Digital Commons Network^™

Quality Versus Qualified: Head Start Program Leaders’ Perceptions Of The Characteristics And Traits Of High-Quality Early Childhood Educators In New York State, Tracy L. Persaud

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to examine how leaders in New York State Head Start programs perceive the interpersonal traits and characteristics that define a high-quality, early childhood educator working with children from ages 3 to 5 years old. While formal qualifications, such as degrees and certifications, remain as requirements for employment, leaders may rely on interpersonal and dispositional qualities to distinguish effective early childhood educators in practice. Guided by credentialism theory, this study explored how leaders define teacher quality beyond credentials and how these perceptions shape hiring, evaluation, and professional support decisions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews …

At Risk Students: Ensuring A Successful Transition Into High School, Angela Espada

Education Theses and Dissertations

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice concentrated on the persistent problem of freshman course failure at a large, diverse, Title I high school serving a military-connected community in Central Texas. Although intervention programs existed, an increasing number of ninth-grade students were consistently failing one or more courses during their first year of high school, which revealed several gaps in the campus’s system of support. The Improvement Science framework and two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were used to examine the factors contributing to freshman course failure and to assess the interventions implemented to improve academic success as students transitioned into high school. …

Implementing Functional Communication Training Through Paraprofessional Preparation In A Self-Contained Elementary Special Education Classroom, Cece Afatasi

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Students with significant cognitive disabilities often experience difficulty communicating their wants, needs, and emotions. When students are unable to communicate effectively, they may rely on challenging behaviors such as aggression or self-injurious behavior to meet their needs. Because paraprofessionals provide much of the daily instructional and behavioral support in self-contained special education classrooms, they play a critical role in implementing evidence-based communication interventions.

The purpose of this professional portfolio was to explore the implementation of Functional Communication Training (FCT) through two related projects. The first focused on preparing paraprofessionals to implement FCT using Behavioral Skills Training (BST), while the second …

History In The Social Studies Classroom: Developing Historical Literacy And Skills Through Inquiry Lessons, Nancy J. Thatcher

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This Plan B project has created a series of inquiry-based lesson plans and activities for World History classrooms that emphasize historical literacy and disciplinary thinking. Rather than producing a traditional research thesis, this project emphasizes applied historical scholarship by translating historical and professional methodology into three classroom ready instructional lesson plans that are aligned with the Utah Core Standards for Social Studies. The project reflects the History MA’s emphasis on disciplinary rigor while addressing the practical needs of public history and education with pedagogical best practices. This project responds to ongoing challenges in World History education, including constrained instructional time, …

Historical Inquiry-Based Lessons In World History Classrooms: Creating Opportunities For Historical Thinking, Melinda Thatcher Lofland

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This Plan B project creates inquiry-based lessons that help students investigate the global tapestry of World History with its vast threads of transregional connections and diverse cultures that color our contemporary world and help prepare them to participate as global citizens. This project uses primary and secondary sources to create evidence-based lesson plans that will help history teachers provide opportunities for students to practice historical inquiry skills in Utah’s world history classrooms. These plans employ current scholarship and best teaching practices while following national and state standards for World History. In addition, these lessons were developed using inquiry-based historical thinking …

The Long Arc Of Global Citizenship: Historical Foundations, Modern Challenges, And Institutional Innovation At Rollins College, Wenxian Zhang

Faculty Publications

The concept of global citizenship can be traced back to the Greek and Roman periods in Western civilization, as well as to ancient Eastern philosophies. Representing both a prescriptive ideal and an aspirational faith in humanity, the notion is closely linked to the historical development of cosmopolitanism, transnationalism, and transnationality. This study first reviews the rich historical roots and core values of global citizenship, along with the growing need for global citizenship education in the modern era. It then highlights several influential individuals who strongly championed its principles, including theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein and internationalist and …

A Post-Incarceration Syndrome And Its Impact On Formerly Incarcerated Individuals: A Quantitative Examination Of In-Prison Services And Community Reentry Resources In New York City, Jorge Antonio Diaz

