Digital Commons Network^™

Factors That Affect African American Representation In Cybersecurity Academic Programs In The United States, Damon Walker

Dissertations

The U.S. cybersecurity workforce continues to experience a critical talent shortage alongside persistent inequities in racial representation, particularly at the faculty level within higher education. This mixed-methods dissertation examines African American representation among faculty in cybersecurity academic programs designated by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) and investigates the factors that influence recruitment, retention, and advancement. Grounded in a transformative research framework, the study integrates quantitative analysis of national institutional data with qualitative interviews to illuminate structural patterns and lived experiences shaping representation.

Quantitative findings revealed pronounced underrepresentation: African American faculty comprise 2.57% (130 of 5,051) of …

Exploring The Dual Advising System For Students’ Success: A Developmental Advising Model, Louisa Godwyll, Eugene Kwarteng-Nantwi, Pious Jojo Adu-Akoh

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

This qualitative study explored the dual advising system for student success at a U.S. higher education institution. Research has indicated that approximately 40–60% of students enrolled in doctoral programs do not complete their doctoral degrees. High attrition rates have led some institutions to adopt a dual advising system, a form of developmental advising, to support doctoral students’ success. Creamer and Creamer’s (1994) developmental advising model served as the conceptual framework of the study. The model defines the first stage of advising as defining task, where advisors engage in teaching and utilize strategies to help students attain educational, career, and individual …

Leveraging Critical Social Media Literacy To Safeguard Youth Against Violent Radicalization And Extremism, Muhammad Akram, Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, Muhammad Ayaz Naseem

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Social media is inundated with radical and extreme propaganda. Such information is often left unfiltered due to platform algorithms that are economically driven and socially unethical in design. It puts social media users, mostly youth, in danger of becoming radicalized and vulnerable to supporting and engaging with extremist beliefs. When young people lack sufficient critical social media literacy (CSML), radical and extremist information impacts their perspectives, affecting behavior in the real world. A PRISMA-guided systematic review of the Web of Science core collections and the Scopus database was used to find peer-reviewed articles about how CSML skills can be used …

From Consumers To Creators: Social Media Information Literacy Of University Students., Thuy Thanh Bui, Quyen Trang Mai Nguyen, Tu Thi Thanh Nguyen, Minh Cao Luu

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Social Media Information Literacy (SMIL) is increasingly important as social media platforms evolve. SMIL includes skills for navigating, evaluating, managing, creating, and engaging with social media content, aimed at effective information use and critical thinking. Using Heiss, Nanz and Matthes (2023) framework, this study surveyed 410 students via a self-assessment on a 5-point Likert scale. Results indicate students rated their SMIL as average, with the highest scores in appraisal and comprehension, and the lowest in digital creation. Female and senior students, as well as those in Education majors, rated themselves higher. Longer internet usage correlated with better SMIL, especially in …

From Y To Z: A Cross-Generational Examination Of New Media Literacy And Online Information Searching Strategy, Taibe Kulaksız, Ali Geriş, Sena Özşirin

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study aims to explore the relationship between new media literacy (NML) and online information searching strategy (OISS), focusing on the comparative analysis of Generation Y and Z in terms of gender, educational level, daily internet usage and the most used social media platforms. This research was designed as a cross-sectional survey study. Using a convenience sample method, the participants were composed of Turkish adults representing Generation Y and Z. Demographic Information Form, New Media Literacy Scale, and Online Information Searching Strategy Inventory were conducted. Two-way MANOVA was utilized for analysis. The results indicate the main effects of generation on …

Teacher Reflections On Media And Information Literacy In Vietnamese K-12 Schools: Current Practices, Challenges, And Pathways For Improvement, Tinh T.T Le, Minh Tran, Anh Dương, Huong T. Pham, Vy Tran, Daniel Jackson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) education is widely recognized as essential, yet its adoption in Vietnamese K-12 schools is still at the early stages. This study examines the current state of MIL education in Vietnam from the perspective of teachers. Drawing on insights from a trial online MIL teacher training program, which includes teachers’ learning journals, lesson plans, and an open survey using SWOT forms, we explore the approaches they use, the challenges they face, and the opportunities in promoting MIL education in their school setting. Additionally, the findings highlight specific professional development needs to enhance teachers’ MIL instruction quality. …

