Education Commons^™

The Perceived Role Of Online Stem Dual Credit In Rural Nebraska High Schools, Trentee Bush

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This exploratory study was based on interviews with twelve participants, four community college dual credit coordinators and eight high school administrators (principals and guidance counselors). The purpose was to understand the role of dual credit STEM courses in rural Nebraska high schools and the impact these courses had on the institution. The interview process revealed the lack of uniformity in dual credit processes throughout the state.

The concept of dual credit is widely discussed. The potential benefits and challenges of these courses and programs are vast. Without national legislation, each state can make determinations and decisions about state-wide policies related …

Latinx Students In Stem Education Research: A Crt And Latcrit Analysis Of Nsf Funded Projects, Hortencia Lara

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis used Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) to conduct an in-depth analysis of whether literature funded through the use of National Science Foundation (NSF) research awards perpetuates race, racism, or other interacting systems of oppression in the research or if the investigators resisted inequalities against Latinx students in STEM research. This thesis examined how the investigators of twenty NSF-funded articles examined the experiences of Latinx students in STEM. From a CRT and LatCrit lens I analyze articles to see if and in what ways researchers are complicit with oppression and which ways they resist. …

Making Their Own Way: The Experiences Of Gay Male Students In Stem Fields, Adam R. Smith

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis focuses on the experiences of gay male undergraduate students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. These fields are often thought to be very masculine or hyper-genderized, which could conflict with the dominant culture’s perception of a gay student’s identity. It follows, then, that a hypergenderized environment could have negative effects on those who do not identify strongly with the hegemonic masculine identity that may be present in the classroom.

Using phenomenological principles, students were asked to participate in a series of three interviews, which included two reflective exercises designed to explore their experiences in and …

Color Them Pink: An Exploratory Study Of Women And Other Underrepresented Minorities In Master's Stem Programs, Maggie J. Jobes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This quantitative, exploratory study was designed to examine and compare socialization and mentoring in two groups of students, and the influence these factors had on their ranking of academic and overall experience in Master’s degree level science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) programs at a large, Midwestern university. The subjects were University of Nebraska-Lincoln Master’s degree recipients who had completed the Master’s Degree Graduate Studies Exit Survey and had identified themselves as being part of a STEM graduate program. Literature displayed the underrepresentation of women and individuals of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds in STEM fields and particularly in graduate …