Education Doctoral

The United States incarcerates more individuals than any other nation, yet the effects ofincarceration remain underexamined in quantitative research. Although qualitative research has documented the traumatic sequelae of confinement, including post-incarceration syndrome (PICS), limited work has assessed the perceived adequacy of services available during incarceration, community reentry, and parole supervision. This study addresses that gap through a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive quantitative design. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 31 formerly incarcerated adults using a 40-item researcher-developed tool, the Post-Incarceration Services Assessment Survey (PISAS), which examined perceived adequacy of in-prison coping services, community-based reentry resources, and parole officer support. …

Distributed Leadership Applied: The Role Of Professional Learning Communities In The Emergence And Development Of Teacher Leadership, Grace M. Bellamy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to examine the processes through which teacher leadership is fostered and sustained among elementary and middle school educators who participate regularly in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), with a focus upon schools implementing the DuFour and Eaker PLC model with fidelity during the winter and spring of 2026. This study looked for evidence of the presence of teacher leadership in a middle school and an elementary school. The theoretical frameworks of Distributed Leadership and the Teacher Leadership Standards created by the Teacher Leadership Exploratory Consortium were employed in this study, and observations of …

Deferred Understandings: A Critical Content Analysis Of Representations Of War In Picturebooks, Heeyoung Kim, Jongsun Wee

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article reports on a study that examined eight picturebooks published since 2021 that portray contemporary wars, exploring picturebooks’ potential role in shaping children’s understandings of armed conflict. It investigated how these texts present historical context and construct representations of war. The authors’ analysis focuses on three key elements: the causes of war, depictions of wartime scenes, and the resolutions of war. The findings indicate that the picturebooks portray war realistically through textual and visual narratives, illustrating how war disrupts the child protagonist’s everyday life. However, the books rarely address the underlying causes of war. This study suggests that teachers …

Critical Constructivism And Alaana Interpreter Identity: A Narrative Analysis Qualitative Study, Kamil Gerald

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) sign language interpreters (SLIs) within interpreter education programs (IEPs) and the interpreting field. American Sign Language (ASL), the dominant sign language taught in IEPs across the United States, has been shown to overshadow Indigenous Sign Languages (ISLs), a phenomenon often referred to as “ASL colonialism.” Critical constructivism served as the foundational framework in this narrative analysis qualitative study to examine how ALAANA SLIs navigated, resisted, and reimagined their professional identities amid limited exposure to ISLs. Semi-structured interviews were …

The Impact Of Early Exposure To Engineering Concepts In The Form Of Family, School Classes, And Stem Extracurriculars On The Long-Term Sense Of Belonging In Undergraduate Women In Engineering, Hannah Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Engineering continues to struggle with the underrepresentation of women, and many women who begin engineering programs report feeling isolated or uncertain about whether they belong. A strong sense of belonging has been linked to greater confidence, persistence, and success in engineering. This study examined how early experiences with engineering before college may influence students' sense of belonging later in their undergraduate engineering programs.

Using survey responses from undergraduate engineering students across the United States, this study explored several types of early exposure to engineering, including family influence, school-based engineering and STEM courses, extracurricular programs such as robotics clubs and engineering …

From Evidence To Impact: Supporting Sensemaking And Instructional Revision In Stem Classrooms, Bonni Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Science and math literacy is crucial for informed citizenship and economic competitiveness, yet many students leave school without developing the critical thinking skills needed to understand and solve complex issues or pursue STEM careers. This disconnect often stems from traditional teaching methods that emphasize memorization and following steps over authentic reasoning and problem solving. This dissertation addresses this challenge by identifying how teachers in research studies have taught STEM in ways that develop students' ability to think, reason, and problem-solve like real scientists.

