexible instruction, inaccessible content, and intimidating and unsafe learning environments. The purpose of this study is to address the increasing achievement gaps for students with disabilities in community colleges. Specifically, this study intended to answer the question to what extent, if at all, does online course-taking impact degree attainment for students with …