Don’T Tell Me How To Fact-Check; Show Me, And Let Me Try! A Media Literacy Intervention With Sixth-Graders, Thomas Nygren, Carl-Anton Werner Axelsson

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study examines how different educational approaches related to "Fria Ordets Dag" (Free Speech Day), a media literacy program by the Swedish public service, affect the ability of 859 sixth-graders to evaluate news and misinformation. Findings indicate that verbal instructions from a professional fact-checker and animations to model online fact-checking were less effective than demonstrative, authentic video tutorials. Feedback and practice were also important. The intervention yielded mixed outcomes on students’ attitudes towards credible news sources, pointing to the necessity for educational designs that bolster fact-checking and source trust. The research emphasizes how large-scale school interventions to promote students’ navigation …

Promoting News Literacy With Epistemological Beliefs, Ifla Checklist And Ai: Insights From A Teacher Training Program In Italy, Flavio Manganello

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study examines the integration of epistemological beliefs, the IFLA checklist for evaluating news credibility, and the News Verifier, an AI tool powered by GPT-4, within a teacher training program aimed at enhancing news literacy. It explores the relationship between educators’ epistemological profiles and their ability to classify news using the IFLA checklist. The study also evaluates alignment between human classifications and those generated by the News Verifier, examining the potential of AI as a complementary resource for supporting practice and reflection in news literacy education. Results indicate that consistent application of the checklist improves alignment with AI outputs, although …

Vamos A Chismear: The Intersection Of Social Media And Chisme Fostering Belonging Among Middle School Girls, Juana Yumeida Chavez Kawasaki

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Social media engagement among Latinx middle school girls has been increasingly associated with harmful trends, including declining mental health, negative body image, and engagement in risky behaviors. Latinx middle school girls, along with gender minority youth, have often represented a high percentage of users vulnerable to the seductive spell of digital platforms and the subsequent rewiring of childhood. The current study used a qualitative (Creswell et al., 2007) research design featuring pláticas, a method rooted in Chicana/Latina feminist (Delgado Bernal et al., 2023) epistemologies that prioritizes embodied knowledge and resistance. Drawing upon the building blocks of social media engagement framework, …

Transgender And Gender Diverse Alumni Sense Of Belonging In Christian Higher Education: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Kara Elizabeth Martin

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored how nine transgender and gender diverse (TGD) alumni from member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) interpreted their undergraduate experiences with belonging and exclusion. Given the unique religious climates of CCCU schools, these alumni navigated complex tensions between their personal faith, gender identity, and institutional expectations. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, participants reflected retrospectively on their collegiate journeys, emphasizing the evolving meaning they ascribed to these experiences both during and after their enrollment. Analysis revealed a distinct temporal movement across three primary phases: entering college with idealized expectations of spiritual …

The Study Of Instructional Sequencing On Students’ Learning Of Science Concepts, Mallory Hughes

Education Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Access For All: Student Insights Into Cvs Accessibility, Gabriella Huizenga

Education Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Student Perspectives On Grading In Higher Education Stem Courses, Christopher Sean Burns, Daniela D.S. Digiacomo, Jennifer Pusateri, Katherine Ritchie, Christine Wusylko

Information Science Faculty Publications

Purpose

Despite a growing awareness of instructional practices that support student learning and well-being, higher education classrooms tend to still be dominated by the use of rigid approaches to assessment and course design. This study aims to understand the experiences of students in courses that implement a universal design for learning (UDL) pedagogical approach and an ungrading assessment approach. Design/methodology/approach

Leveraging a qualitative methodological approach, authors interviewed 13 graduate students in two library and information science technology courses and 11 undergraduate students in a computer science course in discrete mathematics about their experiences with ungrading within the context of UDL-designed …

Reflective Refinement Through Iterative Model Building, Idris Solola, Hillary Swanson, Sarah Schwartz, Rida Munir, Jared B. Arnell, Ravi Sinha

