Digital Commons Network^™

Adapting To Change: A Mixed Methods Approach To Understand How Colleges And Universities Are Utilizing Animals To Help Students Transition Into Higher Education, Christopher Puglisi, Shalini Mathew, Nicole D. Schutter, Monte Meyerink, Abiah George

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Individuals experience several changes in their lives, with one of the most impactful being leaving home to attend college. It is no surprise that college-age students need mental health support, especially in times of adjustment. To address this adjustment, animal-assisted interventions (AAI) have recently gained substantial attention. In this study, college and university departments that help students transition to higher education were surveyed (N = 59) and interviewed (N = 6) to understand how AAI are utilized. Results indicate that AAI have potential to ease students’ higher education transition, though institutions must establish an outline that states the benefits of …

The Church’S Social Vocation In World War I And Postwar Recovery: Theodor Zöckler’S Pastoral Ministry In Stanislaviv And Its Relevance For Contemporary Ukraine, Liudmyla Tymchuk, Yurii Klonovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines Theodor Zöckler’s pastoral ministry in Stanislaviv during the First World War and the difficult years of postwar reconstruction, and assesses the relevance of that experience for churches in contemporary Ukraine. Drawing on archival records, institutional reports, church periodicals, correspondence, and historical scholarship, the study analyzes how Zöckler combined spiritual care with evacuation, humanitarian relief, medical service, child protection, education, vocational training, and institutional advocacy. Historical-genetic, problem-chronological, hermeneutic, and comparative methods are used to reconstruct the transformation of his ministry under conditions of occupation, forced displacement, political transition, and economic collapse. The findings show that Zöckler’s response moved …

Between Care And Competence: Rethinking Alternative Provision., Helen V. Mulligan

Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal

This opinion piece argues that Alternative Provision (AP) in England is failing to meet the needs of vulnerable young people due to inconsistent staffing, inadequate specialist training, and the normalisation of low educational expectations. Although some AP settings demonstrate high aspirations and committed practice, the sector as a whole remains marked by variability and a lack of coherent pedagogical structure. Drawing on research into educational inequality, emotional labour, ethics of care, and professional identity, the paper contends that systemic reform is urgently required. Recommended actions include mandatory specialist training for AP staff, national standards for curriculum and pedagogy, stronger accountability …

A Comparative Analysis Of Educator And Parent Perspectives Of Catholic High School Athletics, Kevin J. Calkins

Journal of Catholic Education

This study surveyed parents to compare their perceptions of the role of athletics in the Catholic high school environment with those of educators, and to examine the degree to which athletics influences parental enrollment decisions. Educators and parents mostly agree on the role of interscholastic athletics in Catholic high schools. The most noticeable difference between educators and parents is about the perceived role of athletics in student formation. While the strength and health of a Catholic high school’s athletic program are important considerations when parents choose a Catholic high school for their child, the results indicate that academic quality is …

Trauma-Informed Coaching: An Application Of Catholic Social Teaching To Formation And Healing Through Sport, Kristin K. Sheehan, Peter Piscitello, Elaine Cassidy

Journal of Catholic Education

Mission-driven athletic programs aim to form the whole athlete—physically, emotionally, socially, morally, and spiritually. A critical component of this mission is equipping coaches to serve as ministers of the Church while embracing trauma-informed practices. This paper introduces the rationale, process, and techniques for trauma-informed coaching as a research-based approach to supporting athlete mental health. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, this framework emphasizes community, participation, and the dignity of the human person, particularly care for the vulnerable. Drawing on neuroscientific and psychological research on trauma alongside Church documents and papal pronouncements, the paper demonstrates how trauma-informed coaching fosters healing and resilience …

Female Athletes With Differences Of Sex Development (Dsd): A Christian Perspective On Fairness And Compassion, Angela M. Robles

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

One of the most significant controversies in elite women’s sport relates to the participation of female athletes with differences of sex development (DSD), as demonstrated by recent Olympic debates surrounding athletes like Imane Khelif and Caster Semenya. Today, a complex challenge continues to evolve at the intersection of DSD and competitive sports, and it requires careful consideration. The central argument of this paper is that DSD athletes are worthy of compassionate treatment grounded in their inherent dignity, and is founded on the understanding of what it means for humans to be created in the image of God (imago Dei). The …

The Virtue Of Hope In Sports Through Spe Salvi And Its Role In Faith, Resilience, And Character Formation In Student-Athletes, Hansson G. Labisig, Arvin D. Eballo

Movement and Being: The Journal of the Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure and Sports Studies

