Digital Commons Network^™

Nh Ece Research Consortium 2024 Activity Timeline, Jess Carson, Evan England

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

The New Hampshire Early Care and Education (NH ECE) Research Consortium is a network of researchers and research users committed to strengthening the state's ECE landscape through the use of data. Discover what the Consortium accomplished during its first full year in this 2024 Activity Timeline.

The Path From Acceptance To Adoption For Linguistic Innovations Dealing With Gender In The Language Classroom, Juan Carlos Acevedo Fontecha

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the factors influencing the acceptance, rejection, or adoption of gender inclusive and gender-non-identifying forms among language users. The study draws on responses from 25 students in a linguistic class to evaluate innovations in English and from 23 instructors of Spanish to evaluate innovations in Spanish. Participants took part in a survey designed to evaluate existing forms endorsed by the United Nations, and gender-non-identifying forms, such as the -e morpheme in Spanish or singular they in English, promoted by community-generated guides. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed side by side to better understand the participants’ reasoning regarding these …

Lift Every Voice And Lead: Black Men In Educational Leadership: Towards New Theories, Visions, And Understandings, Phillip Smith

GSE Faculty Publications

There has been limited attempts to explore paradigms of educational leadership enacted by Black men. This study draws on previous substantive research to examine the ways in which context, as well as role of leadership identity, values, and culture, inform the leadership experiences of Black men in K-12 school principal or head of school leadership positions—principals and heads of school. The study adopts a qualitative phenomenological approach, use of online descriptive survey, in-depth semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation methods, with 14 Black male school leaders from across the United States, to provide structural and textural descriptions, synthesis of meanings and …

Diversifying Ecology Education For Everyone Through More Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, And Accessible Teaching, Loren B. Byrne, Emily S. J. Rauschert, Vikki L. Rodgers, Gillian Bowser, Et Al.

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Educating more students about ecology and its beneficial applications to societal issues is urgent yet challenging. To address this challenge, diversifying ecology education is a key way to make ecology more inclusive, accessible, and interdisciplinary for more people than ever. Advancing this goal requires ecology educators to develop a more expansive view of (1) how to engage more diverse undergraduate students in ecology courses, especially those from historically underrepresented groups and non-majors, (2) the interdisciplinarity of content in those courses, and (3) the learner-centered pedagogies used to engage students. We suggest ways that ecologists can advance “ecology education for everyone” …

Domestic Student Engagement With International Peers: Local Insights, Global Connections, Alissa Sutton

Masters Theses

As competition to recruit international students grows, institutions must prioritize fostering a sense of belonging that supports their retention and success. Central to this is the quality of interactions between international and domestic students, which shape both groups’ social and academic experiences. This study examines the barriers and facilitators influencing domestic students’ engagement with international peers and the role of institutional support in promoting meaningful cross-cultural connections. Findings reveal that domestic students recognize the importance of engaging with international peers but they often encounter challenges such as lack of awareness, uncertainty about how to connect, and limited institutional opportunities. Support …

From Rural Roads To College Credits: Understanding Dual Enrollment In New Hampshire's Rural High Schools, Sarah Chase

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Dual enrollment programs vary significantly across states, schools, and districts, leading to inconsistent college readiness outcomes. While previous research primarily examines differences at the state level, little is known about how these programs operate within rural high schools in the same region. This study examines dual enrollment in four rural high schools in New Hampshire using a multiple-case study approach and thematic analysis. Data was collected through interviews with administrators, faculty, counselors, and alumni, along with reviews of public documents. Six key themes emerged: (1) Barriers to Dual Enrollment, (2) Conflicting Perspectives of Key Players, (3) Benefits of Dual Enrollment, …

Loving-Learning-Leading-Living: A Scholarly Personal Narrative Of A Black Gay Father, Russell E. Thornhill

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the roles, challenges, and contributions of a Black Gay father, a demographic largely absent from academic discourse. While literature explores themes of the church, LGBTQ+ identities, and social justice, there remains a critical gap addressing the lived experiences of a Black Gay father. This study fills that void by elevating narratives as community activists, family leaders, and clergy members, acknowledging their transformative impact within familial and societal structures. The methodology used is the Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN). It allows for in-depth, reflective engagement with personal experiences in conversation with scholars while situating them within broader sociocultural, theological, …