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Student Research

While research has emphasized the role of classroom discourse, hands-on demonstrations, and carefully crafted prompts in eliciting and responding to students’ ideas, there’s a need to investigate how the systematic design of modeling instruction can serve as the structure that naturally supports responsive teaching. Drawing on the knowledge in pieces (KiP) epistemology and the concept of responsive teaching, we present an instructional approach called guided reflective refinement (GRR), which guides students to articulate and examine their thinking through building and evaluating models. We analyzed middle school students’ model drafts over a 7-day unit on conservation of energy to understand the …

Learning At Scale As Infrastructure: Lms Platforms, Data Pipelines, And Language-Based Evidence For Educational Measurement, Danielle S. Mcnamara, Michelle Banawan, Renu Balyan, Rod D. Roscoe, Tracy Arner

Chinese/English Journal of Educational Measurement and Evaluation | 教育测量与评估双语期刊

The increasing scale of digital learning environments has transformed the data available for educational measurement, learning analytics, and the learning sciences. However, learning at scale is often treated as a matter of sample size or novel analytic methods rather than as the outcome of institutional infrastructure that governs how learning data are generated, curated, transformed, and accessed. This paper offers an infrastructure-centered description of learning at scale, focusing on learning management systems (LMSs), platform-integrated tools, and data pipelines that produce research-ready educational data. As an illustrative exemplar, we draw on the design and operation of the Arizona State University Learning@Scale …

The Item Response Warehouse: What It Is, How To Use It, And Targets For Potential Improvements, Savira D. Nadela, Hansol Lee, Nishka Jain, Ayaan Gupta, Xingyi Zhang, Benjamin W. Domingue

Chinese/English Journal of Educational Measurement and Evaluation | 教育测量与评估双语期刊

The Item Response Warehouse (IRW) is a repository of harmonized item response datasets designed to support secondary analysis and methodological research in psychological and educational measurement. This paper serves as a practical guide for researchers interested in using the IRW. We describe the structure of IRW datasets and the quantitative and qualitative metadata available for dataset selection, and we demonstrate how researchers can navigate the IRW website to explore and compare available tables. We further show how the IRW R and Python packages can be used to filter datasets programmatically, download response-level data, and generate standardized citations for reproducible research …

Implementing Retrieval And Distributed Practice In A Rotating Block Schedule: Boosting Students’ Memory And Metacognition, Terra A. Caputo, Kaitlyn C. Hoffmann, Cindy Reagan, Guy D. Savastano, Brandon J. Foster, Kathryn Hallal, Kristin Miller-Gecsi, Thomas A. Yarcusko

Journal of Catholic Education

An all-boys secondary Jesuit Catholic school in the Midwest, recently transitioned to a rotating block schedule with the goal of supporting deeper learning for all students. Though the transition to longer class meetings helped achieve this goal, less frequent class meetings presented a new challenge in that it tended to exacerbate the natural “forgetting curve.” Retrieval practice, one of the most widely cited high-impact learning strategies to boost student memory, is most beneficial when used alongside spaced practice. A team of teachers implemented and tested the impacts of retrieval and distributed practice on memory in a rotating block schedule. Our …

Rest For The Weary Soul: A Mixed Methods Psychospiritual Exploration Of Faith As A Path To Mental Health Recovery Among Students, Fremativo A. Vergara, Melvin G. Barete, Evan P. Taja-On

Journal of Catholic Education

Many individuals turn to faith for strength, guidance, and resilience, particularly at times of emotional hardship. As concerns continue to grow about mental health, particularly that of students, exploring how faith influences coping mechanisms and recovery offers valuable insights into alternative approaches to emotional wellbeing. The study found that students exhibit high levels of resilience and spiritual intelligence, suggesting that faith-based beliefs are crucial in students’ ability to cope with adversity. A strong positive correlation between resilience and spiritual intelligence indicates that students who integrate faith into their lives are more likely to develop the psychological strength needed to navigate …

The Ignatian Cybergogical Experience Model: Fostering Competence, Conscience, Compassion, And Commitment In The Digital Age, Theresia Y. Setyawan, Chatarina A. Budiningsih, Sugeng B. Wahyono