Pope Benedict XVI, in Spe Salvi, presents hope as a transformative and redemptive virtue that enables believers to live and suffer differently, rooted in faith in God. He writes, “The one who has hope lives differently.” This study develops a theological-pastoral framework for integrating the virtue of hope into the faith formation of student-athletes within Catholic educational institutions, positioning sport as a genuine locus theologicus for Religious Education and evangelization. Employing the See–Judge–Act methodology, it draws from Spe Salvi, Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, and the Vatican document Giving the Best of Yourself, in dialogue with C. R. Snyder’s psychological theory …

2025-2026 Annual Report: Leadership, Spirituality & Education, Muslim Student Life

Muslim Student Life

This annual report provides a concise overview of the Muslim Chaplaincy and its initiatives and programs for Muslim students during the 2025-2026 academic year. It showcases only a select few of the programs and accomplishments of the Muslim community at Syracuse University and beyond.

Slowing The Academic Treadmill: Writing, Reflection, And Resistance In The Neoliberal University, Birsha Ohdedar

GHEA21 Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing Robust Human Formation For Ministerial Training, Mary L. Parks

Obsculta

The Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis recognizes that effective ministerial formation is holistic, attending to all aspects of a minister’s being. The document therefore outlines four pillars of formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. In Co-Workers In the Vineyard of the Lord, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) extends the same four pillars of formation to the development of lay ecclesial ministers. The USCCB also applies these pillars to diaconal formation in The National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States of America.

Compassion At The Core: Reimagining Schools As Centers Of Human Flourishing Through Youth-Led Action Research, Tara S. Waudby

Dissertations

In an increasingly competitive and standardized world, student wellbeing is a growing priority in K-12 education, alongside an emerging focus on human flourishing. While not commonly paired with wellbeing science, compassion is gaining prominence as an important systemic mindset. Focusing on compassion in schools cultivates attitudes of caring, openness, generosity, concern for others, and concern for the environment, leading to positive impacts on organizational culture and learning. This points to a broader question about what it means for students and communities to flourish. However, it is unclear how compassion is experienced in the lives of students. A common solution has …

Fostering Collaboration For Mission And Social Justice: Qualitative Case Studies Of Models Of Jesuits And Non-Jesuit Administrators, Faculty And Staff Members’ Partnerships At Arrupe Jesuit University (Aju) In Zimbabwe And Centre De Recherche Et D’Action Pour La Paix/ Université Jésuite D’Abidjan (Cerap/Uja) In Côte D’Ivoire, Abdon Rwandekwe Edd

Doctoral Dissertations

Jesuit higher education has historically depended on collaboration between Jesuits and non-Jesuit administrators, faculty, and staff to sustain its mission of promoting faith, justice, and the holistic formation of students. In recent decades, demographic shifts within the Society of Jesus and increasing institutional complexity have led to a greater reliance on Lay collaborators in leadership and academic roles. Despite strong ecclesial and Jesuit directives encouraging shared mission and co-responsibility, many Jesuit institutions continue to struggle with translating these ideals into equitable governance and collaborative practices. This challenge is particularly significant in African contexts, where Jesuit universities operate within diverse cultural …

Women In Ministry Leadership: Balancing Work, Personal Life, And Family Responsibilities, Coretta Shawn Thompson Siler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Women in ministry leadership experience specific difficulties managing professional ministry, personal health, and family obligations (Frederick, T. V., Dunbar, S. B., & Hargrove, D. S., 2023). This paper focused on the specific struggles of women in ministry leadership, despite the numerous challenges women face across various fields. Its purpose was to examine the obstacles, interactions, and repercussions of these issues in faith-based groups and church leadership. The Dissertation-in-Praxis addressed these difficulties and offered a one-day workshop as a real-world solution. It aimed to educate women in leadership on biblical concepts, leadership styles, and methods for juggling their obligations. With servant …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of The Nazarene Course Of Study For Developing Lay Leaders In Virginia District Hispanic Ministries: A Competency-Based Assessment, Jeffrey A. Hernandez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Hispanic ministries within the Virginia District of the Church of the Nazarene continue to experience sustained membership growth; however, leadership development has not expanded proportionally, creating emerging capacity gaps. Many Hispanic pastors serve bi-vocationally, limiting capacity to meet increasing congregational demands, and lay leaders are leveraged to meet those needs. Using an assessment tool designed to measure lay leadership competencies, this research project evaluates the effectiveness of a Nazarene Course of Study to function as a leadership development framework for laity within Hispanic church contexts. The study examines the implementation of a pastoral-level ministerial education program among Hispanic laypersons and …

