Digital Commons Network^™

Burdened And Fatigued: The Hidden Costs Of Supporting Undocumented Students In Postsecondary Contexts, Blanca Elizabeth Vega

Department of Educational Leadership Scholarship and Creative Works

Sociopolitical and institutional barriers significantly influence the mental health and overall well-being of undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students in US higher education. Concurrently, higher education and student affairs (HESA) professionals who serve these students face their own psychological and professional challenges as they navigate restrictive policies and bureaucratic uncertainty. This brief research report extends the Immigration Battle Fatigue (IBF) framework by integrating principles from administrative burden theory to examine the interconnected experiences of undocumented students and the professionals who support them. Drawing on qualitative data from a Spencer Foundation–funded study of HESA professionals’ work with undocumented …

Identification Of Leadership And Managerial Roles Used By School Superintendents To Manage Rural School Districts, Bruce Allen Gillham

Student Theses and Dissertations

The role of rural superintendents is multifaceted, often requiring a balance of strategic leadership, operational management, and community involvement within school systems that face resource limitations and geographic challenges. However, existing job descriptions for rural superintendents frequently do not reflect the realities of their daily tasks, resulting in misunderstandings and misalignments between governing bodies and the superintendents. This study aims to enhance the understanding of rural superintendents' roles by examining the experiences of four superintendents from southeastern Oklahoma. Drawing on Mintzberg's managerial role framework and an interpretive phenomenological approach, this research highlights the importance of the researcher's self-reflection and the …

Playful Learning Journeys: Exploring The Perceptions And Knowledge Of Lecturers/Tutors And Student Teachers, Frank Twum, Samuel Kweku Hayford, Dandy Dampson, Johnnie Kojo Hayford

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This paper investigated the perceptions and knowledge of play-based learning (PBL) by lecturers/tutors and student teachers. Ninety lecturers/tutors (68 males, 22 females) and 363 student teachers (191 males, 172 females) participated in the study. While both lecturers/tutors and student teachers favored PBL, they had some concerns. Lecturers/tutors acknowledged the benefits of PBL, including its enhancement of memory, conceptual development, and motor skills in children. However, nearly two-thirds found it time-consuming. Student teachers were of the view PBL promoted positive student experiences. However, more than half felt PBL offered limited opportunities for their own learning during lessons. Both groups demonstrated knowledge …

Teacher Educators’ Languaging For More Just English Language Education In Ecuador, Adeline De Angelis

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This article describes how English language teacher educators in Ecuador envision their languaging practices contributing to more just English language education in a Global South context. The study took a capabilities approach informed by Latin American decolonial theory. Findings are based on a qualitative thematic analysis of focus group interviews conducted with 37 instructors teaching English language teacher education content courses at 18 universities. The findings illustrate two distinct theories of change: through best practices and through contextualization. Teacher educators linked English-only practices with developing teacher English proficiency, holding teachers accountable to standards, and preparing them to ultimately enact global …

Aprender Inglés En La U-Diversidad: The Case Of Colombian University Students With Multiple Marginalized Identities Disrupting Colonial Language Policies And Curricula, Maure Aguirre-Ortega, Yenny Chavarría, Claudia Gutiérrez

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Required to learn English, Black, Indigenous, Migrant and Rural Colombian university students often find themselves oppressed by a colonial curriculum that overlooks their intersecting marginalized identities. Drawing from decoloniality and intersectionality, this paper discusses how coloniality and students’ plethora of identities converge in the English classroom and engage in a dance of oppression and resistance. Mediated by participatory dialogues, results of this (case) study indicate that engaging these minoritized students in a collective initiative to decolonize the English classroom enabled them to a) value the social, cultural, and linguistic identities of their territories b) reflect on the implication of colonial …

The (In)Effect Of Trump-Era Anti-Immigrant Policies And Rhetoric On International Students: Perceptions Of And Experiences In Us Higher Education, Odunayo O. Omotilewa, Kayla M. Johnson (University Of Arizona)