The Inward Gaze: White Faculty's Self-Perceptions Of Racial Identity, Privilege, And Its Impact On Pedagogy, David E. Houle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the evolving self-perceptions of racial consciousness among White faculty in higher education and its impact on pedagogical practices for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. This study is guided by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and Rowe et al.’s White racial consciousness model and uses interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore participants’ narratives of White racial identity, disorientating dilemmas, critical self-reflection, and pedagogical transformation. The research highlights key moments of self-reflection and transformation that influence inclusive teaching strategies, such as prioritizing marginalized voices in course content and rethinking classroom dynamics to respond to systemic inequities. The findings reveal how …

Creating A General Psychology Curriculum That Embeds Humane Education, Kristina Marie Pham

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Academic freedom is under attack in the United States, hindering the ability of educators to develop critical thinking skills in students to prepare them for their roles as participating members of a democracy. The inquiry that informed the curriculum development is as follows: How to embed Humane Education and Participatory Action Research into a General Psychology class? The theoretical framework of Humane Education was the basis for utilizing the principles of Participatory Action Research in the General Psychology curriculum co-created with rural community college students. The Backward Design Model was chosen because the curriculum was created using an existing General …

Shades Of Discipline: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring Black Girls’ Experiences Of Colorism And Exclusionary Discipline Through The Lens Of The Domains Of Power, Tamika Reese

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Black girls are the fastest-growing group facing exclusionary school discipline, including suspensions, expulsions, and law enforcement referrals. National data reveals that Black girls are significantly more likely to be suspended than white girls, yet little research has explored how skin tone influences these disparities. This qualitative narrative inquiry examined the role of colorism in the discipline of Black girls by expanding on Patricia Hill Collins’s Matrix of Domination framework. Through the voices of five Black girls with varying skin tones and eight school leaders involved in disciplinary decisions, the study explored how the intersections of race, gender, and skin tone …

“Be Careful, That One’S Aggressive!”: Canine Counterstories: Shifting Shelter Dog Narratives For Improved Welfare, Lori Carscadden

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study uses Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) methodology to challenge dominant narratives surrounding shelter dogs, as well as to examine how human perceptions and subsequent behaviors impact shelter dogs’ experiences in American animal shelter institutions. Drawing from personal and professional experiences as a canine behaviorist, I challenge prevailing “bad dog” narratives and introduce Canine CounterStoryTelling, a framework that I have developed which combines Standpoint Theory, Environmental Enrichment Theory, and Humane Education values. By integrating this theoretical framework in conjunction with the introspective nature of SPN, this study focuses on interrupting the status quo and creating impactful spaces to contribute to …

Cultivating Empathy: A Content Analysis Of Empathic Themes In Best-Selling Children's Books, Elnaz J. Afousi

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examines the presence and nature of empathic content in best-selling children’s picture books, with a focus on developmental relevance for preschool-aged readers. Using a modified version of the iEPIC empathy coding system, 10 titles from the New York Times best-seller list were analyzed to assess the frequency and complexity of three empathy-related constructs: Emotion or State Description (ESD), Exploring Emotion or State (EES), and Empathic Understanding or Concern (EUC). Results indicate that while all books contained some empathy-related content, ESD3 (self-reflective emotional descriptions) and EUC2/EUC4 (understanding and helping others) were most prevalent, suggesting an emphasis on both intrapersonal …

Status-Based Microaggressions Experienced By Teacher-Librarians And Advocacy Strategies To Address Them, Jennifer Mary Mckenzie

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative dissertation explores the lived experiences of Oregon certified teacher-librarians and examines how status-based microaggressions impact their professional roles, working conditions, and advocacy efforts. Drawing from focus group methodology, consciousness-raising groups, and microaggression theory, particularly Dr. Derald Wing Sue’s Five Phase Microaggression Process Model, this study analyzes data from nine virtual focus groups with 20 participants representing 14 Oregon school districts. Oregon teacher-librarians are among the most understaffed in the nation and often experience professional marginalization. This study introduces participants to the term “status-based microaggression,” instances rooted in perceived organizational hierarchies. This study finds that all participants were unfamiliar …

From Fear To Resilience: An Autoethnography Detailing A Teacher's Battle Against Bullying By Public School Principals, Laurie Etta Reif

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This paper tells my story within the realm of public education, particularly focusing on the interactions between teachers and the principals overseeing their schools. Grounded in social context, this autoethnography explores the challenges in these relationships while offering insights into best practices for fostering constructive engagement between educators and administrators. The discussion highlights my struggles with the power dynamics that are prevalent in public schools. Through my story, informed by Indigenous Women’s Research Theory and storytelling methodologies, this dissertation recounts experiences of harassment and intimidation I encountered across multiple school settings. The narrative is an analysis of existing resources and …

First Destination Survey 2025: For Degrees Awarded December 2024-August 2025, Hart Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

First Destination Survey

No abstract provided.

