Education Commons^™

Navigating Post-College Career Paths: Perspectives On Career Identity And Self-Efficacy From Autistic Alumni, Maryellen Stephens

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the employment experiences of autistic college graduates, capturing the positive stories of successful alumni in terms of career placement and success. Utilizing qualitative narrative research, the study uncovered the nuanced journey of participants transitioning from completion of their undergraduate degree into the workforce. Drawing upon the frameworks of Self-Determination Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory, the research focused on the motivational mechanisms driving career achievements among autistic individuals. Methodologically, this study involved in-depth interviews with a total of 7 autistic college graduates across a range of ages, genders, and sexual orientations. These interviews allowed …

Applying Executive Function For The Sake Of Well-Being: A Case Study Of Gifted Middle School Students, Erika Lucas

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study provided gifted middle school student participants the opportunity to discuss the complexities of gifted culture in academia as they have experienced it. This study also sought to pinpoint the emotions or feelings that students and their parents experienced as they transition to high school concerning their perceived sense of confidence and readiness as it pertained to executive function. Gen Z students deemed "gifted" are at a higher risk for depression and suicide due to the rising levels of stress and anxiety they experience (Andrews, 2014). Klimkeit et al. (2011) discovered that teenagers with depression and/or anxiety disorders exhibited …

Differentiated Instruction: A Qualitative Study Focusing On The Voices Of Elementary Teachers And Their Needs, Suzanne S. Fanelle

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study examined teachers’ perspectives about their implementation of differentiated instruction in an effort to support district-led professional development programming. Differentiated instruction is based on well-considered goals and thorough analysis of students’ achievement, progress, and instructional needs, combined with formative assessments and progress monitoring (Van Geel et al., 2019). An initial questionnaire was administered to all K-5 teachers in a suburban school district, followed by individual interviews with three teachers who expressed that they often use differentiation in the classroom. Each of the three teachers participated in two interviews lasting 45-60 minutes each over the course of several weeks. …

The Manifestation Of Elementary Teachers’ Mathematical Identities: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study, Kyle Brun

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

In the most simplistic form, mathematical identities manifest in the statements, “I am good at math” or “I am not good at math”. Once established, individuals’ identities influence how they interact and approach mathematical problem-solving (Bishop, 2012; Boaler, 2013; Boaler & Selling, 2017). The purpose of this mixed-method explanatory sequential study is to explore a deeper understanding of how elementary teachers’ mathematical identities influence their beliefs about effective math instruction. Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, a questionnaire was used for the initial quantitative analysis of teachers' mathematical identities. Analysis of survey submissions identified three unique mathematical identity profiles. Two …

Surviving Pandemic Practicum: Early Career Music Teachers' Perceived Self-Efficacy Following The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aubree Pacifico Windish

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study examines early career music teachers’ perceived self-efficacy following teacher practicum during a global pandemic. I conducted focus group conversations with undergraduate music education alum (N=16) from Southeastern State University (SSU) at the end of 2023. Participants described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their music teacher practicum and overall experiential learning at SSU. The focus group questions, and subsequent deductive coding of their answers, aligned with the four roles of Bandura’s (1977) Self-Efficacy Theory. Participants reported low perceived self-efficacy in their first year of in-service teaching, with variations based on the stages of the COVID-19 pandemic …

Waiting On The World (Of Allied Healthcare) To Change: How Undergraduate Preparedness Curriculum Dis/Includes Ability, Brianna Donnelly

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Significant concerns for healthcare practitioners and allied health professionals continue to arise regarding treatment of persons with disabilities. Whether disability exists as apparent or non-apparent, temporary, or chronic, people with disabilities tend to be in poorer health and tend to use health care at a significantly higher rate than people who do not have disabilities. Importantly, the absence of professional training on disability competency issues for health care practitioners is one of the most significant barriers that prevent people with disabilities from receiving appropriate and effective health care. This qualitative narrative analysis explores the inclusion of disability concepts and people …

Pennsylvania K-8 General Education Teachers’ Perceptions Of Preparedness For The Inclusion Of Students With Autism: A Mixed Methods Study, Erica Tate

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This convergent mixed-methods study gathered insights from Pennsylvania kindergarten through eighth-grade general education teachers regarding their perceptions of preparedness for including students with autism. Utilizing Bandura's theory of self-efficacy (1962), which underscores the importance of continual opportunities for individuals to build confidence in their abilities, the study sought to understand teachers' viewpoints on their readiness for inclusion. To achieve educator insight, a combination of surveys and interviews was employed to understand better what preservice and in-service educators learned in their pre-professional and professional experiences. In the survey phase, (n=51) general educators responded to questions covering demographics, teacher education programming, …