By analyzing research on instruction that incorporates modeling, inquiry, and sensemaking, and working directly with teachers, this …

"Building Something Great!": Fifth-Grade Teachers Nurturing Hope Through Professional Learning Communities – A Telling Case, Matthew H. Huffaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Teachers and educational leaders face numerous obstacles that can seem insurmountable but overcome through collaboration. “High-hope thinking provides a special advantage when we face obstacles in our goal attainment” (Snyder, 1994). Effective PLCs provide the fertile ground for teacher collaboration, influencing schoolwide communities and student learning (DuFour et al., 2016; Hord, 2004; van Es, 2012). Collaboratively identifying challenges and coming up with solutions with the support of others (what effective PLCs do) is an ideal setting for observing hope.

This study explored how hope is fostered among teachers during their weekly professional learning community meetings. Further, this study examined how …

The Relativity Of Education: Student Perspectives On Artificial Intelligence In Community College, Ashley Greta Magana

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how diverse community college students experience and make meaning of the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational contexts. Although AI is quickly transforming higher education through automated grading, personalized learning systems, and new models of assessment, the discourse surrounding its implementation remains dominated by administrators, faculty, and institutional stakeholders, while the perspectives of students, specifically community college students who are often historically underrepresented and economically marginalized, are systematically excluded. Most existing research is quantitative and centered on universities, leaving a critical gap in qualitative understanding of the most diverse population in higher …

From Understanding To Production: A Qualitative Case Study Of Instructional Alignment And Bar Examination Readiness At One Law School, Mackenzie E. Gray

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Many law students who understand the law struggle to produce it under examination conditions.This qualitative case study examined how instruction in three settings at one ABA-accredited law school (first-year doctrinal, upper-division doctrinal, and for-credit bar preparation courses) shaped students’ perceptions of their readiness for the California Bar Examination. Grounded in metacognitive transfer theory, the study drew on 18 classroom observations across six courses, semi-structured interviews with seven students and four professors, and a simulated bar examination scored against a criterion-referenced rubric, all collected during the Spring 2026 semester. Interview data were analyzed through codebook thematic analysis. Five themes resulted. Students …

A Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory Exploration Of The Mental Health Experiences Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities In Post-Secondary Settings, Alyssa L. Decker

Dissertations, 2020-current

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) now have access to higher education, often through inclusive post-secondary education programs (IPSE), to increase employability and quality of life. IPSE programs, historically, have provided academic and life skill support and not mental health support within programs’ curricula. A recent review of IPSE programs reveals that if mental health services are included, they are often accessed through university health services. Transitioning from high school to college induces high levels of stress, which can exacerbate underlying mental health conditions. Mental health care is defaulted to an already overburdened college counseling center without the knowledge and skills …

Reapplication And Credential Completion Among Non-Selected Community College Health Science Applicants: A Social Stratification Perspective, Donna G. Whitehouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reapplication and Credential Completion Among Non-Selected Community College Health Science Applicants: A Social Stratification Perspective by Donna Whitehouse Community colleges serve as primary access points for healthcare workforce preparation, yet thousands of qualified applicants are not selected for competitive admission health science programs each year. Research on what happens to these students following non-selection is limited, and existing studies focus almost exclusively on nursing, leaving allied health programs largely absent from the literature. This study addressed that gap by examining the reapplication behavior and credential completion outcomes among 2,604 applicants to three competitive admission health science programs, Nursing, Occupational Therapy …

Student Motivation In Writing, Technology Integration, And Middle Grade Pedagogy, Carol M. Edge

Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored how seventh-grade students experienced three-dimensional (3D) holographic technology during writing instruction. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Multimodality Theory, the study examined how students’ intrinsic motivation processes were influenced by immersive learning environments that incorporated multiple modes of communication. A qualitative case study design was employed with 15 seventh-grade students. Data were triangulated through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and artifact analysis.