Lay Presidents In Jesuit Higher Education: How Ajcu Lay Presidents Learn About, Articulate, And Express Jesuit Mission And Identity, Carl Joseph Caceres

Dissertations

Since the year 2000, over the course of the past quarter century, lay presidents went from being an emerging phenomenon to becoming the majority of presidents in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Lay presidents are now the norm and no longer the exception, as 24 of the 28 institutions of the AJCU are now lay led. This qualitative research study intended to explore how lay presidents of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) in the United States who have been at their current institution for at least three years, came to learn about Jesuit mission …

A Phenomenological Study Describing The Lived Experiences Of Fire Chaplains With Clinical Pastoral Education (Cpe) Training Within The Federation Of Fire Chaplains’ Organization, Chaplain Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of fire chaplains with CPE training who used CPE competencies when caring for firefighters. The foundation of spiritual care was based on the ten identified competencies used in CPE. The gap addressed in this research was the lack of spiritual care training for fire chaplains. Dr. Alan Wolfelt’s model of companioning served as the theoretical foundation guiding this research. This model of care emphasized a human-centered, heart-based approach, including active listening, empathy, and the practice of presence, which were essential components for fire chaplains providing spiritual care. This …

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Exploring Leadership Styles That Support Teacher Retention In Christian Secondary Schools, Jeremy T. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the leadership styles of school administrators that influence teacher retention for secondary Christian school teachers, in a southeastern coastal state. The theory guiding this study was Avolio’s full-range leadership model, which provides the background to understanding how leadership styles of school administrators influence the retention rate of their teachers. The central research question was: What are the retention experiences of secondary Christian school educators who attribute their persistence to the leadership styles of school administrators? Data was collected from 11 secondary Christian school teachers to explore the persistence experiences of …

Pastoral Listening Skills Training In The Black Baptist Church: Equipping Clergy To Better Support Congregants, Regina Pair Allen

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

This study engages a historical survey of qualitative studies of perspectives of Black pastors regarding pastoral care, examining various avenues for training in pastoral listening and the role of ministers as theological clinicians in supporting church ministries and community needs. The findings highlight the ongoing need for professional development among pastors as primary educators and theological clinicians. The study underscores the importance of equipping Black Baptist pastors to address the clinical pastoral needs of African American congregants. The significance to this field of study is providing Black Baptist clergy with practical skills and tools, grounded in theological principles, to better …

Mood Monitoring In Schools: A Promising Alternative To Single-Time-Point Screening, Shane L. Rogers, Brown, Kathryn Campbell, Matthew Goulding

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

School-based mental health screening typically relies on single-time-point assessments, which assume that students’ emotional well-being is sufficiently stable for classification based on a single measurement. The present study examined this assumption by evaluating the stability of emotional well-being classifications under repeated mood monitoring. Students from two secondary schools (United Kingdom, n = 413; Australia, n = 354) completed the Brief Emotional Experience Scale weekly across six to seven weeks. Emotional well-being classifications were examined relative to a predefined low well-being threshold to assess stability across time, and a post-monitoring survey examined students’ self-reported perceptions of the monitoring experience. Most students …

The Unlikely Outcome Of A Struggling Kindergartner: A Cognitive Rags-To-Riches Tale, Amanda M. Butler

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

Despite teachers’ implementation of research-based strategies, many students fail to make adequate progress. In some cases, this stems from a neurophysiological response that is beyond the teacher’s and student’s control. Drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, unintended findings from a previous study illuminate a larger, deeply convoluted issue that will promote unique conversations in education circles. These findings bear significant discoveries that could alter the trajectory for failing students and elevate the teaching profession.

Full Issue: Volume 15, Number 1, Fall 2021, Judy Beck, Susan Fernandez

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This file contains the full issue of TEJSC, including front matter, table of contents, editorial notes, and articles.

Graduate Student Supervision And Artificial Intelligence: Findings From Academic Faculty Interviews Across Disciplines, Kari D. Weaver, Nadine Fladd

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

There is widespread discussion in higher education about the potential implications of GenAI for research and writing tasks (George, 2023). Many graduate students are under intense pressure to finish their degree milestones in a timely manner, and these rapidly evolving technologies offer the potential to optimize and automate much of the research and writing process. But the ethical, developmental, and career implications of graduate students – both masters’ and doctoral – using these technologies requires particularly careful consideration, as these students are simultaneously learners, scholars, and, sometimes, educators. Although emerging research about GenAI use in higher education has examined the …