Driving Impactful Change: Entrepreneurial Insights For Social Responsibility In The Irish Context, Anna Zherdeva, Deirdre Mcquillan, Lucia Morales

Articles

Today’s volatile situation at the global level, provoked by a significant rise in Economic and Political Uncertainty, emerged as an answer on countries attempts to manage the climate change crisis, armed conflicts, the rising cost of living, a growing divide between the more prosperous Global North and the poorest Global South that are reflected on the emergence of multifaceted, multiple and long-lasting crises. During periods of heightened instability and economic uncertainty, businesses struggle to build trusting relationships with stakeholders as they seek to reduce costs. Additionally, companies seek deep engagement as they confront the costs associated with sustainability challenges and …

Echoes Of Play: Traditional Outdoor Games Of Chitral`S Mountain Communities, Rubina Nawab, Fozia Parveen

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

No abstract provided.

Data Management In Large-Scale Studies: A Handbook For Researchers, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Aisha Naz Ansari, Sohail Ahmad, Wadhwani Nimarta

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

This handbook presents insights and experiences on managing largescale data, shared by team members who contributed to six large-scale studies, including the AKU-IED Impact Study, EGRI-QEP, SMILO1, TCFSMILO, SMILO2, and PPP study. All these projects were funded by different organisations. We extend our gratitude to all research team members for their valuable experiential contributions to this handbook.

Local Roots, Global Minds: Student Entrepreneurship Through Exploration And Community Connections, Madison Stracke, Becky Haddad, Matt Kreifels

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

What if students could see themselves not just as learners but as future business owners, community leaders, and innovators? That was the idea behind Local Roots, Global Minds, a hands-on semester project designed to connect students to their communities while helping them explore real-world career paths.

In a rural Nebraska high school, students weren’t just studying plant science. They were brainstorming business ideas, talking to local professionals, and thinking critically about their community needs, which in turn allowed them the opportunity to see how a future in their agricultural-based community could be accomplished.

Local Roots, Global Minds was a Work-Based …

Seizing The Moment: Post-Covid-19 Enrollment Trends Among Nontraditional Honors Students, Solomon Aleph

Anthós

This article investigates the motivations behind the rising enrollment of nontraditional students at Portland State University’s Honors College, which nearly doubled from 2019 to 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Aleph argues that nontraditional students viewed education as a means of reclaiming agency and reshaping their futures. Through interviews and a focus group with four nontraditional students, Aleph explores how the pandemic created disruption and opportunities. The study finds that while economic instability and isolation were factors, intrinsic motivations—especially a desire for self-improvement, intellectual challenge, and rewriting personal narratives—were more prominent factors shaping enrollment decisions. Drawing from this qualitative analysis, Aleph …

"I’Ll Wait Zero Seconds": Faculty Perspectives On Serials Access, Sharing, And Immediacy, Rachel Elizabeth Scott, Anne Shelley, Chad E. Buckley, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Julie A. Murphy

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This study explores how faculty across disciplines access and share scholarly serial content and what expectations they have for immediacy. The authors conducted twenty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews with faculty of various ranks representing all Illinois State University (ISU) colleges. The findings, presented in the words of participants and triangulated with data from local sources, suggest that faculty use a variety of context-specific mechanisms to access and share serial literature. Participants discuss how they use library services such as databases, subscriptions, interlibrary loan, and document delivery, coupled with academic social networks, disciplinary repositories, author websites, and other publicly available sources to …

The Effects Of Chronic Absenteeism On Average Daily Attendance Funding In Humboldt County Elementary Schools, Corabelle A. Esmailian

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Chronic absenteeism is linked to poor academic performance and lower social-emotional skills, both of which can have long-term effects on students and their communities. The California Department of Education uses average daily attendance (ADA) to determine most of the funding that public schools receive. When a student is absent, their school loses a portion of potential funding for that day. This study explores chronic absenteeism’s impact on the funding of Humboldt County’s elementary schools with a sequential exploratory research strategy and critical systems lens. Interviews with elementary administrators were conducted using a phenomenological approach to understand how this affects their …

Our Methodology For Case-Based Learning And Strategies For Reader Engagement, Wesley J. Wilson, Paul H. Warner, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