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

This exploratory study investigates international graduate students’ experiences studying in the US during the years of the Trump Administration, its influence on their mental health, and how their experiences have been different since. We surveyed international graduate students at a large public research institution in the Southeastern US who started their degrees in the US between 2017 and 2020, using a mixed-methods approach. The findings reveal that students had a negative perception of Trump Administration policies and rhetoric and were most negatively affected by those relating to visa status during the pandemic, travel bans, and student work authorization (OPT, CPT). …

September 2025 Academic Affairs Minutes, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Academic Affairs Committee

Academic Affairs Committee Minutes

No abstract provided.

The “Geography Of Opportunity” In Flyover Country: A College Match Case Study, Sabrina C. Gregersen, Joanna Full, Meghan Ecker-Lyster

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

In previous studies of college match, specifically undermatching and its far-reaching consequences among traditionally underserved students, students’ geographic proximity to postsecondary institutions (particularly those with which they match) has not always received much consideration. As it stands, the scholarly consensus on college match is not representative of students who live far from regions that are rich with college options of all levels. We evaluated the college match outcomes of 334 high school graduates from a public school district in the Midwest that has a relatively low concentration of colleges nearby. We categorized college match using student competitiveness based on GPA …

University Of Northern Iowa Graduate Council Minutes, September 11, 2025, University Of Northern Iowa. Graduate Council.

Documents - Graduate Council

Meeting minutes from the Graduate Council of the University of Northern Iowa.

“Ni Hao” At The Southern Border: Crafting The U.S. Policy Response To The Post-Pandemic Cohort Of Chinese Migrants, Wei Luo

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Undocumented migrants feature prominently in modern American politics. One group of migrants, however, has drawn relatively little attention—those from the People’s Republic of China. Leading up to the 2024 election, Chinese migrants were the fastest growing group of migrants entering from the U.S.-Mexico border. This Article proposes that U.S. policymakers take a three-prong approach to responding to Chinese migrants who have entered the country in recent years or who may enter in the future. First, use asylum law as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy and grant asylum to Chinese migrants in numbers appropriate to advance America’s national interest in …

The Unamerican Dream: Breaking The Barriers Of Standardized Testing For Ell Students In A Post-Affirmative Action Era, Laura Rua

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This comment examines the impact of standardized testing on English Language Learners (ELL) in K–12 education. It explores the complexities and challenges these students face, including language barriers and cultural differences, which can significantly influence their test performance and educational outcomes. By analyzing existing research and legal frameworks, this comment assesses shortcomings of bilingual education in Texas and its under-preparation for ELL students to take standardized testing and whether current testing practices adequately accommodate the needs of ELL students.Ultimately, this comment proposes policy recommendations aimed at promoting fair and equitable assessment practices in bilingual education for K–12 ELL students.

Minutes Of Graduate College Committee On Curricula, September 5, 2025, University Of Northern Iowa. Graduate Curriculum Committee.

Minutes - Graduate Curriculum Committee

Minutes of the committee that oversees the development of the curriculum of the University of Northern Iowa Graduate Studies.

September 2025 Faculty Senate Packet, University Of Nebraska At Kearney Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Packets

No abstract provided.

Advancing Place-Based University- Community Partnerships At The Garcia West Dallas Stem School, Marc T. Sager

Presentations

No abstract provided.

2025-09-01 Caudill Connection, Morehead State University. Caudill College Of Arts, Humanities And Social Sciences.

Caudill Connection

Caudill Connection newsletter for September of 2025.

September 2025 Library & Learning Newsletter, Minnesota State University, Mankato. Library & Learning Dean’S Office Communications Team

Library & Learning Newsletters

PDF version of the September 2025 (Volume 4, Issue 2) Library & Learning Newsletter.

Interrogating The Racial Wealth Gap: Thinking Locally -- Event Program, Lender Center For Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice

A pamphlet for the Interrogating the Racial Wealth Gap: Thinking Locally event.