Findings indicated that the 3D holographic environment supported students’ experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Students engaged with diverse modes of expression, including textual, visual, spatial, and gestural forms, which enhanced their …

Rural Middle School Teacher Perceptions Of Ai-Generated Feedback, Chad J. Dewolf

Dissertations

The Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that generate automated feedback are increasingly present in educational environments. However, limited research has investigated teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness, reliability, and instructional value of AI-generated feedback. This qualitative study explored rural middle school teachers’ perceptions of AI-generated feedback and examined factors influencing their acceptance and potential classroom use of this technology. Guided by the Artificial Intelligence Technology Acceptance Model (AI-TAM), the study examined how perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and trust influence teachers’ attitudes toward AI-assisted feedback.

The study involved ten rural middle school teachers in northeastern Georgia in the United States. A …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of African American Female Leaders In Public K-12 Schools In Georgia, Tyisha Davis

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how the intersectionality of race and gender shapes the leadership experiences of African American women in public K–12 schools. Despite comprising a significant portion of the educator workforce, African American women remain underrepresented in school leadership positions nationally, warranting deeper examinations of their professional pathways and daily realities. This qualitative study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis, guided by an intersectional framework, to understand the lived experiences of 10 African American female educational leaders across K–12 settings in Georgia. Principals, assistant principals, instructional specialists, and a superintendent engaged in semi-structured interviews analyzed through …

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Teacher-Led And Student-Supported Variations Of The Good Behavior Game, Patrick Wells

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This project examined the effectiveness of two variations of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) intervention: the traditional teacher-led and a student-supported variation. The traditional intervention has been shown to be an effective intervention for reducing disruptive classroom behaviors. Despite its effectiveness, proper implementation does require additional effort from the teacher—effort that may better be directed toward improving instruction. A student-supported variation of the intervention has the potential to reduce the effort required of teachers who wish to implement the intervention in their classroom. We utilized a nonconcurrent, multiple baseline design with alternating treatment to compare the effectiveness of both versions …

Cultural Humility In Motion: A Graduate Student Hybrid Immersion In Self- And Other Awareness Through Dance, Emily Jeanne Slater

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Universities bring together people from many different backgrounds, identities, and experiences. Yet university spaces often focus on mind-centered and discussion-based learning and overlook how the body plays a role in education. When education ignores the bodily experience of learning, students lose opportunities to reflect, connect, and make meaningful change in their lives and communities. To address this gap, this dissertation designed and implemented a learning experience for graduate students that creates space from them to examine their own assumptions, engage across differences, and share in inclusive practices. The learning experience draws on and advances cultural humility theory, which understands self-awareness, …

The Practice Of Targeted Budgeting And Its Alignment To The School District’S Strategic Plan, Geraldo Torres

Education Doctoral

This transcendental phenomenological study explores how budget officials in New York State perceive their roles and make resource allocation decisions in alignment with their school district's strategic plans, particularly in efforts to close achievement gaps among historically underserved student populations. Guided by Simon’s theory of bounded rationality, the study examines how decision-makers operate under real-world constraints such as limited information, competing priorities, and institutional pressures.

Persistent disparities in English language arts (ELA) proficiency, most notably among Black, Latinx, and students with disabilities, highlight the urgency of equity-centered budgeting. Through semi-structured interviews with school business officials (SBOs) and assistant superintendents for …

Examining Transcultural Approaches In Art Education: Transversality, Identity Formation, And Intercultural Understanding, Alexandra Grace Parsons

Master's Theses

Art education is often treated as marginal within formal schooling, valued as enrichment rather than recognized as a vital contributor to students' intellectual, cultural, and emotional development. Funding and policy decisions made by state and local bodies produce significant regional disparities in access to art education across the United States. This thesis examines how transcultural approaches to art education can respond to increasingly diverse, post-migrant school communities. Using a comparative qualitative case study design, the study analyzes program structures, partnership models, and pedagogical practices at Birmingham Arts School in the United Kingdom alongside schools within Fulton County and Atlanta Public …