Understanding The Experiences Of A First Grade Class With Explicit Phonics Instruction: A Qualitative Case Study, Haley Fry

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The reading wars in American education have raged on with the most recent Science of Reading movement, with the discussion centered around phonics. This qualitative case study examined a real first-grade class as they experienced explicit phonics instruction within the context of a classroom environment in public elementary school in northeastern United States. Participants of this study included eight first-grade students and one first-grade teacher, in one first-grade class. Data collection was broken down into two phases that were rooted in Social Constructivism’s Zone of Proximal Development and Ehri’s Phases of Word Learning Theory. Phase I consisted of classroom observations …

Understanding Students’ Cognitive Processes While Evaluating Online Sources: A Mixed Methods Study, Julia Lennox

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Given the substantial time young people spend online and their reliance on social media for information, research supports the importance of understanding how media literacy interventions may impact students’ abilities to process online information. This study employed a case study- explanatory sequential mixed methods research design to investigate the impact a media literacy course may have on students’ cognitive processes while evaluating online information. Twelve high school students (n=12) completed a questionnaire, the first quantitative phase, while nine (n=9) responded to performance tasks assessing their civic online reasoning skills. The sequential phase involved qualitatively analyzing assignments …

Stories Of Dismantling Whiteness In Social Work Educational Spaces, Jeanean Mohr

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Social work and higher education are rooted in systems of racism and exclusion and continue to operate as racialized spaces. As the social work profession grapples with its past and calls upon social work educators to support efforts to undo structural racism, paying attention to what is happening in educational spaces is essential. In this study, I examined the stories and tensions of White Social Work faculty engaged in efforts to dismantle whiteness in their classrooms, departments, and universities. Using narrative inquiry, I interviewed nine White faculty from different universities representing five regions across the United States. I explored their …

Innovating Education Through Design Thinking: A Case Study Of Problem-Solving Educators, Matthew Pimental

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study aimed to identify methodologies and practices that enable innovation to thrive in the public education system. Design thinking (DT) was selected for examination given its demonstrated ability to: (a) make people and teams more innovative , (b) change institutional cultures to be more creative and solution-oriented, and (c) create conditions necessary for innovation to thrive within established organizational structures. This intrinsic case study explored the experiences of a group of educators who used design thinking to innovate solutions to the intractable problems they faced. Participants in this study were teachers and administrators who received training in DT, and …

Familiar Faces And Comfortable Spaces: The Role Of The College Union In Fostering Sense Of Belonging On A College Campus, Adriane Reilly

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The physical environment of the college union building has the potential to influence a student’s sense of belonging. Using a conceptual framework that included campus ecology framework (Strange & Banning, 2001) and sense of belonging theory (Strayhorn, 2019), this study explored undergraduate student experiences of belongingness in the college union. Particularly, this study focused on a college union located on the campus of a public, regional university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Further, this study aimed to explore the variety of ways that the union’s physical space does (or does not) influence sense of belonging for a …

“Like A Whole Thing”: Dialogic Sensemaking In One Sixth Grade Classroom, Catherine Bienkowski

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study used a constructivist approach to better understand how students in one sixth grade classroom participate in dialogic discussions while making sense of texts. Participants in the study attended a suburban, public, high-performing middle school in Pennsylvania. Drawing on Sociocultural Learning Theory and Transactional Reading Theory, the researcher observed one English Language Arts class. Nine students participated in five reading events over a period of two months. Data collection, informed by linguistic ethnographic methods, included audio recordings, transcriptions of reading events, fieldnotes, and transcriptions of one on one and small group interviews. In Vivo coding of the interview …

Student Affairs Professionals’ Experiences Supporting Students Through A Grief Loss: A Qualitative Study, Lenora Mitchell

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study examined the experiences of student affairs administration-prepared (SAAP) professionals’ application of knowledge and skills to interact with grieving students and the ways in which their respective SAAP programs prepared them for this work. This study examined (a) the experiences of SAAP professionals supporting a student navigating grief loss at one case study institution and (b) reflections on the application of skills and knowledge gained from their education preparation programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three full-time SAAP professionals at a single institution, and a comparative analysis of their educational preparation curriculum was conducted. Participants were asked to …

Service-Learning Curricula In Eastern Pennsylvania’S K-12 Schools: Educational Decision-Makers’ Experiences Through A Critical Lens, Megan Jerabek

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This research examines the experiences of K-12 curricular decision-makers in their consideration of service-learning curricula within their schools and districts. Recent evidence indicates service-learning offerings have decreased in K-12 schools in the last decade (The Education Commission on the States), and this research utilizes qualitative inquiry and a critical theory framework to understand this phenomenon via the lived experiences of educators with service-learning and the conditions at play that impact its inclusion and exclusion from schools. The findings consider the similarities and contradictions educators face, the policies and experiences that frame their perspectives of service-learning, and its accessibility within their …