From Displacement To Design: Reframing Work, Skills, And Education For The Ai-Transformed Economy A Review, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

Between 2023 and 2025, the U.S. labor market entered a period of accelerated restructuring driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. Routine, entry-level cognitive roles—particularly in clerical, customer service, and junior technical positions—contracted sharply as intelligent systems assumed high-volume, rules-based tasks. While these displacements echo past automation cycles, the present transformation is distinct in its scope, affecting both knowledge work and creative functions, and in its speed, amplified by enterprise-scale adoption. Simultaneously, demand has surged for specialized AI-related positions, interdisciplinary roles blending domain expertise with AI fluency, and ―durable skills‖ that remain resistant to automation. Drawing on labor market …

2024-25 Lender Report -- Report, Lender Center For Social Justice

The Lender Center for Social Justice

The 2024-25 Lender Report, encompassing the year's events and research.

2025 September, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for September of 2025.

The Cool, Quiet City Machine Learning Competition: Overview And Results, Clayton Miller, M. Ibrahim, I.S. Akbar, B. Picchetti, Y.X. Chua, M. Frei, F. Biljecki, A. Chong, M. Quintana, C. Fu

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The prediction of thermal and noise-based preferences in the urban context is valuable in characterizing interventions to mitigate the challenges of health, productivity, and satisfaction of urban dwellers. The growth of crowd-sourced data and data-driven techniques provides an opportunity to increase the understanding of which machine learning models are most accurate and applicable for this context. This paper outlines the results of a machine learning competition aiming to enhance the accuracy of predicting human comfort in the city context. The competition asks contestants to use contextual data to predict noise distraction and thermal preference in various indoor and outdoor spaces. …

Development Of A Geography Supplementary Book Based On The Environmental Education Approach Using An Encyclopedic Model, Badrizal Al Hazar, Muhammad Zulfi Al'ghani, Iskandar Iskandar, Fitri Handayani, Ease Arent

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Research and development that has been carried out by researchers has the aim of producing supplement books with encyclopedia patterns in cultural diversity material and knowing the effectiveness of supplement books with encyclopedia patterns using the EE (Environmental Education) approach. The process of developing teaching materials uses the Borg & Gall model and the implementation of teaching material supplements with encyclopedias using the EE approach with a form of trial or teaching using Serial Position Effect. Based on experiments carried out to validators, the value of Indonesian language validators was 78.3%, material experts by lecturers 90.53%, material experts by teachers …

The Crisis Of Safety, Well-Being, And Belonging Facing Lgbtq Children: Mad/Crip Of Color Critique Towards A Curriculum Of Radical Care, Jameson Goetz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this thesis, I turn toward the study of educational experience, defined broadly to include lived experiences both within and outside of formal schooling institutions. I approach curriculum as an ongoing project of self-understanding in which one becomes mobilized for engaged pedagogical action alongside others in the pursuit social justice. I am guided by the following question, foundational to the field of curriculum studies: for those of us who work alongside LGBTQ children, what knowledge is of most worth? Critically reflecting on ways of working alongside LGBTQ children in the pursuit of social justice, I formulate a mad/crip of color …

Teaching And Technology: "You Can't Just Do The Same Thing Online", Sakina Laksimi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how faculty at the City University of New York navigated the abrupt transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing how pedagogy is shaped by technological, institutional, and social conditions. Drawing on twenty-two interviews with twelve faculty across eight disciplines, I use a grounded theory approach to analyze how instructors adapted courses, reimagined assessment, and sustained connection with students amid crisis. Three overlapping pedagogical orientations emerged: improvisational, relational, and design-based teaching. These approaches highlight how faculty balanced responsiveness, care, and intentional course design in environments mediated by digital platforms and marked by inequity. The study situates …

The Architecture Of Exclusion: Disability, Race, And The History Of New York City’S 600 Schools, Francine Almash

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the largely erased history of New York City’s 600 schools—segregated public schools created to house students labeled as emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted. These institutions, operating throughout the mid-20th century, disproportionately served Black and Puerto Rican youth, many of whom were placed in these schools under vague behavioral criteria and with little to no pathway for return to general education settings.