Journal of Catholic Education

Despite advances in educational technology, learning models that effectively integrate digital tools to develop not only competence but also learners’ conscience, compassion, and commitment remain limited. This article introduces the Ignatian Cybergogical Experience (ICE) model, a novel framework designed to foster these four essential characteristics in digital learning environments. Rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, the model deliberately integrates Ignatian Pedagogy’s proven framework for values formation and reflective practice with cybergogy’s capacity to engage digital learners through technology-mediated experiences. This synergistic blending addresses critical limitations in existing approaches: the ICE model simultaneously develops technological competence and moral character, which neither …

Effective Leadership Of Catholic Microschools, Jill Wierzbicki

Journal of Catholic Education

This study aimed to understand effective school principals’ perceptions of their leadership of Catholic schools. It focuses on Catholic schools with student populations of fewer than 150 students and addresses which attributes of their successes may be replicable for other small Catholic elementary school leaders, with focused attention on operational vitality. It is a phenomenological, qualitative research study accomplished through interviews with Catholic school principals whose schools have seen success during their period of leadership.

Principal Coaching Impact: Elementary Principals' Perspectives On Their Coaching Experience, Kyle L. Hoopes

Theses and Dissertations

School principals face increasing complexity as they navigate instructional leadership, organizational change, and the emotional demands of supporting staff and students. Traditional professional development--often episodic and compliance-driven--has proven insufficient for helping principals translate knowledge into practice. This qualitative phenomenological study examined how 20 elementary principals in a large intermountain district experienced a dual-coach, team-based leadership coaching model and how coaching influenced their leadership practices and well-being. Semi-structured interviews and iterative thematic analysis revealed that coaching shaped three core areas of leadership practice: gaining clarity and direction, prioritizing instructional and organizational goals, and strengthening collaboration within school leadership teams. Principals also …

2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium Program, Coastal Carolina University

Undergraduate Research Symposium Programs

17th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 21-22, 2026.

The 2026 CCU Undergraduate Research Symposium included 72 oral presentations, 127 poster presentations, and 22 team pitch presentations comprising 50 students who participated in the Wall College’s Chant’s Tank Pitch Competition.

Presentations at the Undergraduate Research Symposium were judged by almost 90 faculty and staff, and prizes were awarded in three categories: Best Oral Presentation, Best Poster Presentation, and Best Chant’s Tank Pitch Presentation. Here are the following award winners and their mentors in their respective categories:

Best Oral Presentation:

• 1st Place: Ryan Ryan Avallone, Applied Mathematics. Faculty Mentor: Bong Jeong (Management …

Preliminary Evaluation Of A Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Based Skills Training Class For High School Students, Jared T. Izumi, Bethany Walczak, Jamie K. Elizalde, Matthew Hayes

Education Faculty Articles and Research

School mental health issues have become an increasingly important issue for our youth. Schools are a vital resource for providing prevention-based services to students. This study evaluated a pilot implementation of a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) based skills intervention in a single high school in the Midwest. The sample included a convenience sample of 39 students from three different teachers across three trimesters. Social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, DBT skill use, dysfunctional coping, fidelity, and intervention attendance information were collected. We used a hybrid fixed effects/multi-level model to evaluate the effects of the intervention (McNeish, 2023). Students increased their use …

Journey Of Becoming: Risk And Self-Determination In The Story Of Self For Adults With Intellectual, Developmental, And Learning Disabilities A Phenomenological Case Study Employing Narrative Inquiry And Thematic Analysis, Christopher R. J. Worth

Dissertations

This phenomenological case study, employing narrative inquiry and thematic analysis, captured the first-person voice of emerging adults (ages 20–28) with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities to explore how experiences of risk and self-determination shaped their personal narratives, or story of self. Guided by Critical Disability Theory, Foucault’s concept of relational power, and Shogren’s Causal Agency Theory, the study challenged the systemic bubble-wrapping that denies this population the "dignity of risk" (Perske, 1972). Data were collected from six participants through semi-structured interviews, adapted photovoice submissions, and participant selfreflections. The findings revealed that the phenomenon of becoming, catalyzed by intellectual adaptive risk-taking, …

Understanding And Alleviating Teacher Burnout: A Focus On Supports For Teacher Candidates, Meghan Glahn