Animating Faith Development: The Experience Of Student Affairs Professionals At U.S. Catholic Colleges & Universities, Sarah Williamson

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Faith is a form of social identity encompassing an individual’s religious and spiritual beliefs that aid them in making meaning in their lives (Fowler, 1981; Patton et al., 2016). While many secular institutions have reduced or removed learning about faith, Catholic higher education is an environment that integrates faith development into its work with students (Clark, 2001; Astin & Oseguera, 2004; Estanek, 2008). However, limited research exists on faith development in practice by early to mid-career student affairs professionals within Catholic higher education (James & Estanek, 2012). This qualitative study explored student affairs professionals' personal faith development experiences and their …

Eighth Graders’ Approaches To Reading Analysis As Compared With The Pssa’S Application Of Common Core Standards, John Phillips

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

States administer standardized tests such as the PSSAs to students each year to assess student mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Many argued the CCSS and close reading are reincarnations of new criticism (Tampio, 2018), but CCSS creators did not cite empirical research showing students approached literary analysis through close reading or new criticism (Dewitz & Graves, 2021; Hinchman & Moore, 2013). In opposition of new criticism, Rosenblatt (1978) argued for transactional reading with her reader response theory. In order to examine how students make meaning of texts, this study used a simultaneous mixed-methods QUAL-QUAL design (Morse, 2010) …

Examination Of Intramural Sport Officials’ Training, Development And Performance: A Mixed Methods Study, Daniel Comas

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Sports officials play a significant role in organized sports, yet academic research surrounding their training, development, and performance is minimal. Across the nation, athletes are attempting to safely resume play after the COVID-19 pandemic, and many sports officials have decided that they will not return to their respective fields or courts. More robust training and development within intramural sports programs on college campuses could be the solution to recruiting and retaining sports officials.

This mixed methods study examined intramural sports officials’ training, development, and performance within a collegiate intramural sports department. This study utilized a two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods …

Unveiling Sense Of Belonging Of Lower-Income, First-Generation College Students, Devan Zgleszewski

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study explored lower-income, first-generation college students’ sense of belonging to their university setting. This research defined first-generation as neither parent nor guardian graduating from college (Dominguez-Whitehead et al., 2021). Lower-income students were identified with family incomes less than $52,200 (Walrack & Segal, 2023). Eight students at various stages of their college careers with an array of student involvement and diverse backgrounds participated in individual interview sessions to engage in dialogue about their college experiences, family dynamics, and the impacts of their socioeconomic status when entering the university system.

When looking sense of belonging, this research explored students’ connectedness …

Tell Me Your Story: Utilizing Photovoice To Explore The Journeys Of First-Generation College Graduates, Christina Pantoja Williams

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

First-generation students make up on average 22% of college students on college campuses and this number continues to grow (Chen & Carroll, 2005). While the enrollment of first-generation college students in higher education institutions continues to increase, first-generation college students have a higher attrition rate, dropout rate, and lower graduation rates than other groups (Gibson & Slate, 2010; Pascarella et al., 2003). Additionally, the majority of the literature discussing first -generation college students, views them from a deficit lens and focuses on what first-generation students lack as they enter college. This study focused on the journeys of first-generation college students …

The Search For Something Better: Narrative Inquiry Into Why Women In Non-Faculty Roles Left Higher Education During Covid-19 Pandemic, Amanda Corsi

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Stressors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic for women working in non-faculty roles in higher education still need to be understood. While there is extensive research on voluntary turnover, the influence of the pandemic on how and why women choose to leave the field is still lacking. Most research on higher education professionals fails to include the perspective of women in non-faculty positions. This study conducted a qualitative narrative inquiry to understand the experiences of women in non-faculty roles who worked in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic and how that influenced their reasons for turnover decision-making. The results found …

Navigating The Financial Aid Application Process: The Voices Of First-Generation College Students, Holly Kirkpatrick

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative case-study explored how the financial aid application process contributed to or detracted from the persistence of first-generation college (FGC) students. FGC students are the first in their families to attend college and make up one-third of college-going students each year (RTI International, 2019). FGC students use financial aid at a higher rate than their continuing generation peers, are less likely to have funding from outside sources, such as their parents (Martinez et al., 2009), are more likely to default on their student loans, and do not persist to graduation at the same rate as their non-FGC peers. Semi-structured …

Under The Radar: Legislative Intent To Silence Critical Race Theory, Meg Hazel

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public education is a hotly contested issue across the nation. Since 2020, multiple legislators in several states have introduced legislation that would ban the instruction of CRT in public universities. This qualitative study explored Discourse models supported and upheld by these bills along with Whitelash strategies used to promote them. I examined 53 bills proposed by lawmakers, most of which contained lists of phrases usually called “divisive concepts” or “discriminatory concepts” that professors were prohibited from discussing in their classrooms. In addition, I analyzed 26 statements made by supporters of the bills that provided justification …