Combining archival research, longitudinal policy analysis, historical media review, and critical race and disability studies frameworks—including DisCrit (Disability Critical Race Theory)—this project situates the 600 schools at the intersection of institutional racism and ableism. It argues …

Online Resources For Oral Communication Courses, Sean P. Palmer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Online resources focusing on oral communication skills are lacking, even as online education itself expands. While I was aware of this lack, I didn’t realize its severity until LaGuardia Community College went fully remote during the 2020 global pandemic, and I was looking for online tutoring aids for oral communication. Furthermore, the information presented online is frequently unsuitable for the purposes of online pedagogy due to its specialized and jargony mode of presentation. Also, many existing assignments involving oral communication assume public speaking as the default model, despite the growing importance of emergent digital modes of oral performance, like podcasting …

Bridging The Gap: Harnessing Emerging Technology To Narrow The Academic Achievement Gaps Of Minority Students, Dionne Williams, Terence Vinson, Kristi Young, Danielle Williams, James R. Mixon

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

The academic achievement gap of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students has historically lagged as it relates to Caucasian students. This work defines academic achievement as standardized test scores, graduation rates, and college completion rates. The persistent educational disparities faced by minority students remain a significant challenge for school systems. The integration of technology offers a promising solution to help narrow these academic achievement gaps and provide equitable learning opportunities. Technology offers educators the ability to utilize self-paced instructional programming, ensuring that the educational needs and deficiencies of minority students are addressed. This work explores how innovative technological tools, ranging …

Preparation, Development, And Refinement Of The Interview Protocol In Qualitative Research, David C. Coker, Adebowale Akande

The Qualitative Report

Interview protocols are by far the most common method utilized in qualitative research data collection. Novice and experienced researchers, from working on dissertations to grant proposals or other publications, often lack detailed interview design methods, as many educational programs do not require specific coursework on interview protocols and question development. To improve qualitative research, we make a proposal to incorporate an interdisciplinary approach that operationalizes three stages: preparation, development, and refinement. Preparation involves mapping the extant literature to define broad, narrow, and focused topics to write actionable standards, goals, and objectives. Development uses instructional design and educational psychology to construct …

“Earth Care, Babes 💚”: Environmental Sustainability In Instagram Travel Narratives, Wawan Eko Yulianto, F.X. Dono Sunardi, Alodia Clea Amanda, Irene Theofine, Pricillia Tamara Damaris

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Throughout history, travel narratives have taken up various forms and served various purposes. The changes of forms and functions were influenced by the spirit of the age. Today, in the contemporary digital era, social media platforms like Instagram have transformed travel narratives into stories combining images and texts that significantly impact public attitude on travel and tourism. On certain occasions, Instagram travel narratives contribute to the dangerous trend of mass tourism, although there are moments when the same travel writing form advocates sustainability. This study investigates the extent to which travel narratives by prominent Indonesian travel influencers on Instagram advocate …

Mapping Food Justice: Urban Farms And The Examination Of Equitable Food Access, Aaron Avila, Mark Ayiah, Jake Stavely, Marc T. Sager, Maximilian K. Sherard, Anthony J. Petrosino

SMU Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this project, we worked alongside members from an urban farm in South Dallas to learn about issues related to food justice, urban farming, and food deserts. Using participatory design research methods, we created data visualizations showing how society can reduce inequities relating to food access produced in historically underserved neighborhoods. The research goals guiding this study are: a) to identify food deserts and urban farms in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region (DFW) and b) to determine which urban farms service the needs of these food deserts. To identify food deserts, we took two steps: First, we used open-access data …