Momentum, With A Mission, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

A Phenomenological Study Of The Mental Health Needs Of High School Youth In A Rural Community Post Covid-19 Pandemic, Maritza Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe former high school students’ experiences with mental health struggles while in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural Texas Public Independent School District. Mental illness increased among youth during the prolonged pandemic period of time and many of the pervasive mental health concerns have not been addressed effectively in the aftermath. As a result, a growing number of concerns pertaining to the mental health wellbeing of K-12 children continues to be on the rise. Thus, it is of utmost importance to learn more about the experiences of our youth …

Beyond Access: Black Women Alumnae’S Perspectives On Navigating Russell Group Universities As Undergraduates In The United Kingdom, Varaidzo Felistus Kativhu

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of Black British women who attended Russell Group universities, investigating how they navigated identity, belonging, racism, and institutional support within elite higher education. The study was guided by three research questions: how Black women experienced identity and belonging in these environments; what survival and resistance strategies they developed in response; and what institutional changes they recommend to better support Black women students. Drawing on Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), Strayhorn’s (2018) sense of belonging framework, and Tuck’s (2009) desire-based research framework, the study employed a phenomenological methodology adapted from Seidman (2019). The research …

Beyond Assumptions: What Students Really Think About School Wellbeing Programs, Amanda Madden

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The study examined students’ perceptions of effective components in school-based wellbeing programs, addressing a critical gap where adolescent voices are absent. Data was gathered through a questionnaire, individual interviews, and focus groups conducted with 36 Year 12 students across three independent co-educational schools in Western Australia. Thematic analysis identified seven key components essential for effective wellbeing programming: targeted content providing respite from academic pressures, engaging and relatable presenters, strategic timing, developmental appropriateness, meaningful measurement, genuine teacher engagement, and authentic incorporation of student voice. Students valued practical, non-academic content and expressed scepticisms about teacher-delivered programs. Timing emerged as a previously underexplored …

Navigating Mental Wellness: A Peer-Led Journey Into Adult Services, Kristin G. Haberek

DSW Capstone Projects

Students with severe emotional disturbances (SED) occupy one of the most underserved intersections in American education and mental health care. As they age out of children’s services, they face abrupt service discontinuation, disrupted therapeutic relationships, and adult systems ill-equipped to meet their needs. These vulnerabilities, including heightened risks of crisis, hospitalization, homelessness, and justice involvement, constitute a central practice problem. This capstone addresses these transitions across three scholarly products: a systematic literature review, a theoretical concept paper, and a practical application paper, tracing a unified arc from diagnosing structural failures to proposing an evidence-informed, equity-oriented clinical response. Synthesizing key findings …

Not Just Cheap Labor: A Critical Mixed Methods Assessment Of Working Learner Supervision To Advance Equitable Work-Integrated Learning, Jonathan D. Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how supervisory relationships shape the quality of on-campus student employment (OCSE) as a work-integrated learning (WIL) experience, with particular attention to the experiences of working learners (i.e., student employees). Situated in response to growing student demand for meaningful, career-relevant work opportunities in college, the study investigates how universities can leverage existing OCSE roles to expand access to WIL. Using a mixed methods explanatory social justice design, the research integrates working learner responses (N = 478) to the Student Supervisor Support Measure with interviews of students and supervisors in relationships characterized as both supportive and cross-identity.

Survey …

Catholic Solidarity In American Jesuit Education Through The Radical Kinship Of Fr. Greg Boyle: A Conceptual Analysis, Sajit U. Kabadi

Journal of Catholic Education

This is a conceptual analysis that examines how American Jesuit secondary education can pursue greater Catholic solidarity in a polarized world through a framework of radical kinship, as espoused by Fr. Greg Boyle. Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang rehabilitation program, in the city of Los Angeles. The purpose of this conceptual analysis is to delve deeper into Boyle’s conceptual framework of radical kinship in the context of American Jesuit secondary education. This conceptual analysis will use Catholic Social Teaching, Biblical references, and the values of the Jesuit mission.

Theodor Zeckler's Educational And Welfare Institutions In Eastern Galicia: Genesis, Institutionalization And Socio-Cultural Role, Vitaliy Dokash, Yurii Klonovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article examines Theodor Zekler’s educational and welfare institutions in Eastern Galicia from the late nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century. It analyzes their genesis, stages of institutionalization, organizational structure, and socio-cultural role in the region. The study shows that the orphanages, schools, boarding facilities, and other charitable and educational institutions founded by Zekler combined the functions of care, education, moral and religious formation, and social integration. Particular attention is paid to the interconnection of pedagogical, confessional, and philanthropic principles in the operation of these institutions. Drawing on archival materials, published sources, and historiography, the article argues …