Honors Projects

This Honors Project begins by analyzing the overall patterns of burnout, and then narrowing to the experienced pressures by special educators. This research topic highlights how stress arrives early during teacher preparation and increases for individuals entering special education. Research from various sources emphasize the prevalence of burnout and the contributing factors that often lead to mental and physical consequences. This study also has results from a survey involving Intervention Specialist majors that captures their college experiences with academic demands, emotional labor, and field placement expectations. The outcomes supported by literature and the survey demonstrate that teacher burnout is severe, …

Sowing Imbalance From The Start: Power, Role Socialization, And Graduate Assistants In Ncaa Division I Power Four Athletic Departments, Kaitlin Pericak, Daniel Springer, Brittany Washington, Rachel Silva

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Graduate assistantships represent early entry points into intercollegiate athletics and serve as critical sites of professional socialization. Guided by Mead’s (1934) role theory and Foucault’s (1975/1977) concept of power, this study examined how graduate assistants (GAs) negotiated their dual roles as students and employees within Division I Power Four athletic departments. Semi-structured interviews with 10 current GAs revealed how organizational expectations normalized overwork, positioned the master’s degree as a compulsory credential, and sowed imbalance that shaped participants’ identities and well-being. Findings demonstrate how GAs internalized structured constraints and reproduced organizational norms, framing overwork as a necessary rite of passage. These …

Examining Automated Writing Evaluation Error Coverage In Relation To Uptake And Retention, Mohaddeseh Mehrzad, Mohammad Rahimi, Stephanie Link

Journal of Response to Writing

Despite the current widespread use of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) feedback, many issues regarding its efficacy still remain unresolved. Recent studies mainly focus on correctly detected errors with a lack of attention on the comprehensiveness of error detection, or error coverage. Error coverage is interesting because little is known about the capacity of AWE systems to fully detect common second language (L2) errors. It is also important to investigate the potential effect of such capacity on student uptake and retention, which are important constructs in fostering L2 writing development. To this end, the present study compared teacher feedback and AWE …

Book Review Of Suburban Refugees: Class And Resistance In Little Saigon, Phoebe T. Pham

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

In Suburban Refugees: Class and Resistance in Little Saigon, Jennifer Huynh challenges the common view that refugee resettlement follows a straightforward path toward assimilation, stability, and upward mobility. Focusing on Vietnamese refugees in Little Saigon, Orange County, California, Huynh examines how refugees navigate displacement, housing insecurity, and political exclusion in suburban spaces often idealized as homogenous and prosperous. Drawing on extensive data, the book presents suburban resettlement as a prolonged process shaped by structural forces and community resistance. Huynh situates her analysis within growing suburban inequality and enduring racialized policies that limit refugee opportunities long after formal resettlement. Her …

Transforming Patient Safety And Care Practices Through Interprofessional Education, Kaleena Ramirez, Claudia C. Tamara, Jennifer Sells, Karen Clatt, Banan Abuharb, Mary Coolbaugh-Murphy, Iris Culwell, Anca Fumurescu, Mary Gust, Lori Simmons, Delores Whiteing, Annie Koenig, Sara Martinez, Wilton Muriithi, Shaun T. Caldwell, Susan Lee, Mary Sizemore, Kimberly Ann H. Krumwiede

Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement

As healthcare increasingly relies on interdisciplinary teams to deliver safe and effective care, the development of interprofessional collaboration competencies among students in health care professions has become an educational priority. In response, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Professions integrated a longitudinal interprofessional education curriculum to foster collaborative practice readiness and prepare students for team-based interdisciplinary environments that ensure safe and patient-centered care. The curriculum was guided by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative 2016 and 2023 core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice, reinforced with the Real Colors® Personality Instrument and Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance …

The Social Validity Of The Zones Of Regulation, Tracy Grass

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the social validity of the Zones of Regulation, specifically in terms of the constructs of acceptability, feasibility, and perceived effectiveness, in elementary school classrooms. Despite the popularity of this social-emotional learning (SEL) program, limited research has explored its social validity. To address this gap, a mixed-methods research design was used to gain a comprehensive understanding of teacher perceptions and experiences.

A total of 43 elementary teachers completed the Usage Rating Profile—Intervention Revised (URP-IR), and seven teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Abductive thematic analysis was used to integrate data and …