Secondary Biology Teachers’ Understandings Of Growth Mindset, Kathryn Chapman

Dissertations

This case study investigates how high school biology teachers understand and apply growth mindset principles in their daily instruction. Using surveys, semi‑structured interviews, and focus groups, the study examines how biology teachers interpret mindset, how they attempt to enact it, and how curriculum demands shape their efforts. Findings show that teachers’ beliefs about intelligence strongly influence their feedback, expectations, and instructional decisions. Teachers described biology as a subject in which struggle is highly visible, emotionally charged, and often tied to students’ prior knowledge, making mindset work both necessary and challenging. Results also indicate that students’ mindsets are shaped by broader …

Teacher Agency, Distributed Leadership, And Mandated Curriculum: A Mixed Methods Study, Stephen Albert Gray

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to explore the relationship between teacher agency, distributed leadership, and mandated curriculum. Ecological teacher agency was the dependent variable and used as a framework to explore the problem of restrictive curriculum environments for licensed K-12 teachers in the United States. Distributed leadership functioned as the independent variable and was tested to see whether distributed leadership environments could increase teachers’ agency regardless of curriculum context. Surveys were shared through Qualtrics with 195 teachers responding (N =195), with 12 teachers participating in follow-up Zoom interviews. Distributed leadership and teacher agency were positively …

The Self-Identified Strategies Of Asynchronous Writing Tutors, Eric C. Camarillo

The Writing Center Journal

This study explores the self-identified strategies of asynchronous writing tutors, focusing on how they provide feedback in an online environment. The research addresses the underexplored area of asynchronous writing tutoring, which is often marginalized due to its perceived lack of interpersonal interaction. Through semi-structured interviews and screen recordings of seven writing tutors from three different institutions, the study identifies key strategies employed by tutors. These strategies include managing workloads, relying on intuition, building rapport with students, and seeking support from other tutors. The findings highlight the complexity and labor-intensive nature of asynchronous tutoring, emphasizing the need for thoughtful evaluation and …

“Like Learning To Play Chess”: Relationality And The Development Of Interpersonal Communication Skills In Writing Center Consultants, Kara Poe Alexander

The Writing Center Journal

This study explores how writing center consultants develop interpersonal communication (IPC) skills through relational interactions during peer tutoring sessions. Grounded in the theoretical framework of relationality, which views learning as emerging through relationships, I analyze interviews with undergraduate and graduate consultants at a private R1 university. The findings demonstrate that one-on- one conferences foster a broad spectrum of IPC skills, including adaptability, listening, intercultural communication, asking questions, building rapport, giving constructive criticism, setting boundaries, empathizing, and patience. The development of these knowledge and skills is cultivated through collaborative, meaning-making interactions with writers. As such, writing centers emerge as dynamic, relationship-driven …

Potential Discriminatory Practices Related To Working Remotely, David M. Savino, Danielle C. Foster

Journal of the North American Management Society

There are numerous implications of the recent "return to the office" push, including evolving influences on corporate culture, job redesign, the role of technology, and the significant potential for unequal treatment and discrimination. Recent research and studies indicate that the workers involved in remote work are most likely to be women, workers of color, and the disabled. While remote work is not a protected classification under state or Federal law, these individuals are members of protected classes as determined by fair employment law. Therefore, disputed and evolving policies regarding the use of remote work related to these individuals could easily …

Human And Ai Editing Tool Use Among Online Professional Practice/Applied Practice Doctoral Students, Valerie A. Storey, Tracy Greene, Lori Salgado

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore online professional practice doctoral students' and recent graduates' (2022-2025) use of editing software, GenAI/AI browser extensions, and human editors, examining their practices and institutional policy perspectives. Using Lentz's (2024) ethical authorship framework, researchers analyzed 29 participant responses. Four themes emerged: Foundational Academic Excellence and Support, Innovative Learning and Development, Quality Assurance and Professional Growth, and Inconsistent Institutional Practice and Ethical Oversight. Findings identified distinct functional purposes and five commonalities across editorial resources. Participants strategically employed different resources while maintaining authorial agency and critical judgment, yet reported widespread inconsistency in faculty guidance, …