Everyone Is On Their Phones: Eighth Graders' Struggle With Social Media In School, George Weinhardt

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study examined social media in the school setting from the point of view of eighth-grade participants. This study implemented a focused ethnography, examining a group of individuals’ perspectives on a focused area of their shared culture. Using critical theory, this study examined qualitative data with the concepts of structures, subjectivity, and power at the confluence of social media and school for eighth-grade students. Qualitative data were collected using five semi-structured focus groups, artifact analysis, fieldnotes, and memos. The findings highlighted that eighth-grade students acknowledge that there is a struggle between social media and school. This struggle alters their …

Progression And Protectiveness Of Social Bonds And Play In A Captive Group Of Western Lowland Gorillas, Madeline L. Vandevere

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The current study aims to bring to light the critical role that play has on healthy development, not only for nonhuman primates, but also for humans. In addition to building the literature concerning social and play development among gorillas and humans, this study also hopes to promote the observation and welfare of captive gorillas. The present study conducted longitudinal observational research of a troop of captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to gain insights into primate play development and how it relates to social bonding and zoological enrichment. The study followed the early infancy and juvenile years …

Exploring Sub-Saharan African International Students’ Experiences Of Racism Within Higher Education Institutions In The United States: A Qualitative Study, Gloria N. Wafula

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study explored Sub-Saharan African international students’ experiences of racism within colleges and universities in the United States. Extant research on international students’ experiences tend to be homogenous, thus assuming that all international students from different countries have similar experiences. This study specifically highlighted the experiences of Sub-Saharan African international students around the issue of racial discrimination. Concepts discussed include Sub-Saharan students’ experiences of racism within colleges, perceptions of racial identity, and overall understanding of racism. To explain these concepts, the theories of neo-racism and intersectionality were employed. The study utilized interviews for data collection. In total, the research …

Equitable Funding For Trauma Informed Social Policy: A Critical Analysis Of The 2019-2020 Pennsylvania Department Of Education School Safety And Security Grant Program, Heather Bickley

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study is a critical analysis of the funding distribution of the 2019-2020 Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) School Safety and Security Grant (SSSG) to identify if there is evidence of inequity in the grant's funding distribution. It used a theoretical framework that includes a transformative paradigm with trauma informed social policy as a theoretical lens, with the conceptual lenses education debt and distributive justice, applied to a concurrent mixed methods design. The research followed a QuantCrit methodology, and the features of a critical policy analysis were used to present the findings.

The quantitative tests found several significant …

Student Loans, Persistence, And Well-Being: The Need To Support Single Mothers In College: A Qualitative Study, Kimberly Lemon

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative study focuses on the experiences of adult learner single mothers in college. Specifically, this research sought to understand how student loan debt informs their ability to persist and their well-being. In addition, the study examined the supports single mothers in college receive and the support they need to persist to degree attainment. Using a narrative inquiry design, semi structured interviews were conducted with 2 participants from a mid-sized public university in the northeast of the United States. Participants recounted their experiences throughout their undergraduate and graduate education. Participants spoke of the difficulties faced while enrolled in classes and …

Liberatory Language Instruction: A Dusselian Self-Study, Renee Burgos

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This is a qualitative self-study conducted in the tradition of practitioner inquiry that examines the pedagogics of an English language development (ELD) classroom. Different from pedagogy, pedagogics is the face-to-face encounter of Sameness and Otherness in systems or institutions characterized by power imbalances, as theorized by Argentinian liberatory philosopher, Enrique Dussel. More specifically, liberatory pedagogics, as conceptualized by Dussel in the arena of education, is characterized by an analectic between teacher and student in which, from a position outside of the dominant paradigm, the dynamic of Sameness and Otherness is observed, evaluated, and reimagined so as not to reproduce sameness …

Successful Admissions In A Time Of Great Uncertainty: A Case Study Of Employees' Perceptions Of Employee Well-Being And Emotional Intelligence, Sarah Freed

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This qualitative embedded single-case study explores admissions employees’ perceptions of departmental success and individual employee well-being, including the role emotional intelligence has on these outcomes, through the lens of Bolman and Deal’s Four Frame Model (1984). This study is necessary because of the turbulent higher education landscape and because social factors contributing to this turbulence are expected to stay the same. More specifically, this study is situated in a thriving Office of First-Year Admissions at an institution within a public university system in a rural setting experiencing an unstable organizational landscape. I interviewed sixteen employees in a successful mid-size public …