In this chapter, we discuss in detail our application of case-based learning to this edited book. We take time to highlight some important differences in our approach in contrast to traditional case-based learning principles and resources and lay out our procedures for considering the content, format, and editing of this collection of stories. We also delve into our own reflexivity and positions of power as we consider our roles as editors in this project. Finally, we discuss tips for engaging with this book, while providing some general reflective questions for readers to consider while reviewing the authors’ stories about physical …

Conceptualizing And Problematizing Inclusion Porn In Education Scholarship And Practice, Justin A. Haegele, Anthony J. Maher

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Discourses of inclusion are currently used without clear and consistent meaning and multiple and varied interpretations exist, therefore stunting our ability to enhance or utilize the concept in social justice and education scholarship and practice. In this article, we argue that the ambiguous, conflicting, and contested features of inclusion have opened a door for nondisabled policy makers, academics, practitioners, and other stakeholders to exploit the concept of inclusion by crafting the logics and taken-for-granted assumptions that become associated with it. Accordingly, these nondisabled stakeholders gain social, cultural, and symbolic capital in the fields that they operate, while (some) disabled students …

1 Of 84 The Discursive Tactics Of Perpetuating White Normativity In Public Education: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis Of Anti-Crt Policies Across 18 States, Alison Wilson, Alissa Blair, Jason L. Endacott, Christopher Giller, Christian Z. Goering

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, state policies banning "divisive concepts" have proliferated as part of a coordinated effort to undermine racial justice by framing critical discussions of race as "indoctrination" and imposing ideological restrictions on curriculum and pedagogy. Using critical policy discourse analysis informed by a critical study of whiteness, this paper examines how 22 policy documents from 18 states operate discursively to shape the parameters of race-related discourse in public education. Our findings suggest that these policies employ three primary discursive maneuvers: (1) constructing false equivalencies that equate white discomfort with racial oppression, (2) appealing to "universal" values to obscure systemic …

Experiential Learning Through Simulations In Fully Online Asynchronous Courses: Exploring The Role Of Self-Debriefing, David De Jong, Sara Dexter

Research & Publications

Online preparation of professionals is increasing in higher education, which in educational leadership prepa ration programs raises the need for a means to provide authentic simulations of leadership experiences and help aspirants learn from them. This study presents a content analysis of 826 responses from 59 different school leadership students who, following each of the 14 simulations they experienced, wrote one response in an asynchronous format as a form of self-debriefing. The five themes identified map to the four phases of the experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984), suggesting that virtual opportunities to practice leadership in tions may serve as grounding …

Academic Agency Within The Curricular Reform Of Gateway Stem Courses: A Faculty Perspective, Katie Beck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The research regarding faculty agency during curricular reform is a burgeoning field within higher education as the faculty perspective within the current research concerning curriculum reform is limited. This study seeks to illuminate the faculty perspective of the curricular reform process of gateway STEM courses and how faculty experienced the reform process through a qualitative case study. The site of the case study is a public four-year institution on the eastern coast of the United States that has undergone and continues to undergo significant academic restructuring. The research utilized a structured survey and semi-structured interviews with seven total participants from …

Hostos Community College Academic Bulletin 2025-2026, Hostos Community College

College Bulletins

This is the official college catalog for 2025-2026. It contains course descriptions as well as information on degree programs, college resources and services, financial aid, admissions, and the academic calendar.

Chatbot Assessment: Best Practices For Artificial Intelligence In The Library, Michelle Ehrenpreis, John P. Delooper

Publications and Research

In November 2019, the Leonard Lief Library implemented Ivy.ai, a proprietary chatbot on its website. This implementation was the first academic library installation of a vendor-supplied chatbot to be discussed in the professional literature. This chatbot functioned as a new tool that assisted users seeking information from the library website. User questions provided insight to the authors about the kinds of topics students searched for via the library website. In April 2023, the chatbot’s vendor began using OpenAI’s ChatGPT Application Programming Interface (API) to improve the chatbot’s functionality. This change, from a rules-based chatbot system to a transformer model, enhanced …

Wondrous Uncertainty: Transforming Student Educational Experiences Using Restorative Practices, Zachary C. Schafer

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

One of the primary purposes of education is to help students make sense of their lived experiences. In the process of becoming, students navigate multiple relationships (school, peers, adults, and with self). These relationships often cause conditions of uncertainty which can be managed and transformed using restorative practices in tandem with the academic disciplines taught in school. Over the last decade this has been my inquiry puzzle, “As educators, how can we embrace uncertainty with students as a way of helping to empower them through their dignity, with the academic disciplines as a lens through which relational learning occurs in …